The time has come and the year of 2011 is breathing its final breaths. It is time to reflect on the highs and lows over the last 12 months.

For GU men’s basketball, 2011 started off with a solid win over Wake Forest on January 2^nd to finish off nonconference play. However, three straight conference losses in late January propelled the Zags into a tough situation—could they continue their streak of over a decade of WCC titles?

A strong showing in the second round of league play, along with a top performance at the West Coast Conference Tournament, landed the Zags with their 12^th straight league championship.  The NCAA Committee sent the Zags to Denver as an 11 seed to face the No. 6 team St. John’s out of the Big East in the Big Dance.

The Bulldogs took advantage of their win streak, and capitalized on the Western U.S. home court advantage—knocking of the Red Storm 86-71.

Unfortunately the soon to be West Coast Conference addition, BYU, awaited Gonzaga in the second round; with shooting sensation Jimmer Fredette. The Cougars dominated with an 89-67 win to end the Bulldogs’ season.

In the final months of the school year, the roster started to shake up a bit. Junior guard Demetri Goodson decided to forgo his senior season at GU and transfer to Baylor—to play football.  Goodson’s Bears defeated the University of Washington in the Valero Alamo Bowl yesterday. He was able to play on special teams for BU as a kick returner; his speed and athleticism were missed on the hardwood, but Meech was able to make good use of them on the gridiron.

Mangisto Arop also chose to leave Gonzaga and pursue his collegiate career at Indiana State. The home of the great Larry Bird was fortunate to receive Arop as a very explosive and talented player, looking to find his niche in the right program. He must red shirt the 2011-2012 season, but will be ready to lace up next fall for the Sycamores.

When school began in August, five new freshmen and a junior college transfer arrived in Spokane. Ryan Spangler, Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell Jr., Kyle Dranginis, and Chris Sarbaugh began their first collegiate practices as freshmen for the Zags. Guy Landry Edi transferred to GU to continue his basketball career from Midland Texas College where he played for two years.

The Zags started off the first half of this season very well. They head into the last game of 2011 with a 10-2 record. Xavier will not be an easy team to close out the year with, but if GU can play their game, it won’t be a problem to end 2011 with a W.

Catch the Zags and Musketeers on ESPN2 at 5pm PST on New Years’ Eve in Cincinnati.

Gonzaga faces Western Michigan University on Saturday in the Spokane Arena. The event is titled The Ronald McDonald House Charities Classic.

The Ronald McDonald House is an establishment for youth who suffer from various forms of cancer. It is a joy to see the GU players embrace the opportunity to connect with the community on a much deeper level than hoops on the hardwood.

This week the guys visited children suffering from the traumatic illness that are a part of the organization. Several of the boys expressed their emotions on Twitter after meeting some of the kids. Here are a few tweets:

@Kpangos Kevin Pangos

Just visited a boy named Brandon who has 2 weeks to live and his one wish was to meet our zags team… Truly life changing experience!

@llcoollandry Guy Landry  (Retweeted by Kyle Dranginis- @KDranginis3)

Just visited a lil boy who has 2 weeks to live and his 1 wish was to meet our zags team unreal how much impact you can have in people lives

While the tragedy of cancer and devastation of the loss of life, especially the life of a child, is nearly impossible to cope with, Gonzaga and the Zags are reaching out to the community, families, and most of all the kids affected by the challenge of terminal illness. This is a huge positive light in the darkness that surrounds the youngsters and their families.

The boys clearly understand there are things bigger than basketball, but they are using their love of the game to bring joy to children that rarely see hope. Several kids will be in attendance for the game Saturday, for some of them it will be one of their last experiences on earth.

What an honor the Bulldogs have of playing for something more than their school and themselves—but for the life of a child. This is a game that will put one more smile on one more little face. There is nothing better than that.

Five freshmen and a junior transfer are lacing up and putting on the Gonzaga uniform for the first time this season. The newbies are comprised of Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell Jr., Ryan Spangler, Kyle Dranginis, Chris Sarbaugh, and Guy Landry Edi.

The freshmen have declared themselves the “fast five;” that would be Pangos, Bell, Spangler, Dranginis, and Sarbaugh. Landry comes from Midland, Texas where he helped guide Midland Junior College to the National Division 1 title in 2011.

Five freshman and a junior join the Zags' roster

So the question of how these six new faces will fit into the rotation is beckoning to be answered. After watching the scrimmage last weekend I may have found a few.

Kevin Pangos should start. His performance on Saturday was spectacular. He can shoot the three and defend, while running the point. Plus being 6’1” (compared to David Stockton’s 5’11”) and having international basketball experience will help his play—he played for team Canada this past summer in the U19 FIBA World Championships.

