Trio of former Gonzaga Bulldogs receive G League opportunity
Former All-American Dan Dickau breaks down the impact Jeremy Pargo, David Stockton and Admon Gilder Jr. will have with theG League Ignite
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Gonzaga Nation SI, Dan Dickow here.
00:05 Again, we thought this was gonna be a slow news week
00:10 in regards to Gonzaga basketball
00:12 being that school starts next week.
00:13 But at the end of last week,
00:15 you have the conference schedule released.
00:18 Then you have Marcus Adams Jr.
00:20 deciding to leave Gonzaga
00:22 before really even starting to get to know the program.
00:26 Well, today, or actually last night
00:28 and we're recording and talking about it,
00:29 today, some more news out of Gonzaga
00:32 that doesn't necessarily deal with the current roster,
00:35 the current team, but it has to do with three former Zags,
00:38 David Stockton, Admon Gilder and Jeremy Pargo,
00:43 all signing to play with the G League Ignite.
00:47 Pretty unique setting, a unique opportunity
00:50 for all three of these guys.
00:52 I know exactly why they're doing it.
00:54 I think it's a great idea and a great purpose
00:56 for why they're doing it.
00:57 And the fact that the G League Ignite
00:59 pinpointed these three guys to be a part of their program,
01:03 I think is awesome.
01:05 So essentially what the G League Ignite is,
01:09 is it's a kind of a unique G League team.
01:14 We've already, I'm sure talked about,
01:15 or you've heard about the G League,
01:17 which is the minor leagues for the NBA,
01:19 where most NBA teams have a direct affiliate
01:22 underneath them in the G League.
01:24 I believe at this moment in time,
01:25 there might be two teams that don't have a direct affiliate
01:29 where it's essentially their minor league team,
01:31 where the NBA parent club can send a player down and up,
01:35 et cetera, based on injury status, player development,
01:39 maybe they just need more game reps,
01:41 this, that, and the other.
01:42 But the G League Ignite is owned actually
01:46 by the league itself.
01:47 It's not affiliated with any particular team.
01:49 It is another path and an opportunity for young players
01:54 to start their professional clock early.
01:56 So in the NBA, you cannot play in the NBA
02:00 or be eligible for the draft
02:02 until one year after your high school draft class.
02:04 So you have to do something,
02:06 whether it's go to college for one year.
02:08 Many guys have chosen the Next Stars program,
02:11 which is in the NBL in Australia.
02:14 That's actually what Alex Tui,
02:16 when he decommitted from Gonzaga in this summer,
02:20 decided to do, stay in his home country,
02:22 play for the Next Stars program,
02:26 where you jumpstart your professional career
02:28 to try to get to the NBA.
02:30 But Overtime Elite, where two lottery picks,
02:34 the Thompson brothers, were played for a season ago,
02:39 the other one is the G League Ignite.
02:41 So the G League Ignite is a team that plays in the G League,
02:45 but the team is unique in that it's built essentially
02:50 as a kind of proving ground for young players
02:53 of how to get to the next level.
02:55 So Scoot Henderson, who was, I believe,
02:57 the third pick in the NBA draft a season ago,
02:59 maybe it was second, I can't remember exactly right,
03:01 but Scoot Henderson played for the G League Ignite last year.
03:05 A couple other guys who were drafted
03:06 had played there as well.
03:07 Couple high level high school prospects
03:11 just this past season have decided to play
03:15 for the G League Ignite in the upcoming year.
03:17 Ron Holland being the most notable,
03:20 many rankings evaluators had him
03:23 as the top prospect in the country.
03:25 He was going to go play for Texas,
03:28 decided to not go to Texas and go the G League Ignite route.
03:32 And the unique part about the G League Ignite
03:34 is you're getting professional hands-on training.
03:37 You're being paid as a professional,
03:39 although not to the level of what the NBA would pay you.
03:43 You're making close to maybe $100,000,
03:47 depending on the contract that you sign with the G League.
03:50 It can be variable.
03:53 But the reason a lot of players
03:55 are going in this route right now
03:57 is the fact that you get hands-on training
04:00 as a professional.
04:01 So you, as a G League player,
04:04 you are held to the same standards
04:06 and you're typically held to the same
04:08 kind of training regimen as a pro in the NBA.
