Kaufisi and Austin are known quantities in Rose’s system. Davis was nearly a consistent double double in Stew Morrill’s system at USU. It just stands to reason that he’d be able to at least match those numbers in the more offensive and faster minded system that Rose runs.
Aytes…I just don’t get the excitement. If he’d been healthy last year maybe by now he’d be a known quantity. But a Blue and White game, a game against Arizona Christian and almost no time on the floor at Dave Rice’s UNLV just don’t add up to much to me. I’ll be surprised if he gets much time given Austin, Kaufusi and Davis, and Hartsock and even potentially by the end of the season…Hamsen.
Jim, you explained it better than I could in terms of what Gonzaga means to the WCC but I still think the WCC needs BYU even if they don’t trust us (would you if BYU was blatantly telling the world that they want to be in a P5 conference?)
They are playing it exactly as I would expect them too.
Let’s get as much mileage as we can out of BYU because they could bolt at any time. The best way to do that is to make sure to keep Gonzaga happy through favoritism while allowing BYU the opportunity to challenge but not win the conference or its’ tournament. I have stated before that the rest of the league (outside of Gonzaga) has competed on occasion but inevitably falls short because of the favoritism. They will treat BYU “relatively well” because, just like the mwc, they know the Cougars are the cash cow…but not too well because Gonzaga is the darling that has been around longer and isn’t going anywhere. The wcc is on the map because of the Zags.
The thing that bothers me most about it is that this is exactly the way it is played everywhere else… unfortunately the wcc and its’ religiously affiliated schools are no different.
It is a societal disaster and house of cards that will eventually crash.
Or maybe they have been a deeper better team with a better coach. We have always suffered because of our talent and lack of depth. This year may be different. Time will tell.
That may be partly true… about GU being deeper and better. But deeper and better teams still fall short on occasion, when they don’t have help from the officials and conference they play in. Frequently they have issues with the talent, the chemistry, injuries and other things that preclude them from winning conference and tournament titles EVERY year, in spite of all that talent, depth and coaching. It just happens… if you are being officiated objectively and fairly.
I’ve seen too many wcc games where Gonzaga is getting the calls, the favoritism, etc. that helps them win games… and it isn’t just vs. BYU.
I just don’t see the connection nor the purpose. If you want a certain outcome then those events will look like the path to the outcome you want. If you think there is a broad conspiracy in college sports, then why did the last Nebraska touchdown hold up? The receiver clearly went out on his own and came back in bounds. If there is this conspiracy to get P5 big 12 a team into a possible NC game, why did the touchdown stand?
You take a completely imperfect event such as sports and want humans to be right 100% of the time. And you attach this to some conspiracy against BYU or FOR GU. I just say it’s really poor quality of officiating.
Then how or why does this supposed “poor quality of officiating” always end up leaving Gonzaga as the conference and tournament champion?
Like I said before, it doesn’t happen in any other conference in the country.
As far as the Big 10/12 is concerned, I too was shocked when they ruled that touchdown in favor of Nebraska. The truth is that MSU has been sliding along barely winning multiple games. Let’s see how Ohio State plays… and if they cruise to wins. It seems apparent that the college football power mongers want the Ohio States (they have been there multiple times without reason or logic) and Alabama’s there year after year. Explain how Alabama was included in the first ranking with one loss.
The no name, small drawing crowd teams of college football are just not meant for national championship consideration.
Take the SJS game. The better teams usually wins even under stress. And, there you go with “powers to be” stuff but can’t name them, come up with faxes, emails…
If the poor quality of officiating has no measurable effect on who ends up as conference and tournament champion every year, then what is your point in mentioning it?
The reason I mention it is because I believe it is more than just “poor officiating”. Maybe the refs are intimidated by the Gonzaga reputation, both in the league and in the overall ncaa. Maybe Mark Few is so revered that they can’t make objective calls. I don’t know all of the reasons, but I do know they are there because I see it with my own eyes. I see it when they play BYU but I also see it when they play other wcc teams. A couple of years ago, Santa Clara had Gonzaga dead to rights in a tournament game but several biased calls at critical points near the end of the game gave GU the opportunities they needed to win the game. It was obviously bias that helped them to the win.
Wait and see, do you not trust your own eyes? wait and see if the same thing doesn’t happen again this season. I just hope you are ready with some legitimate explanation other than “poor officiating”.
