Inside the AP Poll: What Gives, Nebraska?

One of the best (or worst) things about the polling system in college basketball is that it provides an insight as to what the nation thinks about every team. The AP Poll is decided by a collection of sports writers from across the country, who's job it is to make an educated and objective decision regarding the 25 best teams in the country. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet and full disclosure, individual polls are made public and we can see the different opinions on our beloved Zags. Here are some stats that we pulled from today's AP Poll:

• The Zags were ranked fourth overall (duh!)
  
• Gonzaga received two second place votes in today's poll from writers out of Riverside, CA and Salem, OR
• 14 out 72 voters ranked Gonzaga as the third best team in the nation or better
• 20 of the 72 voters ranked Gonzaga as the fifth or worse team in the nation
• The lowest ranking Gonzaga received was 8th, by a voter from the state of Nebraska
  

Going through the 14 voters that put the Zags above their fourth ranking it is clear that a majority are from the left coast. A couple papers from California, and some from Utah, Idaho and Oregon all put Gonzaga 3rd or better. The Seattle voter, interestingly enough, put the Zags fifth. Gonzaga is definitely making some waves across the country, however, and that can all be attributed to the scheduling of Mark Few. People often times complain that the team has to travel too great lengths to play good competition but I would wager that Mark Few is traveling great distances to expose his team to the East coast that probably doesn't want to stay awake until 3 am to watch Gonzaga take on USF or LMU. So far this year his scheme has worked. Two voters from the state of Florida, where the Old Spice Classic was held, ranked Gonzaga third in the nation. Impressed by the effort against his Volunteers, a Tennessee sports writer voted Gonzaga third as well.

As any Gonzaga fan can assume, a majority of votes that put Gonzaga as the fifth or worse team came from the East Coast (except Seattle of course). Through our research, it appears that three of the votes putting Gonzaga fifth or worse came from the state of North Carolina. Perhaps they are a little worried about Heytvelt dominating Hansbrough again. Another couple of voters against the Zags came from the Midwest which is not surprising because they know how mediocre Indiana is this season and Gonzaga did not look like the fourth best team in the nation on Saturday. Rest assured the Gonzaga will have the ability to build on the their image in the coming weeks. Although they don't travel East again until January 7th (Tennessee), they will play one of the top teams in the nation in the University of Connecticut. Games against Washington State and Arizona should also garner some national attention. Not to mention that 'little' game in Spokane against last year's national runner-up, the Memphis Tigers.

Here is the poll which has Gonzaga as the 8th best team in the nation...interesting.

As you can see from this Nebraskans point of view, Tennessee remains the better team even though Gonzaga beat them in their head to head match up...starting to sound kind of like the BCS isn't it? The rest of his poll looks pretty good except for having one-loss Louisville ahead of Gonzaga.

Hopefully this provides a new insight to the poll process and how our excellent non-conference schedule affects our national image. Hopefully the Zags keep taking care of business and our ranking keeps getting lower.

Zags Around the Web and Other WCC Musings...

Whether you agree with it or not, this year's Gonzaga team is getting tons of love from the press.  After two blowouts in which the Zags showed little to no weakness, this praise looks to be deserved.  Just think about this.  In the first game against MSU-B, Michael Hall scored the last 14 points of the first half against the Bulldogs.  In the first half last night, Idaho could only muster up 11 points.  Beautiful.

--  If you missed last night's Arizona-UAB game, it was probably a good thing but ESPN analyst and hairstyle enthusiast Steven Lavin ranked the Zags as the second best team in the West.  Obviously he has UCLA as the best team out West.  Gonzaga was followed by USC, Arizona State, and fellow WCC team St. Mary's.  It's hard to disagree with the ranking because of how good UCLA has been in the past few years but if you watched them against Miami of Ohio, it's clear to see that they are vulnerable.  As far as the Gonzaga-Arizona match up goes...let's just hope Kyle Fogg and Jamelle Horne are on the floor as much as possible for the 'Cats.

