Zags gain fan in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Chris Shackleford sat in the front row in his Gonzaga sweatshirt, outnumbered by fans of Syracuse, Oklahoma and North Carolina as the four teams in the South Regional held practices Thursday afternoon at FedExForum.

Shackleford is used to it. As a Memphis native, Shackleford’s affinity for Gonzaga basketball always draws curious stares from friends and classmates.

“My great-grandma is the one who really got me started watching Gonzaga,” the 17-year-old high school student said. “She’s always liked them, from the time they first made the (NCAA) tournament in 1995.”

Shackleford’s devotion deepened when the 1999 Zags made an improbable run to the Elite Eight before falling to Connecticut in Phoenix. “Casey Calvary’s tip-in,” he said, nodding his head in remembrance of Calvary’s winning basket against Florida in the Sweet 16.

Shackleford attended Gonzaga’s road games against Memphis in 2005 and 2008, only to see the Zags lose to the hometown team.

“My classmates are all Memphis fans,” he said. “If Gonzaga had won, it (the reaction from classmates) probably would have been a little worse, but they lost both times.”

That hasn’t slowed Shackleford’s Gonzaga shirt collection (15 and counting). His family ordered a special package to be able to watch as many Gonzaga games on television as possible.

“I like Josh Heytvelt, all the starters really,” said Shackleford, who will sit in the third deck at FedExForum for tonight’s game against North Carolina. “I think they’re going to win.”

Teammates, now opponents

Back in high school, Gonzaga’s Austin Daye, from Irvine, Calif., and North Carolina’s Deon Thompson, from Torrance, were members of the same Southern California traveling AAU team.

“It was just when he was starting to get recruited,” Daye said. “He’s a good player and a good kid, too. He’s shed a lot of weight and he’s in very good shape. He’s one of their best athletes.”

Daye has shed a few ounces the last couple of weeks. In Gonzaga’s first two NCAA tournament wins, Daye didn’t wear the knee brace that he’s sported this season after hurting his right knee at the LeBron James Skills Academy last summer. He said not many people noticed, because his shorts are so long they usually cover the brace.

“I’ve been pleading with the doctors to not make me wear it. For so long I’ve been doing well without it in shoot-arounds and walk-throughs,” he said. “I feel a lot freer when I’m running and jumping.”

Initially feared to be a torn ACL, Daye suffered a tiny tear and bone bruise that eventually healed with rest and physical therapy.

“It hasn’t bothered me once,” he said.

Retro photo

The text messages started arriving on Alex Hernandez’s cell phone Thursday morning. The Memphis Commercial Appeal ran a photo of Hernandez and teammate Mark Spink from a 2001 NCAA game at the Pyramid in Memphis as part of an article on the city’s tournament history. GU knocked off Virginia and Indiana State to advance to the Sweet 16.

“I haven’t seen the picture yet, but I’m getting text messages, even from people back home,” said Hernandez, now an administrative assistant with the basketball program. “It was the best time of my life and an exciting time for the program. The program was up and coming and for us to come in and win two games – we did what we needed to do to move on.”

Hernandez said his cell phone wasn’t working inside the FedExForum, but he planned on calling Spink after returning to the team hotel “to reminisce a bit.”

Rand McPargo

There’s been some speculation locally that Gonzaga will be the house favorite at FexExForum tonight. It’s not just because the Zags are underdogs to North Carolina, but that they’ve played here twice in their ongoing series with Memphis. And the fact that both programs operate as Top 25 perennials from outside major conferences may have Tigers fans pulling for the Bulldogs.

“I don’t know about that, but I hope so,” said GU guard Jeremy Pargo. “It would be big if they are, because there are a lot of them here.”

Will that make it easier for the Zags to play here?

“You’ve got to play wherever you’re at, whether you’re here or in Nova Scotia,” Pargo said.

Nova Scotia?

“It’s the farthest thing I could think of,” he shrugged.

A gentle veto

Heytvelt was asked about the pressures facing the fourth-seeded Bulldogs and top-seeded Tar Heels, who are favored by 8.5 points.

“They’re expected to win this game, the president has them winning the whole thing, that’s pressure enough,” Heytvelt said.

Asked if he thought President Obama made a mistake on his bracket, Heytvelt showed extreme diplomacy.

“I’m not going to say the president did anything wrong,” he said, carefully choosing his words. “I just don’t want to go against our president.”