Two Words, One Answer.
Gonzaga Basketball
 Bravehearts: The Against-All-Odds Rise of Gonzaga Basketball $22.95 I'm a few years late into getting this book, just having bought it at a used bookstore and finishing it in a weekend. Yes, a quick, light read and a good look into one of college basketball's more intersting programs of the last decade. Withers, one of the Pacific Northwest's more respected sportswriters, does a solid job of telling how Gonzaga came to be. His background work is nice, especially the historical aspects of the university and program. His insight into the coaches -- former and current -- is excellent. And his take on the differing philosophies between the old coach (Fitzgerald) and the new (Monson and Few) is very astute. I'm guessing that since it's not a season diary book -- which I'm thankful for -- that Withers wrote and researched much of this book from his Seattle home. Unfortunately, in spots, it shows, and it appears things were thrown together. What was a five-star book tails off horribly into a three-star edition the longer it goes on. Withers painstakingly details the politics of a conference post-season tournament late in the book. Gonzaga -- despite it's incredible success in the WCC tourney -- is quite known in the Northwest for whining about their inability to host this event. They've duped the Spokane media into joining this whine-fest, and sadly, Withers' b.s. detector doesn't go up and he joins in the complaining. But not until we've read pages of boring statistics about this tournament. The reader should've been spared this tripe. Withers is at his best when he's talking about people, not numbers and basketball politics. One feels they really do know Fitzgerald, Monson, Few, and the players, once completed the book. But I'm just not sure why the author cashed it in at the end. The book's so-called climax -- an NCAA game vs. Wyoming -- is recapped in a short paragraph. Withers, instead, hands the readers a half-page on a stupid mascot and some obscure administrator who takes care of him. The author misses the big choke against Wyoming -- choosing again to join in the Zags' crying over their so-called poor seeding -- and missing the backstory, that being Wyoming's best player, Josh Davis, a Gonzaga recruit, who may have been dropped by GU, seeking revenge and getting it. Unfortunately, Withers misses this and it's obvious he never attended the game. Where's the editor on this? Was there an editor? The forwards and afterwords by famous hoop names is a bit much. One is fine. Jud Heathcoate's take at the end is just bad rah-rah writing. This book is in need of a re-write. Let's say Withers takes out the material on the WCC tourney, drops the mascot fluff, goes into detail about the Wyoming game, and then updates it with the Adam Morrison era till today, and you'd have one darn good take on the Zags. Instead, we're left with a middling book that could've and should've been better.  Gonzaga Bulldogs 29" Round Basketball Floor Mat (Rug) $40.00 For all those hoops fans out there: basketball-shaped area rugs by FANMATS. Made in U.S.A. 100% nylon carpet and non-skid Duragon¢ī latex backing. Machine washable. Officially licensed. Chromojet painted in true team colors.  Gonzaga Bulldogs Perennial Basketball T-Shirt - Large $15.00 Your team can always count on you, and you can always count on the Gonzaga Bulldogs to be a perennial NCAA Basketball contender . This Gonzaga Bulldogs Perennial Basketball T-Shirt features school name with Basketball graphic.  2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball 2nd Round - Gonzaga vs. Arizona $24.99 Arizona defeated Gonzaga by a score of 96-95 in two overtimes, in a game recognized as one of the best in NCAA tournament history. The ninth seeded Bulldogs were led by Blake Stepp and Tony Skinner, although both missed baskets in the last minute of the game. All five starters for the top seeded Wildcats scored in double figures.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply. |
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