Free Ira Brown! - The Gonzaga Hoops Podcast

Do you have any eligibility left? A spare season or two from your collegiate days? Maybe you’re still in school and feel like lending a hand (or ankle)? It feels like that’s what is needed after yet another injury, this time to Gonzaga’s leading scorer and rebounder. Unfortunately, dear FIBber, we have exhausted all our athletic eligibility. All we can give is the newest episode of Free Ira Brown, in which our heroes discuss the ankle injury to Filip Petrusev, why this was the best time for it to happen (not that there’s ever a good time) and what it means going forward. Those stories, plus we welcome FIB super fan David Jenne to help us enjoy the thumping of BYU, we make fun of Marty relentlessly for believing in Santa Clara and we revel in Killian Tillie’s defense, Ryan Woolridge’s speed and Joel Ayayi’s all-around excellence. And finally, we finish up with a fun discussion of which TV personalities we like and which ones drive us nuts. All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga

It’s sort of like finding your favorite pair of slippers, right? Maybe they had been lost under the bed, or the dog used one as a chew toy and it was lost for a few weeks. But once you find it, you slip it on and it’s as comfortable as you remember. So it was, watching Gonzaga regain its form in a pair of blow-out conference road wins. A savaging of San Diego? Slipping the right foot in. A mauling of Marymount? Your left foot sliding into an ocean of comfort. It’s nice to see the slippers still fit, isn’t it? And – no surprise here -- with a pair of games comes the latest offering from Free Ira Brown. In our latest episode, our heroes exalt in Ayayi’s excellence, Woolridge’s brilliance and at least one game of moderately passable free throw shooting. Those stories, plus there’s a heated(ish) discussion of the best #13 in Gonzaga history, we have the largest amount discussion of Santa Clara in the history of the pod and we look ahead to a matchup with a dangerous BYU team who will likely be without star forwar

After about six-and-a-half years of putting out the podcast, one thing has become unassailably clear: We have no idea what we’re talking about. So in order to help, we brought in the best possible option, the one person who has the combination of basketball smarts, access to the program and killer, killer hair. That’s right, dear FIBbers, Free Ira Brown is back, and on our latest episode, our heroes interview Dan Dickau! Yes, that Dan Dickau. No, we’re not sure how it happened, either. But he’s here and there’s audio evidence to prove it. We ask the Gonzaga legend his thoughts on this year’s team, what his time was like working as a player development coach with the Portland Trailblazers and who wore the #21 best? Those stories, plus: did you guys hear about this Minnesota kid who committed to Gonzaga? Someone named Jalen Suggs…of course you heard, we all heard and we do a poor job of hiding our excitement about the highest-rated recruit Gonzaga has, uh, recruited (Dickau has some typically intelligent though

The holiday season means a much-needed break for the Gonzaga players, giving a chance to rest, heal up some injuries and enjoy some high-quality Christmas music (see our last episode). But fret not, dear FIBbers, we are still here to help you through this most festive of periods. That’s right, Free Ira Brown is back, and in our latest episode, our heroes fight through colds, Disney and whiskey to bring you a brief (well, for us) New Year’s pod. There isn’t too much to cover, but we will review the win over Detroit Mercy, the Gonzaga women roaring back from a 20-point deficit to get a big win and some absolute gold from Greg Heister. Those stories, plus with the new year comes the start of the West Coast Conference season, and we’ll take you through the conference openers against Portland and Pepperdine (ROMAAAARRR!!). And finally, we would like to take a moment to wish you a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year. We wish nothing but the best in the new decade. @freeirabrown    Freeirabrown@gmail.com  

Gonzaga basketball caps off a tough stretch with glorious victories over North Carolina and Eastern Washington. In honor of their sweet, sweet domination, Marty blesses us with a song . . . about Greg Heister? You're in for the yuletide of your life on this episode of Free Ira Brown! @freeirabrown Patreon.com/freeirabrown freeirabrown@gmail.com

