Gonzaga-Arkansas notebook: Battle of the bigs could be huge; Drew Timme talks Mark Few, Northern Quest; and a viral Chet Holmgren-Steph Curry meeting

Mar. 23—SAN FRANCISCO — There are a lot of ways to defend the paint.

Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren's 115 blocks is within two of Brandon Clarke's single-season record set in 2019. The 7-footer with a 7-6 wingspan has probably altered twice as many — three times, even — with his lane presence.

Arkansas center Jaylin Williams has swatted 40 shots and has the size, strength and length to influence shots off target. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore also has taken 50 charging fouls, the most in the NCAA, prior to Saturday's win over New Mexico State. Some of those charges have put opposing bigs in foul trouble.

The Zags are well versed on Williams' stats, which includes 10.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and the importance of the inside battle in the Gonzaga-Arkansas Sweet 16 contest Thursday.

"It's all about making winning plays and whether it's blocking a shot or taking a charge, they're both winning plays and that's what he is going out there to do," Holmgren said. "We just have to be ready for it, expect it, and not be caught off guard by it, and play around it so that it doesn't negatively affect us."

"Taking charges isn't fun," Zags forward Drew Timme said. "It kind of hurts. He really puts his body on the line for his team to win and that's a really admirable trait."

Timme and Holmgren combine to average 32.4 points and 16.5 rebounds per game.

Williams' dad taught him the art of drawing charges.

"He taught me how to be in the right position and I've just really been taking them my whole life from as long as I can remember back in AAU basketball," Williams said. "I wouldn't really say they hurt. I'm kind of used to them by now."

Timme speaks mind on various topics

Timme was asked about a range of subjects in Wednesday's press conference, including his NIL deal with Northern Quest Resort and Casino, the 2022 March Madness experience vs. last season and coach Mark Few's DUI in September.

The latter drew a candid response from Timme.

"He owned up to it," said Timme, adding that the impact on the team was "none at all.

"He didn't hide from it. He did what he did and we respected that, and he talked to us about it. He was up front and honest about it. ... I mean, you mess up and you move on."

Timme has done several popular commercials for Northern Quest. He was asked if the NCAA's long-standing rules against sports betting was "something in your mind at all?"

"Well, every time I walk into the gym, I see a big Northern Quest logo so I didn't think too much of it," Timme said. "They're a great partner to have. They're really good with the community, they're really tied into a lot of things in Spokane, so I just really like that about them."

Timme said this year's tournament is how he envisioned March Madness when he was a kid.

"We don't have to stay in one hotel for a whole month (due to COVID protocols), so that obviously sucked last year," he said. "We were fortunate enough to play, and it was great to play obviously, but compared to how it's been so far this year, it's night and day."

Few agreed 1,000 percent.

"I had Drew next door to me (at the Indianapolis hotel) with his Xbox until 1 in the morning every night," Few cracked. "Obviously with Drew and Andrew (Nembhard) being through this (tournament) a bunch, but it is new and a totally different experience for almost the rest of my crew."

'Zags Got Dads' shirt fits Few

Gonzaga typically receives high marks for team chemistry and it apparently extends beyond the court to the players' families.

Few, asked if he had one of the "Zags Got Dads" T-shirts that have gained some traction on social media, said one showed up in his shirt pile and he "proudly" wore it while working out.

"Pretty cool," said Few, father of GU walk-on guard Joe and manager A.J. "It's always great, at least with us, to see throughout the year how I'm concerned with how my team is built and how they all get along with all the new faces. But it's great when we've had just some unbelievable team chemistry with our parents over the years and how close they've become traveling around and really build life-long friendships.

"I've seen how connected the Tillies were from France with many of the people in Spokane. This group, it's pretty cool."

Deon Watson, father of junior forward Anton Watson, came up with the T-shirt idea, a play on words from CBS Sports' Seth Davis' 2017 tweet "Zags Got Dudes."

Matt Gregg, freshman forward Ben Gregg's dad, quickly arranged for the production of 15 shirts, which many of the dads wore during Gonzaga's win over Memphis last Saturday in Portland.

Holmgren fan of Warriors' Curry

The video is about 2 1/2 -years old, but it was one reason — lagging far behind his unique skill set — Holmgren became well known to the basketball world while he was still in high school in Minneapolis.

Holmgren dribbled behind his back twice to shake Stephen Curry and drive for a two-handed dunk at Curry's SC30 Select Camp in August, 2019. Holmgren was already a top prospect before the video went viral. Gonzaga and Arkansas square off at the Chase Center, home court for Curry and the Golden State Warriors, on Thursday.

"It blew up quite a bit on social media and within a few different news outlets," Holmgren said. "I haven't spoken with Steph since the event, but he is a really good guy and obviously a great player. All respect to him."