Gonzaga 's most recent real game was a week ago today (i'm ignoring their stat-stuffer "contest" against Campbell), but no one has posted about it ... and it was a potentially pivotal game in the transition of Kelly Olynyk from talented role player to playmaking big man.
in the matchup against Kansas State, Olynyk was simply dominant.
the Canadian came to Gonzaga as a 7-footer with perimeter skills who was afraid of contact and terrified of the paint. apparently during his redshirt year, Kelly absolved himself of those fears whilst falling in love with the weight room. he is FAR more physical this season, and it shows in his attacking the rim with aplomb.
in 19 minutes (he also started) against K-State, Olynyk went 10-13 from the floor, throwing down 4 dunks (including a rim-shattering affair that made Sportscenter's Top 10 and drew a technical after he stared down the negro who'd wrestled him to the floor on the two previous trips down the court) and scoring 20 points.
you can read a nice write-up at this link:
Kelly Olynyk leads No. 14 Gonzaga past Kansas State.
you can see the dunk here at about the 1:28 mark: [video=youtube;53IuNOaAXN4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53IuNOaAXN4&feature=youtu.be[/video]
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and speaking of a high-flying, dominating performance, Iowa sophomore Aaron White threw down 6 dunks against Coppin State today (in a 30-point Hawkeye win), en route to a 20-point performance in which he only missed 1 of his 8 field goal attempts.
for those who've not had the pleasure of watching him play, White is a slashing, air-walking 6-8 forward who attacks the rim as if it recently insulted his mother. his aggressive playing style has resulted in his leading the Big Ten conference in free throw attempts this season.
in addition to having a strong mid-range game and 3-point range, this is what Aaron White routinely brings to the table:
as a team, Iowa has been playing good basketball of late. they are very young, with 4 underclassmen in their starting five, including 3 freshmen. 3 of their starters are White (the aforementioned White who is a sophomore, freshman point guard Mike Gesell, and freshman 7-foot center Adam Woodbury). perhaps the two best players off the bench are White athletes: guard/forward Eric May and power forward Zach McCabe. sharpshooting guard Josh Oglesby is deadly from long range and averages over 16 minutes a game, but he has been hobbled by back spasms.
all in all, Iowa plays 9 players an average of 16 minutes-per-game or more, and 6 of them are White.
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Indiana State knocked off Ole Miss of the SEC in overtime, behind the stellar play of flashy point guard Jake Odum. Odum finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. it was only the second loss of the season for Ole Miss.
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Oklahoma State's sharpshooting freshman guard P Forte continues to play good basketball. he finished with a game-high 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting today in a Cowboys win. he added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the game.
up next for the Cowboys is Gonzaga on New Year's Eve.