Every week leading up to the 22-23 college basketball season Dan Dickau takes a deep dive on one of Gonzaga's conference opponents, this week Dan is focus on Saint Mary's.
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00:00 Dan Dick out here on the Gonzaga Nation Media Network.
00:06 This being a Monday, it's a WCC Weekly Update.
00:11 If you've been listening lately, you've noticed that we've gone through each of Gonzaga's
00:15 opponents in the WCC and kind of taken a quick look back at their past season as well as
00:20 looking forward to this season.
00:23 Key returning pieces, maybe some newcomers to keep an eye out, as well as a quick breakdown
00:28 of their schedule.
00:29 This week, we're going to take a look at the St. Mary's Gales.
00:32 They have been as good as anybody in the West Coast, not just the West Coast Conference,
00:38 but the West Coast.
00:39 I'm including the Pac-12, the Mountain West, the WAC, the Big West, the Big Sky, you name
00:44 it.
00:45 St. Mary's has been under the radar quite some time.
00:49 Nationally, anybody that knows the game of basketball at the college level knows that
00:52 St. Mary's is pretty dang good.
00:55 Gonzaga fans hate to admit this at times because they're really the only program that has given
01:00 Gonzaga fits at times.
01:03 Now, I'm not saying Gonzaga hasn't dominated the series because they have, but there have
01:07 been games and teams within Randy Bennett's tenure that have been really, really good
01:14 and teams that have beaten Gonzaga, I don't want to say easily, but they've beaten them
01:18 consistently at times.
01:20 But St. Mary's is a tremendous program led by coach Randy Bennett, the second longest
01:25 tenured coach in the WCC behind Mark Few.
01:31 They have been to the NCAA tournament a number of times.
01:34 A season ago, they made it to the NCAA tournament where they were 26-8, 12-3 in the West Coast
01:41 Conference.
01:42 In the NCAA tournament, they beat Indiana.
01:44 Not only did they beat Indiana, they dismantled them.
01:48 They dominated the Hoosiers of the Big Ten, went on to lose the UCLA in a tough second
01:53 round matchup.
01:55 But it was a typical St. Mary's basketball team a season ago in regards to what they've
02:02 become.
02:03 They initially were tremendous offensively, but over the last six or seven years, I think
02:07 they've quietly become really good on the defensive end, a lot like Gonzaga where you
02:13 think of them offensively first, but then if you take a little deeper dive at the numbers,
02:17 you realize they've also become a really good defensive team.
02:20 St. Mary's was that last year.
02:22 They were really good defensively, taking you away from your strengths when they forced
02:27 their opponents into about 42% from the field.
02:30 Now a season ago, they needed that because St. Mary's wasn't offensively as good last
02:36 year as they've been.
02:37 There's been years where St. Mary's has flirted with shooting 50% from the field.
02:42 They've led the country in field goal percentage, I believe, in the last six, seven years or
02:46 so.
02:47 But a season ago, they shot it at 46%.
02:51 When you take a deeper look at the defensive end on the floor, they are one of the best
02:55 in the country at not allowing their opponent to make three-pointers.
02:59 Only five made threes per game from their opponents a season ago.
03:04 The other reason that St. Mary's is so good is on the defensive end, they make you shoot
03:12 everything over a contested hand.
03:14 So they're not going to get out and pressure you, so they don't turn you over and get easy
03:18 opportunities for themselves on the offensive end.
03:22 But what they do on the offensive end, when they have the ball, they don't beat themselves.
03:26 They are one of the best in the country at not turning it over.
03:31 Season ago, they only turned it over around 11 times a game.
03:34 So literally one of the best teams in the country at not turning it over.
03:39 They do it because guys buy into Randy Bennett's system.
03:42 They understand his system.
03:44 Randy Bennett does a great job of recruiting to his system and then developing within his
03:48 system, which holds a lot of pick and rolls, and then changing and manipulating the angles
03:57 and the spacing in those pick and rolls.
