Reflecting on the weekend that was

I must confess: I love Gonzaga basketball. Always have, always will. And, if this past weekend is an accurate depiction of how they'll play the rest of the season — and the next four years — I'm extremely excited for the era of Rainzaga.

But before I lose grasp of reality, let's examine what we learned from the weekend when the Bulldogs reminded everyone who owns the Inland Northwest.

Point guard play is no longer our obvious weakness:

I don't know if you guys heard, but apparently we have a freshman from Canada who went on a mission to personally provide the Kennel Club with coupons to Wendy's they probably won't use.

(Pangos' performance was so impressive he was trending worldwide on Twitter for a period of time. So what's his nickname going to be? I personally love Pootie Pang, Raingos and Mr. Wendy's, but I know I'm undoubtedly missing a few gems.)

Anyways, the days of GU going 4-on-5 on offense are over. No longer will our Zags have to avoid passing it to the point out of fear of an ill-advised jump shot or drive. Let it fly, Pangos (and Sweet Baby Stockton), let it fly.

Perimeter defense is our obvious weakness:

Eastern Washington and Washington State made 22 three-point shots and shot just under 45 percent from behind the arc, and let's face it, both of those games were too close. Mark Few taking more than 20 minutes to "talk" to the players after the WSU game is an indication that this team definitely has some things it can work on.

Guarding the three-point shot was a problem last year too. But when Guy Landry Edi is ruled eligible to play, he will bring a physical presence to the perimeter, which should help with that problem. (Or at least that's what I keep telling myself).

We're going to see a whole lot of zone defense:

Opposing coaches know that the wealth of our experience and talent comes from our bigs — it's no coincidence Ken Bone kept his guys in zone despite Pangos all but playing with his jersey on fire like in NBA Jam. The bottom line is that teams are going to pack the paint all season to try to minimize Sacre's production.

The Zags did what they had to Monday night, but it's a safe bet that Pangos won't shoot like that all season. I thought the guards did a good job of breaking the zone a few times by getting the ball to Elias at the high post and playing a high/low game. Look for more of that as the season progresses along with more bombs from Mathis Moenninghoff finding the bottom of the net.

Hope you all like free throws:

You could call me a basketball junkie (or nerd, if you want to be a jerk about it), so I'm genuinely stoked to see something that is extremely rare in today's game: A 7-footer who is lights out from the charity stripe. It's so unique to have your center be your "cooler" —which is a great term coined by Bill Simmons that denotes the player who gets the ball at the end of the game.

Sacre is without question an NBA talent — assuming the NBA ever comes back. I hope he continues to prove every writer who omitted him from the Naismith award preseason list wrong all season.

We have our Brian Scalabrine:

The low-key MVP of Monday's game has to be Kelly Olynyk. His level of excitement at the end of the bench in his pink shirt was something that every championship team has and needs. You have to love when a player has an attitude like that. I'm excited to track Olynyk's progress as Gonzaga's hype man all season, and secretly hoping he starts rocking a clock around his neck.

Give Gary a chance:

Don't be too quick to be harsh on freshman phenom Gary Bell Jr. The kid can flat-out ball and he showed that in streaks against Wazzu, but he looks a little bit like 2010 Marquise Carter right now. He's not entirely confident in the offense and is still trying to get a feel for when he should shoot and when he should defer to his teammates. But, when he gets a hold on Few's system, the WCC better watch out, because I doubt there will be more than three players in the conference who will be able to stay in front of him.

Haters gon' hate:

The Kennel Club seems to get more irrational hate than Obama. Every student criticizes the club and every alum has some reason why the current crew is not doing their job properly, and they're wrong. If it were up to me, I'd make the chants a little more cutting a la the UW crowd, but that's why I'm not in charge. The Kennel Club is actually doing it right: The student section is fun, loud and respectful.