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Nov. 10—One week into the season is far too soon for sweeping talent assessments, you say?
Sorry, I’m going on record with this: Gonzaga’s portal-gem guard Khalif Battle has already offered evidence that he’s on his way to becoming one of the most dynamic and exciting players the Zags have had in a long time.
Maybe a real long time.
The second half of GU’s 88-80 win over Arizona State was prime Battle time.
With the game tied at intermission and well into the second half, Battle scored all of his 19 points in the final 20 minutes, with three 3-pointers and a massive, momentum-shifting dunk that he needed air-traffic clearance from Spokane International to go up and get.
“He’s quick-twitch and athletic, and one of those guys who can really, really, really go downhill,” said coach Mark Few, with the “downhill” comment presumably meaning the capacity to go with great speed and power toward the rim.
“We really haven’t had somebody like that in a while,” Few said.
See, it’s not just me on the Battle wagon.
Battle transferred in from Arkansas (after attending two previous colleges), where he shook up SEC opponents by averaging nearly 30 points in the final half dozen games of last season.
Looking from the outside, one might wonder if maybe such a well-traveled player might be a gunner, or a slacker on the defensive end. Perhaps somebody who might play outside the system.
Wrong. Big time.
He hustles. Seems to play with good energy on defense. He scores in electrifying spurts.
And, oh, yeah, he flies.
The Zags (2-0) were struggling to separate from the talented and determined Sun Devils, and trailed by two with just under 9 minutes left.
Zag sophomore post Braden Huff, himself a revelation Sunday (team-leading 21 points), was in the process of convincing the GU staff that he was not a defensive liability by diving on the floor to gain possession of an ASU turnover.
“I knew if I didn’t get it I’d get chewed out,” Huff said.
Rolling on the floor, Huff flipped it to a racing Ryan Nembhard, who…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dave-boling-look-below-high-030100199.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-11-11 03:01:00
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