CougarCorner

Looking ahead to next year Gonzaga loses their starting guards:

Pangos
Bell Jr.
Wesley

They gain:

Wade 6’1” 168 lbs Guard from Davis High in Utah rating 80/100 according ESPN.
I believe they should have an available scholarship or 2. Maybe they are looking for a transfer.

Projected starting lineup:

Perkins 6’3” 186 lbs guard (Medical RS Freshman) Rated 86/100 ESPN
McClellan 6’4” 180 lbs (RS Senior transferred from Vanderbilt)
Draginis 6’5” 202 lbs (RS Senior)
Wiltjers 6’10” 240 lbs (RS Senior) (don’t believe the listed weight)
Karnowski 7’1” 288 lbs (Senior)

Key bench players in order of minutes played last season:

Sabonis 6’10” 231 lbs (Sophomore)
Melson 6’2” 170 lbs (Sophomore)
Nunez 6’8” 202 lbs (Senior)

I am not familiar enough with the end of their bench to predict the next guard who might emerge.

Thoughts:

The Wiltjers, Karnowski and Sabonis big man rotation is one of the best college basketball and is the strength of the team. Replacing their starting guard line is going to be the challenge for Mark Few next year. The question is will the new guards be able to spread the flow enough to create space for Sabonis and Karnowski?

The biggest hole is at PG with Pangos leaving. I see his best option as Perkins, a highly rated 6’3” guard, who missed most the last season with a broken jaw. He only played in 5 games but was effective with 5.0 ppg and 3.4 apg in 20 mpg. More importantly he went 4/10 from the 3 point line. McClellan and Draginis give them decent size and experience.

Overall they have a one-two punch down low with Karnowski/Sabonis that combines with Wiltjers ability to score from everywhere well. They have enough talent at the guard positions to keep people honest. However, I think the lack of experience at PG will cost them a few close games this year.

More importantly BYU matches up fairly well.

Looking at what Gonzaga is bringing back next year, it's clear they will once again win the conference by a wide margin. BYU may end up a little closer next year than this year, but our best chances still remain 2 or 3 years out.

Not as good next year as this, but still probably conf champs.

Pangos they will not miss (he can easily be replaced).
Bell Jr will be missed for his defense
The big 3 in the post (karnowski, sabonis, wiltjer) are only going to get better. Sabonis will be the most improved of the 3.

They are going to be better than this year. BYU won't be able to stop them in the post if they are determined to go there (e.g. - conference championship game).

I think we matchup with them pretty well.

KC vs Draginis and crowd

We have a clear advantage here in size, athletic ability and skill.

Karnowski and Sabonis vs Kaufusi and Austin

Gonzaga has a advantage here in scoring but I like Kaufusi and Austin ability to rebound the ball and keep things close

Wiltjers vs Davis/Aytes

I see Davis as just the right kind of tough strong 4 to punish Wiljters in the post with enough mobility to stay with Wiltjers on D.

We'll have to see who's inexperienced guards step up as the season goes on but I like our chances.

We have decent answers for their best players and I don't see an answer on their roster for KC.

BroncoBot wrote:Pangos they will not miss (he can easily be replaced).
Bell Jr will be missed for his defense
The big 3 in the post (karnowski, sabonis, wiltjer) are only going to get better. Sabonis will be the most improved of the 3.

They are going to be better than this year. BYU won't be able to stop them in the post if they are determined to go there (e.g. - conference championship game).

You are joking right... Pangos was a 4 year starter for Gonzaga, starting the last 141 games out the 142 games Gonzaga played (he didn't start first the first game in his freshman year, but has started every one since then). He has the record for most 3's made at Gonzaga with 322 (Jimmer had 296 @BYU) and shot over 40% from the 3pt line all 4 years.
Compare Pangos' and Jimmer's 3pt shooting:
Kevin Pangos: 322-776 (41.5%)
Jimmer Fredette: 296-752 (39.4%)

Pangos had 536 assists and only 222 turnovers (Jimmer- 515 assists, 351 turnovers), the assists to turnover ratio is what made Pangos so good. His career ratio is 2.4, probably the biggest reason why Pangos won the WCC Player of the Year this year was because of his assists to turnover ratio was so high 3.8 (next closest in the WCC was 2.5, Collinsworth was 5th in the WCC with a 2.1). I don't think the WCC Player of the Year will be all that easy to replace, just like I don't think Tyler Haws will be that easy for BYU to replace.

Actually, making the comparison of Jimmer is what shows how replaceable Pangos will be. Jimmer was an all-time great at BYU. Pangos is an all-time great at Gonzaga. Rose found a new "Jimmer" in Haws pretty quick.

I suspect Mark Few, who is a better coach than Rose, will be able to just a quickly find a more than sufficient replacement for Pangos.

Pangos was overrated.

It's easy not to turn the ball over when you play a half court set and all you have to do it lob it one of your two 7 footers in the post. Pangos didn't have to create a thing. And that right there is the biggest difference between a player like Jimmer and a player like Pangos.

Pangos was really good reading from Few's script. What coach wouldn't want a player like that. But, saying Pangos is the best player in the WCC is a stretch.

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pangos was the quintessential "game manager". He's always had athletic playmakers surrounding him and needed to do nothing except bring the ball down the court and hit open threes when defense collapsed into the key. He was very good at that and taking care of the ball. He was part of a system that was perfectly fit for his strengths, but I feel like you could take the top level of BYU intramurals and find comparable point guards that Few could have plugged in with similar results. 3s arent that hard to hit when you're wide open. Great TO:assist ratio, although I beleive more of a result of the system.

Gunk wrote:Pangos was overrated.

It's easy not to turn the ball over when you play a half court set and all you have to do it lob it one of your two 7 footers in the post. Pangos didn't have to create a thing. And that right there is the biggest difference between a player like Jimmer and a player like Pangos.

Pangos was really good reading from Few's script. What coach wouldn't want a player like that. But, saying Pangos is the best player in the WCC is a stretch.

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Hey I totally agree that Pangos was not the best player in the WCC this last year, but I don't get to vote, the WCC coaches do and chose Pangos. Kyle IMO got job, because Gonzaga had a great season. Kyle broke 2 NCAA records, actually he shattered the season record for triple doubles from 4 to 7. And he does not earn the WCC Player of the Year, heck the WCC only had 3 triple doubles recorded in it's history (1 each by 3 different players), before the start of this season.

But that still do not discount the fact that Pangos was a key player for Gonzaga the last 4 years and what he did. It's crazy how some of you want to discount what he did. Threes are not as easy to make as some want to say they are and game management is a huge skill to have. When to push the ball, who to pass the ball to (the hot shooter), when to drive the ball, when to take the 3 point shot, and ect... All that experience he gained the 3 earlier years, really came into to play this year. Pangos' numbers (game stats) might be replaced, the can they replace his leadership also?