Gonzaga takes on Waves
MALIBU, Calif. – First-year Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg knows his young and struggling men’s basketball team has plenty of limitations.
Only four players on his roster have been a part of the Waves’ program for more than a year, and only three are taller than 6-foot-4. In addition, only a precious few have experienced any kind of prolonged success at the NCAA Division I level, with Pepperdine having struggled in recent years under Walberg’s predecessor, Paul Westphal.
Yet this afternoon, the undermanned Waves (6-17 overall, 2-5 in the West Coast Conference) must deal with the invasion of longtime WCC bully Gonzaga (16-7, 6-1), which comes into Firestone Fieldhouse fresh off a 90-86 upset road win over 23rd-ranked Stanford on Wednesday and hoping to retain sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
Tipoff is set for 12:30, and Walberg expects his Waves, who are just 1-6 at home, to have their hands full against a Bulldogs team he feels is much better than its record might indicate.
“You’ve got to give (GU coach) Mark Few credit,” Walberg said. “For someone to play the kind of schedule he’s played is amazing. It has to be as tough as any in the country, and they’ve handled it about as well as anyone could.”
Walberg was particularly impressed with the way the Zags came back from a horrible start to knock off Stanford in double overtime behind the late-game heroics of sophomore point guard Jeremy Pargo.
“I love him,” Walberg said of Pargo, who scored 11 of his game- and career-high 23 points against Stanford during the second extra period. “He’s a tough kid – the kind of kid we want to start recruiting here – who knows how to get to the rack. He’s not the greatest outside shooter, but he’s good enough to keep you honest, and he’s turned into a great leader.
“We’re going to have trouble dealing with him.”
GU’s size could present some problems for a smallish Pepperdine team that starts four guards – none taller than 6-3 – along with 6-7 sophomore forward Willie Galick.
To offset his lack of size on the frontline, Walberg uses an offensive attack built around dribble penetration, kick-out passes and long-range jump shots. His team leads the WCC in 3-point attempts (629) and makes (229).
It’s a style that Few calls “a pain in the butt to deal with.”
“And once he gets the right guys in there to run it, it’s only going to get worse,” Few added.
Still, the Waves are coming off a lopsided 77-55 road loss to Santa Clara that Walberg called the “most disappointing” of the year.
“Up until that game I thought we were getting better and better,” Walberg said. “But that loss, in the face of the two wins (over Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary’s – both on the road) where we played about as well as we can, was really disappointing.
“It’s one thing to lose, and it’s another thing not to compete. And we just did not compete that night.”
It didn’t help, either, that Pepperdine made only 10 of its 37 attempts from 3-point range.
“We couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn,” Walberg said, “and, obviously, Santa Clara’s size was a real problem. Again, that’s what happens when you don’t have an inside threat. … We’ve told our kids that good teams find a way to win, even when they don’t shoot the ball well – which lets you now that we’re not a very good team right now. We’re going in without enough bullets in our gun every time out and just hoping something good might happen.”
“Gonzaga swept WCC player of the month honors as Pargo and senior Stephanie Hawk of the women’s team received the award. Pargo averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 assists per game for the month, and Hawk averaged 16.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.