Former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau and Gonzaga Nation reporter Cole Forsman break down what the Bulldogs need to do on the road against the Dons to keep pace in the WCC standings
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00:00 Gonzaga Nation, another game preview.
00:03 Dan Dickow here alongside our journalist
00:05 who's doing a great job bringing you all the updates.
00:10 Cole Forsman, we're gonna break down
00:11 the San Francisco matchup Thursday night.
00:16 Oddly enough, it's not at War Memorial Gym,
00:19 the Sobrato Center on campus of San Francisco.
00:22 It's actually at the Chase Center
00:24 as a home game for the Dons.
00:26 It's important the fact that it's a home game
00:29 and not a neutral site game because it falls into,
00:31 at this moment in time, a quad one opportunity for Gonzaga,
00:35 which we all know Gonzaga only has
00:38 one of those quad one wins this year,
00:39 searching for a couple in this last week
00:43 of the regular season.
00:44 So thanks for joining, Cole.
00:46 Let's get right to it.
00:47 What are the big things that you're looking forward to
00:50 with this game?
00:51 - Yeah, Dan, good to be here.
00:53 Another game preview.
00:54 We're coming down the turnpike of the regular season.
00:58 This is the best time of year, or we're approaching it.
01:02 It kind of, it's a damper that it feels like
01:04 this time of year is so short.
01:06 We know, you and I know, this college basketball season is,
01:09 it's almost year-round,
01:10 but games have been going on since November.
01:13 But, you know, there's other things going on
01:16 in professional sports and whatnot.
01:18 So I understand the spotlight isn't on college basketball,
01:21 usually around late February anyway.
01:23 But it's a good time of year for Gonzaga Hoops then
01:25 because they have some really pivotal matchups
01:28 this week, of course.
01:30 We're going to discuss San Francisco here.
01:33 I think Anton Watson, you know, after the last game,
01:37 really summed up what it's going to be.
01:40 It's going to be a battle.
01:41 It is in the Chase Center.
01:44 So you want to start with the environment
01:47 and how that plays into it.
01:49 Gonzaga fans remember the Chase Center.
01:52 That's where they lost to Arkansas back in 2022
01:55 in the NCAA tournament.
01:58 Interesting that San Francisco decided to do this
02:01 at the Chase Center.
02:02 I am not sure what the reasoning was
02:06 other than just to put this matchup on a bigger stage,
02:08 but considering Gonzaga has had their difficulties
02:13 at the Hilltop, the historical Hilltop.
02:16 Remember last year, Razier Bolton needed to
02:19 hit the game winner to escape with,
02:21 I think, like a five-point win.
02:23 So yeah, I'm sure a lot of Zags fans will be there.
02:28 This is going to be a real battle.
02:30 Obviously Gonzaga won the first matchup,
02:33 '77 to '72 back in Spokane.
02:37 It was a back and forth battle.
02:40 San Francisco led that one by one at the half.
02:44 It was back and forth until Gonzaga went on that
02:46 19 to four run, about midway through the second half.
02:50 You saw them really assert their will down low with EK
02:54 and shots were falling on the perimeter.
02:57 And then USA, I mean, it looked like they went up by 13,
02:59 Gonzaga did with 245 and it looked over
03:03 and all of a sudden San Francisco, Marcus Williams
03:07 made it a three-point game with like 45 seconds left.
03:10 So Gonzaga knows what the threat is with San Francisco.
03:14 This is a good three-point shooting team.
03:16 They're one of the top two in the conference.
03:18 I think they're number two actually in three-point
03:21 field goals per game.
03:22 So this is a hot team.
03:24 This is a hot shooting team.
03:26 They have guys all along the perimeter
03:28 that can knock down shots.
03:30 And then obviously we know the beast that's down low
03:33 and Jonathan Magbo didn't have, I'd say his best game
03:38 offensively against Gonzaga.
03:40 And by that, I mean, just wasn't a whole lot involved,
03:43 wasn't assertive, however you want to put it.
03:45 Didn't have a lot of, he had 11 rebounds.
