Very good subject, and actually sticking to the subject, I am impressed!!! :thumb: There are so many ways to look at both sides of this. My intent of this post is not to start a WAR here on either side, but just a few things to ponder. So if I misword anything, let me apologize in advance.
Yes, I felt the foul committed on Pargo was dirty. It should have been done in another manner than it was. I do not blame Georgia for pressing, there have been bigger miracles over the years. I do not blame Gonzaga for calling what it did. Hell I do not even blame Georgia for fouling, but that is where my understanding on both sides stops!!!!!
It appeared to me Gonzaga and Pargo's intent was a highlight game finishing in your face showtime dunk for reasons beyond me. I as a former player and later a coach, would have been very upset over that too. If you are going to do something like that, execute it with your bench damnit! Doing it with any of your studs is classless and uncalled for. I have had a few confrontations with opposing coaches on both sides of something like this in running up the score or showboating. My attitude is, if the bench players are doing the scoring and executing, I do not have a problem with it. These guys have earned that time, and a coach should never tell his bench to not play hard, or not execute.
However, that was not the situation and the actions of both teams lead to an ugly situation. As circumstances were, every Gonzaga player should have been told, when we break the press, sit on it or throw it up and let the clock run out. Georgia players should have been told if Gonzaga breaks the press, let the clock run out.
Also, one has to admit Gonzaga now has one of the best student atmospheres in the nation. Is it possible one or a few of the students said something that would upset any one GA player? Anywhere, chances are likely. Recently Gonzaga's program has come off as a little overly cocky. They are no longer Americas little darlings or underdogs. They are consistently a Top 25 program. One of the few that are not in power conferences. On EGRIZ alone there is bickering between GRIZ and ZAG fans and varying opinions of cockiness and class or lack there of. Imagine how magnified that is when a power conference out of the region plays these guys. Believe me, any power conference program wants to put the ZAGS in their place and show them a thing or 2.
I honestly feel, if Gonzaga continues to be perceived as cocky and arrogant, things like this may happen again to some extent. I pray I am wrong here, and not saying any of this was right. I feel both teams were wrong in their actions. Gonzaga is lucky this did not cost Pargo his season.
In HS and above many coaches tell their players, if they bring it to hole, foul them hard! By the looks of it, that is what Georgia's intentions were, but the way it happened turned out ugly. A few years back Doughy fouled ISU's player hard, and looked much worse than intentions were. I talked to Matt about that play, he swore to me his intentions were not to hurt anyone nor to have it look the way it did. I believe him to this day.
I am thankful Pargo was not seriously hurt in all this. I am thankful Gonzaga's season is very much intact. I pray Georgia and Gonzaga learned a lesson from this, and just maybe Gonzaga's cockiness and arrogance will tone down quite a few notches.
