{"id":737797,"date":"2022-02-11T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=737797"},"modified":"2022-02-11T15:16:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:16:06","slug":"drew-timme-focused-bringing-national-championship-to-spokane-gonzaga-slam-236","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/drew-timme-focused-bringing-national-championship-to-spokane-gonzaga-slam-236\/","title":{"rendered":"Drew Timme is Focused on Bringing a National Championship to Spokane"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drew Timme joins the Zoom call from his apartment in Spokane, WA. We\u2019re talking about his favorite players\u2014the guys who have inspired him, the ones he\u2019s modeled his game after and whose careers he\u2019d love to emulate. The Gonzaga big man grew up in suburban Dallas, so at least one name is a no brainer. \u201cI\u2019m a Mavericks fan, a big Dallas guy,\u201d he says, \u201cso, of course, Dirk\u2019s my favorite player of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the modern NBA, another player is nearly as clear-cut a choice. \u201cObviously Jokic\u2014he\u2019s crazy,\u201d Timme says of the reigning MVP. \u201cHe\u2019s not the flashiest or most athletic, but the way he sees the court, it seems like he can score any way he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s a fan generally of versatile big men, fitting role models for a 6-10 low-post wizard working to expand his own range and skill set. But there\u2019s another guy who Timme mentions, a name that\u2019s a bit less obvious coming from a 21-year-old white dude. \u201cAllen Iverson\u2014I love his swagger, and you know, I wear a headband,\u201d he says with a laugh. But on this, it\u2019s clear he\u2019s sincere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I really loved about him was how he was just himself, every time he stepped on the court. I really looked up to him for that; I think it\u2019s important if you want to be the best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Timme\u2019s trademark March Madness mustache will never rival Iverson\u2019s braids for icon status, but his admiration for AI\u2019s unapologetic realness is genuine\u2014as is his commitment to maximizing the impact of his own game as he chases a national championship, national POY honors and a possible NBA future. The next few months will determine the first two of those goals, but in the midst of his third college season, Timme\u2019s legacy as one of the modern game\u2019s most entertaining throwbacks is already a lock\u2014and still arguably the biggest reason Gonzaga will have another shot at a chip this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we caught up with him in December, Timme was still getting used to the return of fans at games after the empty gyms of the pandemic-limited 2020-21 season. \u201cI love the energy the crowd gives, whether it\u2019s good or bad,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s extra fuel for me.\u201d Not that he or the Bulldogs should need extra motivation: Everyone remembers Gonzaga\u2019s perfect run to the 2021 national title game and how that turned out. What\u2019s easy to forget is that the Bulldogs might\u2019ve won a title the year before, if not for the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19. Timme came into his junior season as the leader of the preseason No. 1 team and with a combined college record of 62-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hold ourselves to the standard of being the best version of ourselves we can be, which is being [the] best team in the country,\u201d he says. \u201cWe see pressure as a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He sure doesn\u2019t play like it bothers him. He averaged 19 ppg as a sophomore last season, doing much of his damage with an array of up-and-unders and put-backs and looping runners that make the game look fun. He returned this year to preseason national POY acclaim, looking to try to finally secure that elusive national championship, to mentor young stars like freshman teammate Chet Holmgren, and to prove that he himself is ready for the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessing his progress, Timme says, \u201cMy ability to read the game has improved a lot, and my defense has gotten a lot better. I\u2019d say I\u2019m still working on my outside shot, and my perimeter defense on guards\u2014it\u2019s gotten a lot better, but there\u2019s still a long way to go.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether his game will translate to the NBA is, for the moment, beside the point. \u201cI came back to win a championship and get better,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s all I\u2019m focused on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Photos via Getty Images. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drew Timme joins the Zoom call from his apartment in Spokane, WA. We\u2019re talking about his favorite players\u2014the guys who have inspired him, the ones he\u2019s modeled his game after and whose careers he\u2019d love to emulate. The Gonzaga big man grew up in suburban Dallas, so at least one name is a no brainer. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":737890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49436,49435],"tags":[25824,62525,141,63966,63367],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-737797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-hs","category-the-magazine","tag-drew-timme","tag-feature-1","tag-gonzaga-bulldogs","tag-slam-236","tag-the-magazine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737797"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":738029,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737797\/revisions\/738029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737797"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=737797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}