04:12 You got your shoot-arounds,
04:13 you got your strength training sessions,
04:16 you've got your practices,
04:17 you've got your game prep,
04:18 you've got your film prep.
04:20 You're essentially learning to be a pro
04:23 to be able to get drafted and become a true pro in the NBA
04:28 the following season.
04:29 But what the G League Ignite
04:31 has done a really unique job of is
04:33 they've hired well-known coaches to run it,
04:39 well-known general managers to run it.
04:42 And then they've sprinkled in veterans on that team
04:46 to essentially set the standard
04:49 for how the young guys need to learn how to act as a pro.
04:52 So a season ago, Pooh Jetter,
04:55 who many of you Gonzaga fans may remember the name,
04:58 played at University of Portland,
04:59 played in the NBA for a short bit,
05:01 played all over Europe.
05:02 He was a player coach for the G League Ignite a season ago.
05:10 Jason Hart, who coached in the college ranks
05:13 for a number of years at USC
05:15 was the G League Ignite head coach in recent years.
05:19 But the reason this is tied into Gonzaga
05:22 is the fact that the G League Ignite
05:23 signed David Stockton Jr.,
05:25 Admon Gilder, and Jeremy Pargo,
05:28 three players that have unique experiences in the pro game
05:33 to be able to, I would imagine,
05:35 continue to play at a really high level,
05:37 but set the tone and really mentor these players
05:41 to be prepared to have an opportunity
05:43 to play at the highest level, and that being the NBA.
05:45 And the reason I think these three players
05:47 were selected for it is different pathways to get there.
05:50 Admon Gilder, after leaving Gonzaga,
05:53 he's played in a number of different countries,
05:56 three or four different countries,
05:57 but most recently he played professionally in Canada
06:01 for a team in Calgary.
06:04 He's a player that's young enough
06:07 to still aspire to play in the NBA.
06:10 He's a player that is physically
06:15 more mature and capable than these 18, 19, 20-year-olds
06:20 that a lot of times you'll find on the G League Ignite.
06:23 So he will be able to push them.
06:25 He will be able to really kind of set the tone physically
06:28 for them, I would imagine, in practices and games.
06:31 But he's also young enough where you never know.
06:33 If he continues to improve,
06:34 he could get a nice long look
06:36 at another professional contract,
06:38 whether it's at a higher level club in Europe
06:41 than he was at previously,
06:42 or he might begin to network
06:48 into becoming a coach in the G League
06:52 or whatever his aspirations may lead to.
06:55 So that one for Admon Gilder,
06:58 I think is a awesome opportunity.
07:01 The next one you look at is Jeremy Pargo.
07:04 Jeremy Pargo, I mean,
07:05 I don't know if there's another Gonzaga basketball player
07:08 who has spent more time playing professionally
07:12 in more places across the world.
07:14 You name it, he's probably played there.
07:16 Being in the G League, being in the NBA,
07:19 being in Russia, being in Israel, being in Turkey,
07:22 being in China, he has been all over the place
07:24 and he continues to play at an extremely high level.
07:28 He's a player that absolutely loves the game.
07:30 When you're around Jeremy in the gym
07:31 and you're just talking hoops,
07:33 you can tell he is going to play for as absolutely long
07:37 as his body will allow him to.
07:40 And I think that's a great example
07:43 for him to set for these younger players
07:46 on this G League Ignite team.
07:47 The other reason I think this is an interesting move
07:50 for Gonzaga and a unique move for him
07:53 and a good move for him is the fact that
07:55 in conversations Jeremy and I've had in the past,
07:58 I think he wants to get into coaching when he's done.
08:02 I think he's got a skillset and a personality
08:06 that at the college level,
08:08 he would be a tremendous recruiter.
08:11 He would be able to, because of his experiences,
08:13 he would be able to evaluate players
08:16 and know skillsets that would lead to success
08:20 more times than not.
08:21 His personality of being outgoing
08:24 and kind of people gravitate towards him
08:27 would allow him, I think, to get,
08:29 if he were a college coach who had to recruit,
08:32 it would open doors to be able to get
08:35 a relationship developed with recruits
08:38 that would benefit whatever college program
08:40 he would be a part of at that time.
08:43 So that would be him on the college side.
08:45 On the NBA side, I could also see him going down that road
08:49 of coaching the NBA.
