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Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga-Texas matchup draws 18 NBA scouts to Spokane

UPDATED: Sat., Nov. 13, 2021

It was billed as the biggest nonconference matchup in college basketball, at least at this early juncture of the 2021-22 campaign, but No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 5 Texas served as much more than the first legitimate benchmark for two teams who hope to be playing on the final Monday of the college basketball season.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

‘It’s going to be a fun brawl’: All eyes on Spokane as No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 5 Texas meet in highly-anticipated showdown

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 12, 2021

One of them boasts the odds-on favorite to win national player of the year, along with the country’s top recruit. The other counters with a group of high-level transfers – six of the nation’s top 31, according to an offseason list compiled by ESPN.com.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Key matchup: Heralded transfer Marcus Carr driving No. 5 Texas into matchup with No. 1 Gonzaga

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 12, 2021

Marcus Carr grew up in hockey country and spent the majority of his childhood with a basketball in his hands. But it’s possible a third sport helped give Texas’ senior point guard his edge.

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Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Ontario’s Very Own: Longtime friends and teammates Andrew Nembhard and Marcus Carr will be rival point guards when No. 1 Gonzaga hosts No. 5 Texas

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 12, 2021

The starting point guards in Saturday’s nationally-televised showdown between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 5 Texas (7:30 p.m., ESPN) go back so far nobody can quite remember how old Andrew Nembhard and Marcus Carr actually were when they joined forces to play for the rec-league Vaughan Panthers at the Dufferin Clark Community Centre in Thornhill, Ontario.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

More than a decade after Gonzaga took on Texas and Kevin Durant, the Longhorns prepare for a test against college basketball’s latest ‘unicorn’

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 12, 2021

The term wasn’t thrown around so loosely 15 years ago, but there was a unicorn on the floor one of the last times Gonzaga’s basketball team played a high-stakes, early-season nonconference game against the University of Texas.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Four-star forward Braden Huff signs with Gonzaga citing influence of Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 7, 2022

Kelly Olynyk and Domantas Sabonis were collegiate All-Americans and double-double machines at Gonzaga who combined to win 147 games during their respective tenures with the Bulldogs before moving on to the NBA.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Chet Holmgren matches Gonzaga single-game blocks record, makes more history in dazzling college debut

UPDATED: Mon., Nov. 15, 2021

Chet Holmgren may not win 132 games as a college basketball player, nor is it likely he’ll spend enough time at Gonzaga to amass 1,500 points or play in the NCAA Tournament four times.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga trio among players named to preseason Naismith Trophy watch list

UPDATED: Mon., Nov. 8, 2021

Three Gonzaga players are considered to be early candidates for college basketball’s most prestigious individual honor, the Naismith Trophy.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

The Fearsome 14: Scouting the best players on each team Gonzaga will face during the nonconference season

UPDATED: Sun., Nov. 7, 2021

There’s a decent chance the top pick of the 2022 NBA draft will be on the floor when Gonzaga squares off against Duke at T-Mobile Arena on Black Friday. If it’s not Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga’s five-star freshman, it could be Paolo Banchero, the Duke rookie and Seattle native who’s already made his share of preseason All-American teams, and topped Holmgren in a number of way-too-early mock drafts.

Sports >  NCAA basketball

Defending Drew Timme, Gonzaga’s bigs no small task for LCSC and other takeaways from Friday’s exhibition

UPDATED: Sat., Nov. 6, 2021

Gonzaga forward Drew Timme’s immaculate footwork and post moves have made him a candidate for national player of the year, but only a few get to experience it up close. It’s essentially reserved for Timme’s teammates in practice and opponents in games. So what’s it like to guard the 6-foot-10 forward?

