Scouting Report: Gonzaga Bulldogs

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It is time for another marquee matchup on Kentucky’s loaded non-conference slate. The #4 ranked Wildcats are out in Spokane, WA on Sunday to play the #2 Gonzaga Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Both ball clubs are coming off recent losses. Kentucky fell 86-77 in double overtime to Michigan State on Tuesday evening. Then, on Wednesday night, Gonzaga lost to Texas 93-74. One team will escape the week with a big-time resume-builder, while the other will suffer their second loss of the week.

Led by veteran head coach Mark Few, the Bulldogs have a high-powered offense once again. All-American Drew Timme is featured on the low block along with fellow senior Anton Watson. On the perimeter, Gonzaga has a stable of quick guards who can also really shoot the basketball. You can expect the tempo to be high anytime you are playing the ‘Zags.

As always, we have a full scouting report prepared here at Kentucky Sports Radio to get you ready for this matchup. We will break down the personnel while looking at the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive schemes before going over some keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and get to know the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Personnel

Starters

#11 Nolan Hickman: 6’2″ 180 lbs, Sophomore Point Guard

8.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg

Long, athletic point guard. Capable shooter. 4-9 from 3. Not hunting 3s, but you need to be there to take away the obvious ones. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and get over the flares. Don’t let him get his feet set and get one off. Contest all 3s and jump shots! He is going to push the ball hard in transition. Get all the way back and protect the basket then stop the ball. Help corral him in transition. No right-hand drives! Don’t over-help when he drives it. Make him finish over you. No layups for him! Driving to pass the deeper he takes it so start closing back out if you are guarding #45 Bolton, #13 Smith, or #0 Strawther. Slow him down in transition!

#45 Rasir Bolton: 6’3″ 185 lbs, Senior Guard

9.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.7 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! Half of his shots have been 3s. Shooting 50% from deep. Shooting a much better percentage from 3 than he is from 2. Need to be there on the catch to take away his attempts. DO NOT HELP off of him. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven toward you. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and get over the flares. Switch anytime there is space to take away the 3s. If he isn’t dribbling then you aren’t close enough. Have to be tight to him at all times. Find him in transition. No 3s!!!

#0 Julian Strawther: 6’7″ 205 lbs, Junior Forward

14.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.3 apg

Skilled, versatile wing. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! Shooting over 40% from 3. Was 54-148 (36.5%) last season. Need to be there on the catch to take away his catch-and-shoot 3s. No help off of him! Tighten up as the ball is driven toward you. Chase off downscreens and get over the flares. Switch if there is space to take away the 3s. Switch if he ballscreens to take away the 3s. Loves to attack closeouts driving it right. No right-hand drives! You can bring some help when he drives it right, not really thinking about passing. Four assists to nine turnovers. Come take it off of him. Will turn drives into post moves. Get your hands up and contest. Right hand, left shoulder. Excellent on the throw-ahead in transition. Get all the way back and protect the rim. No 3s! No right-hand drives!

#22 Anton Watson: 6’8″ 225 lbs, Senior Forward

7.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.7 apg

Athletic 4-man. Very mobile. Excellent on the rim run. You need to get all the way back in transition and protect the basket. He will look to post up hard right at the front of the rim. Don’t get ducked in! Loves to use his quickness by slipping ballscreens. Do not get slipped! Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Need to give ground and stay lower than him on the roll. More aggressive throwing it to him on the slip. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and make him score over you. Take away the quick drop step. Will face up and drive it right. No right-hand drives. Just get a hand up to give a hard contest when he shoots. Box out.

#2 Drew Timme: 6’10” 235 lbs, Senior Forward

20.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.3 apg

Versatile 5-man. Elite skill level. Best player. Constantly looking for an opportunity to duck you in. You have to be ready at all times for him to slam into you. Have to see it coming as the ball is getting reversed. Do your work early and make him receive catches further off of the block. That will allow us to help more efficiently when he does get the ball. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. He is a MUCH better finisher with his right hand. No right-hand drives! Need to come take it off of him when he is dribbling it. Seven assists to 10 turnovers. Can’t let him dribble more than three times. Aggressively help when he starts to bounce it, but not off of #45 Bolton, #0 Strawther, or #13 Smith. Don’t let him turn the corner on you as he pivots around. Stay ready and wall up. Make him score over you. Takes all five guys on the floor being active to help contain him. Elite rim-runner. Get all the way back. Make him work for everything he gets. Box out!

