Commentary: Zags deserve a No. 1 seed

  • By Tim Dahlberg AP Sports Columnist
  • Tuesday, February 26, 2013 10:30am
  • SportsSports

Now is when things really start to get interesting for the little school that always seems to play so big.

Look for Gonzaga on the map and it takes someone in the know to find the Catholic school in the corner of the Pacific Northwest. Look for the Zags on the basketball map at this time of the year and they’re usually a lot easier to find.

John Stockton once played for the school, before he went on to a Hall-of-Fame career making sure the Mailman, Karl Malone, was always in position to deliver. Stockton’s son, David, plays there now, though he’s not quite the assist machine his father once was.

Gonzaga has gone to the last 14 NCAA tournaments, once advancing to within one win of the Final Four. They’re usually the kind of team other coaches hate to face early because they always seem so fundamentally sound.

Now they’re No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll, the school’s highest ranking ever. And as selection time gets near and the No. 1 seeds are picked, the question becomes this:

Why not Gonzaga?

Why not, indeed. If there’s ever a season a mid-major can become a No. 1 seed and get on the inside track to the Final Four, it’s this one.

The Zags have been tournament darlings before, sure. But this year they’re a legitimate top-five pick on anyone’s ballot — and a No. 1 pick by one voter in the AP weekly poll.

Parity reigns across the nation and, until Indiana solidified things at the top, being No. 1 was a crown to be worn uneasily. But while the Bulldogs may play in a small conference, they played a big-school schedule to make sure they’re ready in March.

They’re done with the label of being the little school that can. Their coach points to the schedule and says they can’t even be considered a mid-major anymore.

They’ve been playing — and beating — the big boys for so long they’re simply a very good college basketball team. Period.

“Our body of work speaks for itself,” guard Mike Hart said Monday. “Our two losses (Illinois and at Butler) were quality losses. We’ve had a great group of games and a schedule that has been tough.”

That Gonzaga is a heartbeat away from the top spot in American basketball is largely due to a pair of Canadians who couldn’t be more different.

Kevin Pangos is the guard who grew up idolizing Steve Nash and can’t stand to not be in the gym. Kelly Olynyk is the late-blooming 7-footer with the flowing locks who looks like he would be comfortable joining Bill Walton at a Grateful Dead concert.

Pangos was a success from the minute he put on a uniform at Gonzaga, coming off the bench in his first game as a freshman last year and then starting every game since. Olynyk, who grew seven inches while in high school, struggled off the bench for two seasons before taking a year off last season to bulk up and work on his skill set and become one of the top big men in the country.

Together they’ve got the Bulldogs at 27-2 with two games left until the West Coast Conference tournament.

It would all be heady stuff, except Gonzaga has been here before. Maybe not quite this high in the rankings, but coach Mark Few’s team has won four of every five games since he took over in 1999, and the Zags always seem to be in the mix late in the season.

If there’s a knock against the Bulldogs — the official team nickname, though they’re known everywhere as the Zags — it’s the usual one for teams from smaller schools (Gonzaga’s enrollment is about 7,500). They play in a conference with schools they almost always dominate, making it hard to get a fix on just how good they are once the conference schedule begins.

If they were a football team, they’d be Boise State. The formula is win a few tough ones early, then beat up on conference wannabes and move up in the rankings while teams in more competitive conferences struggle. This deep into the season, though, Gonzaga has no doubt it belongs among the elite teams in the country.

“The polls mean a lot more this time of year than they do in November, December, even January,” Few said. “All of us are being judged on the true body of work. It’s definitely rewarding. It establishes us as a national program, which I believe we have been for the last 10 years. This group has done a great job of competing at that level, winning games at the highest level.”

To win a bunch of them in a row in the NCAA tournament requires the kind of talent that some Gonzaga teams of the past have lacked. The difference this year might be Olynyk, a rare big man with the ball-handling instincts of the guard he once was.

After redshirting as a junior last year, he’s now a potential first-round NBA pick averaging 17.7 points and seven rebounds a game.

“He grew up and his game grew up,” Few said.

The same might be said about the school nobody in basketball considers little anymore.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Dennis Williams, head coach and GM of the Everett Silvertips, shakes hands with an assistant coach at the end of a season opening victory over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday, Sep. 24, 2022, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Coach, GM Williams leaving Silvertips for Bowling Green State

After seven successful season leading Everett, Dennis Williams is heading back to his alma mater. He’ll stay with the Tips through the WHL playoffs.

Everett’s Alana Washington poses for a photo at Everett High School on March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Herald’s 2023-24 Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Alana Washington

The Everett senior upped her game in the postseason to help the Seagulls overcome injuries and claim their first state trophy in 41 years.

Left to right, Arlington’s Samara Morrow, Kamiak’s Bella Hasan, Everett’s Alana Washington, Lake Steven’s Nisa Ellis, Lynnwood’s Aniya Hooker, and Meadowdale’s Gia Powell, pose for a photo at Everett High School on March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Herald’s 2023-24 All-Area girls basketball teams

A look at the top prep girls basketball players in the area from the 2023-24 season.

Silvertips players celebrate during a game between the Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans at the Angel of the Winds Arena on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. The Silvertips won, 5-3. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Silvertips land No. 1 pick, chance to draft generational talent

Landon DuPont is the consensus top pick in next WHL prospects draft. Everett chief operating officer Zoran Rajcic said the team intends to select him.

Mountlake Terrace’s Jaxon Dubiel talks with head coach Nalin Sood during the 3A boys state basketball game against Todd Beamer on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘It was just time’: Mountlake Terrace basketball coach Sood steps down

Nalin Sood guided his alma mater to 381 wins and 15 state berths in 24 seasons as head coach. He spent over four decades with the program.

Stanwood High School student athletes during their signing day ceremony. (Courtesy of Stanwood High School)
Local class of 2024 athletes who have signed to play in college

A running list of 2024 high school athletes who are set to compete at the next level.

X
Prep roundup for Tuesday, March 26

Prep roundup for Tuesday, March 26: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Silvertips’ Kaden Hammell (47) enters the rink during a game between the Everett Silvertips and the Tri-City Americans at the Angel of the Winds Arena on Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Patterson: Overachieving Silvertips had season worth celebrating

In a season when some thought the team’s playoff streak could end, Everett put together one of its greatest campaigns.

Washington State athletic director Pat Chun, center, watches players on the first day of NCAA college football practice, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Washington hires AD Chun away from rival Washington State

UW quickly targeted its in-state rival’s athletic director after Troy Dannen’s sudden departure.

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger hits a single against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Monday, March 11, 2024, in Peoria, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Why the Mariners could win the AL West, and what could hold them back

Starting pitching, a renovated offense and regression in the AL West are in Seattle’s favor, but injury issues, bullpen concerns and the Houston Astros could be a problem.

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for March 18-24

The Athlete of the Week nominees for March 18-24. Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
Prep roundup for Wednesday, March 27

Prep roundup for Wednesday, March 27: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.