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

First-half burst helps propel Gonzaga past Lewis-Clark State 112-62 in final preseason tuneup

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 5, 2021

When it happens, it happens fast. Lewis-Clark State learned Friday night in an exhibition game at McCarthey Athletic Center. Many of Gonzaga’s opponents figure to get the same lesson through the course of the 2021-22 season.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Table for 6,000: With fans in stands for both Gonzaga men’s and women’s games, Kennel gets its bite back

Fri., Nov. 5, 2021

Some of them may have been on the unlucky side. Others never stood a chance. Regardless, the 20 teams who traveled to Spokane last season to play Gonzaga’s men and women would be justified if they walked out of McCarthey Athletic Center feeling as though they let an opportunity slip through their hands.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Signature dish: Andrew Nembhard looks to cement his place among Gonzaga’s pantheon of point guard greats

Fri., Nov. 5, 2021

Those who think they understand the totality of Nembhard’s value to the Bulldogs after watching him as a junior may be pleasantly surprised by what he’ll offer in another season where Gonzaga is expected to contend for a national crown.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga looking to iron out rotations in upcoming exhibition against Lewis-Clark State

UPDATED: Thu., Nov. 4, 2021

It wasn’t naive to think Gonzaga’s coaching staff would have some tough decisions on the horizon when it came to the starting lineup, and perhaps to a greater extent, which players would get a bulk of the minutes off the Bulldogs’ bench this season.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren named to NABC Player of the Year watch list

UPDATED: Thu., Nov. 4, 2021

Both members of Gonzaga vaunted frontcourt were named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 NABC Division I Player of the Year on Thursday morning.

Sports >  WSU basketball

COVID-19 pandemic led ex-Washington State guard Que Johnson into lifelong dream of coaching

UPDATED: Mon., Nov. 1, 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused sports to take an indefinite hiatus last year, Que Johnson, like most American basketball players attempting to extend their careers overseas, returned to the United States to reevaluate his future.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Brian Michaelson calls debut as acting head coach ‘a special moment’

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 31, 2021

Brian Michaelson spent the first half of his Halloween Sunday as Gonzaga’s acting head coach, carrying out a game plan for the country’s top-ranked college basketball team in an exhibition tuneup against Eastern Oregon.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga debuts at No. 1 in USA Today poll for first time in program history

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 27, 2021

National media members are considering Gonzaga the best team in college basketball entering the 2021-22 season, recently voting the Bulldogs No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll.

Sports >  WSU football

Washington State’s Jake Dickert calls interim coaching debut ‘a learning experience’

UPDATED: Sat., Oct. 23, 2021

PULLMAN – It’s normally a lesson Jake Dickert preaches to his players. On Saturday, it may have been more applicable to Washington State’s defensive coordinator-turned-interim head coach.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren named to watch list for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award

UPDATED: Fri., Oct. 22, 2021

It’s unclear if Chet Holmgren will play a true center role at Gonzaga this season, but the highly touted freshman was named to the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which recognizes college basketball’s top center.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren signs with sports agency for NIL representation

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 21, 2021

Chet Holmgren, one of the most recognizable figures in college basketball despite having yet to play a game for Gonzaga, is beginning to explore his options when it comes to the NCAA’s new name, image and likeness legislation.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

One year after winning Karl Malone Award, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme named to power forward watch list

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 21, 2021

The Karl Malone Award will have a chance to return to Spokane for a second consecutive year.

News >  Higher education

Analysis: Nick Rolovich’s firing by Washington State has consequences, and not just for him

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 20, 2021

Nick Rolovich may have jeopardized his future as a college football coach by refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, a decision that led to his firing Monday by Washington State for flouting Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate for state employees.

Sports >  WSU football

‘A real stand up dude.’ Washington State players react to news of Nick Rolovich’s termination

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 20, 2021

On Saturday night, Washington State football players unloaded a bucket of yellow Gatorade on Nick Rolovich’s head. Wide receiver Travell Harris beelined to the coach before jumping on his shoulders.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Former Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi signs two-way contract with Wizards, reuniting with Corey Kispert, Rui Hachimura

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 17, 2021

Days after being waived by the Los Angeles Lakers, Joel Ayayi has signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards, reuniting the former Gonzaga guard with college teammates Corey Kispert and Rui Hachimura.