Gonzaga Hoops ’06-’07

[Jimmy Chitwood]

while the Zags don't start the season ranked in the Top 25, i expect that will have changed by the end of the year. they play a lot of white guys, and have two emerging superstars that the coaching staff expects to break out this year. after their opening night game, i agree! the duo is freshman combo guard Matt Bouldin and 6'11" sophomore forward Josh Heytvelt.

respected talent evaluator Mike DeCourcy had the following to say about the 6'5" Bouldin after the game.

Friday night, while attending the Cincinnati Bearcats' cushy opening win over hapless Howard, I taped Gonzaga's opener against Eastern Washington and planned to watch the game while I worked out. When I got my first look at Zags freshman Matt Bouldin, I nearly fell off the treadmill. What a star he is going to be.

Bouldin is 6-5 and comes from Highlands Ranch, Col. He was ranked No. 65 among 2006 prospects by Scout.com and also was recruited by California and Notre Dame. He has even a wilder hairstyle than Morrison, a better jumpshot at the same stage and a stunning feel for passing the basketball you almost never see in a shooting guard. He has a great understanding of the game's angles and getting the ball to teammates in scoring position. In his Division I debut, Bouldin scored 12 points, got six rebounds and passed for four dazzling assists. He made both his 3-point attempts.

That's not to say Bouldin one day will lead the nation in scoring and be chosen No. 3 in the NBA draft. He's three inches shorter than Morrison, which makes a difference, and Morrison had an uncommon knack for finding ways to score. But even as a freshman with a growing understanding of how to play college defense, Bouldin can't do any less on that side of the ball than his predecessor. And he will elevate the play of his teammates with his gift for passing.

meanwhile Heytvelt, an inside outside offensive threat and shot-blocking demon, led the Zags with 22 points.

Gonzaga returns a trio of established white veterans, as well. point guard Derek Raivio, who has possibly the best handles in college basketball, looks to have found his shooting touch after an abysmal season a year ago. he had 21 on 7-11 shooting. and rugged swing man David Pendergraft led the team with 7 rebounds while chipping in 8 points. forward Sean Mallon, a solid role player, had 5 boards and 9 points for the Zags in the season opener.

just imagine how exciting they will be when former McDonald's AA Micah Downs and 7-footer David Burgess become eligible at the semester. go Zags!

here are some pics from the game...

Heytvelt flying above the rim and scaring people

Heytvelt sending one back

Josh with a dunk in traffic

Bouldin driving for a score

Raivio surveying the floor

Mallon going up strong

 

[GreatLakeState]

Bouldin is generally considered the best guard out of Colorado since
Chaunce Billups.

 

[ocaamikedm11]

Gonzaga will be on ESPN2 tonight at 12 EST for anyone interested in seeing them, they are playing Rice.

 

[ocaamikedm11]

Gonzaga started 3 whites and played 5 for long stretches in the game. They have just 3 blacks who see the court, 2 who start. Heytvelt looked really good scoring 25 and adding 11 boards. They play again tonight at 1030 on ESPN2 against Baylor.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Heytvelt had a quiet night against Baylor overall, but he did have one of the nastiest dunks i've seen in a while. i'm trying to find a pic of it. but here's one of him feeding it to a Baylor 7-footer...

 

[speedster]

I'm going to enjoy this year because next year the 'Zags become a black majority and maybe for the forseeable future.They will always have white guys on the team but because they are so on the radar now the 'Zags can now recruit "real affletes" some questionable like Jeremy Pargo and Theo Davis.As far as this year goes they have 3 black guys and if Larry Gurganious and Theo Davis each take a medical redshirt that's how it will remain.Enjoy it while you can.

 

[PitBull]

Enjoy it while we can? Thanks! We are! We're also enjoying all the white
players now in the NBA, the ass-kicking of blacks by whites in boxing, and
our routine dominance in so many other sports! How thoughtful of you to
wish us well! I'd never return the favor! I bet you smile real good too!
Happy Kwanzaa, loser!

 

[Kaptain]

Enjoy it while we can? Thanks! We are! We're also enjoying all the white
players now in the NBA, the ass-kicking of blacks by whites in boxing, and
our routine dominance in so many other sports! How thoughtful of you to
wish us well! I'd never return the favor! I bet you smile real good too!
Happy Kwanzaa, loser!

