A players-only meeting allowed Gonzaga to take ‘next step’ entering postseason: ‘A really open and honest conversation’

If you had to guess which of Gonzaga’s three losses was the genesis of a players-only meeting, the front-runners would likely be Nov. 26 against Michigan at the Players Era Festival and Feb. 4 at Portland.

If it didn’t happen after a 101-61 loss to the Wolverines that represented the largest margin of defeat under Mark Few, it surely came on the heels of an 87-80 “Quad 3” setback at Portland that knocked the Zags back in the national rankings and left little room for error in West Coast Conference play.

Wrong on both fronts, actually.

A Gonzaga team with big goals in March came together on the first day of the month. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Zags had stumbled at Saint Mary’s, losing 70-59 in the final game of the regular season. A variety of new problems surfaced for Gonzaga, which lost track of 3-point shooters and lost the momentum it had built to take a seven-point halftime lead.

Objectively, it was still the most excusable of Gonzaga’s three regular-season losses. The Zags played without Braden Huff (dislocated kneecap) and Jalen Warley (thigh contusion) – arguably two of the team’s three most important contributors. They’d already locked up a share of the WCC regular-season championship and No. 1 seed at the conference tournament. The Gaels were playing at home and put on the type of 3-point shooting display (16 of 33) that usually happens only once a year.

It’s unlikely the result impacted even Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament situation. The Zags were expected to earn a No. 3 seed prior to the double-digit loss at UCU Pavilion and the projections held true on Selection Sunday.

It still left a bitter taste, though. Not wanting errors to become habits in the postseason, Gonzaga players returned to practice the following day looking to address their issues.

“I think as a group we kind of agreed we showed some things against Saint Mary’s that we really haven’t shown all year,” Warley said. “So just staying together, that type of fight and that grit – the reasons why we won games.”

Problem-solving didn’t just mean correcting ball-screen coverages or tightening defensive rotations, though. The Zags felt larger issues were bubbling in the second half at Saint Mary’s, when they were outscored 41-23. Communication was off. Chemistry might be next.

Gonzaga’s leadership group had already broached the idea of a players-only meeting. Warley cross-checked schedules to make sure everyone could make it and the Zags adjourned after practice, less than 24 hours removed from their mishap in Moraga, California.

“I just happened to be the one that made sure, are you guys free, can we all do this right now?” Warley said. “Honestly we got contributions from everybody. The older guys and the leaders kind of started off the dialogue but we got some really good input from our younger guys, sophomores and juniors. It was a really open and honest conversation and one I think will benefit of us this time of year.”

The specific contents of the meeting remained in-house, but everyone was encouraged to say their piece.

“We had a little dip in practice, a little road bump,” Tyon Grant-Foster said after Gonzaga’s WCC Tournament semifinal win over Oregon State. “(Warley) brought us all together and checked everybody, made sure everybody was on the same page. I would just say that was a moment we needed as a team. Because if we didn’t have that moment, I don’t think we would’ve been the team and played defense and did everything we did today.”

Time was running out on Gonzaga’s season and players wanted to make sure they were connected, not splintered, heading into a vital stretch of win-or-go-home games at the WCC and NCAA Tournament.

“I think we talked about a lot, we talked about being a team,” freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery said. “We don’t have a lot more time together and I think we just talked about enjoy this time, have fun and play for each other.”

The third-seeded Zags open their 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament on Thursday (7 p.m., TBS) against 14th-seeded Kennesaw State at the Moda Center in Portland.

If they make another deep March run, defense, guard play, experience and low-post scoring from Ike are all likely to be key factors. Don’t overlook the significance of the closed-doors meeting that took place after Gonzaga’s third loss, either.

“We just took that next step as a team, we took that next step,” Ike said after Gonzaga’s 79-68 win over Santa Clara in the WCC championship game. “It was some great accountable moments that everyone stepped up to and took some great accountability and ultimately that’s what translated today and that’s what we are going to return to for these next six games is that talk, that players-only we had right there.”