. .
Scouting reports are hard enough to compile, but try putting one together for a season opener against a traditional power with several newbies in their rotation.
That was the job of Gonzaga’s assistant coach Tommy Lloyd for the season opening showdown on Thursday with No.. 6 Kansas at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.
Lloyd obviously does not have a current video of the Jayhawks as this is the lid lifter at No.. 1 is. 1 Gonzaga’s season. The NCAA didn’t allow exhibition games due to COVID-19 concerns.
The longtime Zags assistant has studied numerous games in Kansas over the last season, but these show that Marcus Garrett plays mostly on the wing. The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year 2020 is expected to play point guard this year. Lloyd went through a year old video to study five-star recruit Bryce Thompson and athlete J.. C.. . Transfer guard Tyon Grant-Foster.
Of course, Kansas is in the same boat with no play tape as the four potential newcomers to GU, the freshly considered Florida transfer Andrew Nembhard and the Southern Illinois transfer graduate Aaron Cook, who work in the Zags system.
« You look at the things you’ve done in the past and make your best decisions about what to do, » Lloyd said. « Ultimately, it comes down to doing what you do and trying to do the things that you are going to do well than trying to run all of these counters. « . ”
Both teams would have preferred a few dress rehearsals, as Kansas trainer Bill Self put it, but everyone involved in the Thanksgiving contest is only grateful for playing with the pandemic re-registration plans across the country.
It’s been a long eight months since COVID-19 forced the 2020 NCAA tournament to be canceled. Gonzaga and Kansas were ranked No.. Projected. 1 seed and legitimate title contender.
« It’s our first time in a long time that we’ve played someone else, » said Jayhawk’s second security guard Christian Braun. « How we ended last year we had no control over it. I’m just looking forward to winning again and getting back to what we did last year. « . ”
The same goes for the high-ranking Zags returning the preseason All-America wing, Corey Kispert, first-team All-West Coast Conference selections Joel Ayayi and Drew Timme, and second Anton Watson. Jalen Suggs leads a talented freshman class, and Nembhard and Cook are seasoned, proven guards.
“This is an invited team. They are big and strong on the wing, they are length on the girth and I think their skills are off the charts, ”Self said. « We have to do something to make them play badly and it’s awfully early in the season to do that. « . ”
The Jayhawks boast one of the best defenses in the nation every year, which should result in an interesting matchup against the Zags that routinely ranks at or near the top of the offensive efficiency rankings.
« Coach (Mark) Few have told us about physicality over and over again, » said Kispert. “These guys pride themselves on being the biggest, baddest guys out there, so we have to make sure we match their physicality. ”
Garrett is an All-America contestant, security guard Ochai Agbaji should improve last season’s 10-point average, and David McCormack is a seasoned post.
« You are defensive and athletic, » said Lloyd. “Their wings are 6-5, 6-8 people, so they cover a lot of the ground at the edge. Offensive, lately they’ve been laying the ground out a lot with medium weave pick and rolls. ”
A season opener after an unusual off-season can get rough, but Self is sure of one thing.
« The most competitive games make the most competitive men, » he said, « and this should be one of those games. ”
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Gonzaga Bulldogs Men’s Basketball, College Basketball, Kansas Jayhawks Men’s Basketball, NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, Bill Self, West Coast Conference
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