08:50 Again, he's a guy who loves the game,
08:52 wants to be around the game.
08:53 He's had experiences all across the world
08:57 as well as in the NBA.
08:59 So his network and his relationships run deep.
09:03 His older brother, Gennaro, is an assistant coach
09:05 in the NBA right now.
09:07 And I could see him trying to take
09:10 that same similar career path as his older brother.
09:14 And the third one, David Stockton,
09:16 I think this one makes the most sense
09:20 for the G League to bring on, to be a part of the Ignite.
09:26 And the reason being is David Stockton
09:29 has been a tremendous player in the G League
09:32 for a number of years.
09:34 He's on the cusp of being the G League's
09:36 all-time assist leader.
09:38 How interesting and how cool would that be
09:40 if John Stockton is the NBA all-time assist leader,
09:44 David Stockton is the G League all-time assist leader,
09:47 and that's very well possible.
09:50 But I think one of the reasons that G League Ignite
09:53 probably wanted David was the fact that
09:56 you can see just how good of a player
09:59 you are in the G League being on the cusp of the NBA,
10:04 but not breaking through fully.
10:06 I mean, David's had a couple of different stints in the NBA,
10:09 but I think it would allow players to see,
10:12 look, he is that good at this level.
10:15 And I might think I'm here, but I gotta get to here
10:19 if I really wanna make strides and get to the NBA,
10:22 or I wanna have longevity in the NBA.
10:25 The other thing would be obviously David's preparation,
10:28 David's professionalism,
10:29 and how he approaches the game in preparing,
10:33 and how he approaches the game with his competitiveness
10:37 of placing team above self.
10:39 I think that's something that's definitely important
10:42 for the G League players, Ignite players
10:45 that are young in that system,
10:46 trying to get to be able to carve out a career
10:50 for themselves at the NBA level.
10:52 What a lot of people don't understand is,
10:55 yes, the NBA is a difficult league.
10:57 It's difficult to go play professionally
10:59 at a high level in Europe.
11:01 But speaking from experience,
11:03 and I spent a 15, 20 game stretch in the G League
11:08 at the tail end of my career,
11:10 the G League might be the most difficult league in the world.
11:15 Hands down, might be the most difficult league in the world.
11:19 And the reason I say this is,
11:22 nobody wants to be in the G League.
11:24 And I don't say that as a slight,
11:25 I don't say that as a knock.
11:27 Everybody wants to be in the NBA,
11:28 and everybody has their eye on what it's going to take
11:31 for them to get to the NBA.
11:34 What's it gonna take in the next game
11:36 for them to catch the eye of that next front office,
11:40 general manager, to sign them to an NBA contract.
11:43 And so what you see is,
11:45 and what happens a lot of times is in the G League,
11:47 you get players that are out for themselves.
11:49 They think they're a 30 point game away
11:51 from getting a call up.
11:54 They think they need to do this, that, or the other
11:57 to get a call up, where in all actuality,
11:59 many times front offices and evaluators, general managers,
12:02 they already know everything players can do at this level.
12:05 They're looking for maybe one little trait
12:08 that will solidify the fact that that player in the G League
12:12 fills this role on an NBA team.
12:15 And so I think the fact that you've got
12:16 these three former Gonzaga players
12:18 who've been well coached for a long time,
12:19 they know how to play, they play the right way,
12:22 they're extremely professional.
12:24 What I see is the reason behind the G League
12:26 and the Knight signing these players
12:29 is to be the example for these younger guys
12:31 coming up through it,
12:32 showing you just how good you need to be at that level,
12:36 but how good you have to be at the next level
12:38 and showing them what their professionalism,
12:40 their preparation, their attention to detail,
12:44 and their team mindedness,
12:48 because all three of those guys
12:51 had an incredible team mindedness about them
12:53 when they were at Gonzaga.
12:55 And I think that's another thing
12:56 that they were brought in to the Ignite
12:58 to be a part of, to share with and show those younger players.
13:02 So wasn't necessarily the most pertinent
13:06 to today's Gonzaga program and today's Gonzaga player,
13:10 but I thought that was so unbelievably interesting
13:13 and unique in the fact that the G League Ignite
13:15 brought on three former Gonzaga players at once
13:19 to be a part of the Ignite program.
13:21 So for Gonzaga Nation SI,
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