How is Gonzaga able to recruit so well?
- Thread starter JoeSwag
- Start date
Because they look GD fun to play for and Few isn’t a screaming maniac may play some role.
I think a lot of the recruiting is related to the fact that Bing Crosby went there.
Jogging down the Spokane River, I ran to the campus that is contiguous to the campus. I did not walk the campus, but the area is beautiful and Spokane is a cool little town that one time was host to the World’s Fair. I could understand the attraction.
Mark Few pays very little attention to recruiting rankings. He recruits to fit specific needs for his program year to year and makes sure the players he goes after will fit the culture he has created at Gonzaga.
When he does go hard after a big name like Suggs, Holmgren, etc...he doesn’t just look at the numbers or rankings...he still makes sure they are the type of player that will fit the culture he has created in his program. If they don’t...he moves on quickly to recruit a player that does...even if they are ranked much lower.
By contrast...Cal looks solely at rankings & tries to land as many top names as he can and get them into the NBA lottery. Maybe they will magically gel together into something that closely resembles a team...but more often than not...they don’t.
When he does go hard after a big name like Suggs, Holmgren, etc...he doesn’t just look at the numbers or rankings...he still makes sure they are the type of player that will fit the culture he has created in his program. If they don’t...he moves on quickly to recruit a player that does...even if they are ranked much lower.
By contrast...Cal looks solely at rankings & tries to land as many top names as he can and get them into the NBA lottery. Maybe they will magically gel together into something that closely resembles a team...but more often than not...they don’t.
I have wondered the same. I know they have been a very successful program over the last decade+, but for them to pull top 5 national players from halfway across the country is puzzling for the following reasons:
1. It's a small school in Spokane, WA. Nothing sexy about Spokane and it's not easy to get to.
2. Well over half of their games are against crap schools that can't be exciting to play against.
3. Most of their games, even if on TV, are late night when no one is watching.
I am not saying there is no appeal in going to Gonzaga, but can't see how anyone would pick there over a lot of other options that top 5 players have that would seem to be much more appealing on a number of fronts.
1. It's a small school in Spokane, WA. Nothing sexy about Spokane and it's not easy to get to.
2. Well over half of their games are against crap schools that can't be exciting to play against.
3. Most of their games, even if on TV, are late night when no one is watching.
I am not saying there is no appeal in going to Gonzaga, but can't see how anyone would pick there over a lot of other options that top 5 players have that would seem to be much more appealing on a number of fronts.
They recruit their region and play modern offensive basketball. If you grew up halfway between UK and Gonzaga, would you rather play in Cal’s offense, or Few’s?
He is a coach u can have a beer with.
You don't need that many people to want to play for you to build a great basketball program. It's not like it's football or something.
Arizona coach was the lead recruiter at Gonzaga for years. He has a European pipeline which led to alot of the foreign players Gonzaga signed in the past.
Ultimately, like everything else this stuff is cyclical and The Zags became the flavor of the month for some of the Burger Boys.
I'm sure there is more to it than the above but their player development at least at the collegiate level is top notch. A lot of their guys are not 5 stars usually.
Jmho
Ultimately, like everything else this stuff is cyclical and The Zags became the flavor of the month for some of the Burger Boys.
I'm sure there is more to it than the above but their player development at least at the collegiate level is top notch. A lot of their guys are not 5 stars usually.
Jmho
Few has built a reputation for winning college basketball games and producing talent that does well in the pros. It is easy to see why they recruit so well.
On the West Coast, it is basically only UCLA and Arizona (and to a lesser extent Kansas, historically) as the traditional powers. Gonzaga has smartly created a niche for itself and as long as Few is there will be on of the destination squads for recruits that fit that style.
I'm not sure how well Chet Holmgren would have done with Cal this year -- I would worry he'd be Skal 2.0 here at Kentucky. Chet is going to be the number 1 pick coming out of Gonzaga. It is as simple as that, really. Whenever a guy named "Chet" who looks like that is the number one draft pick, people take notice.