Gonzaga Welcomes New Faces to Basketball Family

Gonzaga will officially welcome new faces to the men's basketball family tomorrow, as the November signing period begins. At this point, we know that Mangisto Arop and Sam Dower will be signing. There have been some rumblings that the Bol Kong saga will come to an end, and that he will also sign this week. This will be a very exciting day for Gonzaga fans, as these guys will officially become part of the Gonzaga family.

Sam Dower (Osseo high school)

Bol Kong













Mangisto Arop (NEDA)

Monday Night's Zags Around the Web

The basketball season officially began tonight with the Duke Blue Devils dismantling Presbyterian. What does this mean to the basketball fan? Basically that the first few weeks of college basketball are excruciatingly slow. Most high major schools like Gonzaga schedule some "ego-boosters" to get them ready for the non-conference schedule. The good part of this all means that the predictions and prognostications are all out the window soon and all that is left is some college basketball.

For now, we'll just humor you with some inklings from the college basketball world...

-- The digging for information on the Texas-Gonzaga scrimmage in Colorado continues. We are relatively sure about a few things and one of those is that the Zags came away victorious. We should have more information for you guys tomorrow from a first hand source but until then we will continue to wonder.

-- Some very happy news is on the way and that is the Early Signing Period for 2009 recruits. The signing period begins on November 12th and Sam Dower and Mangisto Arop are slated to be the first signatures received for Mark Few. There have been rumors about some mystery recruits floating around. TKR will keep you updated if these rumors turn into fact.

-- One rumor we are very happy to see is the status of Bol Kong. Kong has been battling a very difficult battle after committing to Gonzaga. Due to some Visa issues, Kong, a Sudanese native, has been unable to get into the country. The perfect scenario was to have him here at the start of the year but that has obviously been delayed. Kong is priority number one for the staff and they have been working very hard on his situation and it appears that the outcome may be positive and he may be a Bulldog very soon. Kong is rumored to be one of the most talented players to come along in quite some time. Many scouts have hinted that if Kong joined the Zags today, he would be one of the most talented players on the team from jump street.

-- The Internet is kind of a strange place and proof of that is this preseason rankings by Addicott Web. I'm not really sure what it's all about but they have the Zags at 11th to start the year...I hope he likes our new school website.

-- Yard Barker, a sports site, has broken down the West Coast Conference. No surprise that they have Gonzaga as the top-ranked team in the WCC but they peg USD as the second best team in the conference. Saint Mary's is barely on the outside of the top 25 so I was surprised that they had USD there but there can definitely be a debate for either team being there. Even more surprising is that they have Gonzaga as the only team from the WCC making the NCAA Tournament. Methinks that this site does not know too much about the Saint Mary's Gaels because I think the WCC will definitely be a two bid conference this year, if not three.

-- In one of my favorite preseason breakdowns, the Sporting News broke down the NCAA in a bunch of categories of superlatives. Gonzaga was a top-5 team in two of his categories including the fourth best offense in the nation and the second team with the most potential to improve upon. I think that both of these rankings are spot on. Led by Austin Daye, Gonzaga has tons of potential and if they maximize it, the results should be excellent. In his breakdown of best offenses, the authors writes that for the Zags to be as good as projected, Josh Heytvelt has to excel and once again he is correct. Heytvelt is the lynch pin of this offense and he must be dominant if Gonzaga is going to be a final four team.

-- I was able to dig up this video in case you were unable to make it out to Kraziness in the Kennel...ugh...can we please start playing some basketball?

Zag News and Updates

The countdown is almost over for Gonzaga fans, as the team will being the regular season in only 8 days. Earlier today, the Zags flew out to Colorado, where they will be scrimmaging against the Texas Longhorns all day tomorrow. With excitement building towards the start of what should be a historical season for the team, here are some updates from around the Internet, as well as updates on some of the top recruits and commits for the Bulldogs.

- ESPN The Magazine came out with their top 25, and they have Gonzaga ranked #7. If you get a chance, I recommend that you check out their preview, as they offer some interesting stats on all the top teams. According to the article, one of the key points of emphasis for the team is to improve on their 5.2 rebounding margin from last season. With the size and athleticism that this team possesses, there is no excuse for the Zags not to dominate the glass against every opponent.

One aspect of the preview that surprised me a little was having Santa Clara in "The Obstacles" section. While Santa Clara should be slightly improved from last season, the WCC has a "Big 3" of Gonzaga, St.Mary's, and San Diego that will battle for the conference championship. The rest of the conference is not in the same league as these three teams. It seems that many national publications are reluctant to jump on the USD bandwagon, despite their tremendous performance at the end of last season. I view USD as the biggest challenger to the WCC throne, and I believe that they have the experience to make a Sweet 16 run.

