Bison say they’re not trying to bore their opponent, but just get the look they want on offense
The raging debate this year in college basketball has been about low scores and quality of play. Which brings us to the Gonzaga-North Dakota State game Friday night, in which the Zags would like to push the ball and the Bison want to hit the brakes.
“Gonzaga likes to get out and run a lot,” said NDSU’s standout guard, Lawrence Alexander. “Us playing at our tempo, that’s going to help out a lot.”
That offensive tempo, No. 322 in the nation, has yielded a 23-9 record for the Bison, who will no doubt try to extend possessions and make the Zags labor on defense.
“It’s not to bore the other team,” said NDSU’s A.J. Jacobson, “but more to get a look that we want.”
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Asked about the trend toward low scores nationally, Gonzaga coach Mark Few said, “You go back maybe to the success Butler had and some teams like that. No offense to any of you out there, but it seems to evolve from the Midwest and just kind of worked its way west and east.”
At 158th in pace, the Zags are hardly Loyola Marymount in its heyday. But they do like to run when they’re not pounding the ball to a big front line.
“It’s silly that we’re operating with a 35-second shot clock,” insisted Few. “I’ve been fortunate enough to (coach) USA Basketball, and the 24-second clock was great. It was what your guys want to play with.”
WCC struggling
It hasn’t been a banner postseason so far for the West Coast Conference, which is 0 for 4 in tournaments.
Brigham Young, after holding a 17-point halftime lead over Mississippi, was run down in the second half in a 94-90 NCAA First Four defeat.
St. Mary’s lost its NIT opener at home to Vanderbilt, 75-64. In the College Basketball Invitational, Seattle University dispatched Pepperdine in the Connolly Center on Wednesday night, 62-45.
And in the CollegeInsider.com tournament, Portland fell to Sacramento State, 73-66.
Cost of recruiting
A USA Today story this week documented recruiting budgets of 214 public schools playing Division I basketball, putting the highest costs over a five-year period to Kansas ($2.1 million), Louisville ($2 million) and Kentucky (just less than $2 million).
Of eight schools that made the NCAA tournament all five years, the total was an average of about $1.2 million, or $231,000 annually.
Gonzaga, as a private school, didn’t reveal its numbers for the survey, but Chris Standiford, the school’s senior associate athletic director, said the school’s basketball recruiting budget would be in the neighborhood of about $200,000 annually.
USA Today defined recruiting costs as those for visits by prospects, travel by coaches off-campus, telephone charges, postage and in-kind value of contributed transportation. Gonzaga occasionally uses donated charters for recruiting.
Up-and-comers
Coincidence puts NDSU coach Dave Richman in the same NCAA pod as Ben Jacobson, the ninth-year Northern Iowa head coach. Richman was a student assistant on the staff of former UNI head coach Greg McDermott when Jacobson was a full-time aide starting in 2001.
“I lived in Ben’s basement,” said Richman. “Those were special times. Ben’s an excellent coach, but he’s a way, way, way better person.”
Let’s play two
Gonzaga’s postseason participation comes double-barreled Friday. Its women play George Washington at 4:30 p.m. in Corvallis, while the men are at 6:50 p.m. in KeyArena.
The women’s site is a boon for Elle Tinkle, Gonzaga starter, whose father is Wayne Tinkle, the Oregon State men’s coach. Says Mike Roth, GU athletic director, “She was on the phone with her mom right away (after the selections were announced): ‘Get the barbecue ready, we’re all coming.’ ’’