Gonzaga’s Davis Fogle making an impact in bigger role: ‘This kid is special’
Dave Smart can’t remember where he saw Davis Fogle play last summer – it might have been on the AAU circuit or at a top 100 camp – but Pacific’s second-year head coach vividly remembers being impressed.
“I was like, ‘This kid is special,’ ” Smart said. “And when I was watching him, it’s like, ‘He ain’t coming to our place” so I didn’t actually get a name. I just said to probably 15 people while I was watching (other) kids at lower levels, ‘This kid is special, man.’ ”
The Fogle that Smart watched seven or eight months ago matched up with the Fogle that scored 18 much-needed points Saturday to lift the Zags to a 71-62 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
“He came in and made a move in the first half and I just turned to one of my assistants and said, ‘Ah, that’s the kid that I thought was so special,’ ” Smart said outside Pacific’s locker room. “I recognize that kid on video.”
Fogle has emerged in a more prominent role in the rotation in the 11 games Braden Huff has been sidelined with a knee injury. The 6-foot-7 wing has scored in double figures in six of the 11 games.
He’s played at least 22 minutes in eight of the last 10 games. After putting up big numbers in lopsided games earlier this season, Fogle contributed 15 points in a two-point home win over San Francisco and 18 against Pacific in a nine-point victory.
Fogle’s 18 points was his second highest output of the season. He scored 19 in a blowout over Southern Utah in mid-November.
“We needed some offense and he comes in and gets 18 in a hard-to-score game,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Clearly he’s progressed well, especially being able to do it instead of maybe garbage time at the end of a game, this was a really hard game to generate any kind of rhythm on offense.
“He came in and was able to make some baskets and get us to stem the run.”
Fogle had a solid shooting night – 4 of 5 from the field, 1 of 1 on 3-pointers and 9 of 12 at the free-throw line. He had missed his last four 3-point attempts over the previous four games.
He hit seven free throws in the closing eight-plus minutes in a tight game. Gonzaga’s largest lead was nine points late.
Fogle’s impact hasn’t gone unnoticed by teammates.
“I’ve been seeing it since he stepped foot on campus,” senior post Graham Ike said of Fogle’s development. “This guy’s a worker, day in, day out. He doesn’t miss a day. He’s always in the gym, early mornings, late nights.
“It’s just a testament to his work of what we’re seeing this year and what we’ll see to come for the rest of his career. Just the edge that he plays with, the mentality he plays with, he’s ahead of his years. That’s why you see what he’s doing right now.”