03:47 So that'll be a key to the game as well.
03:50 San Francisco rebound, out-rebounded Gonzaga 41 to 32
03:55 in that first matchup.
03:58 Gonzaga did though take care, did take care of the ball well
04:01 only seven turnovers to San Francisco's 15.
04:04 So I think that actually had a huge impact,
04:07 but outside of Magbo, of course, there's Marcus Williams
04:10 who actually led in scoring that game.
04:13 He had 12 points in the final, I think five
04:17 or 10 minutes or so during San Francisco 16, six run.
04:21 He had 12 of those points.
04:22 So a lot of guys you have to pay attention to
04:25 the San Francisco roster.
04:27 Obviously they know what's at stake,
04:29 both Gonzaga and San Francisco really,
04:32 'cause they're fighting for one of the top two spots
04:35 in the WCC standings before the conference tournament
04:39 in Vegas.
04:39 So a lot is at stake and there's a lot to focus on.
04:43 So I kind of want to know what your keys to this game are
04:47 and schematically, how do these two teams shape up
04:52 against one another after playing each other already once?
04:55 - Yeah, you did a nice job of kind of hitting
04:57 on that first game.
04:58 And I think Gonzaga's key to that first game
05:02 was limit Jonathan Mobo.
05:04 He's averaging a double-double in the season,
05:07 almost 15 points, a little over 10 rebounds a game.
05:10 I would imagine that's gonna be,
05:12 there's gonna be no difference in focus
05:14 and attention to detail and limiting him on the glass
05:17 and understanding that he's gonna initiate a lot of offense
05:22 in some of their actions 'cause San Francisco
05:26 might be the most difficult team in the league to guard.
05:29 They're not methodical like St. Mary's
05:32 where you have a good idea of what St. Mary's is gonna do.
05:35 It's just a matter of not allowing them to do it.
05:38 And St. Mary's is so good at doing it
05:40 that it makes it a kind of a fun watch
05:44 in regards to battle of the wills.
05:47 When you look at San Francisco and how they wanna play,
05:50 they wanna get up and down the floor fast.
05:53 They wanna force turnovers, get out in the open court.
05:55 And then they let guys play with a lot of freedom
05:58 early in the shot clock.
05:59 They'll shoot transition threes.
06:01 They'll have drag screens in transition.
06:04 They'll do those kinds of things.
06:06 But then in the half court,
06:08 they do a nice job of mixing things up
06:11 in giving the ball to Mobo in pick and roll situations
06:14 where he's the screener and he dives.
06:16 They'll give him the ball on the block,
06:18 give him space, go to work.
06:20 Gotta make sure you understand, are you doubling?
06:24 Are you digging?
06:25 Are you staying at home?
06:26 And that's important because a lot of times
06:28 when the ball goes into the post,
06:31 they run what's called split actions
06:33 or come together actions on the wing.
06:34 So for example, the ball's entered on the wing to the block.
06:38 They'll have another perimeter player up top,
06:40 maybe either in the slot,
06:41 which is the lane line directly up top
06:43 or at the top of the key, ball gets entered.
06:46 And then those two, the wing who entered the pass,
06:48 the player at the top, they come together.
06:50 One of them decides to set a screen.
06:53 You don't know who.
06:54 And then it becomes a read and react from there.
06:57 If it's a screen and dive, the other guy pops.
06:59 If it's a back cut, the other guy pops.
07:01 If it's a curl, one guy pops.
07:03 And so a big thing and a big focus becomes,
07:06 you don't know exactly what San Francisco is gonna do,
07:10 but you have to understand what they could do
07:12 and then play to your principles.
07:14 Whether it's, you're always playing on the underside
07:17 and you make every cut go through your chest or behind you
07:19 so they get no back cuts or curl cuts in front of you.
07:23 And then making sure if it's a true switch,
07:26 you switch where there's no gap
07:28 and there can become a split.
07:30 So those are really the big keys
07:32 when you look at playing against a team like San Francisco
07:37 who runs conceptual offense
07:39 as opposed to a lot of set offense.
