So, according to Eurohopes Basketball, Karnowski claims "everything is still open."

All I keep hearing is that Karnowski is going to be a Zag...this interview makes me think otherwise. He may be, but he also may not be.

Coach Few & Lloyd were in Poland this past weekend visiting him and I have not heard one word about a signed letter of intent. If anything, this interview by Rafal Juc makes it sound wide open. He needs to get academically eligible. He needs to have "long conversations with parents." Several schools are still in the mix, 5 or 6. Then he plans on cutting the list down to the best three, and then take campus visits before he makes up his mind.

It doe's not sound to me like this is a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. And, it looks like he will not be finalizing his decision for some time yet.

And so the suspense, it drags on......

Poll

Will Przemyslaw Karnowski become a Zag?

61%

Yes

145 votes

26%

No

62 votes

12%

Who cares

29 votes

236 votes | Poll has closed

The story goes something like this: One of Gonzaga’s present and future bigs, Ryan Spangler, an Oklahoma State and Gatorade Player of the Year, who averaged 29.8 points and 17.4 rebounds his senior year at Bridge Creek High School, leaves the basketball program after only one year…because he is supposedly homesick. Did Ryan Spangler really leave because he was homesick? Or rather, did the staff bungle this situation, and the homesick part is only window dressing for why he really left. Should some of the blame be put on Ryan, or is Gonzaga’s coaching staff solely to blame?

Perhaps Ryan left because he felt like he was not being used properly, and that this misuse would continue. Could he have been worried that if he stayed he might end up like a Marquise Carter, who ended his career with a whimper after coming on so strong at the end of his junior season winning WCC Newcomer of the Year, only to find himself polishing the pine?

In Oklahoma Spangler was used to being the man. An All State QB and a POY in basketball, he came to Gonzaga thinking he would light it up. While he was idling on the bench, his best buddy, Kevin Pangos, was a starting freshman, running the show and becoming a star, yet all he was doing was sitting, watching, and contemplating his decision to even come here. Meanwhile, the coaching staff was looking to bring in more bigs. He wanted to play, and star, with his buddies and the class of recruits he came in with. Surely, in his mind, he was good enough. Then the staff may have asked him to red shirt, which I believe he should have done his freshman season, and now he suddenly becomes homesick. That’s odd.

From all outward appearances, other than playing time, he seemed to be having a blast at Gonzaga. He visited the campus several times before committing. He met with the staff many times and had a lot of time to make his decision to come here. So, he knew what he was getting into. He has a great relationship with his teammates. They went bowling, to the mall, and the movies, there was even a recent trip to Gary Bell’s hometown. He admittedly loved it here. If he thought he had a chance to do good things on the court why on earth would he consider leaving?

Part of it was probably pride, impatience, and youth. He could not bear to watch my best friend Pangos trending on Twitter worldwide, becoming an All American and super star, while he sat on the bench and then, surprisingly be asked to red shirt. This must have been too much. So, he conveniently becomes homesick.

Let’s talk about that. To be sure, it’s hard leaving your hometown where you walk on water, and are adored by fans. But we all grow up and finding your path is usually part of it. You move. It’s part of life. Unlike the old days, there are many ways to keep in contact with loved ones. Face book, Twitter, email, planes, trains & automobiles too. So it should not have come to this. It comes down to leaving because of pride, expectations, lack of playing time, and immaturity. All of which can be, and should be things coaches can overcome.

So, this one is on the coaching staff. They are supposed to be mature, trained coaches, and adults, responsible for development. You are supposed to have the skills to navigate and keep your kids content with their situation and have relationships with players where trust is developed. Coaches are often thought of as father figures, and mentors. Communication is key. It is squarely on their shoulders to help shape a player into being able to accept his role. I believe coach Few did not have Spangler’s trust. What kind of signal does it send when you are asked to red shirt for the second year in a row, {remember, the staff asked him to red shirt his first year too} all the while the staff is actively trying to recruit more bigs. I believe Ryan felt like the writing was on the wall. He was going nowhere, in a hurry.