-- In some surprising news to me, former Gonzaga prospect Jeff Reid has signed a letter of intent with St. Louis University.  The Zags were extremely off and on with Reid.  They loved him early on and then seemed to move away but then Reid showed up at Gonzaga's Elite Camp.  I liked Reid and thought he would end up at Kansas State.  Best of luck to Jeff.  

-- The next opponent for the Gonzaga Bulldogs is the Cowboys of Oklahoma State.  The 'Pokes are 2-0 on the young season.   They beat Texas-San Antonio by 19 in their first game and beat North Texas by 12 points two nights ago.  Oklahoma State has two more games before they match up with the Zags.  They will play Tulsa on Thursday and Grambling State on the 23rd of November

Looking at how the rest of the WCC fared in recent action.

• Santa Clara's John Bryant had 23 second half points but it wasn't enough in SCU's four point loss to Florida Atlantic, 65-61
• A very good BYU team routed the Pepperdine Waves, 82-53
• A well contested in-state rivalry ended in a Portland State victory over the Portland Pilots.  The question now is how much will the Vikings beat UW by when the face off in December.
• San Diego welcomed back Gyno Pomare in their very impressive victory over Nevada, 65-51.  The Torero's shut down super freshman Luke Babbitt, who only had three points.
• A very inconsistent San Francisco team kept their most recent match up with Cal very close.  Cal won by 10 but, in good news for the Dons, Manny Quezada and Dior Lowhorn had excellent games with 27 and 20 points, respectively.
• St. Mary's looked excellent at home in their 14 point victory over Fresno State, 99-85.  Patty Mills had 27 points and Omar Samhan pulled down 13 rebounds...but this video is probably the thing everyone will remember from that game.

Sports Illustrated Ranks the Zags Lucky #13

We'd like to thank the folks over at Sports Illustrated for sending us their preseason breakdown of Gonzaga a little bit early. It is a very well written piece and has some high hopes for the Bulldogs. There are also some quotes in here by Austin Daye to make any Zag fan smile.

13. Gonzaga

A Forward With Big Shoes To Fill Is Ready To Step Up and Make the Zags Contenders

Hard as it is to imagine now, Gonzaga forward Austin Daye was once so small that he could fit into one of his father's size‑13 sneakers. He came into the world nine weeks prematurely, weighing just five pounds, five ounces. Twenty years later he's 6'­ 10", with a 90-inch wingspan and a shoe size (16) bigger than that of his dad, former UCLA and NBA forward Darren Daye. And thanks in part to a partially torn right ACL—suffered at the LeBron James Skills Academy in July—that kept him off the court and in the weight room this summer, Daye is reaching even greater proportions.

Though he has added 16 pounds since last season, bringing his weight to 206, the hyperflexible, double-jointed Daye won't be the same kind of ferocious post defender that departed starters David Pendergraft and Abdullahi Kuso were. But the sophomore forward is an apt symbol for this very promising Gonzaga team. He's battle-tested and highly skilled, he can score from all over the court, and he's ready for a breakout year.

Though the Zags lack a true low-post presence, this could be their most talented team ever. The perennial NCAA tournament darlings went 25–7 last season before they themselves were upset in the first round by 10th-seeded Davidson. Along the way they endured a slew of injuries that gave their reserves and freshmen valuable experience that will pay off in increased depth this year. Joining Daye in the frontcourt is Josh Heytvelt, a senior forward who missed time with a stress fracture. Sophomore sharpshooter Steven Gray, who was also hurt for 10 games but made seven three-pointers in the Davidson loss, will be part of one of the best backcourts in the nation, teaming with senior Jeremy Pargo, the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year. Also back is junior Matt Bouldin, the team's leading scorer a year ago.

Daye, who blocked 54 shots last season, will occasionally join them on the perimeter: Last year he hit 41.3% from the three-point line. "The guy can just make baskets," says Few, who would like to see Daye get more physical inside and go to the line more.

Daye credits his dad with making him the multidimensional player he is. "He had me work on all sorts of skills, like handling the ball and playing guard," says Daye. "I'm not the best three-point shooter in the country, but I want to be. I'm not the best free throw shooter in the country, but I'm going to strive to be."

