Former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau breaks down how the Bulldogs have been firing on all cylinders heading into pivotal matchups against San Francisco and Saint Mary's.
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00:00 What's happening everybody?
00:01 Christian Pedersen joined by Dan Dickow,
00:03 welcoming you back to another episode
00:04 of the Gonzaga Nation podcast.
00:06 And I think that songs by Europe might be copyrighted
00:10 so we can't have the final countdown playing
00:12 in the background, but that's kind of where we're at.
00:15 Two games left to go of the regular season
00:18 as the time of us recording this.
00:20 So let's recap a little bit about what we saw
00:22 from Gonzaga last week.
00:23 Let's talk a little bit about what's coming up this week.
00:26 Cole Forsman and Dan have a bunch of great
00:29 actual like game day previews of the game.
00:32 So we don't need to get too nitty gritty here, Dan.
00:34 So give us, like I said, a little recap of last week,
00:37 a little taste of this week,
00:38 and then maybe some bigger picture
00:40 of any other scoreboard watching, piece watching
00:43 or anything as we put the final touches on this season
00:46 to head into conference tournament and then NCAA tournament.
00:49 - Yeah, I mean, obviously if you're listening to this,
00:53 you're clearly a Gonzaga fan.
00:54 We've listened to our thought processes
00:58 throughout the season on the importance of different things
01:03 in regards to Gonzaga maximizing their opportunity
01:07 to get back to the NCAA tournament.
01:08 Because if you listen to the prognosticators,
01:11 the evaluators, the analysts, the bracketologists,
01:16 for the longest time, Gonzaga was out on the outside
01:19 looking in and I continue to say, I don't believe that.
01:23 I don't see that.
01:23 Yes, they needed another quad win or two,
01:26 which they got one.
01:27 They've got a big opportunity this upcoming week
01:29 for two more, and then potentially another one
01:33 in the conference tournament.
01:35 So I never bought into the doom and gloom
01:38 that a lot of people were talking about a month or so ago.
01:41 But to recap, University of Portland game on Thursday,
01:45 they were dominant, they were good.
01:47 Portland didn't dare them to shoot from the three-point line
01:51 maybe like they did in the, or at least it seemed
01:54 that they did in the game at Portland.
01:56 I talked to Shante Legge and as he said,
01:57 that wasn't the game plan.
01:59 We just screwed up our coverage
02:00 as the first few possessions.
02:01 So it made it look like that.
02:03 But Gonzaga looked really good in that game.
02:05 And then Santa Clara, senior night's always
02:08 a difficult night.
02:09 And one of the reasons why is 'cause there's so much emotion.
02:13 Say for example, you have a team with three or four guys.
02:17 You've got three or four guys that have ticket requests
02:21 from family coming in and out of town.
02:22 They're trying to spend time with them.
02:24 They're trying to soak in their last opportunity
02:27 to play in such a great atmosphere like the Kennel.
02:30 So it can become very emotional.
02:32 This year's senior night only had one senior.
02:36 Granted, he's one of the most impactful players
02:39 in recent memory being Anton Watson
02:41 'cause he's a fifth year guy.
02:43 He's from Spokane.
02:44 I thought it was really fitting in the fact
02:46 that there was only one senior this year
02:48 and he got to really kind of get the praise of the crowd,
02:52 the accolades of the crowd.
02:54 Unfortunately for him, he picked up two fouls
02:56 in that first half.
02:56 And so he didn't play as much as he typically does.
03:00 He still ended up with 13 points in 31 minutes.
03:03 But that first half, he was kind of,
03:05 you could tell a little kind of hamstrung.
03:08 You know, he had some early minutes sitting on that bench
03:11 in that middle of that second,
03:12 or excuse me, in that first half.
03:13 But, you know, all in all, Gonzaga,
03:15 unbelievable job against Santa Clara
03:19 in weathering an offensive attack from Santa Clara early.
03:24 Santa Clara, I thought, looked great
03:26 the first 15 minutes or so.
03:28 Gonzaga looked really good.
03:30 And then their defense picked up
03:32 and Gonzaga's offense continued to press forward.
