1) this game shouldn't diminish what a great (and somewhat surprising) season this was. Getting a win in the tourney, a big non-conf road win, a 12-6 B1G record... Etc. All of those things is what the season should be remembered for - and remembered fondly.
2) It was pretty obvious Gonzaga was really comfortable shooting in Key Arena. And we certainly helped by playing really sluggish with our early rotations on man to man but if you'd said before the game that the Zags would shoot 62% from 3-point line I would've said we would lose badly. They did and we did. Just a great shooting performance by them!
3) I thought the zone was a bad idea by Fran and we stayed in it too long. Gave up a big run when Woody sat down and we went to zone and didn't seem to recover. We really struggled rebounding out of the zone defense too. Maybe it was a matter of execution though because we played the zone with some effectiveness in the second half? I'll just say I didnt like staying in the zone in the first half.
4) If Gonzaga's big guys play remotely close to that strong and aggressive in the next couple games I like their chances. Knew Wiltjer and Pangos were more than capable of putting up points but was shocked at how easily their interior guys carved up Woody, Olaseni, White and Uthoff. We were out rebounded 34-22 and it felt like more than that. They remind me a lot of Wisconsin in the size they have combined with great shooters.
5) The future is bright. Gesell, Uthoff, Clemons (who looked as good as anyone today) and Woodbury are a pretty formidable group of seniors and I think Jok is a future first-team All B1G talent. Having said that; we really really have to improve our outside shooting. Our jump shots for some reason seem rushed or off balance - we rarely step into the shot - and we can't seem to consistently bury open looks outside of 10 feet. The knock I have on Fran's teams the past 3-4 years is that we just don't shoot well and I don't think it's totally a question of talent. His system seems to get plenty of open looks for guys but for several years now it seems as if we just don't shoot well outside of the paint. I'm not a coach so I don't have the answer but I think our ceiling is limited until we have a few guys on the roster who consistently knock down open shots.
Great season - excited about next year!
2) It was pretty obvious Gonzaga was really comfortable shooting in Key Arena. And we certainly helped by playing really sluggish with our early rotations on man to man but if you'd said before the game that the Zags would shoot 62% from 3-point line I would've said we would lose badly. They did and we did. Just a great shooting performance by them!
3) I thought the zone was a bad idea by Fran and we stayed in it too long. Gave up a big run when Woody sat down and we went to zone and didn't seem to recover. We really struggled rebounding out of the zone defense too. Maybe it was a matter of execution though because we played the zone with some effectiveness in the second half? I'll just say I didnt like staying in the zone in the first half.
4) If Gonzaga's big guys play remotely close to that strong and aggressive in the next couple games I like their chances. Knew Wiltjer and Pangos were more than capable of putting up points but was shocked at how easily their interior guys carved up Woody, Olaseni, White and Uthoff. We were out rebounded 34-22 and it felt like more than that. They remind me a lot of Wisconsin in the size they have combined with great shooters.
5) The future is bright. Gesell, Uthoff, Clemons (who looked as good as anyone today) and Woodbury are a pretty formidable group of seniors and I think Jok is a future first-team All B1G talent. Having said that; we really really have to improve our outside shooting. Our jump shots for some reason seem rushed or off balance - we rarely step into the shot - and we can't seem to consistently bury open looks outside of 10 feet. The knock I have on Fran's teams the past 3-4 years is that we just don't shoot well and I don't think it's totally a question of talent. His system seems to get plenty of open looks for guys but for several years now it seems as if we just don't shoot well outside of the paint. I'm not a coach so I don't have the answer but I think our ceiling is limited until we have a few guys on the roster who consistently knock down open shots.
Great season - excited about next year!
