For those of you who do not already know, Trent Lockett is a 6'4" 210lb junior looking to transfer from ASU. His stated reason for transferring is he wants to be closer to his ailing mom. An indirect reason is ASU is simply not competitive right now with tons of transfers and team issues (I have found nothing with Lockett saying this is even a factor, so it is entirely my own thoughts). Normally transfers have to wait a season on the sidelines, but the Slipper retweeted a source saying Lockett may get his requested a waiver. In effect, he could play immediately where ever he ends up. If Gonzaga picked him up, and he learned the system, he would certainly start in the 3 spot as he adds a good combination of rebounding, efficient outside shooting, assists, and experience. (He beats out KD largely because of his experience at the D-I level and GLE because of his outside shooting ability). The addition of Lockett would arguably make Gonzaga's backcourt one of the best in the nation, or at the very least, the absolute best in the WCC. While Gonzaga is in the mix and apparently pushing hard, I do not think we will see Locket on campus in the fall despite all Gonzaga has to offer. His mom lives in Minnesota and the Marquette Golden Eagles as well as other respected programs in the region are fighting for Lockett's services. While Gonzaga is obviously the best program and has the best fans, programs closer to Minnesota like the Marguette would better satisfy his desire to be closer to home. Looking at this from an NCAA wavier request standpoint, if he chose to go to a program in the Minnesota region it would better support his request. Gonzaga's distance to Minnesota is unfortunately the biggest hurdle to overcome and there is little that can be done about it. If his mom's health improves, he may not even transfer, because he has said he may stay at ASU to finish out his career. Whatever happens, here is to hoping his mom gets better.

Link to stats: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/45856/trent-lockett

Link to transfer reasons: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7721136/trent-lockett-weighing-transfer-arizona-state-sun-devils

I was looking at the Slipper Still Fits twitter feed and saw the question: "Can anyone explain the high expectations for Arizona next year?" Living in Arizona and hearing about the team nearly every time I turn on the radio, I may be able to offer some insight.

Now a large source of the high expectations for next year is the recruiting class. As of now it is number 1 according to ESPN. ( I do not know what other sources are saying, but it is one of the top classes in the nation). While a number 1 recruiting class is always great, I am not of the mind that this incoming class will immediately provide the means necessary to win it all. The incoming big man is a 7'0", has a decent frame, some skills, and is receptive to coaching. He is expected at least to come in and provide meaningful minutes and may be even start towards the middle of season as Arizona lacks a skilled or even consistent big man. Brandon Ashley is another highly touted recruit but has fallen off as of late. The reason being is he has hit his ceiling as far as athleticism will take him. There are also questions about his intensity, effort, and focus. Still the guy can flat out play. Gabe York and Grant Jarrett are two other highly rank recruits coming in adding size and athleticism which Arizona needs after losing both to graduation this year. The last recruit listed and that I know of is a JC player expected to redshirt a year to develop and add strength. According to talking head I heard last night, the team and the player were both seeking this option.

Besides recruiting Arizona has dealt with its fair share of off the court issues. Three instances immediately come to mind. First, Arizona lost its PG and expected leader when Momo Jones transferred for personal reasons. Second, Kevin Parrom was shot while in New York visiting family. He was expected to have a stellar season but could not consistently put it together as he was playing catch up from the get go. Lastly, Josiah Turner is apparently not getting with the program and was suspended for several games this year for failing to follow team rules.

During games, Arizona just ran up and down the court forgetting they were playing basketball. It was common for them to go 5-8 minutes at least once a game with out a field goal. The lack of a true PG may be the issue here, but no one stepped-up to make a play. Arizona was also notoriously undersized. Their bigs except for the undersized Perry hardly did anything this season (except foul). You have to travel a long ways down the stats sheet before they appear even in the rebounding category.

Next year, Arizona returns several key players notably Nick Johnson, Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom. It is true they lose some offensive power and leadership due to graduation but Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom should be able to fill the role. The biggest question this off season is what happens with Josiah Turner. He was supposed to be a gamer this season at the PG spot but it never came together. People are hoping he gets his act together and starts taking over as this would allow Nick Johnson to play his natural position at the SG spot. Nick Johnson, a freshman, is supposed to make strides this off-season to help share the scoring load. He is capable of scoring in bunches from different areas on the floor., but ultimately fails to get himself into the games at certain times. He would be a ghost for long stretches or simply not make shots. (FG% of 37.2%) In his defense, he was asked to do a lot this season and much of it out of his natural position.

Right now people are generally excited about next year, or at least more so than they were last year. There are still a couple big question marks about this team namely in the PG spot and Center position. Even with these unresolved issues, Arizona is looking good in a down PAC12.