07:42 And it's dangerous because they've got a lot of guys
07:44 on the perimeter who are good at making those reads
07:47 and then they can make plays out of those reads.
07:49 Marcus Williams, you touched on.
07:51 Mike Sharaf Jamps is a point guard who's got great size.
07:54 He's about 6'6".
07:55 He's a really good passer.
07:57 Malik Thomas transfers from USC.
08:00 Nudo Newberry.
08:01 And then Ryan Beasley, a guard off the bench as a freshman.
08:05 He kind of comes in and he gets aggressive.
08:08 And if he stays hot, if he gets hot,
08:11 he'll play extended minutes.
08:12 If he doesn't, he doesn't play a lot of minutes.
08:14 So it's a really interesting, unique team.
08:17 So I think that's, it's a lot of scouting report defense
08:20 in regards to what Gonzaga has to do.
08:22 I do think they have to be better on the glass.
08:24 You mentioned San Francisco won that.
08:26 They did a nice job of taking care of the ball
08:28 and that's always important against a team
08:30 that wants to pressure and get out and transition.
08:33 In regards to the mention of the game at the Chase Center.
08:38 Yeah, it's a unique one.
08:39 It's an interesting decision,
08:40 but I had talked to some of the people
08:44 in the San Francisco Athletic Department earlier this year
08:46 when I had a game for CBS down there and I asked about it
08:50 and they said, you know, it's just,
08:52 it's another chance for us to get our name
08:55 out in the San Francisco community
08:57 and get more basketball fans to see who we are,
09:01 what we're are and maybe there's a fan
09:03 that hasn't been to a game on campus,
09:05 but they see it's at the Chase Center.
09:07 They come to the game, they like what they see
09:08 and now they become fans and they want to come to more games.
09:10 So it's kind of a little bit of that.
09:13 It's also a little bit of, you know,
09:15 let's see if we can get a big crowd, you know,
09:18 draw new fans, let's see if we can get a big crowd
09:20 knowing that that's going to open up
09:21 ticket opportunities for Gonzaga.
09:23 They've already played there one time this year
09:26 at San Francisco.
09:27 They played against Minnesota out of the Big 10.
09:29 They won that game fairly handily.
09:32 It wasn't a huge crowd.
09:34 I want to say maybe four or 5,000 or so.
09:36 It was a double header event.
09:38 USF Dawn's women's team played Colorado State first.
09:41 I would imagine that this game will draw pretty well.
09:45 I do know Gonzaga's ticket office has been pushing it to,
09:49 you know, the alumni associations down in the Bay
09:52 and Southern California and in areas where people
09:55 can get to the game pretty easily.
09:56 So they would like to have a Gonzaga presence
10:00 in that arena for sure.
10:02 I think it's another great thing for Gonzaga
10:04 simply for the fact that you look how the schedules
10:07 broke out, they play all these neutral site games
10:10 in big arenas early in the non-conference.
10:13 And then they play, you know, for lack of a better term
10:16 in smaller gyms in the WCC.
10:20 So then they kind of have to readjust
10:22 and it's not a huge thing,
10:24 but it is a little bit of an adjustment
10:26 to big arenas for the NCAA tournament
10:28 and at the WCC tournament.
10:31 And I just played in Rupp Arena,
10:32 sits around 20,000, a week or two back.
10:35 They'll play this game, which the Chase Center,
10:37 if you haven't been there,
10:38 it's a phenomenal basketball arena.
10:40 It's one of the best I've ever been to.
10:42 Seats around 19, 20,000 as well.
10:45 So this should gear them up and get them ready for,
10:48 you know, the, how to prepare for playing
10:52 in that arena setting, as opposed to a gym setting,
10:56 which a lot of the gyms in the WCC are.
10:58 So lots of unique kind of factors to look at
11:02 in with this game, but all in all, you know,
11:05 Gonzaga has control of what they can control.
11:07 After having lost that game to St. Mary's
11:10 and then the game to St. Santa Clara,
11:13 all they could do is work on themselves.
