It’s been 20 years since Adam Morrison rode the scorer’s table. He hopes Zags leave WCC on similar high. | Dave Boling
Twenty years ago, March 2006, Adam Morrison executed his own celebratory leap onto the scorer’s table before surfing back onto the court on the shoulders of surging Zag zealots.
As Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team enters its final West Coast Conference Tournament, Morrison was asked for recollections of tournaments past – as both a two-time MVP and courtside radio broadcaster.
The one he most remembers was very nearly one of the biggest upset losses in the team’s history.
Morrison’s celebration that night was not as dramatic or consequential as Jalen Suggs’ joyous leap onto the courtside furniture after the national semifinals overtime win over UCLA in 2021, when his 40-foot, buzzer-beating bank shot sent Gonzaga to its second title game.
A major difference: When Morrison exulted a generation earlier, it was largely an expression of relief, as a last-second missed layup by Loyola Marymount allowed the No. 5-ranked Zags to escape with a 68-67 title-game win over the 12-17 Lions.
Picture the setting: GU had never lost in McCarthey Athletic Center – the Kennel – the home win streak stretching to 39 games after pulling out a surprisingly fraught overtime win over San Diego in the semifinals the night before.
After years of the conference tournament usually being hosted by the best bidder among the California teams, GU coach Mark Few had finally talked conference administrators into holding the tournament at the home of the regular-season champions.
Given their 14-0 WCC record, the Zags were hosting for the first time. And, with their high ranking, they were guaranteed at least an at-large NCAA berth regardless of the outcomes that weekend.
Had the Lions pulled off the upset, to claim the league’s automatic-qualifier bid to the NCAAs, they would have gone in as the AQ team with the worst overall record in the history of the tournament – an embarrassing development for the Zags.
“We should have lost to LMU,” Morrison said this week. “They had a layup … and they probably should have beat us. Coach Few was fighting for the tournament to be at the place of whoever won (the conference title). We would have fought for it and then lost. So, we were kind of like, ‘Holy smokes, that was close.’ ”
Actually, the Zags were lucky that they ever got that close, having trailed by 15 points in the second half.
Morrison ended up with 23 points that game, to lead the nation in scoring (28.1 per game), and sharing most of the Player of the Year honors with Duke’s J.J. Redick.
Having escaped the scare of the LMU upset, Morrison and the Zags went on to beat Xavier and Indiana before suffering a heartbreaking, 73-71, loss to UCLA in the Sweet 16, as the Bruins’ wild second-half rally propelled them toward the national finals.
Especially in recent years, after Saint Mary’s had become an annual title contender, the conference tournament has been a consistently good preparation for the NCAAs, Morrison said.
“It’s definitely perked up our ears over the years,” he said. “It’s usually pretty contentious battles. Having another good club that pushes you and plays a unique style, right? I think especially in the last five to seven years, it’s been a lot better.”
Moving the tournament to Las Vegas (2009), too, has been good for the conference.
“The Orleans (Arena) is a perfect venue size, so it feels intimate. Obviously (Zag fans) travel well, so there’s a lot of our fans that never (can) go to a game in the Kennel, so they pencil in going to those games (in Las Vegas) every year,” Morrison said.
The Zags will open competition in the newly configured Pac-12 Conference next year, and Morrison anticipates the new alignment will certainly bring changes.
“I think some of the style of play is going to change a little bit. In theory, some of these teams are probably going to be a little bigger,” he said. “But as far as the quality of teams, that’s yet to be seen. There’s some good clubs, but the WCC has produced some good clubs. We can’t forget how much this league has improved, especially on the top half.”
The rivalry that has developed with Saint Mary’s may be hard to replicate, at least for a while.
“It’s a unique rivalry because the two schools are so similar,” he said. “Just from a fan’s perspective, I think it’ll be hard to find a rival like that right away, but you never know what can develop. A Utah State, Colorado State, Boise State … you never know. And then the conventional thinking would be Washington State, because of the proximity, but, yeah, that’s yet to be seen, too.”
Morrison could not remember a GU team that has dealt with as many critical injury issues as this year’s group of Zags, playing without Braden Huff (17.8 points per game) since a January knee injury, with key role player Jalen Warley being slowed or sidelined with a quad-muscle injury.
To win 28 games and hold a No. 12 national ranking despite missing key players, Morrison said, is a function of team culture and high-quality depth.
“And, you’ve got to tip your hat to the guys; I mean, they’ve really banded together and played multiple styles to eke out some wins. And they’ve formed a bond defensively out of necessity. It’s been fun to watch in those regards.”
Perhaps a surprising part of that depth has involved the quick maturation of freshman Davis Fogle, a tall and long wing with a knack for scoring. Because of Fogle’s style of play, Morrison was asked if he saw anything of himself in Fogle’s game.
“I’ve said this on our (radio) broadcasts and on my podcast (‘The Perimeter with Adam Morrison’), that I think he’s going to be a pro,” Morrison said of Fogle. “He’s got a nice scoring knack … he’s got a unique nose for the ball, so he has all those intangibles you need to be successful.”
Morrison cited Fogle’s “It” factor, as he can come off the bench and “you look up and he’s scored eight straight points.”
“He has that scorer’s gene,” said Morrison, one former Zag who would know it when he sees it.
Maybe the freshman Fogle, or league MVP Graham Ike, or one of the other contributing Zags will be dancing on the scorer’s table to celebrate a dramatic win in this final WCC Tournament appearance.
It would be an appropriate ending to their WCC history.