Gonzaga's Basketball Forum

[cliftonparksufan]

We are absolutely some of the most obnoxious people on the planet. Its a good thing. It's a NYC bravado obnoxiousness. I LOVE IT. And we travel like you would not believe...

And Syracuse is a suburb of NYC. Just a short taxi ride away. Just ask KO's parents.

 

[MG44]

We are absolutely some of the most obnoxious people on the planet. Its a good thing. It's a NYC bravado obnoxiousness. I LOVE IT. And we travel like you would not believe...

They havent seen obnoxious until they hear this a few times

 

[Flacusian]

I follow this board fairly closely, and I don't recognize a third of those quotes. Although, I know there are delusional fans in every school's fan base.

By the way, who took the time to compile that list?

I'm curious as to what "board" this Zagot pilfered these "alleged" posts from. I spend a good deal of time reading posts on this board and I can honestly say I don't recall seeing any of those posts. Perhaps they were looking at the message boards on Syracuse.com----- that would explain a lot!

For the record and for any Zags that might be lurking around this board this week... The Syracuse.com message board/ comment section is not considered representative of the Syracuse fanbase... it's a place where trolls are bred along with the occasional Uconn and Rutgers zealot fan.

Most all who post here are courteous and well schooled college basketball fans who are respectful of opposing teams... especially the next ones on deck for us to play and that we are hoping to kick the ever living crap out of.

To be perfectly frank, this post of yours which enumerates the "delusional posts from the delusional and obnoxious fanbase" seems more like it was done from completion backwards like a bad science experiment.
Make up the posts for the purpose of substantiating the premise of your post. That's a trolls errand if ever there was one.

I will assume for now that the preponderance of Gonzaga fans are as respectful and knowledgeable as we are here. Good luck and may the best team win!

 

[Cowtown]

You don't suppose that many of those quotes came from the geniuses at that other Syracuse chat board?

 

[Flacusian]

From the GU Board, I think we both have a mix of rational, realistic, thoughtful fans to go with the noisy fans who are always in emotional attack mode. Would someone be kind enough to give a player-by-player summary of the strengths and weaknesses of your starters and rotation guys? Here's one from me for us:

1 - Josh Perkins - RS Freshman PG STRENGTHS quick, heady, and has (sometimes phenomenal) court vision. Great floater and can shoot around bigs. quick off the bounce and never gets gassed. WEAKNESSES He was making lots of sloppy passes to go with the aforementioned phenomenal court vision that led to a terrible assist/TO ration earlier in the year. He's cleaned that up for most part. He's undersized, but the Zags have always relied on undersized PGs (Pangos, Stockton II)

2 - Kyle Dranginis - Senior SG/SF STRENGTHS long defensively, locks down well on the pick and roll switch, quick, athletic, can get hot shooting, has been known to out-hustle/jump bigs for boards, king of off-ball movement and sneaking open looks when defenses collapse or aren't looking WEAKNESSES Freethrow percentage has fallen off a cliff this year, shooting can get streaky, and he's been timid with open looks from behind the arch

3 - Eric McClellan - RS Senior SF/SG - STRENGTHS similar to Dranginis defensively, except maybe a bit more athletic, consistent shooter, can create opportunities cutting to the bucket WEAKNESSES he can get out of control if he gets rushed, sometimes gets into the air before deciding what he's going to do

4 - Kyle Wiljer - RS Senior PF - STRENGTHS Can shoot from anywhere with hands in his face, great back-to-the-basket game, ice freethrow shooter WEAKNESSES - a little soft on offense and defense, although he's showed some tenacity in the tournament, I wonder if the adrenaline and Senior anger are part of that. Slow (although if you asked us, we call it "patient") Reminds me a bit of Kelly Olynyk, except that Kelly hit the gym way harder to make up for it.

5 - Domantas Sabonis - Junior PF/Center - STRENGTHS He is tough, I don't know why SHU, Utah, and some 'cuse fans thought he was soft, but he's a battering ram on both sides. Last year that made defenses hack him, which led to a head of steam and technicals, but he's cleaned that up this year.He's also quick enough as a big to guard most other positions except for PG, especially if those positions call for it with a longer play-maker like BYU's Kyle Collinworth. He's fast, has great foot work, and more recently, has developed a face-up game with a shot. Defenses have been giving him space when he steps out to the arch. This made sense last year and even through November/December this year, but now he's been taking threes and making them. WEAKNESSES foul trouble.

