So who is going to be RS this season?

[zagsmyboys]

I watched the game last night, and for their first game together, they did very well!! I am having a hard time trying to find out who they are going to Red Shirt this season. From what I saw, we have a deep bench! Please let me know your thoughts!!

GO ZAGS!!!!!!!!

[NEC26]

I think the player with the most to gain from a redshirt is Kelly but there is no doubt he could contribute this year too. Giving him a year would let him grow into the frame he has and really help him out in the long run. Its between him and Dower I think. I just think Dower has the build right now but both would contribute on the court this year there just isn't enough minutes for all.

[zagsmyboys]

Its so hard to choose....they all have great contributions to give to the team! I am pretty sure that David Stockton will R ed Shirt only for the simple fact of growth. He did really well in the scrimage but didnt see much last night. When will we actually see who is Red Shirted?

[MickMick]

Vilarino is definitely good enough to contribute immediately, but in the interest of securing two seasons of starting at point guard he wouldn't be a bad choice.

The Zags are guard heavy right now and Grant has used his RS up.

[NEC26]

Don't think Vilarino will redshirt he is too good. Stockton definitely will. I really don't see him pushing for playing time as long as Meech and Vilarino are here either.

[sittingon50]

I had the same conversation with someone last night, Mick. GJ looked much better last night than he did in the scrimmage & could easily play this year but why not RS him (Matt, Steven & David could all play point behind Meech)?

Dower really impressed. He has a real nose for the ball & as someone mentioned about Arop in another thread, I think Sam will be a real stat stuffer. Kelly is ready, but I think at this point Sam helps in more ways.

[Kiddwell]

Freshman/RS freshman PF's (4's) = Poling, Harris (3/4), Dower, and Olynyk (3/4). Choose this year's likely redshirt from them (save for Poling).

(Kiddwell hopes GJ redshirts too in order to put another year between him and Meech.)

:]

[memorial80]

GJ will never Redshirt.

He has the rare ability to get anywhere he wants to on the court against even elite guys and that is an attribute that is in very short supply on this team.

The guys you mentioned could all play the position behind Meech and do a good job on the offensive end of the court against most teams. But defensively they would struggle against guys with speed.

GJ can learn a bunch from Meech. Meech as a lot of attributes that GJ is not currently as far along as he is. But, GJ has elite upside. Once his knowledge and other intangibles catch up with speed and athleticism he will not play behind anyone on this team past this year... The fallacy that he will be a back-up here for 3 yrs is off base... Never gonna happen.

Originally Posted by sittingon50

I had the same conversation with someone last night, Mick. GJ looked much better last night than he did in the scrimmage & could easily play this year but why not RS him (Matt, Steven & David could all play point behind Meech)?

Dower really impressed. He has a real nose for the ball & as someone mentioned about Arop in another thread, I think Sam will be a real stat stuffer. Kelly is ready, but I think at this point Sam helps in more ways.

[willandi]

So nobody is going to redshirt, and they will all start every game. We will have to get a waiver from the NCAA to start all 13 players, at least this is what I getfrom the comments.

Personally, I think that Stockton will, and I expect Kelly will. I think GJ should, he would be better off for it, an extra year as the number 1 point, unless he unseats Meech this year, but I don't see that.

[CaliforniaZaggin']

Here was an earlier thread discussing whether Sam will/should redshirt. According to a fairly recent facebook post from Sam, it appears it might happen.

http://www.guboards.spokesmanreview....dower+facebook

[Angelo Roncalli]

David Stockton will redshirt. Every walk-on I can think of in the last 15 years has redshirted. Richard Fox said last night during the radio broadcast he expects that David will redshirt.

As to others...Saturday may go a long way in determining who, if anybody, redshirts.

[DADoZAG]

Originally Posted by willandi

So nobody is going to redshirt, and they will all start every game. We will have to get a waiver from the NCAA to start all 13 players, at least this is what I getfrom the comments.

Since we're talking about the NCAA...

Is there any rule that a senior can't redshirt? It seems that the player who would most benefit from another year...

...is Will Foster. I love him, he's giving it his all, and he made a few nice plays last night. But, doesn't the team gain more from having every other big available?

If not Will, then I would agree with Dower. Sam made several nice plays last night, but he also looked lost a couple of times, nearly throwing the ball back over half court, and his outside shot is still… labored.

Again, I don't envy Few.

Go ZAGS!

[BustaBucket.com]

Voting on the red shirt question going on here:

http://www.afewgoodzags.com/2009-art...-question.html

[zagsmyboys]

I love the link Busta!! Thanks..just addeed it to my favorites!!

[zzzjag]

the blog really broke down the roster and put into perspective how many players are vying to be in 'the rotation'.