I think you have misinterpreted speedsters intent. He was simply pointing out the common practice of a team with white players rising to national notority and then recruiting real "affletes." The program then slowly goes down back to mediocrity in due time. His point was "ride the horses (white players) that brought you to the dance". Unfortunetly many teams do not.

 

[PitBull]

Oops! I apologize then. I thought he was a-trollin'.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

some good and some bad... the bad first. former McDonald's AA, Micah Downs broke the 5th metatarsal in his foot and may have to redshirt this season. reports have him missing anywhere from 6-10 weeks depending on where you look. i'm guessing he'll red-shirt.

now for the good. i couldn't find a PHOTO of Josh's dunk the other night...so i did you one better. courtesy of YouTube, have a look-see at the high-flying Josh Heytvelt... WOW!

also, the Zags have a talented but VERY raw 7-footer, Will Foster. here's a grainy video of him from Sunday blocking everything that comes his way... you may have to click on the Foster link when the page opens.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

perseverance pays off... here's a low-quality pic of the nastiness...

reputedly, Josh has a standing vertical jump of 40 inches. amazing! especially for a 6'11" guy built as solidly as he is.

 

[white tornado]

Good find on youtube Jimmy.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

The Zags beat North Carolina! That should get them some respect and a higher ranking next week.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

the Zags are still searching for their identity, but it looks like the key to the season is going to be the play of Heytvelt. he's a DOMINANT player already, but as the loss to Butler showed (when he got in foul trouble), when he isn't on the floor the Zags have to find other ways to get the job done.

the big surprise this early in the year, has been the play of Bouldin. that dude is unbelievably good! he might be the early front-runner for National Freshman of the Year.

 

[GreatLakeState]

Heytvelt's block on Hansbrough ruined Hansbrough for the rest of the gam.e

 

[speedster]

I was dissapointed with the loss to Butler,yet losing to a mostly white team softens the fall somewhat.Anyways,the'Zags bounced back today by trouncing overmatched Idaho 76-51.Derek Ravio had 24 and Josh Heytvelt had 16 once again looking like they will be the main men on this years team.I noticed Will Foster got some garbage-time today and put one down.When Gonzaga recruited Foster I'm sure he was listed as 7'0 now they have him at 7'4.What a giant.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Foster has tremendous potential... but he's a long way from being a regualr contributor. he's still incredibly raw, and is still very much in need of finding the weight room. that being said, he could be a very good player down the line.

Heytvelt, unlike so many big men who can shoot the 3, isn't afraid to mix it up down low. just take a look at his rebounding numbers to see what i mean. he had 11 against Idaho, and i think he is averaging a little over 8 per game.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Derek Raivio is having a good beginning to his senior year, after the documented personal struggles last season. he had a game-high 24 points against Idaho. he also chipped in 6 rebounds.

Mark Few, the winningest basketball coach in basketball history who just happens to recruit a lot of white kids

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Raivio sweeps! awesome!

Raivio sweeps WCC honors

Raivio Sweeps WCC Honors </font></font>
Named Player of Month for November, Player of Week
Dec. 6, 2006

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Gonzaga University senior guard Derek Raivio has swept the West Coast Conference men's basketball honors for Player of the Week and November Player of the Month.

The native of Vancouver, Wash., helped lead Gonzaga to a 7-1 record in the month of November as he scored in double-digits in seven of the eight games, including six games of 20-plus points. He began the season with 21 points against Eastern Washington University, then posted back-to-back 21-point performances in the Bulldogs wins over the University of Texas-San Antonio and then second-ranked University of North Carolina in the semifinals of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip Off. It was the first time in his career he had posted back-to-back 20-point games.

He rounded out the month by scoring 20 points versus Butler University in the NIT title game - the Bulldogs lone blemish in the month - 24 points versus the University of Idaho and 20 points against Portland State University. Raivio did most of his damage from beyond the arc, knocking down 21 threes on the month on a 45.7 percent clip. The 6-3 guard was also extremely efficient from the three throw line, converting 38-of-41 attempts for a 92.7 percentage. For the month, Raivio averaged 18.9 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game.

