STF Q&A - John Blanchette: Spokane Spokesman-Review

From time to time, we here at STF like to talk to the beat writers who know a lot more about basketball than we do. Today, we talk to John Blanchette, the long-time sports columnist for the Spokane Spokesman-Review. He has seen the rise of local programs like Gonzaga and Washington State, and he agreed to talk to us about the evolution of those programs and the big meeting between them that will take place tonight.

STF: Being in Spokane, you probably see more Washington State and Gonzaga games than just about anyone else. Which team looks stronger this year?

In very different ways, they look about the same from the standpoint of potential.

Washington State is veteran, very guard-oriented, smart, tough-minded like you wouldn't believe -- but appears to have a short bench. Now there were times last year, too, when it seemed they weren't deep and Tony Bennett would go find a guy that would give him some great minutes. But there will be some games this year when foul trouble will cause them some problems, especially in the Pac-10. Of course, they'll win some on their ability and strength of will, too.

Gonzaga isn't extraordinarily deep right now, either, but that will change if they get Josh Heytvelt and Steven Gray back from injury later this month. If Heytvelt is whole, that's a 20-and-10 guy potentially, and even though just a freshman Gray was Mark Few's sixth or seventh man before he broke his hand. That gives them a lot of ways to play. They are thin at the guard spot if Jeremy Pargo can't stay in the game and you wonder about their perimeter shooting, although it was outstanding against Connecticut. And after losing to Texas Tech, their smarts and toughness might have been questioned -- but the way they played on the eastern road trip calms some of those doubts.

STF: The Zags are hosting the Cougars tonight, but the game is on ESPNU. Shouldn't this be a bigger deal?

It's a huge deal here. It's two nationally ranked teams, so it should be a fairly big deal across the country, you'd think. This is probably a question for ESPN, not the newspaper guy.

STF: Coach Tony Bennett has turned the Cougars around in convincing fashion. How did he pull off such an impressive feat?

He would tell you with a huge sacrifice by his father, Dick, and that's in good measure true.

Dick Bennett knows how to resurrect failing basketball programs, although he had no idea what he was getting himself into at Washington State -- not really. But he, with Tony's help, recruited solid, talented, tough-minded (and under-the-radar) kids who could weather the losing and struggle, and built them from the ground up with outstanding defensive concepts and smart offense. And after three years, Dick knew the kids needed a new voice and that Tony was ready to take over the program.

Tony added his own touches as well -- he took some of the reins off the offense. It wasn't like just being handed the keys to the store. He'd helped build the store. They have a very strong concept of the kind of player they want in their program, both from a standpoint of physical makeup and character, and they've been confident enough to go out and sell their vision.

STF: Kansas transfer Micah Downs is making more of an impact in Spokane this season. How has he stepped up his game, and where is his ceiling?

When Micah really grew his game was the latter part of last season, when Josh Heytvelt was suspended from the program and the Zags had to resort to a smaller lineup.

If you haven't seen Micah play and you look at his physical stature -- 6-8, maybe 180 -- you think "wing shooter" and not much else. He was in many ways the MVP of GU's late run -- he fought courageously on the glass, he defended better, he was willing to subjugate himself (his shots) for the good of the team when necessary and still made plays when he had to. He's extremely skilled. His progress this year has been a bit fitful, but you saw more of the same do-anything game from him against UConn.

I don't know if I can speak to a "ceiling" -- what Micah needs more than anything is a stable situation to allow him to grow as a player after his many travels as a high schooler and early in his college career. Give him another year in the program and then ask.

STF: On the other side of the Zags/Cougars matchup - how has the small school in Spokane kept Mark Few around?

By being willing to see his vision.

That's not just in the way he's paid -- he does quite well by Spokane standards, though his salary doesn't approach some of the megadeals nationally -- but in how the school has invested in the basketball program. The campus arena is obviously the biggest example, but there are many others -- paying the assistants well enough to maintain a stable staff, increasing academic resources for the program, improving the recruiting budget from the pittance it was 10 or more years ago. Gonzaga saw basketball as an entrée to both national and local prominence, and its profile as an institution has ballooned.

Mark really doesn't acknowledge limits to what his program can achieve. As long as Gonzaga wants to remain a player nationally in basketball, I think he'll be here -- his comfort level for his family and himself are too good to make it just be a money question.

STF: And beyond that, how has the WCC kept Gonzaga around? It seems like conference and team don't really fit one another any more.

Well, yes and no. They fit very well in most respects other than basketball. But I know Gonzaga basketball is a source of envy and consternation elsewhere in the conference.

My feeling about the West Coast Conference, having covered Gonzaga for 26 years, is that the school administrations would just as soon all the basketball teams went 14-14. Or perhaps that a shooting star could be tolerated once in a while -- a team on a 2-3 year run like Loyola Marymount made with the Gathers-Kimble teams, or Pepperdine did on a few occasions. But the Gonzaga beast has brought some heartburn, because now they have to answer why Gonzaga and not them.

It's a complicated question -- there are factors at Gonzaga that have helped its ascension, notably the fact that it's not in a major league market. But, again, the school administration has invested in basketball, too, to an extent that none of the other schools have been willing to match. That might be changing -- the recent (and unfortunate) coaching shakeups at Santa Clara and San Diego may be a response to that.

Gonzaga's recent relationship with the WCC has been fraught with some anxiety, to be sure, but where else does the school go? It's regionally limited for conference movement and doesn't have football for entrée anywhere else but halfway (or all the way) across the country. Its best option is to try and pull the league up.

STF: Any predictions for tonight's big game?

I predict the scalping prices will be astronomical by Spokane and eastern Washington standards. I predict our phone at the office will ring off the hook with complaints about the game being on ESPNU. I predict bars will do a huge business because of that. I predict the Kennel Club will chant something that offends somebody.

If you're looking forward to tonight's big game in the northwest as much as we are, read John Blanchette's coverage of both teams here. And for the love of all that is good and true, find yourself a sports bar showing ESPNU, so you don't miss this great matchup.