Funny quote above re 13 starters.

side note, Will Foster may end up with the least amount of career minutes in a 4 year scholarship career. Everyone wants to see the big man break out this and every season.

[BroncoZAG615]

Remember how good Andy was last season in Gonzaga's exhibition game? Everyone was raving about his interior play and thought he could go right away but he sat out, matured, and looks great for this season. I expect the same for Sam Dower and probably Kelly. I expect one of them to suit up every game just in case of injury or they need one of them but you can bet that Few will want to redshirt them as they have so much potential that it'd be silly to waste a year of eligibility for them this season.

GJ will not redshirt. He was very impressive last night.

Just like two weeks ago when we discussed this, the viable candidates are Sam and Kelly. I think we'd all love to see both but definitely at least one.

[BustaBucket.com]

Originally Posted by zagsmyboys

I love the link Busta!! Thanks..just addeed it to my favorites!!

Thanks, they are friends of the blog. We are all Zag alumni. Keep that blog in mind, it's just starting out but has a lot of good basketball minds involved.

[titopoet]

Drove back from Seattle last night (another appointment at Childrens Hospital for our Baby, looks like surgery), so I didn't get to see the game and only listen to it 1510. Richard Fox was talking that it would come down to either Kelly or Sam and he even suggested GJ. He made the claim the GJ need more time to learn how to run the team. I didn't see the game.
Is that right? Again, I did not get to see the game just the play by play on 1510. The
I hope not as have two guards who have an extra gear is such bonus.

[75Zag]

After reading posts on various threads from last night I think it is a good thing that GU only has one head coach and that we don't allow decisions by fan vote or whatever. Elite teams don't play 10 or 11 player rotations and many play only 6 or 7 (maybe 8) players except when dealing with injuries (or during garbage time).

Few is going to earn his money this year by managing this young group of eager players. My expectations are still fairly limited for this season, but it should be fun to watch the Bulldogs no matter what happens.

Should we expect any objective information from the Texas scrimmage, or just the usual post-game coaches mutual love fest? I would love to know whether Sacre can sustain the type of play he demonstrated last night against the Texas front line. If he can, my expectations for the season will start to rise. I guess we will see him in the Michigan State game and be able to judge for ourselves whether Robert has reached elite center status.

Go Bulldogs! Get Bigger!

PS - I will be shocked if GJ redshirts. For him to come from an elite BCS program at UK and then agree to redshirt for a WCC school seems absurd, but hey, what do I know!

[CDC84]

I think there is a key difference between Poling's redshirt decision and what will be taking place with Olynyk and Dower. With Poling, I just knew that he really, really needed to redshirt. There wasn't any question in my mind. He had to. He didn't have the physical profile to withstand the beating underneath. While Kelly and Sam clearly could use a redshirt to bulk themselves up, I feel either guy could make a nice contribution to this year's team. In other words, this is really more about a numbers game than anything else. Someone is likely going to have to redshirt because there just isn't enough PT available. As some people have been saying in this thread, guys like Sam and Kelly have such upside that you really don't want to waste their eligibility.

I also feel Bol Kong plays a part in this redshirt decision in an indirect way. I don't expect much from Bol at the start, but if he gets better and better come WCC time, then perhaps it makes more sense to redshirt Kelly due to the amount of wings that Gonzaga has. On the other hand, if Bol is going to need a whole year to get it going, then that has to be considered.

It's a tough decision, but that's why Few makes the big bucks.

[dnj116]

I think what will happen is something of a mathematical breakdown of minutes. Right now you have six freshman (including Kong) who could potentially be redshirted, and remember that you still have Polling and Gibbs making eight total freshman. If what I am hearing is correct (and we really never know) we have cooled off our recruiting for the the class of 2010. By redshirting 2 or even 3 of these six, you stagger their years and are not left rebuilding four years from now. So at MINIMUM I believe two of them should be redshirted:
GJ Vilarino- This kid has talent, there is no denying this. He will likely not redshirt and can contribute immediately this year. However, I see the argument that some on this board are making, that by him redshirting, you stagger a year between him and Meech so as to make it a more evenly balanced team (remember that we were looking at point guards for the class of 2010 before he committed late...also family members should not take what is written on this board too seriously, we're merely speculating...)

Sam Dower-- This kid proved he could play last night. 15 points with that left handed shot made me very excited for his potential. However, I believe he should redshirt because by him adding strength for a year and learning the system, the TEAM would benefit by not wasting a year of his eligability (i.e. Hytevelt, Polling, etc)

Kelly Olynyk-- Again, like Dower, Kelly proved he could flat out play last night, and even on a sprained ankle. But similarly to Dower, although he could contribute this year, I believe his career would be better suited to redshirt by giving him a year to fill out.