SECOND STRING

2 - Silas Melson - Sophmore - STRENGTHS - Crazy bouncy and explosive athleticism, very long for his size, quick at getting his feet set for threes, WEAKNESSES 6'1", streaky shooter and can go cold offensively.
2 - Bryan Alberts (Probably won't play) - Freshman - STRENGTHS - Lights out shooter, good IQ offensively, good perimeter off-ball movement WEAKNESSES nothing special elsewhere
5 - Ryan Edwards - Sophmore - STRENGTHS - very big, good footwork, will go through anyone for a board, consistent freethrow shooter WEAKNESSES sloppy hands, needs to lean out, needs to work on his shooting near the rim, has no midrange or outside game. A summer hard at the gym

Usual line-ups (although I don't know what we'll see with your zone)

starting 5 obviously, Few has been keeping the 4 and 5 in as long as he can, we Edwards subbing in at the 5 to either give Sabonis a breather, or move Sabonis to the 4 and give Wiltjer a breather. Sabonis can play all 40 if he's not in foul trouble, Wiltjer has been known to get gassed, but he's looked ok for the past few months. Melson will sub into the 2, and for either Perkins, which puts McClellan at the 1, or a variation of Dranginis and Perkins with McClellan Sitting, or McClellan and Perkins with Dranginis sitting.

Hope this was helpful, I'm sure I'll get plenty of heat for more assessments from my side, so I'll edit accordingly.

Hey, a thanks and a tip of the hat to a classy west coaster and other team poster! Most the people who post on this board are hard core college basketball fans and are pretty knowledgeable about the game and respectful of the opposing fanbase. You will be well received here for reaching out with a classy post and providing us with some 1st hand fan knowledge of your teams ins and outs / ups and downs.

Thanks for the insightful post and may the best team win and continue on deep into the tourney!

 

[tbonezone]

big issue seemingly always with the ZAGS is that they'll play a tough early tournament and then hit coast thru the meat of their schedule never really getting tested or given a chance to improve. losses to BYU,saint mary's and SMU in 2016 and no other really good teams to sharpen up their game. whereas we have to hone our edge on the ACC.

 

[Flacusian]

I don't take any of those comments as saying mtsu is better than Gonzaga. Not a one of them.

I'm with Jake. I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to find ANYONE who is a regular here that even remotely holds the belief that MTSU is a more formidable foe than GU.

 

[Briancuse]

This cracked me up

"Syracuse fans might be the second most obnoxious and delusional fan base I've ever encountered. Granted no fan base can even touch Kentucky in terms of how great their fans think their team of one and dones always is..."


http://guboards.spokesmanreview.com/showthread.php?56785-Gonzaga-is-in-deep-trouble-against-Syracuse

The poster who said that is from conn, must be a Uconn fan resorting to being a Gonzaga fan for the week.

 

[Brooky03]

This has to be a unique scenario, in which both teams feel like they're being slighted by the media/opposing fans yet aren't exactly predicting a win, no?

Usually one team feels like the underdog and one the favorite. We're going to have a game where both teams feel like they're being treated as underdogs. Should be interesting.


edit: I also feel honored that my 'foreign white guy' post got some extra love with bold AND underline text accompanying it. I hadn't looked at their roster, just assumed they'd have a guy like that and wanted to cover my bases in case he was just white instead of foreign and white haha.

 

[orangenirvana]

Seriously... I live on the east coast... the total lack of hoops knowledge displayed by some out here in the Empire state is dumbfounding at best.

Then you get this guy who says Few is scared??? Really??? Coming from a fan of a team which would never venture out of NY until January of every year, playing sisters of the poor in the Carrier dome. ACC stopped what the old Big East refused to. End result... middling ACC team.

 

[Marsh01]

This is going to be a very difficult game. I was pulling hard for Utah to win as this would have been a way more favorable matchup. We will have to win this game on the offensive end as opposed to the defensive end. We need to score points and wont be able to win a grind out 55-54 type game IMO.

 

[Cusefan0307]

So glad all the money is flowing Gonzagas way in Vegas, just the way I like it.

 

[Mstumpy50]

They havent seen obnoxious until they hear this a few times

Nothing better than in 03 when the "Hey Song" was going down in Albany. Boomer Sooner fans had no idea what the heck they got themselves into following their team up to Yankee land!!!!!

 

[llandz]

Dam. Gonzaga and our alumni game watch in the same AZ sports bar. Gonzaga got the private room we always use. We are getting a temporary set up. Hope that fuels the team to do better and beat those Zags. We have always had the back private room.

 

[orangenirvana]

Dranginis is the type of random role player who has historically had career nights against Syracuse. We'll have to watch out for him.

Some quality comments from Gonzaga board:

Although they have some talented guys, their zone this year doesn't have as much length and size as we are normally accustomed to seeing. Their zone isn't extremely intimidating this year, but it's still highly effective and unique nonetheless. Syracuse ranks at #23 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Opponents average 64.4 PPG, 40.7% FG, and 30.4% from 3 point range.

Patience is always a big key. The Zags can't be suckered into launching the first 3 point look that comes their way. I am expecting Kyle Dranginis to be a major part of the game plan on Friday night. Whenever teams throw an effective zone at the Zags, one of the first things you'll see Few do is get Dranginis in the game if he isn't already on the floor. He is fantastic at finding gaps in the zone off the bounce. Once he hits the gap, he has an excellent floater, but he is also highly adept at finding open shooters, open cutters and open big men near the rim. Having two big guys like Wiltjer and Sabonis who can stick that foul line jumper also helps.