11:14 All they could do is prepare game by game
11:16 to put them in a position where they are improving
11:20 and put them in a position where they can win
11:24 a league title with help.
11:25 Well, they haven't got the help to win the league title.
11:29 I don't think Pepperdine's gonna beat St. Mary's.
11:32 We would all like to see it.
11:33 I just don't see that happening.
11:34 So I don't think that game on Saturday, you know,
11:37 is gonna set up a chance to tie for a league title.
11:41 But Gonzaga's handled everything they can up till now.
11:43 You can't allow, you know, the progress that you've made,
11:48 getting, allow you to get comfortable
11:50 and you overlook this game.
11:51 'Cause this is an enormous game.
11:53 You look at San Francisco.
11:55 Let me pull up the standings real quick.
11:57 They're sitting at 11 and three.
11:59 They're 57 in the net as of this morning.
12:03 They've taken care of business
12:05 absolutely in every aspect that they can
12:10 except beating St. Mary's and except beating Gonzaga.
12:14 So they've done what they need to do
12:16 to put them in position for a top two seed
12:20 that final week of the regular season
12:21 going into the WCC tournament.
12:24 But if Gonzaga wins, you know,
12:26 it would push them automatically down to a question mark
12:30 as far as who would get that third seed
12:34 in the WCC tournament
12:35 because they end with Santa Clara on the road.
12:38 So that should be an interesting kind of look
12:40 to see who gets that three seed.
12:42 Will it be Santa Clara or will it be San Francisco
12:45 if Gonzaga wins this game?
12:46 Which I'm not much of a predicting analyst,
12:51 but I'll predict that Gonzaga is gonna win this game
12:53 at San Francisco.
12:54 - Yeah, a lot of interesting points
12:57 in regard to the Chase Center first.
12:59 It's cool that San Francisco has that mindset
13:02 of trying to get their brand out there.
13:04 I think a lot of WCC teams outside of Gonzaga
13:07 struggle to do that simply with the fact that,
13:10 I mean, you touched on it,
13:11 the gyms that they have, the arenas, the size.
13:14 That's just a big turnoff for a lot of
13:17 Power Six Conference teams.
13:20 Seeing Gonzaga struggle bringing teams into the kennel
13:23 and out of league and having to schedule games in Seattle
13:28 and different neutral site venues.
13:32 And San Francisco, they had a multi-team event
13:36 earlier in the season.
13:37 They played Grand Canyon in that.
13:39 They went on the road to play Boise State.
13:41 So they're getting these solid programs that,
13:45 when you look at it, they're actually really good teams.
13:47 They're vying for NCAA tournaments,
13:49 but they're just not these big brands.
13:52 So I guess this game against Gonzaga,
13:55 obviously a big name brand in the sports at this point,
13:58 it's gonna work like that for them.
13:59 So that's very interesting.
14:02 And yeah, Gonzaga, you talked about it,
14:06 continuing to get better every single day.
14:08 And I mean, the numbers are showing that.
14:10 I know you talked about this the other day,
14:12 but Gonzaga's offensive efficiency in the WCC
14:16 is absolutely unheard of to this point.
14:18 They're at 126.6 offensive efficiency rating
14:24 on Kempom in conference play.
14:26 That's the best in every conference,
14:28 and that's the best all time,
14:30 which is actually crazy since Kempom
14:31 has been keeping the stat since 1999.
14:35 They've averaged over 1.25 points per possession
14:40 in the last, what is it now, six games
14:42 during the six game win streak since the Portland,
14:44 the first Portland game.
14:46 They've been absolutely rolling.
14:49 And a lot of it has been between Graham E.K.
14:53 dominating down low,
14:54 getting him the ball consistently in the post,
14:57 as well as Nolan Hickman on the perimeter.
15:00 He's been shooting lights out as of late.
15:03 Behind the arc, he's had four straight games
15:06 with four or more three-pointers made in each game.
15:10 I've been looking now for a while
15:13 as to whether Zag has done that.
15:15 I believe it's the first time someone has done that
15:18 in a GU uniform since Derek Ravio back in 2007.