03:36 You only saw seven guys play against Santa Clara.
03:38 I think, you know, Luke Kronovich has shown improvement,
03:42 but it wasn't one of those things
03:44 where Coach Phiu looked like comfortable
03:46 to go to that next perimeter player.
03:49 Now, Stromer played 27 minutes.
03:51 Braden Huff only played seven.
03:53 And we've seen that a couple of times where, you know,
03:55 teams with great size, which Santa Clara has,
03:58 a Huff has struggled to get minutes at times.
04:01 And I don't think it's necessarily
04:02 a struggle to get him minutes,
04:04 as opposed to Graham Ekay has been on an absolute tear
04:07 as of late.
04:08 26 points, he was nine of 13 from the field.
04:11 You go back to the Portland game,
04:12 he was nine of 14 from the field.
04:13 You go back another game,
04:15 Graham Ekay against Pacific was nine of nine from the field.
04:19 So, I mean, he's absolutely unstoppable
04:22 on the low block right now.
04:24 When you look at, and I know I'm kind of, you know,
04:27 kind of in a monologue phrase right now,
04:30 but you're gonna ask some questions in a minute.
04:32 Ever since the loss to St. Mary's,
04:37 Gonzaga has clearly been the most efficient team
04:41 in the entire country, offensively.
04:44 I came across these numbers,
04:45 and one of the metrics that's always used
04:49 when you talk about offensive efficiency
04:51 is points per possession.
04:53 Now, a good team gets 1.1 points per possession.
04:58 So if you have a hundred possessions in a game,
05:02 you're gonna score 110 points.
05:04 Gonzaga, you know, with some of their best offensive teams
05:09 over the course of a year has led the country
05:11 in offensive efficiency, points per possession.
05:14 They would be hovering right around the 125
05:17 or 126 points per a hundred possessions.
05:19 So 1.25, 1.26.
05:22 These are Gonzaga's games since St. Mary's.
05:25 The first Portland game, 1.35 points per possession.
05:29 Kentucky game, 1.25 points per possession.
05:33 LMU, this is where it gets silly, 1.49 points per possession.
05:39 Those are unheard of numbers.
05:41 Pacific, 1.42, Portland, 1.32, Santa Clara, 1.32.
05:45 They were 33rd nationally in offensive efficiency
05:51 after that St. Mary's game.
05:52 They're now 10th.
05:55 So the last seven, eight games,
05:57 they've been on an absolute tear
05:59 on the offensive end of the floor.
06:01 And I bring those numbers up because I talk about EK
06:04 going nine of nine, nine of 14, nine of 13.
06:07 You know, this offense is clicking right now.
06:09 EK on the low block.
06:11 You got Hickman shooting 41% from three during league.
06:15 Nembhardt, his assist to turnover ratio
06:17 and his understanding of when to push it,
06:19 when to control tempo has been off the charts lately.
06:22 So this team is playing really well on the offensive end,
06:25 but it's gonna be a different challenge
06:27 these last two games on the road.
06:28 So that's enough for my long kind of monologue there.
06:33 Christian, I know you got questions about San Francisco.
06:35 I'm sure St. Mary's hit me on them.
06:38 - Hey, I think monologue Monday's with Dan Dickhouse.
06:41 (indistinct)
06:43 I think that the other game that you left out there, Dan,
06:47 was one previous on the schedule for Gonzaga
06:50 because before that St. Mary's loss,
06:52 there was another 90 point outing.
06:54 So you could say really the last like 10 games,
06:57 even not just the last eight,
06:58 Gonzaga has been absolutely upward trending
07:04 to like, we looked at this at the beginning of the year.
07:07 We did the Ken Palm, we did the net, we did,
07:09 hey, Gonzaga is always way up here.
07:11 Very tippy top of offensive production.
07:14 They dipped off for a little bit, but they're back.
07:16 They're better than back.
07:17 They're all the back.
07:18 So give us the permutations of win this, lose this,
07:21 other team wins this, other team lose this,
07:23 that gets Gonzaga to the regular season WCC title share.