- At CNNSI, Ian Thomsen discussed 5 NBA draft prospects to watch this season, and Austin Daye was #1 on the list. Thomsen interviewed an NBA scout, who gave his thoughts on his top 5 potential lottery picks. The one caveat was that they had to be American. Also on his list were Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Brandon Jennings (Lottomatica Roma), Demar DeRozan (USC), and B.J. Mullens (Ohio St.).

Here are some quotes from the scout regarding Austin:

"To me, he's a lottery pick without question. He shoots threes [41.3 percent last season], he shoots free throws [88.1 percent]. If you're asking me how he compares to a guy like Jonathan Bender, I'd say that Bender was way more athletic. I really liked Bender, but this kid doesn't jump like he did. This kid has better ball skills, however. Bender was a 4 morphing into a 3, but Daye is a 3 right now."

""I see something of Danny Manning in him. I never thought of Manning as a super-quick high flyer, and this kid isn't either. But Daye is very cerebral, he cuts without the ball, he's long, he makes shots and he has all of that skill. Plus, he plays on a Gonzaga team that is loaded with multiple players, so people will be seeing a lot of him this year."

This really demonstrates just how highly regarded Austin is by the NBA scout. It's so rare to find a player with his length and skill set. The comparison to Danny Manning should have Gonzaga fans celebrating, as it was Danny Manning who single-handily carried Kansas to the national championship in 1988. I like this comparison, because Austin is capable of taking over a close game and being the difference maker. The beauty of this team is that Pargo and Heytvelt are also capable of doing this on any given night.

- I found a very interesting tidbit in Andy Katz's blog today regarding a potential "WCC vs. WAC championship" starting in 2009.

"• The WAC has had talks with the Missouri Valley Conference about a challenge prior to the Mountain West stepping in and setting one up with the Valley. So now the WAC is looking toward the WCC to do some sort of scheduling series in 2009-10 and beyond. One proposal would have the top four teams in each conference playing each other. Gonzaga would have to go along with the idea, but the Zags should do it. Gonzaga has plenty of high-profile games/series every season but also plays regional games, so there is no reason why the Bulldogs couldn't have a game with Nevada in a given year. The WAC already plays plenty of WCC teams, but a formal agreement would help both leagues."

As Katz mentions, this series would be great for the WCC and for Gonzaga. Many fans would love to see Gonzaga and Nevada play every year, and this series would allow for both school to host these games in their home gym. This would also benefit teams like USD and St. Mary's who could play quality opponents like Boise St, Utah St, and New Mexico St. My first preference would have been to do something with the Mountain West, but this would present a great opportunity for both conferences.

- TKR also wanted to share some exciting news regarding an opportunity for us. TKR will be writing the Gonzaga season preview for AOL Fanhouse. This is a terrific opportunity to write for such a popular website, and we hope everyone can check out the GU season preview when it goes up.

Finally, with the high school and JC basketball season about to start, here are the schedules and some results for all GU commits and recruits.

- The NEDA boys have kicked off their season, and so far it has been the Mangisto Arop and Kelly Olynyk show. In early November, NEDA took on the Windsor University Lancers, and Manny set a NEDA record with 42 points in the game. Kelly Olynyk chipped in a measly 28 points. It looks like Manny is taking his game to an even higher level, and it should be fun to follow him this season.

- The College of Southern Idaho began their season last night, as they are hosting the K&T Steel Tournament. CSI coasted to a victory over Central Arizona, and Daequon Montreal had a strong performance. In only 20 minutes, Montreal scored 12 points and grabbed 13 boards in the easy victory.

-North Idaho College began their season in late October, and are undefeated at this point. While it is difficult to find exact stats from the first three games, 2010 recruit Guy-Marc Michel had an impressive 19 point and 9 rebound debut. Michel is a highly skilled post player, who I expect to sign with Gonzaga next year.

- Click on the recruits name for their respective high school season schedule.
Sam Dower
Cole Stefan
Brett Kingma

TKR will follow all GU recruits throughout their respective season, and it should be fun to see what other recruits emerge throughout the year.

November Signing Period Rapidly Approaching

During the Wayne State exhibition game, it was obvious that Mark Few and the staff recruited an excellent 2008 class. Andy Poling, Grant Gibbs, and Demetri Goodson were all outstanding in their debuts for the Bulldogs.