Bench

#13 Malachi Smith: 6’4″ 205 lbs, Redshirt Junior Guard

9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Backup guard. SHOOTER!!! No catch-and-shoot 3s! Was 40% in two seasons on high volume at Chattanooga. Have to be tight to him to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up as the ball is driven toward you. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and get over the flares. Will attack closeouts going right. No right-hand drives. Not really thinking about passing when he drives it. Come take the ball off of him. Don’t help off of him too much. Just stunt and fake at #2 Timme when guarding #13 Smith. No catch-and-shoot 3s!

#15 Efton Reid III: 7’0″ 240 lbs, Sophomore Center

5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.3 apg

Backup 5-man. Looking to ballscreen and roll to the rim. They will throw it up to him on the roll. Rim runs hard in transition. Need to get all the way back and protect the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. We can play him more one-on-one. Just be physical and make him score over you. If you make him catch it off of the block his percentages will go down. Don’t get ducked-in. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

#5 Hunter Sallis: 6’5″ 180 lbs, Sophomore Guard

5.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg

Backup guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he is in there. He is a non-shooter. Back up and stay between him and the basket. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short to take away the right-hand drives. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! After you close out short you can inch up to him some to provide ball pressure and deter post feeds. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. Don’t over-help when he drives it. Will crash the offensive glass from the perimeter. Box out!

Gonzaga Bulldogs Offense

First and foremost, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to look to score in transition. Whether it be their guards attacking coast-to-coast, their wings running the floor for a throw ahead, or their big men on the rim run, the Dawgs are excellent in transition. They will play at as fast of a pace as anyone in the country. As always, the transition defense mantra is to protect the basket, stop the ball, and then matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy.

Once we slow down the initial attack, Gonzaga will run a lot of ballscreen continuity in the halfcourt. #2 Timme is constantly looking for chances to duck-in no matter what the rest of the offense is doing. It will be a three-pronged approach to containing the All-American in this one.

First, we have to have excellent ball pressure so the guards can’t just freely throw the ball to him. Secondly, our post defense has to be good enough to not give up catches where he has two feet in the paint. Lastly, once he dribbles the basketball we need all other four defenders stunting and faking at him. We can aggressively come help if you aren’t guarding #45 Bolton, #0 Strawther, or #13 Smith. Don’t let him dribble more than three times!

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are good enough offensively that they are going to earn plenty of points. Even by perfectly executing our defensive game plan, they have good enough players that they will score. However, these are the type of buckets we simply cannot afford to give up. You have to SPRINT all the way back to the charge circle on every play to be ready to protect the rim. The defense never got deep enough in this clip and #2 Timme was able to finish his rim-run with a layup.

Once you stop the initial attack, or after a make, the Bulldogs are excellent at flowing right from secondary into their ballscreen continuity. On this play, they fake the ball reversal to get into a dribble at backdoor action. As #11 Hickman comes off of the handoff you see #2 Timme starting to duck-in at the front of the rim. There is nothing we can do if he gets catches like this.

This ballscreen continuity is what you will see a lot of from Gonzaga. Again, you have to be thinking about #2 Timme trying to duck you in. Get some pressure on the ball, force him to get a catch off of the block, and then bring help once he puts the ball on the floor.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Defense

Coach Mark Few has likely been harping on the defensive end of the floor over the last handful of days. The Gonzaga Bulldogs allowed 93 points at Texas on Wednesday night including letting the Longhorns shoot 13-33 from beyond the arc. In terms of schematics, you can expect to see the Dawgs in man-to-man defense. They use the athleticism and mobility of their forwards to get out and hard hedge the ballscreens, but there isn’t anything too special or unique about what they do on that end. You have to be ready for the guards to get a little handsy. They have gotten some steals that lead to layups here in the first three games of the season.

To attack the hard hedge in ballscreen situations we need to move the ball ahead quickly and change sides of the floor. It is much harder to get out and hard hedge after a quick ball reversal. There should be opportunities to both slip or split against the hard hedge as well.

Keys to the Game

Dominate the glass. After a poor performance against Michigan State on the glass, we bounced back on Thursday. However, we still have yet to hit the 77% defensive rebounding threshold this season. We will need to be at that number tonight.
Win the turnover battle. Ideally, we would force 15+ while committing 12 or fewer turnovers.
Contain #2 Drew Timme. Do not let him dribble it more than three times. Come help and make him give it up or turn it over. If you aggressively come, especially off of a shooter (which we need to limit) then you have to either get the ball or commit a foul.
Transition defense. Protect the basket, stop the ball, match up with the next most dangerous guy. Get ready for them to come at you fast. Don’t give up layups because we didn’t sprint back.