07:27 - Well, I mean, you look at, I don't think,
07:33 there's still a mathematic chance
07:36 to tie for a league title with St. Mary's.
07:40 Now you're gonna have to get a monumental task
07:43 from Pepperdine.
07:44 St. Mary's goes to Pepperdine on Thursday.
07:47 So if St. Mary's wins that game,
07:50 they're the outright champion.
07:51 Doesn't even matter if Gonzaga beats them on Saturday.
07:55 So that's kind of the hope for Gonzaga and their fans.
08:00 Yeah, go Pepperdine.
08:02 Let's see if we can cheer on an upset in some sort.
08:07 That being said, Gonzaga has got a difficult one on Thursday.
08:10 They have to take care of business.
08:12 You know, they're one game ahead of San Francisco
08:15 in the standings, Gonzaga being 12 and two,
08:18 San Francisco being 11 and three.
08:21 It's a quad one win, or opportunity,
08:23 because San Francisco, last I checked as of yesterday,
08:27 they were sitting at 56 in the net.
08:28 So that's a road quad one game.
08:31 If they win that, which would be their second quad one
08:34 victory of the season, it would definitely,
08:37 it would completely put Gonzaga as the two seed,
08:40 which is important for the WCC tournament
08:43 because it's an automatic path to the semifinals.
08:46 So you'd get some buys to move forward
08:49 past some of the early games in Las Vegas.
08:52 San Francisco then, you know,
08:53 will then finish on the regular season,
08:55 the road game at Santa Clara,
08:58 which is an interesting one as well.
09:01 But St. Mary's, again, they have Pepperdine,
09:04 Gonzaga has that, San Francisco,
09:06 and then it's that big game on Saturday
09:08 that everybody's been looking to.
09:09 But really, you cannot overlook San Francisco right now.
09:13 Jonathan Mobo was a front runner for Player of the Year
09:15 in the conference, along with probably Marcellonis,
09:18 Watson, E.K., Mahaney, you could throw him in there as well.
09:22 You know, but Mobo's kind of slowed down
09:25 in regards to his double-double tear.
09:28 But San Francisco's a dangerous team.
09:30 They're really good offensively.
09:32 Mobo, as I mentioned, he's very versatile.
09:34 He can kind of, he's a big-time threat on the interior,
09:38 but he can also stretch you.
09:40 He's good in pick-and-roll and in DHO situations.
09:44 Marcus Williams has been playing really well as of late.
09:47 And then they just get,
09:49 they've had nice production from others
09:51 at different points of WCC play,
09:53 where there's Malik Thomas, Nudo Newberry, you know,
09:58 they've, Mike Shroffjams,
09:59 they've gotten production everywhere.
10:01 So you cannot overlook them
10:03 in regards to thinking about that matchup
10:06 with St. Mary's on Saturday, which, I mean,
10:09 we don't even have to go in depth on that game.
10:11 Everybody knows how important that game is.
10:13 That game becomes, the Saturday St. Mary's game,
10:16 becomes another massive opportunity
10:20 to solidify themselves as a lock,
10:22 regardless of what happens in the NCAA tournament
10:26 in the selection committee's eyes.
10:28 You know, that game with St. Mary's always comes down
10:31 to controlling the pace of the game,
10:33 controlling the boards, and making shots.
10:36 St. Mary's is so good defensively.
10:38 You get opportunities, you gotta knock them down
10:40 'cause you're not gonna get a lot of open shots
10:42 in that game.
10:43 So when they arrive, you know, you gotta make 'em pay.
10:47 We see in that game in Spokane,
10:50 St. Mary's, for the most part, controlled the tempo.
10:53 Gonzaga was not able to speed the game up.
10:56 Gonzaga had their chances,
10:58 but a late 7-0 run from St. Mary's
11:01 was kind of the deciding factor in that game.
11:03 - You mentioned the NCAA selection committee,
11:05 and I wanna talk about, just a little bit,
11:08 zoomed out past this week.
11:10 We had talked off and on throughout the season
11:12 that maybe this is gonna be a WCC
11:14 where only one team makes the NCAA tournament.