15:22 Unless, I don't know if you had, Dan.
15:26 I'm sorry, basketball reference doesn't keep
15:28 my game statistics for guys like you and Richie Fromm.
15:34 And other great shooters in program history
15:38 who I'm blanking on the names of right now.
15:40 Just back up.
15:41 - Well, to interrupt you there,
15:42 I don't know if I did go--
15:44 - I was gonna ask you, but.
15:46 - I don't remember off the top of my head.
15:48 I know I had some stretches where I got hot.
15:51 The only, the other name,
15:52 Derek Ravio is a tremendous shooter.
15:54 The two other names besides myself that I would say,
15:58 maybe ask Barrett Henderson, who can dig up that,
16:00 I would imagine could dig up those box scores
16:03 and get you the answer.
16:04 Gonzaga's SID.
16:05 Richie Fromm and Blake Stepp would be the two other guys
16:09 because that would have been right before me
16:12 and then with me and after me with Blake Stepp.
16:14 So, but yeah, Nolan has been playing terrific as of late.
16:18 His ball screen reads,
16:20 his understanding of getting into spacing
16:22 and being ready to shoot has been tremendous.
16:25 - Yeah, I, that was the other one, Blake Stepp,
16:27 I don't know.
16:28 And John Riley is also on the leaderboards
16:31 for most threes in a season in the top 10.
16:33 And I couldn't find his name either, but to your point,
16:36 and also to credit Dan Dick, we don't know the stat,
16:39 but you still have the most threes in a season
16:40 in Gonzaga history with over a hundred.
16:42 So, you know, that could have happened,
16:44 but Hickman, it's interesting,
16:48 'cause a lot of, I see discourse on Hickman,
16:51 very polarizing as of late, especially.
16:55 He had his stretches earlier in the season
16:57 and we know about last season's NCAA tournament
17:01 and how that went for him,
17:02 but, you know, overall looking at the body of work,
17:05 especially from behind the arc where, you know,
17:09 since becoming more of an off-ball player
17:11 next to Ryan Nemheart, I think that's where, you know,
17:14 he's really stepped up.
17:15 His game is shooting behind the arc.
17:17 He's 66 of 160 on the season, that's 41%.
17:22 That's comparable to Corey Kispert's senior season
17:26 when he was All-American, Corey was 68 of 148.
17:29 So better percentage, but near the same amount of makes.
17:33 Julian Strother last year was 69 of 162
17:36 in the regular season.
17:37 So he's about on par with that.
17:39 It's just, I think what gets lost in Hickman's brilliance,
17:45 especially as of late, you look at his numbers
17:49 and his play overall, just against quadrant one opponents,
17:52 Gonzaga's best opponents to the season so far.
17:55 He played well against Washington
17:59 and going back home.
18:01 And I think he really stepped up against Kentucky
18:05 on the road at Rupp Arena.
18:06 Overall, he's averaging a little over 11 points per game,
18:11 but he's only shooting 28% from three
18:14 in Gonzaga's six quad one games.
18:16 He didn't have one against St. Mary's.
18:19 That was more of his, I guess, lackluster games
18:21 as of late that you can point to.
18:24 He was one of five against Kentucky from deep,
18:26 but overall he was, to your point,
18:28 coming off ball screens.
18:29 I mean, he was making every right read.
18:32 And it's funny that you brought that up.
18:35 I know you had the game against in Portland.
18:38 I noticed the first two possessions Gonzaga ran,
18:41 they ran this play a lot.
18:43 They used to run it for Kisper.
18:44 They used to run it for Julian Strother a lot.
18:46 That pin down where Hickman is coming off the ball
18:50 with Graham E.K. setting a screen
18:52 and Hickman either can just catch, pull up,
18:54 or catch and just kind of take it off the dribble.
18:57 And then it sort of turns into a pick and roll,
18:59 if you will, or a two on one with him and E.K.
19:02 And I believe the first possession against Portland,
19:05 it was a lob to E.K.
19:06 And then the second one, when they ran it,
19:07 he had a floater in the lane.
19:09 - Yeah.
