Veteran squad starts strong

The Gonzaga club basketball team is filled with experience. The Bulldogs are equipped with nine returning players, all five starters from last season and a coach with two years under his belt: a formula for success and a perfect 4-0 start.  

The Bulldogs are playing in the Spokane County Recreational League. The team picked up its fourth win Oct. 17 in an 82-52 victory over Lesesne.

The nine returners are DJ Williams, Derrick Hein, Pat Jansa, Jon Vimmerstedt, Alex Ballinger, RJ Liggins, Endurance Weke, Zach Haveman and Mo Sambou. Four newcomers — Eric Martin, Dylan Salay, Brian Bhaskar and Madu Cole —- are also on the team, but are unable to participate in games as league rosters were due before tryouts.

 A group of seniors started the club program two years ago when they had a desire for a more competitive form of basketball. Head Coach Kevin Read knew some of the players who started the program and saw a perfect opportunity to get coaching experience, something he has always been interested in pursuing.

"They [the seniors] just took the initiative upon themselves and they didn't really have an idea of what was going to happen with it because there are no other club teams in this region, so it was like, ‘we want to do something, but what can we do?' And we just created a community of ballers that can get together and do what they really love to do," Read said.

Read said that club basketball is new to the Northwest, but is much more abundant in other areas of the nation. Club basketball gives athletes a middle ground between varsity basketball and intramurals, he said. 

"It's just about getting the guys interested in the same thing together and continuing organized basketball because it's something all these guys have been doing for all their lives," Read said. "And after high school, it just drops off, and maybe you are not ready to give that up. Intramurals can only do so much for you, but club basketball is continuing what everyone loves."

Hein, club president and player, said that the one of the hardest things about the club team is raising money. The Zags will sponsor the third-annual Catalina Whine Mixer in January 2012 and are always searching for different ways to raise money. Last year, the team raised money by selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

The club program has made strides to expand its schedule since its establishment three years ago. Last season, the Zags began playing junior colleges, and this year, they have added even more games against those competitive programs. The Zags face off against one of their toughest opponents  — North Idaho College-- — on Nov. 1. 

"When I took over as president last season as a junior, something I wanted to implement was playing community colleges and junior colleges and even more into D-III," Hein said. "We want to play at a really high level for a club team."

The head coach of North Idaho College, Jared Phay, contacted Hein to set up games last season. The games are not only an opportunity for Gonzaga to get exposure, but allow for NIC players who do not typically get as much playing time to showcase their skills. Phay also helped Hein get in contact with other junior colleges in North Idaho's league. Hein estimated the club will play around 10 community college teams this season.

"Community colleges love playing us and we do too because a lot of our guys probably could play at that level, they just chose to come to Gonzaga for other reasons," Read said.

The Bulldogs scheduled a game with Edmonds Community College in Edmonds, Wash., the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

"Ideally we would prefer to play on the weekend or make a series out of it, but we need to take games where we can," Read said. "We love trying to get as much exposure as possible, so we love that challenge."

Though Hein is happy with the progress the Bulldogs have made in scheduling, he said he is optimistic that the program will continue to grow.

"As our reputation kind of grows with the junior colleges in the area, I am sure that we will expand and that is something that we look forward to doing," Read said.

At the beginning of March, the club will participate in the West Coast Regional Tournament for club basketball in Tucson, Ariz. The Bulldogs will play Pac-12 teams from California and Arizona. Other participants include numerous Cal State schools and possibly Hawaii. The winner of the regional tournament moves on to the national tournament where teams from the West Coast meet teams from the East Coast. Read said East Coast clubs teams are known for having well-established programs.

"Our goal this year is to make the national tournament," Read said.

Read said that the nine returners have created rhythm and familiarity with each other. Read said  he recognized progress last season in the team's ability to run the dribble-drive offense and has seen that success carry over to this season. 

"Just knowing each other, knowing how we play, there is more camaraderie with this group and it's just easy to play with people you know really well. Everything flows more smoothly, " Hein said.