The 2009 recruiting class appears to be in a similar mold and two very important pieces of that class are expected to be signing during the early period which begins on November 12th. Sam Dower (top right), a forward from Osseo, Minnesota, verbally committed to Gonzaga on September 6th during his visit to Spokane. The 6'9'' power forward chose the Zags over Minnesota, Cal, and Marquette among others.

Mangisto Arop (top left) was the first commit of Gonzaga's 2009 class after the defection of Brock Osweiler. Arop gave his verbal to Gonzaga in May and has since blown up and could become a star for the Bulldogs. He is now a four-star recruit as ranked by Rivals.com and has looked great when he visited Spokane in September. Arop was here for Dower's visit and they hit it off and hopefully can build on their chemistry even before enrolling at Gonzaga.

Gonzaga still has scholarships to work with as they will definitely be losing four seniors in Jeremy Pargo, Micah Downs, Ira Brown, and Josh Heytvelt. There are also questions about the future of Austin Daye and whether or not he will seek a future in the NBA after this season.

While the Bol Kong VISA situation is looking better, you just never know how these type of things are going to turn out. I would say that at this point, the Kong situation appears to be heading in the right direction but that is just a gut feeling. Guys like Daequon Montreal and Guy-Marc Michel have entered the picture and seem to be solid junior college players. There is also hope for a transfer as Mark Few has had luck in the past getting players that are looking for new surroundings, Ala Micah Downs.

The future remains to be seen but with the addition of Arop and Dower in the early signing period, Gonzaga is on the right track to continue their tradition of excellence in college basketball.

Mid-Week Zag Tracks

--Robert Sacre was seen on campus today with a boot on his right foot and reportedly has a stress fracture. Sacre, a touted member of the 2007 recruiting class, started ten games last year totaling 269 minutes.

Timetables for stress fractures are difficult to lay out because so much relies on the time it takes for rehab but this should sideline Sacre for two months at best. Sacre was expected to make a huge leap in his sophomore campaign and challenge for a starting position; hopefully this injury doesn't deter the progress he has made thus far.

Sacre's injury is a tough one for Gonzaga to swallow at this point. The Zags currently have three healthy "bigs"; senior Josh Heytvelt, junior Will Foster, and freshman Andy Poling. This will make Andy Poling's situation very interesting as many thought he was a potential redshirt candidate this season. Depending on how Sacre recovers, we could see Andy Poling start off his career as a Zag in 2008. This also means a number of things for the lineups we should see; more than likely a lot of Ira Brown and Austin Daye at the power forward spot if Rob's not back in time. Will Foster should also see plenty of action early on as well in Rob's absence.

We'll wait and see how he progresses before we break it down but send some good karma to Rob, I'm sure he's very disappointed.

--Now that we have gotten the depressing news out of the way, we would like to wish Zag commit Mangisto Arop a happy birthday. The four-star wing from Canada is turning 18 today. Happy birthday Manny!

--For all you women's basketball fans, check out this link. This is Gonzaga Athletic's new season ticket promotion video. Very impressive!

--Devonte Elliott Countdown: 2 Days

Dower and Arop look great

TKR got a chance to see Manny Arop and Sam Dower play earlier today, and TKR came away very impressed by the duo. Arop and Dower were on opposite teams, and Dower matched up with both Ira and Will, while Arop was guarding Matt Bouldin.

The first thing any observer will see from Sam Dower is his incredible length and athleticism. He was able to defend Foster quite well because of his length. The first couple of possessions, the guys made an effort to get Sam the ball on the offensive end, while making sure the guy he was guarding got the ball when he was on defense. Offensively, Dower has a very strong mid-range game, and it seems that he can hit the free-throw line jumper consistently. He hit the opening basket of the game when he faced up on Will and hit a mid-range jumper. He runs the floor very well for a big man, and was able to get up and down and be a presence on the fast break. Dower certainly needs to add some strength to be able to defend some of the strong PF/C at the next level, but it is clear that he could come in and contribute as a freshman.

Just as impressive was the play of Mangisto Arop. Arop has incredible length for a wing, and does a spectacular job of deflecting the ball and making plays on the defensive end. Manny has a very good-looking jumper when he catches the ball in rhythm, and is able to be a threat on the offensive end because of his unique athleticism. He is still very raw offensively, but after a couple of years with the GU coaches, he could be deadly on the offensive end. Defensively, Manny was able to get into the passing lane and make a steal, which led to a very nice dunk. TKR really believes that Manny could be a high level defensive player for the Zags this year if he was eligible (TKR side note....Meech is truly something special to watch on the defensive end. Uses his quickness and strength to stay in front of his man). He also displayed his athleticism, when he caught an alley-oop pass from Jeremy Pargo that was high above the rim.