11:16 Maybe it's gonna be two.
11:17 It's most likely not gonna be three,
11:18 but it seems like St. Mary's, USF, and Gonzaga
11:21 have all had a pretty solid closeout
11:24 second half of the season.
11:26 Two teams, three teams, what do you think,
11:28 if you had to put on your prognosticator hat
11:30 and look into your magic ball,
11:32 makes it to the NCAA tournament out of the WCC?
11:35 - Yeah, there's just two.
11:36 I mean, it's St. Mary's is a lock right now.
11:39 Absolutely.
11:40 Gonzaga, I think if they win both games this weekend,
11:45 they're a lock as long as they advance
11:48 to the West Coast Conference title game.
11:51 When you look at their net right now,
11:53 I think Gonzaga's at 21 in the net.
11:55 No team in the 20s in the net
11:57 has ever not made the NCAA tournament.
12:00 I believe 33 is the highest rated team in the net
12:04 to never make the tournament.
12:06 Now, there is talk about, well, look,
12:09 the selection committee values quad one wins.
12:12 Okay, well, you also reward playing difficult schedules.
12:17 Gonzaga's played a difficult schedule.
12:18 They've played some of these quad one opponents very tough.
12:22 I would make the comment that outside of that UConn loss,
12:27 Gonzaga had a chance to win every single game
12:31 that they lost in that quad one realm.
12:35 But here's the deal.
12:38 Gonzaga keeps playing the way that they have
12:41 over the last few weeks, and mentioned offensive numbers.
12:44 Their destiny's in their own hands.
12:48 They're not gonna have to worry
12:49 about sitting on selection Sunday,
12:52 wondering if they're in or out.
12:53 If they play the way that they've played,
12:55 I see a conference title in their future
12:59 in Las Vegas, tournament title, I mean.
13:01 So, you know, there's all this,
13:04 and that's what makes March so fun,
13:07 is because you get to talk about
13:08 all these different possibilities
13:10 and these ideas of what could be or what may be.
13:14 But Gonzaga has it in front of them
13:16 where they can make it what they want it to be
13:19 if they go out and continue to play the way that they have.
13:22 - But also, like you said,
13:23 that they get everybody's best shot.
13:24 So if USF is sitting there saying,
13:26 "We've gotta beat Gonzaga
13:27 in order to make it to the postseason,"
13:29 you're gonna get no rest for the weary,
13:32 a game before you wanna play that big game.
13:35 So what's the key right now?
13:37 Is the key the mental state of Gonzaga?
13:39 Is the key the offense?
13:41 If you had to play your, "Dan Dickow's, keys to success,"
13:45 what is the one key right now for Gonzaga
13:47 staying real sharp on like,
13:49 "Just do this, focus on this, and things will work out"?
13:53 - Well, I think, one, it's stay in the moment,
13:56 you know, and understand task at hand.
13:58 Don't look ahead.
13:59 You know, so for San Francisco,
14:01 I think big keys to the game are gonna be
14:03 limit Jonathan Mobo on the interior.
14:06 You know, you got a couple guys that can do that.
14:08 Ben Gregg, Anton Watson, and even Graham Ekay
14:11 are gonna have rotational opportunities at that.
14:14 Limit the three-pointer, the three-point shot,
14:17 because San Francisco can get hot from beyond the arc.
14:20 And then the St. Mary's game,
14:22 it always comes down to the glass,
14:24 and it comes down to controlling pace.
14:25 So if you get off to a great start at your pace
14:28 against St. Mary's, they're not allowed to play
14:31 in that grinded out, slow-paced game
14:34 as much as they would like.
14:36 So those are the keys for this week.
14:37 But big picture, to be honest with you, task at hand.
14:41 Get better every single day in practice,
14:43 collectively as a group and individually,
14:46 so you're prepared for your minutes
14:50 and your opportunities that come your way.
14:51 So I like the position that Gonzaga's in.
14:55 They're the hunter again, not the hunted,
14:58 which is something that Gonzaga hasn't been
15:01 in a number of years.
15:03 - Fair enough.
15:04 You hear that, folks?
15:05 Dan Dickow is calm.
