A GRIP ON SPORTS

For all of you Gonzaga fans wondering how the Zags would handle a game with Kevin Pangos in foul trouble, wonder no longer. They'll be just fine. At least they were Wednesday night. Read on.

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• Ever since freshman Josh Perkins suffered a broken jaw in Gonzaga's win over Georgia, the main point of angst for the GU faithful has been who will fill the role as Pangos' backup. Last night in Gonzaga's relatively easy 81-66 win over Washington State at the Spokane Arena what Mark Few's plan is – though maybe not by choice. Pangos picked up a cheap charging call early, another reach foul minutes later and hardly played in the first half. The same things happened to him in the second half and he played just 23 minutes total. For the first time in his GU career, the senior guard was held scoreless, missing all six shots he attempted. Still, despite their heart and soul on the bench, the Bulldog offense functioned efficiently. How? Well, first off, Washington State isn't the best team the Zags will face. But the Cougars do defend, especially on the perimeter. Few just put the ball in Gary Bell Jr.'s hands and went from there. The senior initiated the offense for the most part, making sure his teammates were in the right spots and the timing was working. He finished with four assists and just one turnover in his 29 minutes, though there was a cost to be paid. With the ball in his hands instead of Pangos, Bell couldn't do what he does best, run off screens, seek the open area and make shots. Wednesday night it didn't matter much. The GU game plan was to get the ball inside anyway, to Przemek Karnowski when he was in, to Domantas Sabonis when he wasn't. The Cougars are bereft of inside players, having to use 6-foot-7 juniors Junior Longrus and Brett Boese as post defenders often. That's a mismatch against teams with Gonzaga's size inside. Of course, few teams have Gonzaga's size inside. That's a big reason why GU is ranked ninth in the nation. Karnowski just overpowered the Cougars, especially in the first half when WSU played him one-on-one. He hit 10-of-15 shots overall, finished with 22 points and, thanks to the Cougs doubling more in the second half, four assists. Byron Wesley was the recipient of most of those after halftime as it was his defender who trapped the post. He was 10 of 14 from the floor for his 20 points. With Kyle Wiltjer adding 21 points, Gonzaga made receiving just two points from its starting backcourt irrelevant. That stat may not be in a game down the road, if it happens again. It won't. And, because Pangos saw limited minutes last night, Few was able to use different combinations. They all didn't work. But that's what this time of year is for, developing a team that can win its conference and make a run in the NCAA tournament.

• Ernie Kent is really emphasizing development as well. And it's obvious it is working. The Cougars are better than they were a month ago. They are not as good as they will be in a month. What more could a WSU fan ask? This isn't going to be one of Washington State's best teams, so improvement has to be the goal. Laying groundwork for the future. Guys like Ny Redding, Ike Iroegbu and Josh Hawkinson have to keep getting better. Guys like Longrus, Boese and Que Johnson have to as well, if only to give the Cougars productive minutes and depth. And DaVonté Lacy must assert himself. In the first half last night, the Bulldogs denied the senior guard touches and the Cougars had no answer. After halftime, Kent stationed Lacy in the weakside corner, allowed GU to deny him the ball, then ran him off weakside screens to create space. When the Gonzaga bigs would cheat to help, Hawkinson slipped the screen, flashed back door and threw down a dunk. The adjustment got Lacy looks – he took seven of his eight shots after halftime – and points – 12 of his 14 came in the second half. But it was on the other end the Cougars did their best work. They are never going to be big enough to compete consistently with the best teams on their schedule, but if they show the effort displayed in the Arena, there are multiple teams left they can either scare or defeat. If they keep improving.

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• WSU: Both Jacob Thorpe and Jim Meehan were in the Arena last night, with Jacob putting together the game story for the early edition. He also posted the game book as well as putting together a morning post today with links. ... Tom Clouse put together his women's basketball notebook for the week and leads with the ascendance of the WSU women. ... Oregon State surprised the college football nation yesterday by prying Gary Anderson away from Wisconsin to become the Beavers' new head coach. ... A former WSU player and assistant coach has been rewarded for success at Sacramento State,

• Gonzaga: Jim has the game story (ignore the byline, it is Jim's story) and will return today with a day-after post. ... Tyler Tjomsland has this photographic report from the Arena. ... In another matchup of the Pac-12 and WCC, host BYU struggled on the glass and lost to Utah.

• EWU: The Eagles face another high-powered offense this weekend in Illinois State. Jim Allen has a look at the two players who make the Redbirds' offense go. ... Jim will have a live chat today at noon.

• Idaho: A couple of Vandal football players were honored by the Sun Belt Conference yesterday.

• Preps: North Central won the State 3A wrestling title last season. But, as Greg Lee writes, the Indians (pictured) may be even better this season. ... If that's the case, the GSL is really good, because the season opened last night and Mt. Spokane defeated North Central. ... Greg also has his column today while Bill Pierce examines mascots and their history.

• Seahawks: With only three weeks left in the NFL season, the playoff picture should start to clear up. But where do the 49ers stand? Their recent troubles not only have put them in jeopardy of missing the postseason, it's put a bit of a fog on the rivalry with the Hawks. That's not good. ... Richard Sherman spoke about non-football-related items yesterday. ... Pete Carroll focused on football while Darrell Bevell addressed the opening at his alma mater. ... The Hawks are still getting healthier. ... Finally, the words Frank Gore used to describe Bobby Wagner's speed can't be printed here. But let's just say Gore is extremely impressed.

• Mariners: All those rumors about the M's being down on Taijuan Walker? Not true. At least according to the general manager. Of course, if you are looking to trade the guy, you would say that even if they were true. ... Lloyd McClendon is ready for next season to start. More than ready, actually. ... One of the M's reported targets during the offseason was traded yesterday.

• Sounders: The Sounders lost just one player to the expansion draft, which is less than some teams did. Then they made a roster move as one of the younger players was tabbed by the national team.

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• I had a multitude of computer problems this morning, which explains the later-than-usual post. I started at the usual time, but didn't finish anywhere near it. Kind of a pain in the neck. Let's hope it doesn't continue or you guys will fire me. I know it. Until later ...

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