By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer

SPOKANE, Wash.(AP) — This is the closest to a rebuilding season
Gonzaga basketball has had in years. Four starters from last
year’s Sweet 16 team are gone.

Matt Bouldin leads a small group of returning letterwinners,
joined by 10 newcomers who have never played college basketball.

“I’d rather look at seven veterans that have been here for four
years,” coach Mark Few said. “A majority of the people on the
floor are new to this program.”

Not that anyone in the West Coast Conference takes much comfort
in that. The Zags have won nine straight WCC regular-season
titles and made 11 straight trips to the NCAA tournament.

Portland has all five starters back from a team that finished
19-13 last season. But coach Eric Reveno doesn’t expect the Zags
to be down.

“Can we compete for the second or third spot?” Reveno said. “How
close are we to Gonzaga?”

The other WCC coaches predicted Gonzaga would win the league
again, despite the loss of starters Austin Daye, who became a
first-round NBA draft pick after his sophomore year, Josh
Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo and Micah Downs.

Gonzaga’s nine straight league titles is the longest active
streak in the nation, and tied for fourth-longest in history.
Kentucky won nine straight conference titles from 1944-52.
Connecticut won 10 straight from 1951-60, while UNLV won 10
straight from 1983-92. UCLA has the longest streak with 13
consecutive titles from 1967-79.

The non-conference schedule, as usual, is ridiculously difficult
to make up for the Zags’ lightly regarded WCC schedule. The Zags
have games against No. 2 Michigan State, No. 9 Duke, No. 17
Oklahoma and No. 23 Illinois, plus Wake Forest, Memphis and
Washington State. They play Colorado in the Maui Invitational
and then either Arizona or Wisconsin in the second game.

“That schedule has always served us well,” Few said. “Hopefully
this year will not be different.”

Bouldin is a senior and All-West Coast Conference selection who
scored 13.6 points and dished 3.4 assists per game last year.

“I think this year’s team is going to need me more as a leader,”
Bouldin said.

“Matt has had a great career already,” Few said. “As he goes, so
our team goes.”

Also back is junior guard Steven Gray, who averaged 9 points and
3 rebounds last year. Sophomore Demetri Goodson will take over
for Pargo at point guard.

A key to success will be the play of 7-foot post player Robert
Sacre, who missed nearly all of last season with foot problems.
He spent the summer working out with former Gonzaga star Casey
Calvary.

“I helped Casey lose some weight,” Sacre joked. “We pushed each
other.”

Many of the freshmen will have to contribute this season, Few
said.

Newcomers expected to get plenty of playing time are Mangisto
Arop, Sam Dower, Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris. The freshmen
include 5-foot-10 guard David Stockton, the son of Gonzaga and
Utah Jazz great John Stockton.

The Zags are not ranked in the preseason Top 25, which Sacre
said they can use as a motivating tool.

“We will come guns ablazing,” Sacre said. “Call us Yosemite Sam,
I guess.”

The best Gonzaga newsletter on the web