News Article

March 20, 2008

By Peter Tormey
RALEIGH, N.C. – Yes, the Gonzaga Bulldogs realize that everyone seems to be picking Davidson to upset them in Friday’s first-round game of the NCAA Tournament here. No, Zags’ Coach  Mark Few does not think he has an intimidating stare, and yes, Davidson seems a lot like Gonzaga about a decade ago. 

Those answers trickled out this afternoon as several Bulldogs and Coach Few fielded media questions for the last time before Friday’s game. The Zags also took part in a shoot-around this afternoon at the RBC Center and looked loose, focused and ready to control their destiny Friday at 12:25 p.m. (EDT) when they take on the Wildcats, holders of the nation’s longest active winning streak: 22 games. 

Before the shoot-around, the Zags sat before their media interrogators who seemed bent themselves on latching onto a storyline between these two outstanding and somewhat similar teams. 
Few was asked point-blank: “I’m curious if you’ve heard a lot of what people say about your stare? Do you think you’ve got a stare and do you think it’s better than (Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Coach Jon) Gruden’s stare, not as good?"

“I was unaware that I had a stare,” he said. “I don’t think I have one. I think it must be a vicious rumor.”

Sophomore All-West Coast Conference guard Matt Bouldin, who roomed with Davidson star sophomore guard Stephen (Steff-In) Curry on the 2007 Silver Medal U-19 USA FIBA World Championship squad, was asked about his friendship with Curry.

Bouldin said Curry – who ranked second nationally among freshman scorers during the 2006-2007 season, behind only current Seattle Supersonic Kevin Durant of Texas – is one of his closest friends from the U.S. team and the two stay in touch through text messaging, Facebook and by watching each other play on TV.

“It’s going to be fun,” Bouldin said. “He’s a terrific player and we’re going to have our hands full with him.”

Indeed, Curry was the Southern Conference Player of the Year, second-team All-America (Sports Illustrated & Sporting News) and ranks fifth nationally in scoring with an average of 25.1 points a game. He was named the Conference Player of the Week five times, Player of the Month four times and is the nation’s leading sophomore scorer with 1,533 points. If that isn’t enough, Curry ranks among the nation’s leaders in free-throw percentage (10^th/89.4), three-pointers made (tied for first with 139) and three-pointers per game (third/4.3).

Bulldogs’ senior star Jeremy Pargo, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, will  defend Curry, at least part of the time, said one key to stopping Davidson will be slowing down Curry.

“He’s a great player,” said Pargo, from Chicago. “I’ve seen him several times. He makes some tough shots. We’ve got to slow him down if we really want to get a win out here in Raleigh and that’s one of the things we look to do with him and the other guard, (Jason) Richards, being the leading assist guy in the country is going to be tough. We have to come out and be focused and do the best we can on those guys.”

Richards, also a first-team all-conference selection, is averaging double digits scoring (12.6 ppg) and leads the country in assists with 8 per contest. A senior, Richards is a 2008 Bob Cousy award nominee and the first player in school history to score 1,000 points and dish 600 assists.

The Zags’ senior guard David Pendergraft was asked how it feels to be from “lovable Gonzaga” in an underdog role again? Pendo, as he is affectionately known by many, said the Zags have embraced that role.

“A lot of people are picking us to get upset by Davidson especially coming down here to NC and pretty much being a home game for them. We are just ready to go and ready to prove everyone wrong,” Pendergraft said. “Again, it’s not about the media or the crowd, sorry to say. It’s about us and our goals as a team to go out there and win one game at a time, that old cliché, and get as far as we can.” Pendergraft added that a first-round exit, such as happened in last year’s 70-57 first-game loss to Indiana, “is not acceptable.”

Bouldin called Davidson a team “on the rise. Kind of a lot like Gonzaga was back in the day.”

For his part, Coach Mark Few also drew parallels between the Zags of old and this team from Davidson, which last won a game in the NCAA Tournament in 1969 when Lefty Driesell led the Wildcats over St. John’s before they bowed to North Carolina in the Regional Finals for the second consecutive year. Few said the Zags’ coaches have talked about this at length with the players.

“Hey, this is basically a road game and this is a team very much like us in that they have been here. They have played in very big games against great opponents year-in and year-out. Coach (Bob) McKillop’s schedule is like the way we like to schedule,” Few said, adding the Zags know the Wildcats will not be in awe. “In fact, we told everybody, it seems like everyone across America is picking Davidson. So they know what they are getting into.”

Judging from the way the Zags looked, talked, and shot Thursday afternoon, it seems Few is right. The Bulldogs are ready.

We will all find out at tipoff Friday at 12:25 p.m. (EDT)

The winner plays a second-round game at 2:40 p.m. (EDT) Sunday against the winner of Friday’s Georgetown-Maryland Baltimore County game. The winner of that contest advances to the Sweet Sixteen and Midwest Regional in Detroit. In the other Raleigh pod, top overall seed North Carolina faces No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s (Maryland) on Friday with the winner playing a second-round game Sunday against the winner of the No. 8 seed Indiana vs. No. 9 seed Arkansas at 5:15 p.m. (EDT) here Sunday. The winner of that contest advances to the Sweet 16 and the East Regional in Charlotte, N.C.

Read all of the Tracking the Zags online at http://www.gonzaga.edu/News-and-Events/TrackingTheZags/default.asp