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#5 Gonzaga
Bulldogs
West Coast
Conference
2004-05: 26-5,
12-2, 1st
2004-05 postseason:
NCAA
By
Joel Welser
If you don’t believe
that Gonzaga is this good, you will soon. Derek Raivio proved
to be the next in line of great Bulldog guards and Adam Morrison
will compete for national player of the year honors. J.P.
Batista picked up on the Zag’s system very quickly and, with a
year of experience under his belt, will have a huge senior
campaign.
Who’s Out:
Ronny Turiaf is a big loss. As a senior, the forward averaged
15.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The rebounds will be the
most important, and difficult, to replace. Little used Calum
MacLeod and Brian Michaelson are the only other departing
players.
Who’s In: Every
newcomer will have the opportunity to compete for minutes. And
it isn’t because Gonzaga has a lack of talent returning. The
newcomers are that good. Josh Heytvelt redshirted last year and
will see plenty of playing time at the power forward spot. At
6-11 and 217 pounds, Heytvelt can battle under the basket and
help replace the rebounding lost with the departure of Turiaf.
Heytvelt won’t just stay in the paint though. He has the
ability to step outside and hit the mid-range jumper. Junior
college transfer Mamery Diallo will find himself in the
frontcourt rotation. Diallo put up big numbers at Midland (TX)
College and will use his experience to earn some minutes. Larry
Gurganious is an explosive wing and has enough talent to be
starting by the end of the season, but could find himself on the
bench due to all the talent in front of him. The 6-5, Berkeley,
California product averaged 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds last
year as a senior at St. Mary’s High School. Jeremy Pargo
averaged 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game
Robeson High School in Chicago. The guard will have to earn his
minutes, but has enough talent to make it tough to keep him on
the bench.
Who to Watch:
It’s still all about Adam Morrison. As a sophomore last year,
the 6-9 forward averaged 19.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8
assists. Those numbers aren’t expected to go down. Gonzaga
won’t be totally dependent on the play of Morrison, but they
could run into trouble if Morrison has any problems. But
barring an injury, Morrison won’t have any problems.
Projected
Conference Rank: Another 1st place finish in the
WCC is expected. So is a relatively high seed come tourney time
and another early exit from that tournament wouldn’t be a
surprise either. The biggest problem for Coach Mark Few is how
to find playing time for a team that could realistically go 12
deep. The backcourt is loaded with depth with Nathan Doudney
returning from injury and David Pendergraft and Pierre Marie
Altidor-Cespedes showing promise as freshmen.
Projected
Post-season Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting
Five:
Derek Raivio., Junior,
Guard, 13.0 points per game
Erroll Knight, Senior,
Guard, 6.9 points per game
Adam Morrison, Junior,
Forward, 19.0 points per game
Sean Mallon, Senior,
Forward, 7.6 points per game
J.P. Batista, Senior,
Center, 12.4 points per game
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