***************************************************

Our team is actually setup very well to go against this extended zone. This zone gives elbows and short corners wide open. It is designed to make you think the split pass is open when it really is not, while taking away the immediate ball reversal pass ( think wing to top off key pass). The other unique thing about this zone is the high pick and pop is generally wide open due to their wing extensions (wiltjer special specialty).
Pitt does great job dissecting this type zone because of their dual short corner post offense. Getting ball to short corner creates a weak side pass to diagonal block cutter because opposite wing was extended for the cross court pass to steal.
I see a lot of wiltjer drains flashing and dragging across the paint to elbows forcing either the opposite defender to stay ( which leaves slide down open look on overload) and upon elbow or free throw entry sabonis duck in or opposite wing ( Mac or drains) dropping for slash look.
Real susceptible to weak side baseline offensive rebounding...draino and Mac will be key here

Concern is Perkins and propensity to make the skip pass which is what this zone wants you to think is open...while he has gotten much much better this zone is a teaser for those looks

 

[orangenirvana]

Don't have much to add at this point other than to say "thanks" to the admin/mod for "approving" some new posters. Our board took care of a number of the "requests" for new members earlier today.

While it's true that GU needed to win the WCC tourney to get in ... it's also true that the Zags are playing very well. It should be a great college basketball game on Friday.

How well do your big men pass the ball?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I'm actually offended that their board omitted my most inflammatory comments.

 

[Jasoncuse]

They havent seen obnoxious until they hear this a few times

The Hey Song reached it's absolute apex when the Texas band started playing the song during the 2003 semifinals and all of our fans simply took over and serenaded them with our version.

 

[zagdontzig]

How well do your big men pass the ball?

I would say above average. That has some to do with their court vision, but I would also credit our guards with good off-ball movement. The moment they make the first entry pass, Sabonis will bait the double team, if he gets it, he kicks back out, if not his post game is a tough stop one-on-one.

The glaring weakness is that Wiltjer (righty) has been known to get his pocket picked, especially if he's backing down on the weakside low block. If your strong side baseline guard can find Wiltjer's eyes not connecting, he has an opportunity to run the baseline for a quick pick. Risky, but it's paid off for some defenses

 

[MKUltra5]

How well do your big men pass the ball?

Zag fan here

Sabonis is definitely the better passer between him and Wiltjer and can certainly be a threat from that standpoint.

Wiltjer is a damn black hole when a double comes and it can be frustrating at times. He can also hit some ridiculous shots regardless though so you take the good with the bad, but it's definitely not in his nature to pass it out.

 

[Alsacs]

So glad all the money is flowing Gonzagas way in Vegas, just the way I like it.

Vegas made a nice profit off the Dayton-Syracuse game. Most of the money gambled on that game went Dayton's way and SU easily won.

 

[SUFan44]

I would say above average. That has some to do with their court vision, but I would also credit our guards with good off-ball movement. The moment they make the first entry pass, Sabonis will bait the double team, if he gets it, he kicks back out, if not his post game is a tough stop one-on-one.

The glaring weakness is that Wiltjer (righty) has been known to get his pocket picked, especially if he's backing down on the weakside low block. If your strong side baseline guard can find Wiltjer's eyes not connecting, he has an opportunity to run the baseline for a quick pick. Risky, but it's paid off for some defenses

I don't think Wiltjer will be backing down anyone - he'll be in the high post and will be facilitating from there.

Zone defense doesn't provide may mis-match postups - like man-to-man does sometimes.

Should be an interesting game - after the run they had to the Sweet 16, I kind of adopted Gonzaga as my 2nd team (not even close to Syracuse, but a passing interest and will watch/root when on). Their guard play is still nothing to write home about, despite the fact that it has improve a ton since the beginning of the season.

The one thing that worries me is Sabonis absolutely abusing us on the boards and getting second and third opportunities. We need to find a way to keep him off the glass (Roberson & the guards need to box and attack the basketball). Wiltjer is going to get a lot of 15 footers - or is going to have to make a quick decision in the middle if G/Cooney collapse.

Should be a good game.

 

[Mstumpy50]

The Hey Song reached it's absolute apex when the Texas band started playing the song during the 2003 semifinals and all of our fans simply took over and serenaded them with our version.

What a postseason run...a pseudo Big 12 Championship after taking out the top 4 seeds of their tourney on the way to the NCAA Championship!!!!

 

[Dave85]

They havent seen obnoxious until they hear this a few times

Those were the days. It reminds of the time when JB took the microphone and address the crowd saying, "if you continue our team is going to get a technical." So much fun...

 

[Shawn91111]

We're gonna need "Dayton" TRob to show up