Few mysteries unsolved

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are not quite three weeks into their preseason basketball workouts, but they have already solved several of the mysteries that surrounded the team when they held their first practice of the season earlier this month.

Next up is Wednesday night’s first of two exhibition games – a 7 o’clock matchup against Augustana College in the McCarthey Center – and the players say they’re hoping to clear up a few more unsettled issues against the NCAA Division II Vikings, from Sioux Falls, S.D.

“We kind of have an idea now of how the season is going to start off and who the starters are going to be,” said Josh Heytvelt, a 6-foot-11 sophomore who will be a regular on the Zags’ frontline this winter. “But I think the exhibition games are really going to help us find our identity and start understanding how to work against other teams.”

Bulldogs coach Mark Few did not address the media during Monday’s media day, but his players – including Heytvelt, who missed all but 14 games of the 2005-06 season because of injuries – seem excited to start keeping score, even if it doesn’t matter.

“I’m happy to be healthy again,” said Heytvelt, who missed all of last year’s preseason camp with a stress fracture in his foot and all but 14 games of the regular season with a broken ankle. “And I’m happy the season is starting and we finally get to play against someone other than ourselves.”

Junior David Pendergraft, who spent his first two seasons as a backup small and power forward, said he, too, is eager to start the brief exhibition season, which concludes with another 7 p.m. home game against Warner Pacific on Saturday.

“It’s going to be nice to play somebody different and kind of see where we’re at and what we need to work on,” Pendergraft explained. “The different mixes and matches we use might be a little surprising to some people, but I think we’re going to be fine.

“For sure, we have enough people to go in and out, so we’re going to be well-rested and able to run a little bit more than last year. We should be able to really get up and down the floor and play intense defense. If we don’t, then we’re doing something wrong.”

With all of the depth they have in the backcourt, the Bulldogs might try some four-guard lineups.

Senior Derek Raivio, junior Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, sophomore Jeremy Pargo and freshman Matt Bouldin are all proficient and capable of playing the point, and all four are interchangeable at the two guard spot, as well.

“I see us playing together a lot,” said Raivio, a senior who spent most of his first three seasons as a point guard. “I can see us having four guards out there at one time. We’ve been talking about that and putting teams together like that, so it should be fun.”

Fans attending Wednesday’s exhibition will also get their first look at freshman Will Foster, a 7-foot-4 center. The 225-pounder from Buckley, Wash., was expected to redshirt, but might now be forced into action due to a shoulder injury to fellow freshman frontliner Theo Davis.

“It’s kind of up to the coaches right now,” Foster said of his status. “They told me to just play my game until the first game of the season and we’ll decide then. We’ll see how the next two weeks go.”

GU opens its regular season at home against Eastern Washington on Nov. 10, and if Foster is asked to contribute, he will have the backing and confidence of his teammates.

“I don’t think people really realize what 7-4 is,” Pendergraft said. “But Will really is that tall, and he’s really coordinated, has pretty good hands, has a good touch inside and good timing on the block.

“He’s actually one of the new guys I’m most impressed with. He’s really coming along.”

Downs progressing

Sophomore guard Micah Downs, who transferred from Kansas prior to the start of the second semester last year, is running at close to full speed after being hampered over the late summer and early fall by a precursor to a stress fracture in his left foot.

GU assistant Tommy Lloyd said the 6-foot-8 shooting guard, who won’t become eligible until the end of the first semester, has been participating at least 45 minutes a day in practice and doing most of the drills with the team.

Three-pointers

Sophmore center David Burgess, a mid-year transfer from Brigham Young who also won’t become eligible until the end of the first semester, continues rehabbing the partially torn MCL in his right knee and is still hoping to be ready by early December. …. Raivio said he expects to be used more at the shooting guard spot this winter. “Coach (Few) is going to put me off the ball more,” he said. “He keeps hounding me to get shots up and keep using screens in the proper way.” … First-year junior college transfer Abdullahi Kuso, a 6-9 forward from Kaduna, Nigeria, continues to impress coaches and teammates alike with his quickness and athleticism. “He’s a rebounding machine who really goes all out all the time,” said Pendergraft.