Daye's expectations for this team are likewise lofty. "We have enough talent and chemistry to do good things," he says. "I think we can make the Final Four. If we don't make at least the Elite Eight, it will be a really disappointing season."

—Kelli Anderson

Starting Lineup

PG Jeremy Pargo 6' 2" Sr. 12.1 ppg 6.0 apg

SG Steven Gray 6' 4" Soph. 8.1 ppg 1.5 apg

SF Matt Bouldin 6' 5" Jr. 12.6 ppg 3.7 rpg

PF Austin Daye 6' 10" Soph. 10.5 ppg 4.7 rpg

C Josh Heytvelt 6' 11" Sr. 10.3 ppg 4.9 rpg

Key Reserve

G-F Micah Downs 6' 8" Sr. 7.9 ppg 3.7 rpg

Key Game: Dec. 20 vs. Connecticut (in Seattle)

This year's Battle in Seattle pits the Zags against UConn, with whom they have some history. They beat the Huskies in Boston last year, but it was UConn that kept Gonzaga from going to the Final Four in 1999.

Men’s Top 20
1. North Carolina	11. Memphis
2. UConn	12. Michigan State
3. UCLA	13. Gonzaga
4. Louisville	14. Georgetown
5. Purdue	15. Marquette
6. Notre Dame	16. Arizona State
7. Pittsburgh	17. Oklahoma
8. Duke	18. Davidson
9. Texas	19. Miami
10. Tennessee	20. Villanova

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?

Post Election Zag Tracks

I'm not a political person by any stretch of the imagination and last night was the first time I even really paid attention to the election but now I can't get that "Yes, We Can" phrase out of my head. Heck, it might even be a good slogan for Gonzaga this season. Is there any chance that a team from the mid-major ranks can win a national title? YES, the Zags can! Kind of catchy isn't it?

The amount of Gonzaga news is extraordinarily slim as we approach the start of the regular season. The major pundits have put out their top-25's and now we are all waiting...

--Did I say the major polls have been released? Well, now they have. In a very entertaining read, this blog puts out their top 25 teams for the college basketball season. Gonzaga is ranked as ten but they are curiously tied with Purdue for this spot. This is hilarious.

-- Gonzaga will be taking on the University of Texas in a scrimmage in my native state of Colorado this weekend. The Zags and Horns will scrimmage twice at Thunderidge High School, the Alma mater of junior guard Matt Bouldin. The scrimmage is locked and sealed to the general public but hopefully we can get some sort of recap on what should be a very nice match up. Andy Katz has a pretty good connection with both of these programs so look for Katz to maybe leak some info, otherwise it looks like there will be little news out of Colorado this weekend.

-- In general basketball news, it appears that Jai Lucas, the promising point guard for the Florida Gators is transferring. This is shocking news to me as Lucas showed tons of skill last season for Billy Donovan's squad. This appears to be a playing time issue as he was in some serious competition for the starting point guard spot and Florida secured a top point guard in the 2009 class in Kenny Boynton.

-- Recruiting news is pretty sparse these days but the good news is that Cole Stefan's visit is approaching. Stefan, who is starting to blow up on a national level, will be at the Kennel when the Zags take on Idaho on November 18th. Hopefully the Kennel Club can give him plenty of attention. He's one hell of a shooter and his coach Marquise Watts said that his skills are much like that of Sam Dower, in that they are only beginning to blossom. Stefan is a TKR favorite and we are hoping that Mark Few can keep the Minnesota pipeline going strong. We encourage you to scroll down a bit and check out our Recruiting Prospects section the sidebar to learn more about potential recruits.

-- November is a busy month for Gonzaga athletics in general. The Men's Soccer team has a huge game this Friday at 1 pm against the University of San Diego. If the Zags could somehow win this game, they should be able to get a birth into the NCAA tournament. Thanks to the emergence of new scorers, including Nick Love, the guys have taken it to the WCC in the past few matches. The game is at Gonzaga Soccer Field so take a late lunch and head out to campus to watch the Zags take on the Toreros. The men play a very exciting brand of soccer and they will be going all out to defeat USD and extend their season.

