Senior Rasir Bolton adds to Gonzaga’s winning culture, looks forward to first NCAA Tournament
From 2-22 to 26-3. From the last-place team in the Big 12 Conference to the top-ranked team in the country.
From unwanted to invaluable. From watching March Madness on TV to starting on a Gonzaga team considered one of the favorites to hoist the national championship trophy.
As always, fleet-footed Rasir Bolton has covered a lot of ground in a short period of time.
Bolton climbed a ladder Tuesday night in Las Vegas to snip his portion of the championship net following the West Coast Conference Tournament, a few weeks after taking scissors to a McCarthey Athletic Center net recognizing the WCC regular-season title.
This is what he was hoping to find after being told last spring by new Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger that he didn’t fit into the program’s plans, despite being the Cyclones’ most productive player last season.
A few years before, Bolton had left Penn State following his freshman season after listening to a racially charged comment from coach Pat Chambers, who would later resign.
“I definitely wanted to be part of a winning culture and just prove myself coming off a 2-22 team,” Bolton said Tuesday night. “People may say, ‘You’re a loser, you can’t win games,’ things like that, so I just wanted to prove to myself and everybody else I can do what it takes to get things done.”
Bolton was one of the biggest reasons Gonzaga got it done against Saint Mary’s in the title game. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 18 points, including seven straight as the Zags pulled away late in the second half for an 82-69 victory.
When it was over, Ray Bolton found his son for an emotional embrace while GU players celebrated with families and friends on the Orleans Arena court before and after the trophy presentation.
A few days later, Ray said there was a lot going through his mind as he shed tears of joy.
“We want the best for our kids and we sometimes have to be insanely optimistic, confident and a little crazy at times to transfer that belief while supporting their efforts,” Ray said in a text message. “We have hit landmines, not potholes, on his journey and for him to realize the ‘promises’ of a crazy dad is one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences I have had.
“The tears and huge embrace was for the hours in the gym, the setbacks, challenges … the faith to believe what nobody else did!”
Bolton’s stats – 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals – are similar to his freshman season at Penn State, but he’s been far more efficient with 54.5% shooting inside the 3-point line, a team-leading 46.7% on 3s and 80.4% at the free-throw line.
Bolton wasn’t expected to duplicate his numbers from Iowa State with Gonzaga’s talented roster. He averaged 15 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in two seasons as a Cyclone, but his shooting accuracy and assist-to-turnover ratio is much improved as a Zag.
Bolton will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time after three losing seasons at Iowa State and Penn State. Gonzaga is projected as a No. 1 seed and likely the top overall seed.
“It’s a good feeling to hear that,” Bolton said. “But at end of the day, we have to go out there and play basketball against everybody the same way.”
His dad is eager to see what happens next.
“There were tears of joy, faith, love and resilience about a story that still isn’t finished writing itself,” Ray said, “and an excitement about what’s still to come.”