The Gonzaga men's basketball team officially started the season last Friday when it held its first official practice.
It's time to get excited, Zag fans!
Are you thoroughly hyped-up? OK, good. Now, calm down.
Don't get me wrong — I'm almost as excited about this year's team as I was about our squad my freshman year (aka the last year of the Pargo era) — this year's edition to the Mark Few era looks amazing on paper.
We found out toward the end of last season that we have two guys that can flat-out score the rock in Marquise Carter and Sam Dower. We have one of the few 7-footers in the nation with soft hands in Rob Sacre. We have a guy with lottery-pick potential in Elias Harris. And if Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. live up to even a quarter of their hype, we have an extremely formidable backcourt considering the solid contributions from Sweet Baby Stockton last season.
But, as the Eagles and Heat will tell us, don't believe all the hype.
I'm not saying that I don't believe in this team — on the contrary, I think Few has established himself as one of the top three recruiters west of the Mississippi, and he has outdone himself again in creating a star-studded, young roster.
But, I think Zag fans could learn a lesson from former NFL head coach Dennis Green, who famously said, "There's a reason why we take the damn field. If you want to crown them, go ahead and crown them."
Take it slow, Bulldog supporters. We won't be getting to the Sweet 16 in the first month of the season. This team is still extremely young, and still has to answer a ton of questions.
So, as your guiding light for all things sports, here are some dates you won't want to miss as Zag fans.
Friday, Nov. 11: The Bulldogs kick off their regular season against the Eagles of Eastern Washington, who recently hired former voice of the Zags and Michael Jordan play-toy Craig Ehlo as an assistant coach. I assume they hired him to rain effusive praise on Gonzaga's players and keep stats (Ehlo is famous for once saying, "Sacre is now in double-digits with nine points.")
Monday, Nov. 14: Washington State heads north to play in Spokane. The Zags need to avenge their loss to the Cougs, because I don't care how undefeated WSU fans are, there is no excuse for a Gonzaga student to lose to a Wazzu student in anything that doesn't involve effective manure spreading techniques.
Saturday, Nov. 26: How excited are you for the Western Michigan Broncos to come to the Spokane Arena for the Ronald McDonald House game? Me neither.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Michigan State has to have the strongest program of any team that has ever played in the Kennel. Needless to say, everyone in the Kennel Club needs to show up ready to make a difference in this game, because Few and college basketball legend Tom Izzo are two of the best offensive minds in basketball, and it's going to be a show. As the late Terrell Owens would say "Getch'ya popcorn ready."
Saturday, Dec. 17: Arizona will meet Gonzaga as the Battle Seattle returns for the 2011-12 season. This game will feature two of the best frontcourts in the nation, and it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs can ever establish the Emerald City as an actual second-home advantage. On the bright side, GU does have more wins in Key Arena in the last three years than the Sonics.
Saturday, Dec. 31: The last of the Bulldogs' non-conference contests comes against Xavier in Cincinnati on New Year's Eve. While, I assumed most Gonzaga students were going to stay sober on NYE strictly on principle, now that the Zags are squaring off in the War of the Mid-Majors, all bets are off. (Note: I know the GU faithful hate the term "mid-major," but it fits until we get past the Sweet-Sixteen in this decade. Sorry, dominating the WCC doesn't automatically qualify us as a powerhouse.) But, have no fear; we will see exactly where we stand in the mid-major landscape this year, because we get to play Butler as well.
Thursday, Feb. 2: GU travels to Provo, Utah to kick off the sure-to-be fiery rivalry with Brigham Young University. BYU won the first battle last year in March, when Jimmer Fredette put on a tutorial on how to shoot the basketball. We all know that Cougar fans are passionate, as seen by the response to Scott Krieger's column in The Bulletin last year. Personally, I can't wait to see how our team reacts going into the most hostile environment this program has ever seen in-conference. I also can't wait to see how the Kennel Club prepares for BYU's first-ever game in the MAC on Feb. 23. Drink plenty of coffee before that one, because you're going to need the energy.
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