15:06 So I am no longer hyperbolically,
15:10 like I'm not doom and gloom anymore.
15:12 I am now just level.
15:13 Dan has gotten me to just normal now.
15:17 Okay, so Dickow, all in all, you are telling the people
15:22 there will be a tomorrow, there will be a postseason,
15:24 there is a chance for a WCC tournament title run.
15:28 Just hang in there.
15:29 They're gonna get it done.
15:30 They're playing the best offensive ball
15:31 of almost any team in the nation.
15:33 It seems like they're playing the old adage
15:35 of play your best ball at the end of the year, yes?
15:38 - Yeah, and Coach Few has traditionally got his team
15:42 peaking at the right time of the year.
15:44 He's been there, done that so many times.
15:49 He understands the process of individuals improving
15:53 throughout the course of the year
15:57 and pinpointing things that individuals need to do
15:59 to get better at, to impact then the trajectory
16:02 of the team getting better.
16:04 You look at Ryan Nembhard, we talked about his speed
16:08 and his quickness and pushing the tempo
16:09 early in the season.
16:11 Well, now he's doing the same thing,
16:13 but then he's understanding and recognizing
16:15 when there's nothing there, let's get into offense.
16:19 We've got a bruiser on the interior in Graham Ekay
16:23 who can make the defense pay.
16:25 You're looking at Nolan Hickman, who's shot the ball
16:29 unbelievably well the last five, six weeks.
16:32 And it shows the experience of a coaching staff
16:36 and a head coaching Mark Few that doesn't let the highs
16:40 affect them too much and doesn't let the lows
16:42 affect them too much.
16:43 Just continue to grind away and can continue to understand
16:48 the big picture and where they wanna be
16:50 and how they need to respond to get to where they wanna be.
16:53 - Dan, as always, you've got a bunch of great people
16:56 coming in and out of the awesome studios
16:58 that you're working out of.
16:59 I mean, that's really what the Gonzaga Nation podcast is now.
17:02 We're just the court jesters showing up on Monday
17:05 for monologue Mondays with Dan.
17:06 What do you got coming out this week?
17:07 Who do you got in studio?
17:09 - Well, in about 10 minutes, assistant coach RJ Barsh
17:12 will be in studio.
17:14 We'll be talking a little bit about his coaching path,
17:16 his coaching career from Tacoma Community College
17:21 to NAIA school in Florida, back to the West Coast
17:25 with Boise State, then back to Florida to be
17:28 with Florida State before joining Gonzaga.
17:30 So he's a tremendous young coach.
17:33 He's got a great outlook on life.
17:35 He's got a big time faith and excited to hear
17:38 a little bit more from him.
17:40 And then Adam and I will be recording again
17:42 with Rob Sacre today.
17:43 I mean, Rob's insight is tremendous,
17:46 but we also wanna hear about what he's done this year
17:48 as a high school coach in Spokane.
17:52 It's been tremendous what he's done.
17:54 - I miss Rob so much.
17:56 I would like to believe that the reason that Rob and I
17:59 did not go to college together is 'cause we would have
18:01 gotten in way too much trouble.
18:05 And we wound up at the same school.
18:07 He and I are far too similarly like-minded
18:09 in terms of our enjoyment of living life to the fullest.
18:14 I think that sounds like an awesome week.
18:16 We also mentioned that Dan's gonna be teamed up
18:18 with Cole Forsman on pregame previews.
18:20 You guys have to catch, it's the perfect,
18:22 like you're on your way to the game.
18:23 Why not get a 30 minute breakdown of everything
18:25 that you need to know watching beforehand?
18:27 There's that, there's great written articles,
18:29 there's awesome photos, there's everything you need
18:31 at the Gonzaga Nation page.
18:32 You can follow us on socials.
18:34 Dan, anything else before we say goodbye?
18:36 - Nope, absolutely.
18:37 I think we covered it.
18:38 So until next week, Christian, have a great one
18:41 and got a couple of good games to follow this week.
18:44 That's for sure.
18:45 - Go Zags, baby.
18:46 Talk to you guys soon.