John Blanchette: No small feat for ‘new’ Zags to have rallied

PORTLAND – OK, so it’s not quite the “Hoosiers” heroics of Ollie and his granny-style free throws. But the concept’s the same.

You call on the next guy. You adapt. You keep playing.

You find a way.

Sure, the basketball atmosphere three weeks ago at Gonzaga University was bleak, bordering on toxic. So, what, you expected them to cancel the rest of the season?

Basketball goes on. For the Bulldogs here on the eve of their first game in the West Coast Conference tournament, it almost seems to be getting better.

“It’s different,” said coach Mark Few, “but what we’ve done the last couple weeks is probably as good as what we’ve done before.”

Different, yes. Sometimes daffy.

At regular junctures since the program-rocking arrests of Josh Heytvelt and redshirt Theo Davis and an ankle sprain that’s limited Sean Mallon, the Zags have put a lineup on the floor that featured 6-foot-6 David Pendergraft at center and the power forward stylings of Micah Downs, who might weigh 180 pounds – if he’s toting his book bag across campus.

Sure, Mallon and Abdullahi Kuso still get steady turns, but just as often it’s four guards and GU’s best grinder. And it’s been a revelation – both to the Zags and to their opponents.

“What happens with good teams with good talent and good coaching is that you fill in the gaps,” said San Diego coach Brad Holland, Gonzaga’s last victim in the regular season. “They discovered this is a good small scoring lineup and they’ve actually defended pretty well with that lineup. To me, that’s what good teams do – they figure it out and keep on winning.”

In the WCC, even the not-so-good teams have been so challenged.

With the exception of runner-up Santa Clara, every league team has lost significant cast members for substantial periods. Four likely all-conference players when the season began – Heytvelt, Loyola Marymount’s Brandon Worthy (ACL surgery), San Francisco’s Armondo Surratt (knee strain) and Pepperdine’s Michael Gerrity (quit the team) – weren’t on the floor last weekend.

For the Bulldogs, the attrition started in October. Guard Larry Gurganious developed back problems that would sideline him all season, and Davis – a highly regarded recruit – ripped up a shoulder that led to his redshirt. Downs, who was to become eligible at the end of the first semester, sat an extra five games with an injury. Then came the bust and Heytvelt’s suspension.

“It’s been absolutely incredible,” said Few. “And even starting with that, I’m not sure where people got the notion we were so talented. In my eyes – and I think I’ve got the best eyes of anybody regarding what’s going on in this program – this has been our least talented team since I’ve been here.”

Really?

“Developed talent,” he clarified. “The thing is putting your brains with your ability and functioning out there. It’s not just about jumping high or whether a guy is fast with the ball. There’s a talent to playing hard and cerebrally, too. And we’ve got no NBA guys on our team this year – we’ve had them for a good little run, all the way back to Richie Frahm.”

You’d think, then, that losing the one player who appears to have NBA ability – though he’s not remotely ready for that level, in any respect – would be fatal.

So why hasn’t it turned out that way?

“There are lots of different ways to play,” said Pendergraft. “I’m not comparing myself to their talent level, but Villanova last year ran four guards and an inside guy and they were a top five team. If you use it right, the smaller lineup can be a positive factor – especially with the guards we have.”

Few agreed, though this experiment has been less strategy than necessity.

“Teams have had to try to play small to combat it and, knock on wood, we haven’t just been pounded yet inside – though if you look at our team walking through the airport you might think that would be the case.”

“If you’re playing against it, you have to make choices. We went through it a lot when we had Ronny (Turiaf) and J.P. (Batista) inside, or Ronny and Cory (Violette). Are you getting enough of an advantage from your big guys to offset the little guys banging in 3s. There have been some tough matchups for us with bigger lineups, but I think we had such a conviction with our high-low game and getting it inside that it usually would prevail.”

But more than anything else, of course, players must elevate their play. Pendergraft has almost doubled his scoring average in the last four games, and Downs is averaging better than 18 points in the last three.

“That’s what has been lost in this – yeah, we lost a guy, but we gained a pretty good guy being able to give Micah more minutes,” Few said.

And there is no greater motivating factor in sports than having it suggested that your cause is a lost one.

“We’ve just tried to ignore everyone else – ignore the media saying we’ve lost our best post presence and being scared that way,” Pendergraft said. “It’s been fun to do this.”

No small thing, at that.