-- It's a tough life to be on the men's golf team. While the majority of students are freezing in the recent cold wave going through Spokane, the men's golf team is living it up in Hawaii. Gonzaga is currently tied for eighth in the Kaua'i Collegiate International. Senior Bowdy Ehler is in 9th place heading in to today's final 18 holes. The Zags golf team was tied for 3rd afte the first 18 holes but fell to 8th after a tough 18 to close out the first day of competition. The guys began their final round about three hours ago and we'll keep up to date as they finish.

As always, keep checking out the calendar on the sidebar to see if Gonzaga action is near you and get out and support the Zags!

Post-Kraziness Zag Tracks

For all intents and purposes, the 2008-09 football season in Washington has died and been buried. The Huskies and Cougars have been atrocious and the Seahawks have limped through the season, signing and then cutting every wide receiver in sight. The mental sanity of every Washington sports fan now rests on the shoulders of the upcoming basketball season...err...I mean college basketball.

-- Recruiting news is the best kind of news but sometimes it can bite you in the rump. A kid that I loved, Devonte Elliott, has reportedly given a verbal commitment to Mark Fox and the Nevada Wolfpack. As the biggest supporter of upside in the world, this is bad news for the Zags in my opinion. It seemed like all of the pieces were falling into place for Elliott to be in Spokane in 2009; we were supposed to be Devonte's first visit (didn't happen), he had a great relationship with our assistant coaches (what happened?), and Nevada had recently locked up Steve Bjornstad, a similar player to Devonte, for the 2009 (Fox loves upside as well). I remain on the "Few knows what he's doing" bandwagon but I hope we have some adequate backup options to field a strong 2009 recruiting class.

-- Remember Bak Bak? I'll be honest and say that I completely forgot about the power forward from California. Bak was one of the biggest names in Gonzaga recruiting over the summer but vanished after he did not attend the Zags Elite Camp. He's back in the news again and has a top four list all secured. He favors Oregon State, Cal, USC, and UCLA. Translation: He's going to Oregon State.

-- There were plenty of surprises at Kraziness in the Kennel and one of them was the amount of recruits that attended. While we don't know who was there for sure, we can sure guess. The guys we know were there are Shane Harris-Tunks and Brett Kingma. The guy I'm pretty sure I spotted was Guy-Marc Michel. We also received word that there was a player from South Dakota there who was strikingly similar looking to Cody Larson.

-- Shifting focus to the guys that are already enrolled at Gonzaga University, it appears that Gonzaga is sweeping the nation as one of the elite preseason teams. Gary Parrish submitted his preseason Top 25 and slates the Zags at #8. Similar to the rest of the reviews, Parrish notes that this is Mark Few's most talented team, but there are still question marks about how far that talent can take them.

-- Gonzaga is also mentioned in Andy Katz's blog. Katz who should be given an honorary diploma from Gonzaga for his extensive coverage of the program came away very impressed by Kraziness in the Kennel. Katz said that it was an extremely well-managed scrimmage and that Demetri Goodson was exceptional. He also noted that Josh Heytvelt looked very good. I think the Heytvelt bandwagon is really going to start picking up some steam really soon.

Gonzaga Tops in WCC Preseason Poll

Gonzaga has been the face of the West Coast Conference since the days of Calvary, Santangelo, and Dickau. During the subsequent years, the WCC has been looked at as an inferior conference. This is no longer the case. Recently, programs like Saint Mary's and San Diego have cemented their respective places in the national picture. Think about it, the two most recent basketball related stories in the WCC have not come from Spokane, Washington. San Diego had an excellent showing in last year's NCAA tournament, defeating UConn in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. This summer, Patty Mills blew up at the Olympic games in China. Both these stories have brought some welcome notoriety to the conference.