I think officials are human. There is a phenomenon that happens when a lower ranked team goes up against a higher ranked team. We see it every year in the 1 vs 16 game. It happens frequently in conference play. In my opinion, the less experienced the official or the greater the difference between the two teams, the more the phenomenon presents itself. Basically, what happens is this, the official expects the higher team to perform better. He subconsciously expects that the lower level team will foul more, travel more, and camp out more in the key. As a result of his preconceived expectation, he sees these infractions at a greater rate than they are occurring or he fails to see the infractions of the higher ranked team at the level that they are occurring. Basically, he sees what he expects to see.
So are you agreeing with the possibility that this same phenomenon takes place, on a smaller scale, within the wcc?
As in a starry eyed official doing a GU game and seeing Mark Few and saying “wow, this is the actual guy and these are his actual players, the team they are playing today cannot compete at the same level” and that is the reasoning for what takes place? I guess it’s possible that this has happened and may to a degree, currently. If that is the case then there is not nearly enough supervision or review of games to effect change.
I wonder though… because I only see conference domination by one team, in one conference, in the entirety of college basketball. It’s true, no other team or conference comes close… and it goes on and on and on. Why wouldn’t officials in other conferences do the same? Is that why Duke always wins their conference? but they don’t. I’m just trying to figure out why. There is probably some validity to your theory, but it doesn’t give the complete picture. The complete picture is bigger and more scripted…
But when there is purpose in the bad calls and one team (insert Gonzaga) benefits from those “bad calls” to the extent that it helps them win a game, what is it that you don’t see?
If it was just bad calls, then it stands to reason that their opponents would be the beneficiary of those bad calls on occasion. If you can’t wrap your head around that idea, then your argument is flawed.
Does that make sense or is it too complicated for you to understand?
You are assuming there is a reason for bad calls. I recognize there are bad calls but I don’t attach your reasons to them. Just because GU wins every year doesn’t mean all bad calls that go their way is done for a purpose to help GU win every year.
I think there is a fine line between unintentionally favoring one team and intentionally favoring one team. I choose to believe that the officials are favoring Gonzaga because of a perception that Gonzaga is better, rather than a concerted effort to ensure Gonzaga’s success. It appears you are supporting the theory that the favoritism of Gonzaga is due to an effort on the part of the conference to ensure their success. We both agree that Gonzaga is getting the calls. We don’t agree on why.
Regardless of the reason(s) and I think it is a little of both depending on the circumstance, the result is the same. So, in that respect, it doesn’t matter too much. I tend to believe, based on what I have seen along with past history, that it is more than just an officials perception of skill level, that gives Gonzaga the advantage.
As to SG’s “perception and belief” he appears to agree with the bad officiating being a reason but can’t seem to apply a logical conclusion to it. If it was truly just bad officiating, then that factor would hurt Gonzaga as much as it helps them, which it obviously doesn’t. I challenge anybody to point to a wcc game where bad officiating had a negative impact on Gonzaga. I have seen it adversely effect some of the teams they have played and in those cases it absolutely helped GU.
Anyhow, I just hope nobody is surprised when that “bad officiating” is a factor in a GU win in wcc play this season.
That’s a very concrete way of reasoning. Something a 5 year old does
Why do you think bad officiating should evenly go against both teams? Expand your reasoning please! GU simply is better coached with better overall talent in the past. Thus, they don’t put themselves in the position very often for bad officiating. We do. But, the talent question is changing. In 2 years, we will be final 4 material.
Did you really just ask that question? Let me answer it succintly and to the point. Bad officiating should go against both teams because if it doesn’t, then it isn’t “bad officiating”, it’s biased officiating. So thanks for making my point. How is that for expanded reasoning? I don’t have to prove my point when you do it better than I do. Interesting now… how does a team put themselves in a position for bad officiating? And if it isn’t very often for Gonzaga could you please clarify, this upcoming season, when you see Gonzaga puts themselves in a position for bad officiating and it actually happens? LOL!
And an even bigger LOL to your last comment… which is just more nonsensical hype regarding the talent question changing and being final 4 material in 2 years. Thanks again for showing how little you know… simply throwing some random idea out there and hoping it sticks.
There’s no reason for bad officiating to be equally divided. BYU gives refs the opportunity for bad officiating while GU doesn’t so much. When one team is simply fundamentally better, they aren’t going to get as many bad calls. It’s ridiculous to think it has to be equal to the point of creating your conspiracy theory
I understand what you are trying to say but it makes no sense. You are trying to connect two separate things which can’t be connected.
Bad officiating is bad officiating.
How one team gives an official the opportunity to participate in “bad officiating” as opposed to another team makes no sense. Bad officiating is exactly that… and it doesn’t matter what one team or the other does… a good team is just as susceptible to it as a bad team.
What a nonsensical comment, Does anybody else understand what SG is trying to convey?