19:10 - And it was kind of like a, wow.
19:12 Like, I mean, it is a play that Corey Kisper
19:14 used to dominate in.
19:15 Like, and he was coming, it wasn't just shooting threes.
19:18 It was coming off hard and getting downhill.
19:20 So that balance in Hickman's game,
19:23 I think is really boating well for him
19:25 and Gonzaga's offense just in general,
19:27 because it's helping Graham E.K.
19:29 In that sense of so much attention
19:32 is being drawn toward Hickman
19:33 when he's able to really get downhill, get in the lane.
19:36 He has a really efficient floater that, you know,
19:40 you have to respect.
19:42 And so I think it's helping a lot indirectly
19:45 with guys in the post, even Anton as well,
19:49 Hickman's play that is.
19:50 So I'm really interested to see how he plays
19:54 really this whole week against San Francisco
19:57 and then against St. Mary's.
19:58 So that'll be one to watch for.
20:01 And then of course, Graham E.K.,
20:03 he's really been dominant as of late.
20:05 - Yeah, I think with the emergence of Hickman,
20:08 like you mentioned, it's really opened things up for E.K.
20:11 I mean, E.K.'s been ridiculously efficient as of late.
20:16 Last three games, Pacific nine of nine from the field
20:19 at Portland, nine of 14.
20:21 And then the last game, nine of 13 from the field.
20:24 So with Hickman playing better,
20:26 with Ryan Nembhardt understanding how to push the pace
20:30 and when to push the pace with his quickness
20:32 and in regards to knowing where everyone's gonna be at,
20:35 if you don't have anything,
20:37 there's nothing wrong with circling back out,
20:38 getting into, you know, offensive set or concept.
20:43 You know, he's gotten much better at that.
20:46 It's made things easier for everybody.
20:48 And, you know, the thing with Hickman,
20:51 you know, I pulled up the numbers
20:52 from the first St. Mary's game.
20:53 He was three of 12 for seven points, oh five from three.
20:57 Since then, he's been really good.
20:59 And here's the thing is, he was a five-star recruit,
21:02 so highly recruited out of high school
21:06 that the bar was set so unbelievably high
21:09 that you're thinking Jalen Suggs,
21:11 you're thinking one and done.
21:12 You've got these perceptions in your mind about him.
21:16 But that's not him.
21:17 He's just a different kind of player.
21:19 He's more of a cerebral skilled player as the Suggs
21:22 who would just impose his athletic will on a game.
21:25 And now you're seeing Suggs kind of learn the skill
21:28 and mental side of the game in the NBA.
21:30 And that's been cool to see.
21:32 But, you know, with Hickman,
21:34 he played on an unbelievable AAU team, Seattle Rotary,
21:37 where Paulo Banqueiro, who obviously went to Duke
21:40 and is, you know, rookie of the year,
21:42 he's an all-star second year in the NBA.
21:44 He had the primary brunt of the focus
21:46 of the defensive attention.
21:48 And then they also had other really good guys
21:50 on that AAU team,
21:51 including one of his high school teammates
21:53 who's at UNLV, started at Arizona, Shane Noel.
21:57 So those guys took the pressure off of him in AAU.
22:01 And in high school, he played at Eastside Catholic.
22:04 So they were a really talented team.
22:06 Shane Noel, I had mentioned,
22:07 they had a player in the post by the name of JT Tuolumalo,
22:11 who is a All-American football player,
22:13 went to Ohio State.
22:15 By all accounts, there's a chance he's in the NFL.
22:17 So Nolan's never been that kind of out front guy
22:21 where he's leading the charge.
22:23 He's always been a part of good teams
22:24 and he's always figured out what he needs to do
22:27 to help that team be successful.
22:29 And freshman year, he played alongside Nembhardt
22:32 as his backup.
22:33 I thought he did a really nice job in different stretches,
22:36 learning, understanding the college game.
22:38 Last year, there was so much pressure on him
22:40 because you went from subs, a one and done,
22:43 to Andrew Nembhardt, who was then in the league.
22:45 Like all this pressure was on him.
