Zags' Ayayi gets the message on defense
YOUNG KWAK/Associated Press Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi defends Texas Southern guard Quinton Brigham in Wednesday’s Zags victory in Spokane.
SPOKANE — Joel Ayayi’s smile could light up most of the Inland Northwest.
Maybe the secret is his eyes, which seem to give off a sparkle like Christmas decorations.
The young man from Bordeaux, France, is happy to share that smile, too.
The only change that occurs if he’s describing something that didn’t work out exactly right is that he tends to glance down, as though he doesn’t have the right to be happy.
At least for a few moments, anyway.
Example…
“We should have done a lot better,” Ayayi said in a shy voice while discussing the French team on which he starred at last summer’s FIBA U-19 World Cup. “We had the talent to do more than we did.”
And then…
Ayayi also managed a smile — but dropped his head slightly — when asked about Gonzaga Coach Mark Few’s Sunday night TV show.
Few had been asked how Ayayi, a 19-year-old redshirt sophomore, was coming along in the program.
The boss tossed Ayayi a verbal bouquet for his offensive and rebounding work, but then Few made it crystal clear in one sharp sentence that Ayayi has work to do defensively.
SO AFTER the Zags pummeled Texas Southern 101-62 Wednesday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center, both coach and player were asked specifically about Ayayi’s defense.
There was no way it could have changed the outcome against Texas Southern — but Ayayi’s previous 26 minutes per game jumped to 33, and he figures to spend long stretches on the floor in the future.
Now regarding that TV show…
The thing to remember here is that when coaches offer an opinion on a television program for which they’ve prepped (and when they know what questions are coming), their answers are not aimed at you, or me, or Ed down the street.
For instance, Few’s remark about Ayayi’s defense was intended to reach an audience of one.
Ayayi got the message.
And smiled.
“The coaches need me to be more responsible,” Ayayi said after his first-ever start at Gonzaga. “So do my teammates.
“They have to know I’ll be in the right place.”
The fact that Ayayi started against Texas Southern came down to two things…
First, senior guard Admon Gilder is still nursing a slightly sore knee that he injured last week during the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Gilder more or less glided through Wednesday’s game, turning it 20 barely noticeable minutes — without trying any explosive moves or sudden cuts to the baskets.
Gilder was basically eating up time.
But the second reason Ayayi got the start is that he’s been playing well, and deserved some of the lights-out, booming-music afforded to the starting five at The Kennel.
About that defense, however…
“It’s all about focus and concentration,” Ayayi said. “I tend to relax when the ball is on the other side of the floor.
“You can’t ever slack off like that. At this level, the ball can get across the floor to your man in a second, and you have to totally locked in when it does.’
FEW ISN’T worried concerned about Ayayi helping to rack up points.
A useful 6-foot-5, Ayayi tossed in another 16 points against Texas Southern, along with nine rebounds and five assists.
Each of those numbers were team highs, although he had to share the assist crown with point guard Ryan Woolridge.
Ayayi is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game overall.
What’s more…
On a team that needs some outside shooting — mostly to make life easier for post players Filip Petrusev, Killian Tillie and Drew Timme — Ayayi has become a reliable trigger man.
He’s now knocking down a healthy 42.1 percent from behind the 3-point line although, like most of the Zags, he struggles from the foul line (58.3 percent).
Ayayi has a nice, smooth stroke, however, so expect those free throw numbers to go up.
But what about that defense?
Gonzaga has just three guards and Gilder will be nursing that sore knee for a while.
“I liked what I saw from Joel tonight,” Few said after the Texas Southern beatdown.
“If you’re writing a column about him, you can say the trajectory is going up.”
OK, Coach, here’s the column — and just as you’re expecting, Ayayi no doubt will make an assessment when he sees it.
I suspect he’ll be smiling with his head up this time.
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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.