Seeing the University of Portlan being recognized as an "On the Bubble" school provokes mixed emotions in me.
On the one hand, I couldn't be prouder. As a WCC alum from Gonzaga, it's good to see the young Pilots playing well and getting some respect. It's like seeing your little, less athletic brother getting some recognition for his performance on the basketball court.
It's also a sign of the continued progress of the WCC as one of the more respected conferences outside of the "big 6". With both St. Mary's and Gonzaga being ranked in the top 25 during the course of the year, having a third team to add to the mix of potentially 'legit' teams from the conference only helps the cause.
On the other hand, it erks me. My buddy Dan graduated from UP a few years back (we were both attending school at the same time), and he is literally on cloud 9 with the squad's most recent success. Portland is the last school to beat Gonzaga at the Kennel ( a game the two of us both witnessed in person) and it kills me to this day, despite Gonzaga beating Portland every other time we've played since our attendance at our respective schools.
Now, I have been called - correctly - extremely dillusional when it comes to the WCC and Gonzaga (among other things), but Dan has taken his UP dillusions to a whole different level in years past. Year after year its "these guys are young and talented, give them a couple of years" - "Coach Holton is building a good squad this time around". It was all for naught. UP never had any significant success (outside o the one GU win) in the WCC or otherwise that translated into postsason opportunities.
Is this year any different?
Personally, I can't help but agree with Dan this time around. This Portland team is legit. They are winning games much like the unproven Gonzaga teams of the late 90s, early 2000s: Great Shooting. They have the 4th highest 3pt shooting percentage in the nation: 40.5%
They've also had a couple of very nice wins: Washington and St. Mary's (granted, without Mills).
They've also had some bad losses: Eastern Washington at Home
But they've also had some good losses: @ Cal, @ BYU, @Oregon and @Portland State
UP has had some injuries to contend with - but they are now healthy. And in all: I'm extremely worried about Gonzaga losing one at the Nipple on Thursday. I don't think Portland's success is a delusion - and I suspect if the Zags think it's a delusion, they'll find out in real time that the Pilots are the Real Deal.
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That Dan guy seems like an asshole...
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that this is the best Pilots team I've ever seen (granted, I never saw the Pilots until my Freshman year at Portland in 2000). That being said, the Zags have far superior talent and, when they're on, can honestly play with anybody in the country (as seen by the UCONN(#1) game they should have won). The problem lies with Gonzaga... they never seem to get it done. Every year is their best team they've ever had and every year it ends in disappointment. I don't know if you can blame it on a lack of focus, a lack of legitimate competition in the WCC which leads to mid and late season feeling of complacency leading up to the tourney, or inferior coaching (I think it's the coaching, but I'm biased cause I hate Few), but something needs to change for these guys pretty soon, because they seem to be wasting some pretty great talent that goes through the Spokane area. Few has yet to get as far as his predecessor got the year before he took over and I don't know anybody who would argue that the talent isn't better now than it was back then.
All that being said, the Zags will likely come out and stomp on the River Boat Pilots on Thursday and the argument will be squashed for now. But never underestimate the power of looking past an opponent (Memphis coming to Spokane and College Game Day being there for it).
Great stuff Sean, I just bookmarked it.
I agree with the assessment of Gonzaga's continued disappointment. While I beleive Few is a great 'Xs and Os' coach - he's a terrible game coach. Just ask some of his former players.
ReplyDeleteBut, alas, Few's job at Gonzaga is about as secure as one can get when it comes to the "one-level-down-from-a-premiere-school".
Oh, and Matt - that Dan guy is an asshole. Grade "A" D.
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