22:48 And I'm not saying he wasn't ready.
22:50 It just, fans and outsiders wanted this.
22:55 Well, he got there on occasion,
22:57 but many times he was here
22:59 and he's gradually crept over the course of the year
23:02 to be in that dependable, really good scoring option,
23:06 ball handler who can handle the point guard duties.
23:08 But when you bring in a Ryan Nembhardt,
23:09 who's more suited to be the point,
23:12 he's comfortable playing either position.
23:14 So, I think Hickman's had a really good year
23:17 and I think he's really finding his stride
23:19 at the most important time of the year.
23:21 And it's gonna be exciting to see this last week
23:25 of the regular season and the post season,
23:26 'cause he and Nembhardt have found a really nice niche
23:28 and balance together.
23:29 - Yeah.
23:31 It's interesting.
23:33 You write off a lot of great names there.
23:35 With Hickman, yeah.
23:39 We talked about in the off season
23:41 how Gonzaga has flourished in the past
23:44 with having two really good ball handlers.
23:46 I don't know if we saw that at first,
23:49 but to Ryan Nembhardt's point, it took an adjustment.
23:52 And his older brother, I know, Andrew,
23:55 was on Talking Zags and he kind of alluded to that
23:58 when he came over from Florida a few years ago to Gonzaga.
24:02 He also had to learn.
24:03 Now, Andrew had the benefit of playing
24:05 alongside a few NBA guys on that team,
24:08 including Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert
24:10 and a young Drew Timmy.
24:12 This Brian Nembhardt now sort of take the reins.
24:17 We know he had back-to-back double doubles.
24:19 His assist to turnover ratio still leads the WCC.
24:23 He's still leading the WCC in assists by a wide margin.
24:26 And of course, both, it's like a domino effect.
24:30 When one falls, others are falling.
24:32 And Graham E.K. has really stepped up as of late.
24:36 And I think, you know, it's interesting to do this,
24:40 but it feels like the San Francisco game is almost,
24:43 it's WCC player of the year race right here,
24:46 like front and center.
24:48 You can make a case on St. Mary's.
24:50 Augustus Marciolone has really stepped up as of late.
24:53 And then Aiden Mahaney, just because I think
24:56 he was probably the preseason favorite coming in.
24:58 He probably still has, I think,
25:00 enough on his resume over the season
25:02 to be in that conversation as well.
25:06 But it seems like this is Graham E.K.'s week
25:09 to be like, no, I am the WCC player of the year.
25:12 - That's an interesting point you make,
25:14 because, you know, there's a case to be made
25:19 for Marciolone as being player of the year,
25:21 'cause he's freed up Mahaney.
25:23 And once he got comfortable, St. Mary's has gone on that tear,
25:26 that 15-game win streak, including 12 in a row in league.
25:30 Mahaney has a case just because
25:32 he's had some really big games.
25:34 And you're coming in with the pressure
25:37 of what he did down the stretch last year as a freshman.
25:39 Mobo is kind of, he's faltered a little bit.
25:42 And that's typical because, at least in the eyes of voters,
25:46 and that's typical because his team's not challenging
25:49 for the title.
25:50 And a lot of voters like, I'm only voting for a player,
25:53 for player of the year in the conference,
25:55 if they win the title.
25:56 So that's kind of one of the dynamics there.
25:58 But then with Gonzaga, you could definitely make a case
26:02 for either Anton Watson or Graham Ekay
26:04 being player of the year.
26:06 You know, we talked about that a little bit
26:08 on Talking Zags the other day.
26:10 Ekay's absolutely climbed into that race.
26:13 I had said Anton Watson about three weeks ago,
26:17 if Gonzaga continues to challenge,
26:18 just 'cause he does so much.
26:20 And a lot of people that will vote
26:22 will see the intangibles that don't show up on a box score
26:25 and give him a nod, which is very similar to Marciolone's.
26:28 Not everything that he does shows up on a box score.
26:32 But Ekay has absolutely crept into that race
26:34 the way he's played these last few weeks.
26:37 So good stuff today, Cole.