The Lady Zags have gotten yet another fantastic draw. They are an 11 seed, but they get to play in Spokane for the second year in a row. There was a great article nearly two months ago which I unfortunately cannot find explaining how this all played out. Basically the committee was in a bind and was forced to choose the lesser of two evils. The Lady Zags will be playing Rutgers this Saturday for a chance to move on in the tourney. Their positioning in the field is great, because they will (most likely) see a three seed while essentially at home. I have not looked at how the Lady Zags match up against Rutgers or Miami, but from a simple seeding prospective, Coach Graves & Co. may not have any complaints.

Tonight the Zags are taking on the Toreros at home. This is not a clash of titans but is an important opportunity for Gonzaga to get its swag back after being thumped by St. Mary's. For the past couple games, the Zags have been terribly inconsistent if not downright lethargic. Based on team stats the Zags should have this game as they have the absolute advantage in rebounding, scoring and shooting percentage not to mention talent. Most likely tonight will not present a problem for the Zags, but sleepy play could give USD the opportunity to make this a game.

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For the past two years, S.F. has beaten Gonzaga in overtime at S.F. This year San Francisco is 5-1 to start. Out of the six games San Francisco has played this year, three of the games have been decided by a total of five points with San Francisco coming out on top each time. While there is something to be said about the level of competition S.F. is playing, winning close games consistently is by itself impressive. Besides the serious contenders for the WCC crown, BYU and St. Mary's, Gonzaga needs to be aware of SF's ability to hang around. Conference play is a while off yet, but with the game tomorrow Gonzaga should particularly emphasize as a team playing mistake free in the final minutes something that did not happen in the game against WSU. The season is about to pick up for Gonzaga and  finishing out games now will be critical to success in conference and March. As far a individual focus, what should the starting line-up be and who needs to focus on developing what?

ZB Note--Bumped from FanPosts. Great post!

Instead of doing actual work or waiting for another person to do a write up, I wanted to get the ball rolling on the next match-up.

The Zags' greatest strength for this game is their size. They have an absolute size advantage particularly with Davies sitting. BYU's tallest starting player is 6-8, and no one in their regular rotation over 6-10. Their tallest guy at 6-10 injured his shoulder at UNLV, so his minutes may be limited. With several Zags over 6-8 and a good deal heavier, it should translate to dominating the glass and physically imposing their will on the smaller BYU line up. I am expecting Dower and KO to be the regular subs early on in this game. The Zag players obviously need to play smart and avoid foul trouble to play this advantage. more after the jump...

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After reading the Texas scrimmage article, I am a little concerned that this is the first time I have heard about Harris and his shoulder injury and Mathis with his ankle injury. Did I miss the report or is this relatively new information? It seems they have kept it under wraps, but the good news is he is able to move it. If it is still newish do other people know recovery time lines or what actually happened? Thanks everyone.

So looking around at the new bracketology on espn (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ) got me really excited. It is still two months too early to even place bets on brackets but I wouldnt find seeing this one in March.  Right now Gonzaga is sitting at a 4 seed in Spokane in the South. The first round the Zags would play Weber St. (9-7) from the ever dominant Big Sky. However it is the next two games that make it fun, namely Ohio State and the number one seed Texas.The large unknown for me is Ohio St. I do not know enough about them right now to even have a respectable idea how the Zags would match up. Their losses came when Evan Turner was out and so i have not really heard about their rotation or effectiveness. They are winning tough games against ranked teams. Potentially if the the Zags do make it to the sweet 16 and face Texas I feel that right now we could give Texas a good game and even come away with a win. Texas though is a number one seed for a reason. They are skilled and can execute, but in a game like this (extremely hostile environment) I think we can count on Bouldin Gray, and Harris rising to the occasion. Anyway what are some of your ideas about what match ups you would like to see in March? Could be seeing which teams are over ranked and should drop *cough UNC Cough*

Last game I noticed some development. He was more choosy about his drive. Instead of running in and forcing a shot among the bigs and missing or getting blocked, he would settle into an offensive set. The times when he did drive were when he had some help down low with one of our guys helping to create some space. He also showed some improved ability to protect the ball going up.

That is not to say the usual issues were all gone. His competitive attitude while something the zags need to get fired up should be directed. Getting T-ed up after a good play or a bad one is never good. I will say though that I probably would have also slamed the ball down in frustration after the 'block' on KO. Just have the presences of mind to catch it before it gets to high. Lastly, shot selection.While his drive improved his shot selection went the other way. He should not take threes. Hopefully his shot and shot selection will improve so he can draw out the defense and make offense easier for the other zags on the court. 

After everything has been said, he is continually making strides, and he is/will be a great player to watch.