Mark Few’s halftime message connects with Gonzaga in championship win over Santa Clara: ‘No rebounds, no rings.’
LAS VEGAS – The halftime message in Gonzaga’s locker room – after Santa Clara snagged 11 offensive rebounds and scored 14 second-chance points – was crystal clear and obvious.
“Absolutely,” senior wing Jalen Warley said. “We said, ‘No rebounds, no rings.’ If we’re not going to be rebound, we’re not going to win championships, especially since we guard so well. When we did that, we were able to get out in transition and make plays.”
It’s part of an overall philosophy coach Mark Few has emphasized during numerous post-game news conferences that defense has to be the team’s identity – especially after Gonzaga lost standout forward Braden Huff to a knee injury 15 game ago.
Gonzaga’s defense did more than its share of the work until the offense caught fire in the second half as the Zags added one final West Coast Conference Tournament title to their collection with a hard-fought 79-68 victory Tuesday over Santa Clara.
GU, which joins the revamped Pac-12 Conference next season, won 14 of the 18 WCC championships staged at Orleans Arena.
The Zags can thank their defense, which held the WCC’s best scoring offense to 38% shooting and 68 points, 19 below their league-leading conference scoring average.
“They were the best offense in the league,” Gonzaga assistant coach Brian Michaelson said. “They scored on Saint Mary’s (in a 76-71 win on Monday) like I haven’t seen a team do very often. They’ve got four guys that can really play with Sash (Gavalyugov) playing so well right now.
“They each had their time and (Christian) Hammond was probably their most consistent and the others (Allen Graves and Elijah Mahi), we did a good job of limiting them. And how about Graham (Ike) there. Sash hit all those stare-down 3s on switches (against the Gaels) and he only hit one on Graham on all those switches.”
That underscored the main factor that makes this defense click. Gonzaga lost its tallest starter when the 6-foot-10 Huff was injured, but they utilize a handful of rangy guards and 6-foot-7 forwards that can defend multiple positions.
Warley, even at an estimated 75% healthy returning from a thigh contusion, makes an impact with his ability to slow down a point guard or a 6-foot-10 power forward.
“It’s really just our versatility,” he said. “It showed today. We can play so many different lineups. We all have a common goal: It’s five against the ball, it’s not just worried about our man scoring. We really instilled that in the summer and it’s carried over. When it works, it’s really special.”
Warley, who missed the last two regular-season games, had a breakthrough in his recovery last week that allowed him to return to the lineup.
“I was 70% (Monday) and about 75% (Tuesday),” he said. “We’re going to keep it going in the right direction. We changed some things up. We actually went to the doctor’s office and got some fluid and blood drained out. When we did that, it really opened up my flexibility and my strength started coming back. We’re still working on getting stronger and back to how it was.”
Gonzaga’s 2017 defense was the program’s gold standard, led by an intimidating frontcourt of Przemek Karnowski, Johnathan Williams and Zach Collins and point guard Nigel Williams-Goss.
The 2019 team, led by Brandon Clarke’s shot-blocking prowess, was probably next but the current crew is adding its name to the list of Gonzaga’s finest defensive units.
“The ’17 team obviously was so big and anchored at the rim,” Michaelson said. “And 2019 was special, smaller but special because of Rui (Hachimura) and BC. This team is right up there. It has to be with pressure and not letting you get to the rim. This group’s versatility is up there. We can hit a lot of different coverages.”
And the unit’s ceiling only rises if Gonzaga can buckle down on the glass.
“I knew rebounding was going to be a struggle, but man that was scary (in the first half),” Michaelson said. “Credit to Santa Clara. Part of it was our defense was so spread out, trying to take away their 3s. That happens because Graves can space you. And part of it we have to commit to rebounding better.
“The last two weeks we’ve taken a step back. That’s something we can really improve on in the NCAA Tournament.”