26:39 As always, good to kind of preview these games.
26:42 I guess before we hop off,
26:46 are you sticking with Graham Ekay
26:47 as your player of the year in the conference
26:49 with two games to go?
26:51 Or what do you got?
26:52 - I'm gonna say it, Graham Ekay should be out in front.
26:59 I like your point about Anton.
27:01 It's crazy that he's never made an All-WCC team.
27:05 He was an honorable mention last year.
27:07 So for him to go from honorable mention
27:09 to player of the year would be a crazy story arc
27:13 and storyline in and of itself in his final year
27:16 as a Zag over the last five years.
27:18 I still think that it's Graham Ekay's race,
27:22 especially if Gonzaga wins both games.
27:25 I think it's a done deal.
27:27 Because if they win both,
27:28 that means he's gonna be playing well.
27:31 They don't, against these types of opponents,
27:33 when he's sort of out of rhythm
27:35 or dealing with foul trouble or whatever,
27:37 Gonzaga doesn't have that first option,
27:40 that first set to run through.
27:41 So I think if Gonzaga wins both, even if they split,
27:45 it still should be him unless Magvo goes off for 27 and 11.
27:52 And then against Santa Clara
27:54 has another 15 point double-double or whatever.
27:57 - Good points.
27:59 So you have Ekay, is that where you're going?
28:01 - I am going to say Graham Ekay
28:03 is going to win WCC player of the year, yes.
28:06 - Gotcha.
28:07 As of now, I'm gonna go Marshall Onus,
28:10 and I hate saying that, but he's earned it.
28:15 If it is a Gonzaga player, this moment in time,
28:18 it would be Anton Watson, right?
28:20 And after hearing what you said about Ekay
28:23 and the way he's played lately,
28:25 the two losses Gonzaga's had in league,
28:28 the first one against Santa Clara, he fouled out.
28:30 He only played about 17 minutes.
28:32 So he didn't have his full impact on the game.
28:34 The second game against St. Mary's,
28:36 Gonzaga or St. Mary's had that 7-0 run late
28:40 when Graham Ekay was trying to check back into the game,
28:42 sitting at the scorer's table with four fouls
28:45 when there was really no stoppage in play
28:47 for about three minutes.
28:48 So your comments on Ekay sparked me to remember that.
28:53 So if by chance Gonzaga wins both and Ekay is dominant,
28:58 I'm gonna flip all of that,
28:59 and I'm gonna throw Graham Ekay as the player of the year.
29:01 So I'm covering my bases with all three of those guys.
29:04 - I get it.
29:05 Marshall Onus has to be some guard lover.
29:07 No, I get it.
29:08 Like it is, and it makes sense
29:09 'cause St. Mary's is undefeated,
29:11 and they'll probably win the league, and it feels right.
29:15 I have that mentality too.
29:16 If you're the best player on the best team,
29:19 and Marshall Onus has been playing like the best player
29:21 on the best team, then I can't argue with that logic.
29:24 I guess when I look at Ekay,
29:26 just the body of work consistently, even against...
29:30 He had the falter against Santa Clara
29:33 and against St. Mary's, he missed a pivotal stretch,
29:35 but overall, I mean, he's outplayed Mogbo
29:38 when it comes to quad one opponents, like the better teams.
29:41 So I think Mogbo's still in this race.
29:45 He's still at the top of the leaderboard.
29:47 - He's gotta do something unbelievably spectacular
29:50 the last two games, and they need to upset Gonzaga
29:52 for that to really kind of throw him in the mix.
29:55 So good stuff, absolutely.
29:57 So Cole, appreciate it.
30:00 Don't hold me accountable
30:01 since I flipped the script three times
30:03 on the Player of the Year.
30:04 Who knows, when we preview St. Mary's games,
30:06 we'll already have the San Francisco one
30:08 to kind of look back on.
30:09 So maybe we'll flip the script again, but good stuff today.
30:13 And we'll catch up again for the St. Mary's preview
30:17 later this week.
30:18 - Yes, sir, Dan, we'll talk then.