Having a Dog in the Fight

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about the Gonzaga Bulldogs this week or not because losses on Saturday for the women and Sunday for the men was really rough for a true Bulldog fan like me to take. I’m sure many of you feel the same way.

Then I remembered going to Alaska in November of 2001 for the Great Alaska Shootout. At this tournament were both Bulldog teams. 2001 was the second year in Graves’ career at Gonzaga. The Zag women were 5-23 in his first season and 0-14 in the WCC. On his second team he had recruited seven freshmen to begin his rebuilding process. It would take a few years but Graves brought Spokane a winner and multiple trips to the NCAA tournament including Sweet Sixteen and one Elite Eight appearance.

Cousin Tony had an extra ticket for Saturday’s game and I was one of the lucky folks who got to see a couple of tremendous games at the Spokane Veteran’s Memorial Arena. The Zag ladies have come a long way since those two games in Anchorage. Graves has moved on to the University of Oregon and Lisa Fortier has done a great job in her first year at the helm.

A majority of the arena was super excited for the Lady Bulldogs in their quest to upset the Tennessee Lady Vols (UT). At one time the Zags had a 17-point lead. That was about the time that the Vols started pressuring Gonzaga full court as well as half court. A few untimely turnovers and some missed free throws and it was now a ballgame.

The quickness displayed by UT made it tough on the Zags. Gonzaga has some really good talent but the top tier teams are saturated with athletes. It is amazing the difference between the programs.

The women dropped the Sweet Sixteen game to the Lady Vols by four in overtime. But oh, how far this program has come since 2000 is amazing.

I’m sure we all felt this GU men’s team had all of the pieces to make a run to the Final Four. The game on Sunday showed how resilient this year’s team was. They had some difficult games during the season and would rally and win all but two prior to the conference tournament.

It was important for GU to get to the Sweet 16 with this team. They dropped North Dakota State in their first game and demoralized Iowa to advance to the round of 16.

Next up were the UCLA Bruins and they were looking at getting even with the only team to beat them on their home court this year. The Bruins were able to close a seven-point halftime deficit to one in the early part of the second half.

After a Mark Few timeout the Zags started feeding center Przemek Karnowski in the post and he dominated the Bruins with 18 points and several assists two of which were highlight material. The Zags defeated UCLA by 12 and it was on to the Elite 8 game against the Duke Blue Devils.

GU matched up well against Duke and depth was in the Bulldogs favor but talented youth prevailed in the hard fought contest. Karnowski had to sit most of the first half with two fouls and he never was able to really get going.

Gonzaga was unable to make shots and free throws to keep them close late in the game. Their usual 3 point shots were clankers and the offensive rebounds that had been going their way on Friday night were now defensive rebounds for Duke.

GU’s quest for a Final Four will have to wait for at least another year but the experience they gained will only help the returning team. I’m sure they will be hungry for that feeling again.

No doubt Gonzaga will miss Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell, Jr. and Byron Wesley. Bell and Pangos will be forever remembered as the winningest backcourt tandem in school history. Their talent and leadership will be missed and it will be strange not seeing these two guys in a GU uniform next November.

But the cupboard is not bare and there will be great talent returning and some solid recruits coming in. I also have a hunch that coming close to a Final Four will make recruits think twice if Gonzaga is one of the choices. 35-3 is remarkable and is something to continue to build on.

Gonzaga fans had two dogs in the fight this year but both came up a bit short. That does not diminish the excitement and great success for both of these great teams. Good things will continue to happen at GU and the fans need to continue their great support.