IMO, this was nothing more than a whiff in communication, trust and development by the staff. So, it is Few’s fault. Remember, the buck stops at the top.

Is Ryan homesick? Sure, everyone gets homesick…but I am not buying the excuse that he had to transfer because of it and waste one year of his life. I do wish Ryan well and hopefully the staff learns something beneficial from this. It’s sad that Zag fans will never get to see "Spangs" evolve into the versatile 4/5 that he could have become, and witness this rebounding machine reach his full potential.

For Gonzaga, Thursday's game at the Kennel against BYU will pretty much settle things for the WCC Title, and the seeding for the WCC Conference Championship in Vegas.

Two things need to happen in order for the Zags to share the WCC regular season title with St. Mary's and get an auto bid into the semi-finals in Vegas. 1. Win our remaining two games vs BYU and San Diego. 2. We also need St. Mary's to lose another game.

I believe we can do this. We play extremely well at home {see: recent thumpdowns of SMC & LMU}. BYU does not play as well on the road as they do in the Merriot Center. Also, unfortunately, BYU also comes in having suffered a significant player injury.

The injury news on the BYU front: They are going to come into the Kennel with their top scoring player, Noah Hartsock, either unable to play, or in most likelihood not able to contribute anywhere near 100%. He went down this Saturday with what initially appeared to be a severe knee injury. Turns out it is not as bad as first thought, but he is unable to practice fully as of today.

And on the SMC front: St. Mary's will be without their star guard, Stephen Holt, who is done for the season with a knee injury. SMC has lost 3 of it's last 4 and look to be taking quite the nose-dive since his injury.

Not very long ago it looked like the historic streak of consecutive WCC Titles was lost. We receievd a reprieve when we performed spectacularly in a two win weekend over SMC and LMU, coupled with a loss by SMC to LMU, we suddenly were not only alive but controlled our own destiny. But then, before losing the high of this fortuitous turn of events...we choked at USF on Saturday and that pretty much dashed our hopes for once and all. Or did it? With this sudden rash of injuries we have extra hope. But, should there be an asterisk after such a streak if aided along by them?

I do not want to win the WCC title because our opponents suffered injuries. I hate to even think about it but, the unthinkable has happened. I remember a few years ago that SMC had a very good team, argueably better than this years version. We played them in a defining game at the Kennel where they led us at halftime. Unfortunately, their star guard Patty Mills, broke his wrist just before the half and we went on to win the game and keep our streak alive. I bring this up becaue there are those who suggest if Mills had played the whole game we would not be taking about a steak right now.

If we play very well, win out, and even win the WCC Tourney, there will be questions. Of course, I do like it that we are still alive and in a position to reach our season goals. I do not like it that we may be able to get there partially, because of our opponents terrible luck.

Yes, I know injuries are a part of the game. We have had players with injuries this season too and who's to say we would not have won the first meeting at SMC if Robert Sacre's thumb was not injured or how much the loss of Ryan Spangler has cost us? I guess we will never know...But if we win out and SMC falls flat...there will be questions.

What do you think about our chances now, and about the recent injuries to our two best competitors players?

It appears that we have gone from "the little engine that could", to the not so little engine that should, but can’t…...... Why?

The nation adored us when we came out of nowhere in 1999 to claim an Elite 8 birth in the NCAA Tournament. A tiny Jesuit college from Nowhere, USA shocked the world. A true David vs. Goliath story. It was so much fun to realize that on any given night we could pull the upset, and we did it over and over again. Because of our unprecedented success we are hardly considered a mid major anymore. We own the WCC Conf Title, it’s just a given. Dance? We’re on it year after year, after year.

Flash forward 13 years and things have changed, a lot. We take the things we accomplish for granted, and scream for more. Not satisfied with a record setting pace of consecutive conference titles, or 13 straight years dancing, we want a national title. Heck, we’d even settle for a return to the Elite 8, an accomplishment that has eluded us all of these years since. We grow restless.

How come we cannot get back to the Elite 8 or perhaps even further than we did in the magical 1999 season? We have better players, with more talent. The core of the coaching staff is still in place. We have better facilities. Is it the coach’s fault? Are the players we recruit selfish and not "buying in"? Are we failing in recruiting and development? Is this simply the best we can ever hope to do?

