Gonzaga Basketball: 3 takeaways from Zags impressive victory over No. 5 Texas

1. Despite heaps of discussion, there is still a clear favorite for NPOY

With just two AP All-Americans returning from last season in Gonzaga’s Drew Timme and Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson – both Second Team honorees – the pressure has been on Timme to deliver, having been deemed one of – if not the biggest – favorite for National Player of the Year.

In addition to Dickinson, however, a slew of other personalities have entered the ranks of being within the discussion, including two Big Ten posts in Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn and Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Villanova’s star point guard Collin Gillespie, and Johnny Juzang, the hero of UCLA’s stoic March Madness run last season.  Those four were deemed preseason AP All-Americans in October, alongside Timme.

But Gonzaga’s showing against Texas proved one thing: Timme is still the clear-cut favorite for National Player of the Year.  It took the junior until the Zags’ second-round match-up with Oklahoma last year for him to crack 30 points, in the 28th game of the year, when he scored a career-high 30 points – and, already, Timme has surpassed that in the second game of 2021-22.

Timme scored a quiet 11 points in 20 minutes in the Zags’ season-opening win over Dixie State – but erupted against the Longhorns, pouring in a new career-high 37 points on a near-perfect 15-18 mark from the field, in addition to going 7-9 from the charity stripe.  Those 37 points were seven points shy of tying Adam Morrison’s career-best 44 points, which also currently stands as the most scored by a player in program history.

That offensive landslide rounds out an effort that also included seven caroms and three assists.  Across both games, Timme’s 2P% is sitting at 71.4% – the highest of all three seasons thus far.  The only key significant stat that has decreased is his rebounding, which is understandable given the acquisition of star freshman Chet Holmgren and the continued development of Anton Watson inside.

Holmgren – despite only having two points against Texas – may be the biggest key to Timme’s aspirations to earn National Player of the Year accolades. With Holmgren anchoring Gonzaga inside the paint, Timme is now free to operate further out – and, with offensive weapons like Jalen Suggs, Corey Kispert, and Joel Ayayi gone, Timme is now primed to become the Bulldogs’ go-to guy for 2021-22.

The Zags’ win against Texas is proof of that – and, barring any sort of meltdown by Gonzaga, Timme’s position as the frontrunner for National Player of the Year should continue to grow.  November 23rd’s showdown with UCLA – and, more specifically, Johnny Juzang – looms large for both candidates.