03:59 And the better teams that they've had have done that while having a great interior presence,
04:06 whether it's a Jock Loundale from years ago, it's an Omar Samhan, Matthias Toss, who's
04:11 now gone, was a serviceable big on the interior.
04:17 A big piece this year will be, does Mitchell Saxon grow into that role as a junior?
04:22 But we'll take a quick look at the losses from a season ago.
04:25 I mentioned Matthias Toss.
04:28 He was their leading scorer a season ago.
04:31 He kind of was that low post presence that they would be able to throw the ball to.
04:38 And he was just good enough where you really had to key in on him.
04:41 You might not double him, but you're going to be aware of him when he gets the ball on
04:45 the low block.
04:46 You're going to dig, maybe show a possible double just to get him a little uncomfortable.
04:53 Wasn't a big time scorer, but he led them in scoring because they gave him space and
05:00 you had to worry about a lot of other guys on St. Mary's.
05:03 You had to worry about Logan Johnson, Tommy Kuzi, who I'll talk about in a second, Alex
05:07 Dukas, Kyle Bowen.
05:08 They have pieces that fit so unbelievably well together.
05:11 And then when you have that spacing, a big has time on the low block to go to work.
05:17 And so it'll be interesting to see how they replace Matthias Toss because he was efficient,
05:22 shot it at nearly 56, 57% from the field.
05:25 The biggest loss though in my eyes is going to be Tommy Kuzi.
05:29 It seemed as if he was in Moraga forever, six years.
05:32 So that's quite a while.
05:34 Started as a walk-on, started as a red shirt, earned his way, became a starter, actually
05:39 lost a starting role partially through last season.
05:44 A lot of it was due to his play.
05:46 Some of the play, it was due to the potential of freshmen Augustus Marcellonis.
05:52 But at the end of the day, Tommy Kuzi was their best player.
05:54 He signed a free agent contract with the Spurs where he's got a chance to make their team,
06:01 if not has a chance to be on their G League team.
06:03 But they started and ended their run towards the end of the year with their games in the
06:12 NCAA tournament and the WCC by putting the ball in Kuzi's hands, putting him in space
06:16 in pick and rolls, giving him freedom and the ability to create.
06:19 He really did that a season ago.
06:21 From the point guard position in St. Mary's system, he has had the ball in his hands a
06:26 ton.
06:27 Shot 49% from the field, about 45% from three.
06:31 He had a really nice assist to turnover ratio.
06:34 He was a big time player for St. Mary's that they're going to have to figure out how to
06:40 replace.
06:41 When you look at the key pieces that are returning, Logan Johnson is key piece number one.
06:50 He gets lost in the shuffle or he did a season ago a little bit simply because Toss was their
06:56 leading scorer and Kuzi did so many things.
06:58 And then you always seem to talk about the Australian connection for St. Mary's, but
07:02 Logan Johnson has put together a nice career at St. Mary's after transferring from Cincinnati.
07:09 He's a lefty, slender, athletic, slithery guard who's a really good defender, really
07:15 good defender on ball.
07:17 He's sneaky in the passing lanes, but offensively he's good enough in the pick and roll to create
07:24 problems to score for himself, make plays for the others.
07:27 He's a better shooter than you would give him credit for when you look at the numbers.
07:32 But really, season ago, averaged about 12 points a game.
07:35 I would expect him to be their leading scorer this year.
07:39 And if not, he's going to be probably their second leading scorer.
07:41 But a lot of things are going to be run through Logan Johnson this year.
07:45 Another key piece, a guy that I've thought has been an unsung hero for St. Mary's the
07:53 last couple of years, battled injuries a little bit, but when he's healthy and he's aggressive,
07:59 he's a difference maker.
08:00 And that's Alex Dukas, one of the Australians in that pipeline that's come to the East Bay,
08:06 averaged about 10 points a game a season ago.
08:09 He's got great size on the wing.
08:10 He's got great shooting touch.
08:12 His IQ and his savvy, I think, are really what sets him apart.
08:16 He makes the game easier for others because he can shoot it.
