GU basketball begins season of promise

Gonzaga, featuring a seasoned backcourt, a talented big man, high-profile transfers and depth, tonight launches one of its most highly anticipated men’s basketball seasons.

Six of ESPN.com’s 22 basketball staffers projected the 13th-ranked Zags will reach the Final Four for the first time.

One predicted GU will cut down the nets in Indianapolis.

Sacramento State tonight launches one of its most highly anticipated seasons, for entirely different reasons. The Hornets return five starters and eight of their top nine scorers in pursuit of the program’s first winning season since joining Division I in 1991-92.

“For all the years they’ve been slugging away down there this is probably a year they’re pointing to,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the Hornets, who visit the McCarthey Athletic Center at 6. “This is a year they think they can step up and compete for a (Big Sky Conference) championship.”

Gonzaga begins the process of fitting the pieces together, developing on-court chemistry and identifying roles. The Zags are essentially two-deep at every position and guard Eric McClellan becomes eligible in January. Ryan Edwards, Silas Melson and Bryan Alberts are expected to redshirt.

“We’re all getting pretty comfortable with each other,” said senior wing Byron Wesley, a transfer from USC. “Since we got here in late August we’ve been playing a lot of pickup and we’ve been working out a couple times a week. I think we’ve been getting that chemistry we need to be a good team.”

Sacramento State finished 14-16 last season with a 10-10 conference mark, qualifying for the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2006. After going 1-15 in coach Brian Katz’s first season in 2008-09, the Hornets have improved their Big Sky record every year. The Hornets were picked anywhere from first to fourth in conference preseason polls.

Mikh McKinney, first-team All-Big Sky last year, and Dylan Garrity, honorable mention All-Big Sky the last three seasons, form one of the better backcourts in the Big Sky. The two combined to average nearly 30 points last season.

Pangos on watch list

Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos was named to the 2015 Lute Olson Award Watch List. The Lute Olson Award is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team.