Both Arop and Dower are very special prospects, and what makes them so intriguing is that their best days are in the future. Both of these guys will certainly dazzle occasionally as freshman, but by the time both are sophomore/juniors, they could be really special. It was very exciting for TKR to see both of these guys in person, and hopefully this will not be the last time we see both of them playing for the Zags.

Five Days Until Dower Day

The hottest recruit on the Gonzaga radar, Sam Dower (left), visits this coming Friday. He will also be meeting Mangisto Arop, a 2009 verbal commit to the Bulldogs.

Needless to say, it is a huge weekend for Gonzaga basketball.

Photoshop may or may not have been used on this picture.

Arop and Dower appear in Rivals 150

While recruit rankings really have no impact on how good a recruit will turn out, it is always fun to see what people think of GU recruits. Today, rivals.com released their post-summer top 150, and both Mangisto Arop and Sam Dower made appearances.

After fantastic performances in the FIBA U-18 championships and Nike Global Games, Mangisto Arop shot up the recruit rankings. The native of Sudan was the first verbal to GU in the class of 09'. His incredible length and athleticism has Manny ranked the 8oth best player in the class of 09. Manny was also listed as the 15th best SF in the class of 09'. This is a significant jump, as Arop was unranked in the last top 150. While many eyebrows were raised when his verbal was announced, it seems that the staff has once again found a diamond in the rough. The scariest part about Arop, is that at this point he is still a very raw prospect, and will only continue to improve over the next couple of years.

The other key recruit to make an appearance in the top 150 is Sam Dower. The 6'9 PF, from Osseo, Minnesota, is the 119th ranked player in the nation, and the 30th ranked PF. After a terrific performance this summer, Dower moved up over 10 spots in the most recent rankings. The main reason for this is that Dower has started to realize some of his enormous potential. Dower recently cut his list to a final 5 schools, which include Gonzaga, Minnesota, George Mason, Cal, and Marquette. Dower recently made an unofficial visit to Minnesota, and may do the same to Marquette before the end of the month. Dower will be making his official visit to Gonzaga on September 6-8, and hopefully we will be hearing good news from the highly skilled big man. However, The Daily Gopher, seemed to disagree with TKR's assertion that Gonzaga is the favorite for Sam.

Daily Recap

-After signing his offer sheet last week, the Lakers had 7 days to decide whether or not Ronny Turiaf was worth a 4 year, $17 million contract. It appears that the Lakers did not think he was worth it, as they chose not to match the offer sheet that Ronny signed with the Golden State Warriors. Ronny will not be plying his trade with the Warriors, and will be finding himself in a very good situation. Under Don Nelson, the Warriors love to run up and down the court, and with great play-making guards, Ronny will find himself to be the recipient of many great passes. I think Ronny will shine with the Warriors, and if there are any legs to the rumored Andres Biedrins for Chauncey Billups trade, he might get even more minutes. Congratulations to Ronny on this great contract, and I know he will continue to make GU proud.

- Team Canada, led by Manny Arop, finished up 3rd in the just completed FIBA America's U-18 tournament. Canada knocked off Puerto Rico, 83-68, to finish 3rd in the tournament. They had already locked up a bid to the U-19 World Championships next year. Manny had yet another double-double, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. For the tournament, Manny was the 2nd leading scorer at 17 points per game, and was the 3rd leading rebounder at 10.2 boards per game. Manny was arguably the best player in this tournament, along with Greg Echenique of Venezuela. Interestingly, Echenique, who is heading to Rutgers next season used to be a member of the 09 class. Echenique probably could have been an All-American if he had stayed in the 09 class, so this gives us an idea of just how good Manny is. I personally can't wait to follow Manny this next year, and eagerly await his arrival in Spokane.

Austin Daye and Mangisto Arop Updates

-- Please feel free to disregard the "Diagnosis of Austin Daye's Injury" post a day ago. News has now surfaced that Austin Daye's injury is not as severe as was originally reported and that the Gonzaga star forward will only have his summer slightly affected by this injury.

His original diagnosis of a partially torn ACL came with a 6-12 month window of surgery, rehab, etc. Now, it appears that Austin will just need to sit down and relax for a few weeks while the injury takes care of itself and his knee gains strength. There is still a small tear and a bone bruise but that is something that rest and relaxation can handle quite easily.

It seems that the Zags have dodged another summertime bullet. We'll keep you updated on any further developments with Austin.

