Zags prepare for regular season opener

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — In the past six seasons, Gonzaga has been brutal to its Division I college basketball neighbors in the Northwest.

The Bulldogs are 31-2 against nonconference opponents from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana in that period, losing only to Oregon in 1999 and Boise State in 2000. They are 15-0 against those teams in the past three seasons.

But coach Mark Few is not taking the No. 25 Bulldogs' season opener on Friday against Portland State for granted.

”Portland State feels like they can win the Big Sky. It's the best team they've had,” Few said.

Montana, Sunday's opponent, is also a contender for the Big Sky title, Few said.

In a packed early schedule, the Bulldogs host Idaho next Wednesday and then play No. 6 Illinois in Indianapolis a week from Saturday.

”It's not going to be an easy first month,” Few said.

Among other Northwest teams the Zags will play, Washington is ranked No. 22 and is expected to have a good team, after losing six in a row to the Bulldogs. Dick Bennett engineered a big turnaround in a brief time at Washington State last year, and the Cougars are likely to be better this time.

The Bulldogs have decided that freshmen Josh Heytvelt of Clarkston and David Pendergraft of Brewster will redshirt this season, while freshmen Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes (a.k.a. P-Mac) and redshirt freshman Calum MacLeod will play.

Also, junior college transfer J.P. Batista has still not been cleared to play by the NCAA. The 6-foot-9 junior sat out both exhibitions.

The Bulldogs were picked by league coaches to capture their fifth consecutive regular season West Coast Conference title. They tallied 60 points, receiving five first place votes to edge Saint Mary's. The Gaels collected three first-place votes and 56 points.

Gonzaga senior Ronny Turiaf was named to the John R. Wooden Award Pre-Season All-America Top 50. It was the sixth consecutive year the Bulldogs have had a Wooden All-America candidate. Last season, Turiaf averaged 15.5 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game and had 45 blocked shots.

Turiaf was listed as the fifth-best center in the country by Lindy's preseason college basketball magazine, while Adam Morrison was named the seventh-best small forward. Lindy's also listed the Zags' front court as the fourth-best unit in the country.

Friday's game will be the first regular season contest in the $25 million McCarthey Athletic Center. The 6,000-seat arena is a quantum leap for the sports program. The Spokesman-Review of Spokane ran a special section on the new arena Thursday. Here are some excerpts:

All 6,000 seats have backs and are angled toward the maple court, offering good sight lines; two giant LED video screens hang at opposite ends of the arena.

The men's and women's locker rooms feature 20 hardwood lockers and a players' lounge, with leather furniture and 50-inch plasma televisions.

The concourse has six concession stands and plenty of room for portable concession carts. It is decorated with huge murals of past Bulldogs greats like Frank Burgess, John Stockton, Dan Dickau and Blake Stepp.

”It was after our Elite Eight run that we started seriously talking about having a bigger building,” said associate athletic director Mike Hogan, who oversees development and marketing for the athletic department.

More than $5.3 million was raised from contributions required of all season ticket purchasers. Most of the rest of the money came from major donors, several of whom have pledged upward of $1 million.

The biggest gift came from Salt Lake City media moguls Philip and Thomas McCarthey. The brothers' pledge of multiple millions was large enough to secure naming rights to the new arena.

The team sold out its season ticket allotment of 4,200 seats (most of the rest are for students). There is now a waiting list of 300 people who want between 900 and 1,000 season tickets, the school said.

The seating capacity of 6,000 was chosen because a study showed that was a size that could sell out on a regular basis. Adding another 1,000 seats would have cost $5 million, officials said.

Among 32 college basketball arenas opened since 1997, only Maryland, Xavier, California, and Wisconsin have consistently played before more than 90 percent of capacity.

Few said the arena says a lot about the Bulldogs.

”In the past, even though our players were playing at a national level, when members of the national media came into The Kennel (in Martin Centre), they couldn't help but think, 'Isn't this a cute little ol' story here,”' Few said. ”But now when people come in, I think they're first impression is, 'Wow! This is a national-level facility.”'

AP-DS-11-19-04 0255EST