I am mixed about all of this. On one hand happy for all we have achieved, on the other frustrated that we seem to have faltered, rather, stagnated…. and then there is the fear that things might actually be falling apart. Especially, since cupcake eating St. Mary’s just destroyed us.

There is a lot of season yet to unfold and it is not impossible to continue our record setting string of successes. We could still win two of three vs. St. Mary’s, win the WCC conference Title and Tournament. But, no matter what we might possibly accomplish, this team will be looked at as a failure by many, if it does not reach the Elite 8 or beyond.

Ahhh, Game Day at last. After what has seemed like an eternity, Gonzaga gets their 2011/2012 season going tonight with an appetizer at the McCarthy Athletic Center against a Big Sky opponent, the E.W.U. Eagles. It promises to be a magical season and this first game should give us a peek at several things. 1. Is our frontcourt improved? 2. How will our guards fare with the loss of Steven Gray and Demetri Goodsen? 3. Can we defend the three? 4. Who is going to play the wing? Who is going to redshirt?

Lots of questions to be answered, but first, let’s take a peek at our opponent:

The Eastern Washington University Eagles. So, who are these Eagles otherwise known as "Eags"? They come with a brand new head coach, Jim Hayford, who has spent the past 10 years at NAIA Division III Whitworth. In his 10 seasons he coached the Pirates to a 217-57 record and into the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 the past two years. A very good coach indeed.

Returning players of note:

A trio of guards is the foundation. 1. Coliman 10.4, Forbes 9.8, and Winford 9.9 are back and bring some hot handed shooting from deep. They are all less than 6’ tall.

6’7 Senior Forward Tremayne Johnson 10.0, Australian 6’9 Hickert hits 43% from three, and Juco transfer 6’6 forward Chiverton popped for 19/5 while at San Francisco City College.

This looks to be an uphill battle for the heavily out manned Eagles. There is little chance that this will be a competitive game and it should allow the coaches to clear the bench and get lots of minutes for everyone.

But hey, this game counts, and we get to see how our newbies perform as well as get a feeling about some of the off-season questions we have.

Let’s get the season off on a magical note!

Poll

What is the likely outcome of Gonzaga's first game of 2011?

58%

We win in a blow-out, practice you're "up by 40" chant.

50 votes

36%

Closer than hoped for, this new guy at EWU can coach!

31 votes

5%

We lose, turm out the lights , the season is over.

5 votes

86 votes | Poll has closed

Ok, I know not many people want to remember this game, especially Zag fans. But because we are so close to Halloween and people are still talking about this devastating nightmarish loss, I figured it was a good time to rehash what happened to what I feel was the single best team in Gonzaga’s history. Coach Few is on record as saying this team was the one that had the best chance of reaching that elusive first final four. It looked so promising, but then our hopes all came crashing down. What went wrong?

For those of you that do not remember this game {lucky for you} a quick recap is in order.

In 2006 Gonzaga faced U.C.L.A. in the Sweet Sixteen. At the time the Zags were a # 3 seed in the Big Dance, sporting a 29-3 record, and ranked #5 in the nation.

The Zags were led by it’s All American, Adam Morrison, in what would be the final game of his collegiate career. The Zags looked superior, went up by as many as 17 points, and led the whole way. However, late in the game U.C.L.A. made a remarkable comeback, and then things went terribly wrong.

With 19 seconds to go, Gonzaga led by a single point but had possession. JP Batista had the ball stolen after the inbounds pass and UCLA made an easy lay-up to go up by one. With approx. 9 seconds left, plenty of time left to still win the game, Derek Raivio sped up court with the ball and turned it over. There was a mad scramble for the ball, and that was basically the end. The TV game announcer, Gus Johnson, was screaming, and Adam Morrison lay crying on the floor.

Some say Raivio was tripped. Some say he was first tripped, and then fouled again. Others say JP Batista was fouled and that should have been called. Still other people say Raivio was fouled again as he tried to regain possession fighting for the ball while on the floor.