Bol Kong-- Potential for (medical) redshirt? Without knowing how good he is, or how serious his injury is, he remains a possibility...

Manny Arop--Proved he is a stud last night and no way does he redshirt. LOVED his energy and drive.

Elias Harris--He started last night. Enough said.

[Colbyspapa]

Stockton, Olnyk

That is it. Dower is needed as it appears the staff doesn't have full confidence that Will is their #1 backup for the post position. You have to have at least 4 people to play the 4 and the 5 but 5 people is preferred. Harris, Sacre, Dower, Poling, and Foster. Those are our natural front court players. If one is hurt, we will need the 5th post.

Kong, Arop are both undersized so they will play the 2 and the 3. The PT on the 2 and the 3 is dominated by Matt and Steven Gray.

The posters on this board are forgetting how good Gray is. He started as a freshman for us. He came off the bench last year because Micah was too good to sit but he still played 20 mpg +.

The backup minutes this year will go to GJ, Arop, Kong. That means it is going to be hard for Grant to get on the court.

GJ will not redshirt. He could have played anywhere and in my opinion could be a better guard right now than Meech. (this is not a slam on Meech, but a description of GJ). Once he learns the offfense, we will see this lineup on the floor in pushing situations.

Meech
GJ
Gray
Bouldin
Sacre

It will be fast and furious.

[MDABE80]

I'd like to keep GJ forever! He's got that extra something seen in Elite talent.
It would takes lots of guts for him to sit. We don't see kids like him very often. Meech will be pressed. Demon speed you say?

David S will redshirt. It's a foregone.

Ask yourself who you would rather be defending: KO or Sam? Now, add on Robert and Harris/Bol on the other wing? Needs will determind what Few offers. I like both plenty. Sam's better on the boards but KO brings offense with size too. Keep KO for another year. He and the Zags will benefit more if he takes a full year. He must buy into it though. KO would start in most WCC places. I bet he'd be another Klay T type at WSU....except more size and dimensions. Sam's solid. Big time player.

In the past, we've commented on the incoming talent....seems like enthusiasm is renewed every year for the new kids. Some fizzle, aren't "ready". I have a feeling I will be saying this over and over this year: EACH and every new face could play right away....and play very well.

Let's see how they do in the OOC tough games. That'll tell us more. I have a feeling that "nerves" will matter more than talent shortage. i.e. Sam at the FT line against Duke in front of 19 K fans shrieking at him could prove interesting.

We have a good team. We'll lose some but I'm feeling a bit better about the new faces.

[zag67]

I would like to at least add one scenario to 75Zags statement that the top teams only play 6 - 7 players. Most of the top teams do this because the difference between the top 6 or 7 and the rest is so much. In the team that we have, I am not so sure that is true. I think that different players may be able offer different things to this team. Therefore depending on the team we play, it might not be the same 8 or 9 players that would best help the team. I think that we have a certain set that will get more minutes, but

I do not think that you can play 6 or 7 players and play all out at both ends of the court. In most cases you will see the player gliding (resting) at one end or the other. This team has enough athletes, I think that you can see them all give 110% for a shorter number of minutes. Then they know that they have a replacement that will come in and do the same. The key is to have the correct chemistry of players in at the same time.

But again that is the reason we are here and not being paid the "big" bucks to make these decsions. The coaches and players are probably talking these same issues and they will hopefully come up with the best answer.

[NotoriousZ]

I hadn't thought about the notion of a medical red shirt for Kong. If that happens, probably he and Dower red shirt. If Kong plays this year, I'm thinking Kelly and Dower red shirt. Either way, if two of these guys don't sit out this year I'd be surprised.

Edit: Subsequent posts have reminded me why Kong wasn't an option to redshirt, so if I'm Few (and I'm not even fit to carry his notebook) I'd have to redshirt Olynyk and Dower. My 2 cents.

Sacre gets the 5, with Foster and Poling backing him up.
Harris gets the 4, with Poling backing him up.
Meech and GJ take the 1 and some rare time at the 2.
Bouldin gets the 2 and some time at the 1.
Gray gets the three and some time at the 2/4.
Arop is our sixth man and will spell Gray and Bouldin, and sneek some time in at the 4 spot IMO.
Kong might not get much time, but will come in at the 3 and 4.
Gibbs is in a tough spot and will play at the 2 and 1, but probably not as much as the other guys.
Dower could play this year if there's a serious injury to one of the other bigs but there's not enough playing time to go around otherwise...sorry.

P.S. it was nice meeting you at the birthday party, zagsmyboys, I'm thinking this will be a very fun season!