-- American born Gonzaga fans had a tough choice to make earlier today as they kept a close eye on the FIBA Americas Championships. Today's U-18 game featured the United States team and Zag commit Mangisto Arop's Canadian team. The United States defeated the Canadian team handily as they won 82-66. Arop did not go quietly as had had 21 of Canada's points in this game. He also came down with nine rebounds.

The United States U18 team is one of the deepest in it's history featuring high schools stars such as Kemba Walker, the Wear twins, Malcolm Lee, and JayMychal Green.

Arop is having an outstanding tournament as he is second in scoring 17.3 points per game, third in rebounding with ten a game, and first in free throw percentage where he has shot 91.7%.

Canada's final game will take place tomorrow against Puerto Rico as they play for the bronze medal.. In a game which should be excellent, the United States will go up against Argentina for the coveted gold medal.

Manny plays great....but Canada falls

Having already qualified for the FIBA U-19 World Championships in New Zealand, the game last night against Argentina was seen as a great test for Team Canada, but not a must win. This was highlighted by head coach Greg Francis' decision to leave Mangisto Arop and Tristan Thompson out of his starting 5. This was good news for Manny, as he needed some sort of break after averaging 35 minutes per game in the first two contests. However, this was not the best decision for Team Canada, as they fell behind early, and ended up losing 74-64 to Argentina.

Despite coming off the bench, Manny was able to put up another fantastic performance. Playing against the toughest competition that Canada has faced up to this point, Manny was able to score 17 points and grab 7 rebounds in only 29 minutes. This performance is the most impressive of the tournament so far, because Manny was able to step up and put together a great showing against one of the best teams in the tournament.

Today will be the day that many Zag fans have been looking forward to, as Team Canada will match up against Team USA. This will be a chance for Manny to go up against many of the top 2008 recruits, and a couple of the best for 2009 as well. The competition in this game will give both the fans and Manny an idea of how he stacks up against some of the best young talent in the country. I am personally expecting another great performance by Manny, with around 20 points and 10 rebounds. Good luck to Manny, and I hope he shows what a gem the GU staff has found.

Manny continues his great play

Earlier today, Manny Arop and Team Canada improved to 2-0 at the FIBA U-18 tournament, with a 76-56 victory over Uruguay. The top 4 teams from this 8 team tournament will advance to the FIBA U-19 World Championships next summer in New Zealand.

Manny has been arguably Canada's best player in the first 2 games, and has been a consistent fixture in the Canada lineup. He has started both games, and has lead the team in averaging around 35 minutes per game. In the opening game against Mexico, Manny produced an exceptional 17 pts and 12 rebounds. Although he did not have his finest shooting performance today, Manny was still able to put up a double-double, with 14 pts and 12 rebounds.

Team Canada will conclude pool play tomorrow when they take on Argentina. This should be a great challenge for Manny and the rest of the team, as Argentina are one of the best countries in international play. Manny has been very impressive on the international stage so far, and it appears that Coach Few and the rest of the staff has produced another recruiting gem. What has impressed TKR so much, is the amount of rebounds he has been able to get each game. Its incredible that a wing player is averaging 12 rebounds per game. Best of luck to Manny and Team Canada tomorrow, and hopefully we will get a chance to see Manny go up against Team USA at some point in the tournament.

News of the Day

-- 2009 Gonzaga recruit Mangisto Arop was announced to the 2008 Canadian Junior Men's National Team. The team was assembled just in time as they leave on Thursday for Argentina where they will compete in the FIBA Americas tournament. The top four teams in this tournament will earn a spot in the FIBA Championships in 2009. Arop's Canadian team will be in group A with Argentina, Mexico, and the Bahamas. In 2007, the Canadians finished 10th overall in the championships. There first game in the Americas Championship will be on July 14th against Mexico. The other group is composed of Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Uruguay, and the United States. Good luck to Manny and the Canadian team.

--Gonzaga made a huge splash in the marketing world today with news that they have signed a 10-year deal with IMG College, a division of IMG which is a leading marketing and sports media group. IMG College will create a full-time staff within the McCarthey Center and will control all marketing and sports media related outlets. These include any programs, public rights, partnerships, and website management. Most importantly, they will pick up the sports broadcasting rights, including TV and radio. They will honor the commitment that Gonzaga has made to their current provider, FSN, KGA, and KHQ. This is huge news for Gonzaga athletics as IMG is a massive sports media outlet and will assuredly help get the Zag name across the country. To show how big the company is, they were recently given the sports media rights to the Bowl Championship Series in 2011. The BCS encompasses the 5 major bowl games and is arguably the biggest college spectacle in the world.