08:21 Defenses got to guard him so he can space it.
08:23 And then he's really crafty when he puts the ball on the deck.
08:26 He's crafty with his off ball cuts.
08:29 Really good player, Alex Dukas.
08:32 Next guy that I think is a key piece, and it's because he showed flashes a season ago.
08:37 He had a really nice game against Gonzaga at St. Mary's that last week or so of the
08:42 regular season.
08:44 He's got a chance, I think, to be a really big player for them this year, and that would
08:49 be Mitchell Saxon on the interior.
08:52 You know, bigs typically tend to take longer to develop than guards.
08:58 Randy Bennett's shown that he has had patience with his bigs that he's recruited and developed,
09:04 and it's paid off many times before.
09:07 It'll be interesting to see if Saxon follows the same trajectory as a lot of other St.
09:13 Mary's bigs in kind of becoming a key focal point of their offenses last season or two
09:19 in college.
09:20 Another key returning piece, Augustas Marcioulonis.
09:24 He showed flashes a season ago.
09:26 They started him a lot.
09:28 Then they brought him off the bench.
09:30 There's been high hopes for him.
09:32 He spends a lot of time playing for his Lithuanian national team.
09:37 He's got big expectations, high expectations, and maybe those expectations were a little
09:43 higher last year than they should have been, but I would expect him to look much more comfortable
09:49 this season running the show as a point guard when it's decision-making time, but I also
09:55 think he has the potential and he's wired to score a little bit.
09:59 He's going to be a guy that definitely is going to bring a lot of attention.
10:04 The two newcomers that really I'm interested to see how they fit with St. Mary's.
10:10 St. Mary's is one of those programs where not all that often do you see a freshman step
10:16 in and play minutes, let alone major minutes.
10:20 You kind of learn what's expected at St. Mary's.
10:25 You earn your minutes and then you grow from there once you earn Randy Bennett's trust,
10:29 but there's two freshmen that I think are definitely interesting to keep an eye out.
10:36 One, a guard, Aiden Mahoney, from right around St. Mary's campus.
10:42 He's a point guard that I've heard has tremendous IQ.
10:46 He's got the ability to make plays and pick and rolls with all the different passes that
10:50 are needed, make all the correct reads, so he can shoot it a little bit as well.
10:54 And then the other freshman I think has a lot of potential is from the state champs
10:59 in the state of Nevada, Liberty High School, and that's Josh Johnson.
11:02 He's a bigger wing.
11:05 He's skilled.
11:06 He values winning.
11:08 I got a chance to meet his high school coach last spring and he basically just said he
11:12 makes the game easy on others.
11:15 And when you have a guy like that at the college level, going into a really good program in
11:21 St. Mary's, those are the kind of guys that I think can kind of really fill gaps, fill
11:26 holes, earn themselves some minutes early in a career.
11:31 Look at the non-conference for the Gales.
11:34 Years ago, they were basically talked about in saying a lot of people from an outsider's
11:41 perspective would say they played nobody in the non-conference.
11:45 And a lot of times that actually was true.
11:47 You would look at it, they'd be 11-1 heading into the WCC season.
11:52 They may not have even played more than one or two away games away from Moraga.
11:59 But that ended up hurting them on a couple occasions when they would have a great record,
12:04 maybe a 25-5 record.
12:07 But they would be left out of the NCAA tournament because their strength of schedule, which
12:10 would then impact their quad one, quad two wins or opportunities for wins in their net
12:15 ranking would really hurt them.
12:17 I think over the last couple of years, they've addressed that.
12:20 They've really made an effort to schedule more difficult and schedule better.
12:24 And I think this is a great opportunity year for them to really prove that and show that.
12:30 They start with the first five games at home, which I don't disagree with why you wouldn't
12:36 want to do that and get off to a good start with your program.
12:39 But then I think you really see St. Mary's schedule pick up much more than it has in
12:44 recent years.
12:45 They play Vanderbilt of the SEC in the Wooden Legacy.
