Tag Archives: university of washington huskies

Gonzaga Bulldogs: Zags Land Coveted Transfer Johnathan Williams III, Improve National Title Aspirations

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After bolstering adding transfers/impact players Kyle Wiltjer and Byron Wesley to a team that would eventually make the Elite Eight, Gonzaga coach Mark Few is at it again. Johnathan Williams III, Missouri’s leading scorer (11.9 points per game) and rebounder (7.1 boards per game) last season, has decided to transfer to GU.

(Insert embedded Instagram thing of Williams decision here).

He’ll have to sit next season out per NCAA transfer rules, but will be eligible for the 2016/2017 season where he will give Gonzaga a legitimate chance at a national title. Joining him in ‘16/’17 will be fellow coveted transfer Nigel Williams-Goss (who joined from Washington) and talented point guard Josh Perkins. Williams will likely be joined in the frontcourt by Domantas Sabonis (assuming he sticks around), center Ryan Edwards and talented recruit Zach Collins. Collins is already listed by ESPN as a top-60 recruit, and his stock will only rise from here. He may well enter Gonzaga as a five-star recruit when all is said and done.

In addition to Williams III, Perkins, Williams-Goss, Sabonis, Collins and Edwards, GU will return Silas Melson and Bryan Alberts, both with an added year of experience under their belts.

Last season’s Elite Eight team was widely regarded as one of, if not the most talented team in Gonzaga history. This group may surpass them and take GU to the Final Four and a national championship.

Some Quick Hits on Reaffirming the Fact that Gonzaga is the Best Team in the State of Washington (Also Maybe the Country…)

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Washington’s big three of basketball schools, Gonzaga, the University of Washington and Washington State University, have all had a good deal of success in the past decade. Each has made it to the Sweet Sixteen while producing numerous pro players.

It should be noted that historically, and in general, UW and WSU are good programs. But this year has been a down year for them both.

  • GU has one more win (27) than UW (15) and WSU (11) combined.
  • Gonzaga’s RPI is 10th in the country, Washington is 74th and WSU chimes in with a resounding thud at 184th. Yikes.
  • The Zags BPI (or Basketball Power Index) per ESPN.com is fifth in the country. U of W comes in at 72nd, and Wazzu rounds out the group again at number 99.
  • Gonzaga has the same number of conference wins in the month of February than the Huskies do all season.
  • Gonzaga has more conference wins in the last ten days than WSU has all year. (It’s apples to oranges when you compare the WCC with the Pac 12, but the leagues are pretty even against each other by my count, with the WCC taking three scalps to the Pac 12’s four.) Continue reading →

In Case it Wasn’t Obvious, Three More Reasons to Have a Professional Basketball Team in Seattle

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  1. Duh.
  2. Exposure. This isn’t to say that NBA scouts are ignoring the Pacific Northwest. Kelly Olynyk and CJ Wilcox have drawn numerous professional scouts over the course of the season. There is just so much talent that might be overlooked due to the gaping black hole that is the non-presence of an NBA team in Seattle. Washington’s Big Three of UW, Washington State and Gonzaga have produced a good number of pros lately. Brandon Roy, Klay Thompson, Nate Robinson, Ronny Turiaf, Isaiah Thomas and recent Spurs’ signing Aron Baynes highlight a solid group. Again, NBA scouts aren’t necessarily overlooking the Northwest; it is just harder for it to get exposure for the second-tier guys without an NBA team. I say second-tier guys not because of their level of play or potential, it’s just usually the pro scouts go to see a big-time college player and might stumble upon another guy who they want to bring on to their team. Washington colleges as a whole haven’t had a lot of “it” guys like I referenced before, so it’s harder for other guys to get noticed who should be.
  3. Duh. And this isn’t just for repetition (though it partly is.) Seattle provides a much better “market” (I guess you could say) and landing spot in general than prospective cities Virginia Beach, Las Vegas and Anaheim. Plus Slick Watts’ headband has more NBA history than the three cities combined. Just saying.

Let me know your reasons in the comments section below.