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November 14, 2003
Gonzaga vs Saint Joseph's
(+2.5) - MSG - 6:40pm Pacific
The Red Hawks finished 23-7 last year
and earned an NCAA bid. They would have done even better if not
for a late season injury to starting guard Delonte West who at the
time was the teams leading scorer. He ended up missing four
games but even when he did return he was not himself. He has
since fully recovered and is poised for a big season. Point guard
Jameer Nelson has returned for his senior season after testing the
NBA draft waters. He was not guaranteed to be a first round pick
among a strong class of guards but has been named a preseason
1st team all-American by both AP and ESPN among others. He is
clearly one of the best players in the country. The type that can
make all of his teammates better and take over a game. West and
Nelson easily make up one of the top backcourt combos in the
country. Junior G/F Pat Carroll (brother of ND's Matt) led the
A-10 conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.450) last season
on his way to averaging 11.5ppg. He reportedly has improved his
all around game in the offseason. Sophomore center Dwayne Jones
and junior forward John Bryant were not starters last year but
played the bulk of the minutes at their respective positions.
Neither is going to put up big points but they don't have to.
Senior guard Tyrone Barley provides experience off the bench and
highly touted freshman forward Robert Ferguson is expected to
contribute immediately inside. The great thing about SJU is they
play superb team defense. Last year they led the nation in field
goal percentage defense and finished 7th in scoring defense. They
do lose one starter but return their top six players in minutes
played so the defense should be just as good if not better.
Everyone remembers Gonzaga's great
performance in last years NCAA tournament vs Arizona in which they
lost in double overtime. However, overall I believe it was more
of a down year for the Zags. They lost nine games (had only lost
11 in previous two seasons), did not win their conference
tournament, and went 1-5 in non-conference games vs NCAA
tournament bound teams. Tonight's opponent is certainly NCAA
bound. The Zags lose starting point guard Winston Brooks who was
underrated in my opinion plus reserve banger Zach Gourde who gave
them quality minutes off the bench. An inexperienced yet touted
cast of newcomers joins four returning starters but they still do
not have a proven true point guard. It is very unlikely this team
will be able to gel this early in the season. Arguably Gonzaga's
best player, junior big man Ronny Turiaf, will most likely miss
this game while still recovering from a foot injury. He
reportedly practiced for the first time in two months on Thursday
and could see very limited minutes but I am guessing he will not
play. Athletic Washington transfer Erroll Knight has been slowed
by ankle and finger injuries but is expected to play. Head coach
Mark Few reported that six players have missed significant
practice time this preseason and he has not had a single practice
that everyone has participated in. This hurts with a game so
early in the season when practice time is already in short
supply. Gonzaga just is not built to defend a quick guard like
Nelson. He had 34 last season at Gonzaga in a SJU OT win despite
shooting just 1-of-6 from 3 point range.
Gonzaga has an aggressive upcoming
non-conference schedule. They play Georgia, Stanford, Maryland,
Missouri, Washington, and Washington State consecutively all
before New Years. St Joseph's did not know if they would have
Nelson back and their non-conference schedule is rather weak.
That makes this game even more important for their eventual RPI
ranking and NCAA seeding. They will not have as many
opportunities as Gonzaga to notch those always talked about
"quality wins". St Joseph's fans broke the Coaches vs Cancer
tourney record by selling 3,600 tickets as of Tuesday. More than
1,100 students are expected to make the trip which remarkably
accounts for almost 1/3 of the schools 3,850 student body. Take
the points.
Saint Joseph's 1 UNIT
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