NCAA Pants Party: Gonzaga Vs. Xavier

Gonzaga Bulldogs (27-3) vs. Xavier Musketeers (21-10) When: Thursday, 7:20 p.m. Where: Salt Lake City

GONZAGA

1. These Are Some Athletic Jesuits. Adam Morrison finished his senior season at Mead High School in Spokane as the all-time leading scorer in Greater Spokane League history. He broke the record set by current Gonzaga teammate Sean Mallon, who broke the old record held by current Gonzaga TV color commentator Jeff Brown. Other GSL alums include: Lions kicker Jason Hanson, former Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien, Cubs Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandburg, and Jazz great John Stockton.

2. Batista STRONG! Gonzaga center/forward JP Batista set a Gonzaga record by bench pressing 225 pounds 30 times. The NFL Scouting Combine tests how many times a player can do the same thing: Pro-Bowl defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Tennessee Titans benched 225 pounds 26 times.

3. They're Not Kidding About The Honoring God Thing. Gonzaga recently honored one of the most beloved members of its community with a special statue at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Father Tony Lehman SJ was the Chaplain for the Gonzaga men's basketball team for 20 years before dying of leukemia in 2002. The University had left Fr. Tony's traditional chair at the end of Gonzaga's bench open since his death, but this season, they commissioned a Spokane artist to create a statue to honor him at the school's basketball arena. A bronze chair bearing the words, "To be continued..." (Fr. Tony's signature line) now stands at the entrance of the McCarthey Athletic Center. — Steve Pickford

XAVIER

1. We're Pretty Sure Andre Smith Won't Attend Any Games This Week. Smith, who played for the Musketeers in 1993-94, was sentenced recently to 10 years in prison for the beating death of his neighbor with a Russian machete. Smith, 30, admitted hitting Maxim Dudinovin and is the son of 1970's Cleveland Cavaliers star Bingo Smith. 2. Location, Location, Location. Boubacar Coly, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward from Senegal, chose Xavier over the University of Miami, Mississippi, Richmond and Southern Methodist because at Xavier, the gym is the closest to the freshman dorms. "That's a good spot," Coly said in 2004. "At a lot of schools, the gym is far away. It's hard to get to the gym." 3. They've Got Teen Wolf. After the North Carolina State Wolfpack passed on him because the whole name thing would have been just be too weird, Xavier finally grabbed guard Johnny Wolf, a freshman from their own back yard — St. Xavier High in Cincinnati (at one time the two schools were on the same campus). As in the movie Teen Wolf, Johnny Wolf's dad was also a basketball star at his school — Marty Wolf (1977-79) is in the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame in both basketball and tennis. — Rick Chandler

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