Today in Las Vegas was the WCC's media day and the day in which they voted on preseason rankings and All-Conference players. Everyone expected the preseason poll to be tight and that proved to be true as the Zags narrowly escaped with the #1 spot.

2008-09 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Gonzaga - 46 (5)
2. Saint Mary's - 44 (2)
3. San Diego - 39 (1)
4. Santa Clara - 30
5. San Francisco - 23
6. Portland - 19
7. Loyola Marymount - 12
8. Pepperdine - 11
(First place votes)

This poll should bring smiles to the faces of everyone who has had to hear about how bad the public thinks the WCC is. Gonzaga is one of the national favorites to make a title run. If the Zags were expected to make a deep title run five years ago, they would be the dominating favorite to win the WCC but that is not how the West Coast Conference works anymore. Gonzaga aims to win every conference game in plays in. The strength of their non-conference schedule shows that they expect this, otherwise they would do the same thing so many other big time programs do and schedule a bunch of non-conference "cupcakes". Now, Mark Few and the staff is coupling a difficult non-conference schedule with a excruciating conference schedule. Make no mistake, this will be the toughest roads the Zags have had to travel in quite some time.

Another thing that can be gathered from this poll is the overall depth that the WCC is starting to have. I believe that next year this preseason poll could look a whole lot different. Loyola Marymount, who is slated at 7th in the preseason poll, should be in the top 3 next year with the kind of talent they are bringing in. Santa Clara and San Francisco have historically always given Gonzaga fits. The amount of "easy wins" on Gonzaga's schedule is greatly diminishing each and every year. The conference sent 3 teams to the tournament last season and I don't think it was a fluke. There will definitely be two teams in the tournament in my opinion and you never know what will happen in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

The coaches also voted on the All-Conference squads in Vegas. Here's how they voted.

2008-09 WCC Men's Preseason All-Conference Team
Matt Bouldin, GON
John Bryant, SCU
Austin Daye, GON
Brandon Johnson, USD
Dior Lowhorn, USF
Patrick Mills, SMC
Jeremy Pargo, GON
Gyno Pomare, USD
Omar Samhan, SMC
Diamon Simpson, SMC

It's hard to argue with that list of players. I definitely know that there are two players in Spokane that have the talent to crack that list. Steven Gray and Micah Downs, if they perform up to their talent level and expectations, should make a strong push for some sort of postseason recognition. Each of those players has way too much talent to not receive accolades. Gray was sidelined early with that wrist injury and Micah has also be often injured during his time at Gonzaga but now they are both 100% healthy and should be ready to contribute early and often. I'm not sure who you could take off that list though. Players like Dior Lowhorn and Diamon Simpson could challenge for WCC Player of the Year. You have to think the favorites in the clubhouse right now are Jeremy Pargo and Patty Mills. Don't forget about Brandon Johnson either, he is one of the most exciting basketball players on the west coast.

It's all good for the WCC. Last year was a real statement year for the conference and this season will definitely prove that it was no fluke. What I keep thinking about is whether or not Gonzaga will be tops next season...but I guess we'll take it one year a time.

More Praise for the Zags

Preseason rankings are taking over the world!

No matter how useless these rankings are to Mark Few's team, it's still fun to hear what the nation thinks about this year's squad. If you think Gonzaga is still the cute little secret nestled in the Pacific Northwest, it's time to wake up and smell the hardwood. More than any other year, the Zags will sneak up on absolutely no one. If you don't believe me then just read what Athlon and Sporting News have to say about the Bulldogs. Two of the most well respected sources for sports news had nothing but praise for this year's Bulldogs.

Athlon: The national magazine that previews not only every college sport, but every conference has slated the Zags as an elite eight team in 2008-09. This quote should serve as a nice recap of the offseason and some concerns for the for the season.

"Pargo’s return means the Zags are loaded once again, with an experienced player — several, in some cases — at every position. Bottom line: Gonzaga is primed to continue its dominance of the West Coast Conference. “We have a good group of players coming back,” Few says. “But we lost two senior guys (David Pendergraft and Abdullahi Kuso) … and trying to replace the toughness they both brought is a real concern.”

