🏀 Ignoring Gonzaga Hoops
I'm doing it again. Gonzaga has another stellar team and I'm tuned out and barely paying attention. It's still the preseason and they've been playing a mix of low-level fodder (UMass Lowell, Long Beach St.) and decent teams (Baylor, ASU, and SD St.) and absolutely trouncing all of them. 5-0 with the closest result being an 80-67 drubbing of the Aztecs.
I paid a lot more attention last year and that team really struggled at times before Ben Gregg cracked the starting lineup. Now they've completely upgraded his spot with Khalif Battle and filled the graduated Anton Watson's spot with Michael Ajayi (also quite possibly an upgrade) and I don't feel all that compelled. Maybe it's because those guys are portal one and doners and I just don't feel that invested yet. Nolan Hickman is the only starting four-year player for the Zags and he might be the most unassuming1 5-star recruit in Gonzaga's history. He's improved a lot over his career and I like him as a player and person, but I have lingering reservations.
All that said, it's absolutely incredible how well Mark Few and his coaching staff have adapted to the shifting dynamics of college athletics. But it's an undeniable fact at this point that college athletics have lost some of their luster to me. The main thing is that I need to accept things for what they are and I need to find away to enjoy this team while we have it. It's looking like it will be a fun ride.
Unassuming was an adjective regularly used to describe my dad in the coaching bio capsules in the GSL season programs three decades ago and it completely fit his humble persona. But he coached with a competitive edge and intensity that I've never seen Hickman consistently display on the court.↩