1983–84 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1983–84 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University of Spokane, Washington , in the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . Led by third-year head coach Jay Hillock , the Bulldogs managed a 17–11 (.607) overall record (6–6 in WCAC, 4th),[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] and played their home games on campus at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion .
Without a conference tournament, Gonzaga's season was not quite enough to qualify for the 53-team NCAA tournament , the WCAC berth went to champion San Diego (9–3).[ 5] In earlier non-conference games, Gonzaga met Inland Empire rival Washington State of the Pac-10 at the Spokane Coliseum in December and the Cougars made a late basket and won by a point.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] [ 10] Two weeks later, Gonzaga outscored WSU by a point in overtime at the Far West Classic in Portland to halt their losing streak to the Cougars at eleven games.[ 11] [ 12] A week later, Gonzaga broke a four-game losing streak to the other Palouse rival , the Idaho Vandals .[ 13] [ 14]
Two key senior scorers were lost to injury early in the season: swingman Bryce McPhee played in only six games due to a broken leg (right fibula ),[ 15] and forward Jason Van Nort was sidelined in early January with ongoing issues after knee surgeries.[ 14] Both redshirted and returned as fifth-year seniors in the following season.
With the active roster depleted to eight players, the coaching staff dipped into the intramural ranks for help and added sophomore Gino Cerchai to the Zags' bench.[ 16] The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) guard saw action in two home games and made both of his free throw attempts, met with great appreciation from the student section.[ 2] [ 17]
This Gonzaga team is largely remembered for Spokane native John Stockton ; the senior point guard from Gonzaga Prep was a three-year starter and the team leader throughout the season,[ 1] and was the conference player of the year. Despite flying well below the national radar for the majority of his collegiate career, Stockton was selected 16th overall in the 1984 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz ,[ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] where he played nineteen seasons. He was named to the NBA All-Star Game ten times, made two appearances in the NBA Finals , and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Roster
1983–84 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Bruce Wilson
Joe Hillock
Rich Alvari
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Source: [ 2] [ 7] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15]
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
Nov 25, 1983 *
Carroll
W 100–57
1–0
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Nov 28, 1983 *
Central Washington
W 86–54
2–0
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Dec 1, 1983 *
at Idaho State
W 65–63 OT
3–0
Holt Arena Pocatello, Idaho
Dec 3, 1983 *
at Boise State
L 54–72
3–1
BSU Pavilion Boise, Idaho
Dec 7, 1983 *
Eastern Washington
W 86–57
4–1
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Dec 9, 1983 *
at Montana State
W 78–68
5–1
Worthington Arena Havre, Montana
Dec 12, 1983 *
Washington State
L 72–73
5–2
Spokane Coliseum Spokane, Washington
Dec 17, 1983 *
Weber State
L 84–94
5–3
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Dec 27, 1983 *
vs. Robert Morris Far West Classic
W 73–57
6–3
Portland, Oregon
Dec 28, 1983 *
vs. Oregon Far West Classic
L 52–72
6–4
Portland, Oregon
Dec 29, 1983 *
vs. Washington State Far West Classic
W 71–70 OT
7–4
Portland, Oregon
Jan 2, 1984 *
at Loyola Marymount
L 68–70 OT
7–5
Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Jan 7, 1984 *
at Idaho
W 59–52
8–5
Cowan Spectrum Moscow, Idaho
Jan 10, 1984 *
at Eastern Washington
W 91–80
9–5
Reese Court Cheney, Washington
Jan 13, 1984 *
Seattle Pacific
W 84–67
10–5
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
WCAC Regular Season
Jan 19, 1984
at San Diego
W 60–58
11–5 (1–0)
USD Sports Center San Diego, California
Jan 21, 1984
at Saint Mary's
L 51–52
11–6 (1–1)
McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
Jan 26, 1984
Pepperdine
L 56–57
11–7 (1–2)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Jan 28, 1984
Loyola Marymount
W 84–66
12–7 (2–2)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Feb 2, 1984
at Santa Clara
L 55–56
12–8 (2–3)
Leavey Center Santa Clara, California
Feb 7, 1984 *
Whitworth
W 66–57
13–8
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Feb 11, 1984
Portland
W 73–54
14–8 (3–3)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Feb 18, 1984
Santa Clara
W 73–63
15–8 (4–3)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Feb 24, 1984
at Loyola Marymount
W 73–70
16–8 (5–3)
Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Feb 25, 1984
at Pepperdine
L 62–69
16–9 (5–4)
Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California
Mar 1, 1984
Saint Mary's
L 70–72
16–10 (5–5)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Mar 3, 1984
San Diego
L 69–71
16–11 (5–6)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion Spokane, Washington
Mar 6, 1984
at Portland
W 56–55
17–11 (6–6)
Howard Hall Portland, Oregon
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
References
^ a b Hamilton, Linda (June 20, 1984). "The more you see him, the more you like him" . Deseret News . (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. G6.
^ a b c Closky, Evan (March 24, 2017). "The tale of Gino: How a redshirt sophomore won the hearts of Gonzaga fans in 1984" . KREM-TV . (Spokane, Washington). Retrieved January 14, 2019 .
^ "Zags clip Pilots' wings in WCAC season finale" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). March 9, 1984. p. 14.
^ "Pilots lose final game, finish in WCAC cellar" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire service reports. March 9, 1984. p. 4D.
^ a b "Final college basketball standings" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire services. March 15, 1984. p. 6C.
^ "1983-84 Gonzaga Bulldogs Roster and Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com" . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com .
^ a b Blanchette, John (December 12, 1983). "New-look GU faces WSU" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 13.
^ "WSU faces challenge from Gonzaga guards" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). December 12, 1983. p. 1C.
^ Blanchette, John (December 13, 1983). "Winkler's 12-footer drops GU" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
^ "Winkler's shot gives Cougars 73-72 win over Gonzaga" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). December 13, 1983. p. 1B.
^ Devlin, Vince (December 31, 1983). "Deja vu? Not quite, Zags by 1" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
^ Sahlberg, Bert (December 31, 1983). "Cougars lose final touch" . p. 1C.
^ a b "Tonight's games: Gonzaga at Idaho" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). January 7, 1984. p. 19.
^ a b c Devlin, Vince (January 8, 1984). "Ruff gets rough with GU in tough" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
^ a b "Zags' McPhee out for season" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). December 29, 1983. p. 19.
^ Weaver, Dan (February 20, 1984). "Halftime isn't the only show as Zags bite big into WCAC" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). p. 13.
^ Blanchette, John (February 12, 1984). "Zags sprint in second half" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. D2.
^ Blackwell, Dave (June 19, 1984). "Jazz surprise by taking Stockton" . Deseret News . (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
^ Blackwell, Dave (June 20, 1984). "Stockton pick hailed as Jazz coup" . Deseret News . (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. G1.
^ Blanchette, John (June 20, 1984). "Jazz sound out Stockton in first round" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
^ Cawood, Neil (June 20, 1984). "After Bowie, Blazers take Thompson and who?" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 3C.
External links
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
Information related to 1983–84 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team