Gotta watch the Zags

We are a Gonzaga household.

Not the usual kind of specific fans.

For instance, I don’t focus on the individual players. I don’t know them by number and can seldom identify any of the players while watching the games. I leave that to my great grandson, Damon Landeros, who often comes up to the house to watch Gonzaga games with me.

I started watching the Zags several years ago when I was intrigued by how a small university could develop such a strong basketball program.

I haven’t been disappointed. The Zags give me something to watch up to and into March every season.

This could change this year. The Zags are in a bind and could possibly miss out on going on to the NCAA tournament. The team needs to win out the last two games, one of them Saint Mary’s, and then do well in the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas to win a berth to the big “dance,” so they call it.

Players can now opt to jump from school to school through the Portal program. It is ruining college basketball. Many players now play only one year for a school and hop off to another school where they think they will have a better chance of getting to the pros.

The amateur status will soon be entirely gone because players contend that they should share in the money the games are creating.

Many players file for the pro draft early in their playing days.

One example was Chet Holmgren who played for the Zags in a single season and ended up high in the pro draft with the Oklahoma City team.

I guess it just proves that nothing stays the same for very long. It’s just another example of going for the money.

We still watch, though. The fact that a small university can do so well year after year remains the same.

I’ve never been to a Gonzaga game. Damon has been several times. He has been the lucky recipient of tickets to games from friends.

I will remain the recipient of Gonzaga t-shirts and hooded jackets, which I seldom wear.

I am also the recipient of a Gonzaga game schedule written out on my calendar by Damon each year.

The message is “Go Zags” win or lose.

If the Zags don’t make it into the NCAA Tournament, there is always next year. The teams in the West Coast Conference are getting better, so it is becoming a recruiting nightmare.

Go Zags.