12:51 And then win or lose, they will play either Washington State out of the Pac-12 or Fresno
12:57 State, who has been really good in recent years out of the Mountain West.
13:03 They play a home game against New Mexico.
13:04 New Mexico under Richard Pitino played really good basketball at the end of last year.
13:09 They got a really good backcourt returning.
13:11 But I think with New Mexico's brand out of the Mountain West, they've typically been
13:18 a really good program.
13:20 That's a good game to bring to your home arena.
13:25 And then the schedule gets really good for St. Mary's.
13:28 They play Houston on December 3rd in Fort Worth.
13:32 And I think they're going to learn a ton about where they're at at that point of the year.
13:37 Houston, a lot of people are projecting them as a Final Four caliber team.
13:41 I know some of these preseason early rankings have them in the top three even.
13:46 Kelvin Sampson's a terrific coach.
13:48 They've got some All-American type candidates on that roster.
13:53 So I think St. Mary's will learn a lot about themselves there.
13:57 And then the schedule doesn't let up, which is surprising if you look at their past scheduling
14:04 philosophies.
14:06 But as I said, they're trending in the right direction of scheduling to make things difficult
14:12 on themselves and really improving the net.
14:15 So then they have four games against some really good teams.
14:18 San Diego State out of the Mountain West in Phoenix at the Jerry Colangelo Classic.
14:23 San Diego State's a perennial Mountain West contender.
14:27 They've been in the NCAA tournament a number of times.
14:29 I would expect them to challenge for the Mountain West title this year.
14:32 Then they play New Mexico State at home.
14:36 They're in the WAC.
14:37 They've been to the NCAA tournament a lot.
14:39 They always challenge for the WAC title.
14:42 So that's a good game.
14:43 Then they play Colorado State.
14:44 Colorado State was in the NCAA tournament a season ago.
14:47 I don't know if they'll make it this year because they've lost David Roddy.
14:50 But they've got a lot of good key pieces and they will be towards the top tier in the Mountain
14:55 West.
14:56 That's another good home game.
14:57 And then on December 21st, they have another game in Phoenix against another Mountain West
15:02 team that's going to challenge for a Mountain West title.
15:06 That would be Wyoming.
15:07 Wyoming made the NCAA tournament a season ago.
15:10 They've reloaded.
15:11 They got their best two players back and then they've reloaded with a number of transfers.
15:14 So I would expect Wyoming to challenge in the Mountain West.
15:19 So when you look at their non-conference, they've got some Power Five conference teams.
15:25 They've got a possible Final Four team in Houston.
15:28 Then you have teams that should be in the mix for their league titles and playing in
15:34 the NCAA tournament.
15:35 So overall, a really good schedule, I think, for St. Mary's.
15:39 When you look at their conference, they will play Gonzaga twice.
15:43 They're going to host Gonzaga February 4th.
15:46 And then it's what the WCC does a lot of times.
15:50 And I think it's really fun and interesting, especially when St. Mary's is really good
15:53 and challenging Gonzaga.
15:56 The season ends with a regular season, February 25th in Spokane at McCarthy Athletic Center.
16:03 So great season a year ago from the Gales getting to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
16:12 I think they've got the potential and the opportunity to put together a really nice
16:16 year if they can replace what Tommy Kuse gave them down the stretch.
16:21 I think there's a lot of pieces.
16:22 There's a lot of opportunity there.
16:25 But again, to me, they've been the second best team in the Mount, easily in the WCC
16:30 over the last 12, 15 years.
16:33 But you could even say they've been one of the best teams on the entire West Coast over
16:38 that stretch as well.
16:39 So appreciate you listening.
16:41 Thanks for joining Gonzaga Nation Media Network and our WCC Weekly as we preview each team
16:49 before we get to the regular season, which starts, hard to believe, we're almost there,
16:54 the first week of November.
16:55 So thanks for listening.
16:56 And don't forget to follow us on all of our social media channels @GonzagaNationSI, Facebook,
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17:05 Take care.