Credit Gonzaga for coming back [in front of what was effectively a "home crowd"], but they are going to encounter much better teams than Memphis as they advance. Sooner or later they will wind up on the wrong end of the score with "soft"-played slow starts and missed free throws. While some might say that the Memphis game showed Gonzaga's "heart" and "moxy", I think this game exposes who they are: two "alphas" [Timme & Nembhard], an overrated big [Holmgren], and a supporting cast that is a little soft when they play athletic bullies. No Gonzaga-hate here: just the belief that this team doesn't have enough ability to walk the tightrope successfully all the way through to the end.
As far as the UofO basketball teams, you're 100% correct in saying these teams were the biggest disappointments in the last 10 years. I can't say that they underachieved, because I honestly believe that these teams have the least amount of backcourt ball-handling and shooting capability of the teams that each has had in the last 10 years. Why is this?
On the men's side, I think Altman really needs to rethink his portal and 5-star recruiting strategies. Where is his Canadian pipeline? I think he needs to refocus on finding & developing guys that will stay for at least a few years. He needs to find tough, alpha-dog guards who can run his offense [sorry, but they have to be tougher than Will Richardson] . And he's got to find at least a few guys who can reliably hit a shot [especially from beyond the arc].
On the women's side, I wonder whether the problem lies more with coaching staff personalities. The Lady Ducks HAD better shooters who fled through the portal. They needed a Jaz Shelley or Taylor Chavez on this team to make a big shot, but they left. Neither of those players were the "dead eyes" types that Graves wants to transfer. Graves & coaching staff have to figure out a way to incentivize good players to stay, while bringing in the 5-star talent to compete. Graves' interviews reflect a fairly non-yielding hardass and I wonder whether this attitude wears thin on the average player's psyche in the Lady's game [Ionescu being the outlierwho can take it & dish it]. Regardless this year's team was also too thin on shooting talent.
Credit Gonzaga for coming back [in front of what was effectively a "home crowd"], but they are going to encounter much better teams than Memphis as they advance. Sooner or later they will wind up on the wrong end of the score with "soft"-played slow starts and missed free throws. While some might say that the Memphis game showed Gonzaga's "heart" and "moxy", I think this game exposes who they are: two "alphas" [Timme & Nembhard], an overrated big [Holmgren], and a supporting cast that is a little soft when they play athletic bullies. No Gonzaga-hate here: just the belief that this team doesn't have enough ability to walk the tightrope successfully all the way through to the end.
As far as the UofO basketball teams, you're 100% correct in saying these teams were the biggest disappointments in the last 10 years. I can't say that they underachieved, because I honestly believe that these teams have the least amount of backcourt ball-handling and shooting capability of the teams that each has had in the last 10 years. Why is this?
On the men's side, I think Altman really needs to rethink his portal and 5-star recruiting strategies. Where is his Canadian pipeline? I think he needs to refocus on finding & developing guys that will stay for at least a few years. He needs to find tough, alpha-dog guards who can run his offense [sorry, but they have to be tougher than Will Richardson] . And he's got to find at least a few guys who can reliably hit a shot [especially from beyond the arc].
On the women's side, I wonder whether the problem lies more with coaching staff personalities. The Lady Ducks HAD better shooters who fled through the portal. They needed a Jaz Shelley or Taylor Chavez on this team to make a big shot, but they left. Neither of those players were the "dead eyes" types that Graves wants to transfer. Graves & coaching staff have to figure out a way to incentivize good players to stay, while bringing in the 5-star talent to compete. Graves' interviews reflect a fairly non-yielding hardass and I wonder whether this attitude wears thin on the average player's psyche in the Lady's game [Ionescu being the outlierwho can take it & dish it]. Regardless this year's team was also too thin on shooting talent.