Once you see 10 or more preseason rankings, they all start blending together. They all key on Pargo's return and the departure of Pendo and Kuso and how we can possibly deal with that difficult non-conference schedule. Gonzaga's toughness is something people have pointed to as their fatal flaw since Adam Morrison's departure. Hopefully the Zags can shut up everyone who says that they are not tough enough by showing well in the Old Spice Classic. Toughness is something that I personally am not concerned about with this year's team. It's not always shown by diving on the floor and going crazy after fouls. A huge part of toughness is being confident in your team and with the scheme you run. This team has a great bond and are very comfortable with one another. The main core also has a deep understanding of the offense now and should be confident in that aspect as well. Kuso and Pendo will be missed of course; but the talent and skill coming back to this team is scary good. Toughness should not be an issue.

Sporting News: Now we're talking! The Sporting News recently released their college basketball season preview and it has something that most previews do not have; and that is surprises. Not only has the Sporting News given Gonzaga their highest ranking to date, #4, but they have also singled out an individual on this team in the All-American race (it's not the one you were expecting). Sporting News has Austin Daye (right) as a first team All-American. Joining Daye on the prestigious list is Tyler Hansbrough, James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Blake Griffin.

Make no mistake, this is Jeremy Pargo's team but if the team wants to go to the top of the mountain, Austin Daye will have to lead them there. He is a bona fide superstar in the making. True, this is probably Gonzaga's most balanced team in terms of scoring the basketball in a long time; the Zags have guys all over the court that can score 20 points on any given night.

However, what Gonzaga lacked last year was a player that could take over the game each and every night, ala Adam Morrison. With Morrison, Gonzaga could be down 10 points with 4 minutes left and you just felt it in your heart that he was going to carry the Zags to a win. Last season we missed that. It's hard to put that much pressure on a sophomore in college but I really think that Daye can handle it. Remember, he also has a much better supporting cast than Morrison did.

The key for Daye will be the injury. Zag Nation breathed a huge sigh of relief when he didn't have surgery, but is it going to heal in time? There has been limited discussion about his condition because no one wants to deal with what the season would be like without Austin. I'm sure he will need some time to get his conditioning back and get back into playing form. The first meaningful game won't take place until November 27th when the Zags battle Oklahoma State so he has time to recover. He should be good to go in Orlando and Gonzaga will need him right away as they take on some of the best teams in the nation right off the bat.

Monday Zag Tracks...

KRAZINESS IN THE KENNEL IS 11 DAYS AWAY!

In other news...

--As we reported earlier, Devonte Elliott was not on campus this weekend. We haven't received a definite word as to why but most speculation points to the fact that he has not posted a test score in the SAT or ACT; something which is required before taking official visits. We expect Devonte to be on campus at some point as Gonzaga is one of the leaders in this recruitment. It would have been nice to get the California kid here before the extreme cold and snow hits in Spokane!

--Rankings, rankings, rankings! In the next few weeks we should be drown in college basketball preseason rankings. USA Today will be releasing their college basketball preview soon and they have put out a little information already. The college basketball writers have named Gonzaga one of their "Elite Teams to Beat" this season. Joining the Zags is Memphis, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Purdue, and UCLA.

--Kennel Club shirts will be white this season. The past two seasons have had the students clad in red shirts and the change is a welcome one. We are very excited about the choice as it should stand out very well on TV. If your disappointed with the color this season, don't be...it seems to work well for Penn State.

--Lauren Ames posted a shutout for the lady Zags soccer team on Sunday afternoon against Weber State. The two teams battled to a scoreless draw. With the tie, the women's non-coference schedule has concluded and they will begin play in the difficult WCC. The draw moves Gonzaga to 5-6-2 on the year.

--Looking around at the WCC, Terrell Vinson shocked the recruiting world when he spurned Georgetown and Maryland to head west and play for Bill Bayno and Loyola Marymount. Vinson, the 81st best player in the nation per Rivals, is one of the best players to ever commit to a WCC school. It is also a tremendous get for the Lions because he attends high school across the country in Maryland. Congrats to LMU and Coach Bayno. The WCC is a fast rising conference and it looks like LMU will be right in the thick of things in years to come. For more on how the WCC recruited in 2008, check out our breakdown back in May.