Gary Bell Jr. had a shining record of accolades coming into Gonzaga. While I don’t think he will be starting for the Zags, at 6’1” he is likely to be a great guy off the bench to fill in for Marquise Carter and play point guard on occasion as well. Bell was the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year last season, as well as Mr. Basketball for the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association.

Ryan Spangler will likely be one of the last guys on the bench, but will get some playing time. He is 6’8” and the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year. He will be a nice guy to bring into the game when the starters are in foul trouble to bang inside for a few minutes. There is a chance he could red-shirt, but I’d say he has a good shot at averaging five to eight minutes per game.

Kyle Dranginis is a big question mark. He is a 6’5” guard which is a great asset to the front line. He was Idaho’s Gatorade Player of the Year the past two seasons, and has four state tournament appearances, with one title, under his belt. His high school stats bode well, but whether he can keep up at the collegiate level is another story.

Chris Sarbaugh is the local kid who everyone wants to succeed. He was raised a Bulldog and spent his high school career at Gonzaga Prep High School. He is a 6’3” walk-on that led the Bullpups to a 2011 Washington State Championship, and earned the tournament MVP award. My guess is that he will red-shirt. He has some talent, but just isn’t quite at the Division 1 level, and is better off spending the year growing and developing.

Guy Landry should also start. He comes to GU with a junior college national title, along with international experience. Landry was born in the Ivory Coast, and raised in Paris, France.  He has represented his home nation at international contests in the past, and has demonstrated his success in the U.S. at the junior college level. His 6’6” athletic frame will be a great component to the starting offense.

Gonzaga's head men's basketball coach Mark Few

I have tremendous respect for what Mark Few has done with the Gonzaga men’s basketball program in the past decade, but sometimes I have to question what is going on insides of the program. As news broke Saturday afternoon that junior college transfer Guy Landry was committing to Gonzaga for the 2011-2012 season, I started to count how many guys were going to be on the roster potentially.

At this point, supposedly five incoming freshmen are coming to play basketball at GU. Then add Landry and you’ve got six new guys on a team that only lost one player to graduation, and one more that is transferring. Not to mention there are three guys that red-shirted for the Zags last season.

Here is the list of presumed returners and recruits.

1. Rob Sacre-Senior
2. Demetri Goodson-Senior
3. Marquise Carter-Senior
4. Mike Hart- RS Junior
5. Kelly Olynyk-Junior
6. Elias Harris-Junior
7. Guy Landry – Junior (Transfer)
8. Sam Dower-RS Sophomore
9. David Stockton- RS Sophomore
10. Mathis Monninghoff- Sophomore
11. Mathis Keita-Sophomore
12. Madu Cole-RS Freshman
13. Tommy Joyce-RS Freshman
14. Matt Goode-RS Freshman
15. Gary Bell Jr.- Freshman
16. Kyle Dranginis-Freshman
17. Kyle Spangler-Freshman
18. Kevin Pangos-Freshman
19. Chris Sarbaugh-Freshman

That is 19 guys potentially on the roster.

“WHAT? 19! You have got to be kidding me!” That is what I thought numbering them off. Thinking there is no way that could be right.

There is a lot of hype on how great Gary Bell Jr., Kevin Pangos, and Kyle Spangler are, so we will see if they actually live up to that hype at the college level.  Personally, unless the guys are so spectacular that they can completely alter the team’s success individually (be a one and done type player), they need to redshirt.

All the incoming freshmen need to redshirt. Let’s say they do, that leaves a team of 14.

That is a manageable number to work with at least. While 14 is still one more than this past seasons’ travelling roster, it is nowhere near as absurd as 19 players. Even with only 13 guys on the team past year,  Keita and Monninghoff struggled to see significant minutes the second half of the season,  which makes wonder if 14 is still too many.

My guess is that the three redshirt freshman will see very limited time on the court. They are all walk-ons, so if they even get to play on the team this year, it won’t be very often.

I honestly don’t understand why the coaching staff has recruited so many players, and is already starting to talk to recruits from the class of 2012. I know that teams like to have depth and obviously you want the best possible players you can get on your team, but when you return so many players, and sign a number of guys, where do you draw the line?

All I can do is trust that the coaches know what they are doing. Few has led the Zags to 11 straight conference titles and 12 straight NCAA tournament appearances, so he does know how to put together successful teams.

My biggest concern is that five guys have transferred in the past two recruiting classes now. With this many guys coming back and coming in, I only wonder how many more will hang around for a season or two before leaving the program. I strongly feel that when a player is recruited and offered a scholarship that they should want to stay all four years because they chose that school over all the others out there. I completely understand an occasional transfer due to coaching conflict, distance from home,  lack of playing time, etc. but having five out of nine recruits in two years leave, now that’s a bit of an issue.

I want what is best for the program and its players, and I’m sure the coaching staff does too. Let’s just all hope that all of these guys can come together as a team and represent the best of the Bulldogs on the court in the upcoming season.