In earning his weekly honor for his part in wins over Portland State and then 25th-ranked University of Texas, Raivio had four treys on his way to 20 points against PSU, then scored a season-high 27 points in Gonzaga's win over the Longhorns at the Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge in Phoenix, Ariz., last Saturday. He went 7-for-14 from 3-point range against Texas, both numbers career highs. He averaged 23.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg in the two wins.

 

[speedster]

On Saturday's win against Washington the 'Zags once again started three guards but this time Matt Bouldin started over Pierre Cespedes which means the Bulldogs have four white starters.Also Dave Pendergraft started intead of Sean Mallon which is okay since Pendo really is Charlie Hustle and Mallon has been somewhat of a disapointment but he isn't the first option anyway and he still is the screen-setter et al.Don't know if this will be the set lineup from now on.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

it was a dominant performance by the Zags.

also, the start by Bouldin was the first in his young career, and he went for a career-high 21 with 5 assists and a steal, and only 2 turnovers.

Derek Raivio continues to play great basketball, leading the team with 25 points and ZERO turnovers.

Heytvelt added 14 and 7 boards.

in more good news, Micah Downs is scheduled to be back by December 15.

wow! he'll be rusty if he does return, but what a weapon for the Zags he will be...

also in the game, Washington's white big men Spencer Hawes and Jon Brockman played well. Brockman had 13 points and 12 boards, while Hawes had 20 and 6. sharpshooter Ryan Appleby struggled with his shot, going just 1-6 but chipped in with 8 assists and ZERO turnovers in the loss.

one last thing... here's a quote from a chat transcript with ESPN's Andy Katz asking about the Duke-Gonzaga game that's on December 21...

Jason (Norfolk Va): Do you give the blue devils any shot against the zags?
SportsNation Andy Katz: (12:20 PM ET ) Just think about that question. Can you believe that this kind of question gets asked today? That's how far Gonzaga has come since 1999.

AWESOME!

there's a chance for 10 white guys to be on the court at once in a Division I basketball game... when's the last time that happened? probably not in my lifetime.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

and now some pics from the game...

Matt Bouldin's first start for the Gonzaga Bulldogs was impressive enough Saturday night.

But just imagine if it's only the start.

Electrified by an especially manic sellout crowd of 6,000, the freshman from suburban Denver returned the favor with a difference-making performance in the Zags' 97-77 rout of 13th-ranked Washington - not exactly the coda the Huskies might have imagined to what has been a terrific college basketball series between the schools.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few juggled his starting lineup for the first time this season, inserting Bouldin and David Pendergraft for veterans Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes and Sean Mallon in the wake of Tuesday's disappointing loss at Washington State.

Bouldin' numbers may have been a revelation - 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and five assists. But Washington coach Lorenzo Romar wasn't caught off guard.

"I told our staff - I told a few people - that it would surprise me if he didn't start," said Romar. "They'd lost a game and sometimes after a loss like that you just say, 'All right, what are we waiting on? He's the best all-around player. Let's put him in there.'

"And it paid dividends. He's really good."

Heytvelt starts the game off right, with some nasty dunkage.

Raivio nailed this shot, and then hit the free throw, en route to a game-high 25.

the architect of Zag supremacy, Mark Few.

how hard-nosed basketball is supposed to look.

this is the kind of emotion i want from my big man.

 

[Bunnyman]

Thanks Jimmy. I had written off college basketball before reading your reports. Now I keep an eye on non-racist teams like Duke and Gonzaga.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

glad i could help out, Bunnyman!

there are lots of good white players out there this year, and several teams who feature a predominantly white roster or a white star who is the team's best player. to quote a couple of scoundrels who were good speakers...

"don't give up. don't ever give up."

"never, never, never give up."

 

[ocaamikedm11]

There have always been white players around, but when was the last time there was so many very good white players? It seems like there most of them are young guys too, freshmen and sophomore. Is this the perfect time for whites to shine in college basketball? Is it due to the influx of black high schoolers to the NBA until the age requirement like the media always suggests? What is everyone's opinions on that?