--Looking at future Gonzaga opponents, we reported earlier that Nate Miles of Connecticut had been arrested for violation of a restraining order. The arrest has led to Miles' expulsion from the university. This should affect UConn this season as Miles was expected to contribute as a freshman. The Zags will take on the Huskies December 20th at Key Arena in Seattle. FYI...click here for a rundown of Connecticut basketball players who have been in trouble in the past. Very head scratching indeed.

Juco Prospects Visit Gonzaga

Can you believe the Zags take the court in a little over a month?! Here are some exciting bits of news to help make this month go by a little bit faster!

--Brandon Davies is currently taking his official visit to Spokane but TKR learned today that he is not by himself this weekend. We have gathered that their are two junior college prospects from North Idaho College also visiting this weekend. It appears to be a guard and a center and the center is enormous! We'll try and gather as much information for you as soon as possible. This is definitely a surprise but Coach Few and the staff are notorious for bringing in impact junior college players.

If I was a betting man, and I am, I would bet that one of the guys was Guy-Marc Michel. He is a 7 footer who says his biggest inspiration is Ronny Turiaf...very interesting.

Here is the full roster at NIC. Let us know if you have any guesses!

--TKR will begin breaking down the future opponents of the Zags tomorrow. We are very excited about the release of the schedule and can't wait to provide you with information about the future opponents of the Bulldogs!!

--More preseason rankings are pouring in. One of the best sources for sports news is Sporting News magazine and they have slated the Zags at #4 in the nation. The three teams in front of Gonzaga are North Carolina, Connecticut, and Louisville. The Bulldogs could potentially take on three teams in Sporting News' top-10. Mark Few and the squad will be taking on #10 Memphis, #5 Michigan State, and #2 Connecticut.

It's almost here...November 1st vs. Wayne State!!

Preseason Rankings Galore!

With the recent release of Athlon's college basketball rankings and predictions, TKR would like to bring you up to speed on the preseason rankings by your favorite personalities. Yes, yes we know that these rankings mean virtually nothing but they are still enjoyable...especially when praise for the Zags is involved.

Athlon: Ranked eighth in the preseason poll. They also believe that the Zags will be an elite-eight team this season. They have Gonzaga as a number two seed in the tournament and defeating American in the first round and subsequently knocking off Syracuse and Tennessee. In the elite-eight however, Athlon has the Zags losing to the University of Connecticut.

Jeremy Pargo is the only selection to the All-WCC team but we think that Austin Daye, Steven Gray, Matt Bouldin, and Josh Heytvelt may have something to say about that. Wow, we could actually field an All-WCC team with only our players! Jeremy Pargo is also listed as an Honorable Mention All-American.

For what it's worth, they also have Saint Mary's qualifying for the NCAA tournament. They do not have the University of San Diego qualifying for the NCAA tournament or the NIT, something I find very hard to believe considering they did not lose any major contributor from last season.

These early preseason polls are nothing new and they are not few and far between. Here are how the Zags stack up against the NCAA in the eyes of the "experts".

Dick Vitale: Has the Zags ranked #8 saying that Jeremy Pargo's return was crucial to our success.

Andy Katz: Has the Zags ranked #11 claiming that the Zags will be good because they return their core but they need to get over the hump in the NCAA tournament if they want to be great.

Rivals: The recruiting website ranks Gonzaga #10 claiming that Austin Daye will blossom into a star this season.

Jeff Goodman: The excellent blogger from Fox Sports tabs the Zags at #6.

NBADraft.net: The NBA Draft prognosticators also rank the Zags as the sixth best team in the nation.

I'm sure that this is only the beginning of the preseason rankings and they will all be updating soon. TKR would like to know what you, the readers, think about these rankings. Too high? Too low? Just right? Feel free to comment at at the bottom of every blog!