JP might have been fouled, and what of the mystery foul on him a minute earlier that sent a Bruin player to the line that gave them 2 extra points? Was Ravio fouled? How many times? Can this loss be attributed to any one Gonzaga player? How about our coaches? They did after all, allow a 17-point lead to be squandered, and that allowed the devastating end to even have a chance to take place. And what of the refs? There were several questionable calls that went against the Zags in the last couple of minutes of this game.

Whatever you feel or decide, the NiGhTmAre scenario that played out, and the bizarre finish is one that will haunt Zag fans forever.

And now, here is a short video of that heart-breaking end:

After hopefully watching the video and the end very closely, I am curious…what do you readers say happened? Could we have done anything different that would have changed the outcome?

There has been much anticipation in Zag Nation for the upcoming season. A general sense of well-being has seemed to set in. We have a stellar, and highly touted group of freshmen coming in, as well as the return of one of the best front lines in the nation. Add in a highflying wing juco transfer in Edi Landry, and a more experienced backcourt, so what’s not to like? Unfortunately, lots of things come to mind. Let’s roll up our sleeves, dig in, and get down and dirty.

Losses:

1. We lose our lone senior and leader, Steven Gray. He won the 2011 All W.C.C Conference Team Award. Sure, he was not always consistent, but he led the team in several categories: ppg 13.9, apg 4.0, fgm 159, steals 1.7, and also led in made 3 pointers at 71. We all know that he was very close with Robert Sacre. My concern is, how will his departure affect the team, as well as, how will it affect his roommate and best buddy, Robert Sacre?

2. Our most experienced point guard, Demetri Goodsen, has skipped town to pursue his calling on the gridiron at Baylor. And sure, he was not the best at feeding our Bigs and his three point shooting was non-existent, but there was something steadying about him. He was tough as nails and could stand up to athletic frontcourts when we had nowhere else to turn. He was pivotal in our huge win against St. Johns and who can ever forget his last second runner that won the game vs Western Kentucky?

Competition: This is the main concern.

1. BYU, our newest W.C.C. Conference foe is added to the mix this year. They are without the Jimmer, but have a lot of weapons returning off of a team that contended for the national title this past season {they made it to the sweet 16}. Noah Hartsock is back, along with reinstated Brandon Davies, who is a handful. BYU finished first in the Mountain West. They have an excellent coach in Dave Rose. It will be loud and raucous playing at the Marriott Center, where you can bet there will be 22,700 screaming fans. They rarely lose at home.

2. San Francisco has given us all we can handle two years in a row. They beat us in OT 96-91 at SFU. We barely won in our last match up in the WCC Tourney, 71-67. They have practically their whole team coming back. Returning are their top three leading scorers: Williams, Green, and Blackwell. They also return their leading rebounder, Caloiaro. Williams is their deadly shooter from the three and he hit more threes than our own Steven Gray did last season.

3. St. Mary's will be back, and possibly even stronger than last year. They tied with us for first place in the W.C.C Conference last season. They do lose McConnell, but return 3 double figure scorers in: Dellavedova, Jones, and Young. They have a very good coach in Randy Bennett, who is the reigning W.C.C. Coach of the Year. We lost to St. Mary's at home, 73-71, and won in O.T at their house, 89-85. Dellavedova, Jones, and Steindl are all precision bombers from deep. We know how much we enjoy playing teams with deadly perimeter shooters.

What I have written above is worrisome to say the least. I had to take off my rose-colored Zag sunglasses and stay off the Kool-Aid for this write up. If Gonzaga is going to keep, and add to their record 13 W.C.C. Title winning streak, and also keep our N.C.A.A. Tournament steak alive, it is not going to be easy.

Before anyone gets out the whipping stick, this is not a prediction. All I am attempting to do is bring out some of the reasons for concern, and I do believe many are justified. If you have a different take, great! Let’s hear it. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Nobody is going to get beat up. The season is almost here, so let's hear what's on your minds!

And besides, if things get out of hand Zach will come to our rescue...lol!

GO ZAGS!! ~