Do ever wonder how well Gonzaga would do in a real conference? You know, what that doesn’t include the lumbering lummoxes that are the LMU Lions? Or the ponderous peasants that are the Portland Pilots? What if, and go with us here, what if Gonzaga were in a real, proper conference? Like, for example, the Pac-12? How would Gonzaga do in the Pac-12, where the west coast behemoths that are Washington and Oregon and Arizona live? What’s that, now? They beat all those teams, you say? And not one of the games was at home? And Tucson is six hours from the ocean and shouldn’t be considered the west coast? We hear you, dear FIBber! And since we here at Free Ira Brown are in the truthiness business, in our latest episode our heroes end the discussion on who the best team in the west is (as if there was any doubt) after Gonzaga goes into the McKale Center and comes away with a (mostly) impressive win over Arizona. We’ll take a look back at Ayayi’s brilliance, Angry Filip(!), Mannion’s miscues and what, exactly, precisel

Did you ever do Sunday dinner with the family? Mom and dad, or maybe grandma and grandpa, host as many members of the family as possible, maybe cook up a nice turkey dinner, or –ooh!—maybe a lasagna.   Just out of curiosity, what did you put on your food? Were you a gravy fan for your turkey? Maybe parmesan or Reggiano for your lasagna?   We hear at Free Ira Brown, we prefer Husky tears.   And in the latest episode, our heroes exult in the full supply of Husky tears available after Sunday’s win. Woolridge all over both ends of the floor? Cue Husky tears. Ayayi with a clutch 3-pointer? More Husky tears. Tillie being the best player on the floor? Even MORE Husky tears. We rejoice in it all.   Those stories, plus we give a shout out to the great Frank Burgess, pick an interesting thing from the Texas Southern game, take look at what should be a fun game against Arizona and weigh in on the topic du jour: Gonzaga’s student section.   All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga

What was it Meatloaf once said? Two out of three aint bad? It seems unlikely he was singing precisely about Gonzaga’s trip to the Bahamas 40+ years in advance, but we’re gonna go with it anyway (seriously, if you haven’t heard the man sing, go find him and treat yourself). And in the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, our heroes dissect the loss to Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis final. What went wrong? Mostly everything. What went right? Mostly nothing. Should we freak out? Not yet. We also take some real heart from the gutty, gritty, dig-way-down-deep victory over Oregon, talk about Ayayi’s continuing improvement and see if there’s anything we can do to help our starting backcourt get healthy and effective (just remember: don’t be sad, cause two out of three aint bad). Those stories, plus we have another pod dedication, we mention the words “Texas Southern” and we get ourselves prepped for that small matter of a cross-state trip Sunday to take on Washington. Isaiah Stewart is an elite talent, but is he eno

As the season of thanks and commercialism descends upon us and turkeys everywhere run and hide, we here at Free Ira Brown turn our attention to the warm waters of the Caribbean. Specifically The Bahamas, of course, as Gonzaga has made its way from the lovely climes of Spokane to the totally average, nothing-to-write-home-about beaches of Nassau (seriously, what a downgrade). It is on those pristine shores the Bulldogs will face their stiffest competition yet (no, not you, Southern Miss) with potential matchups with Oregon/Seton Hall and UNC/Michigan looming. And it’s here (well, the link below, anyway) where you can find the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, in which our heroes look (briefly) ahead to the game against the Golden Eagles and (thoroughly) to the Thanksgiving Day game against either the Pirates (always a scary proposition in the Caribbean) or the Ducks (always a good Thanksgiving dish). Who do we match up with better? What are each team’s strengths and weaknesses? Why is Southern Miss so bad at s

The French don’t have a Thanksgiving Holiday. That’s not really surprising, considering it’s a holiday celebrated by New World entities. But we here at Free Ira Brown won’t let that small, petty fact deter us from raising a toast to the return of Gonzaga’s Cagnes-sur-Mer Magnifique, Killian Tillie. For as our forefathers taught us, “Give us Tillie, or give us bad non-conference losses!” Pretty sure that’s in paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence. Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, our heroes were celebrating Tillie’s return to lead Gonzaga past a plucky, feisty, annoyingly game UT Arlington team who seemed determined to ruin the rest of our week and make us forget the dominating performance the Bulldogs put on just a few days earlier in a blowout win over Texas A&M in College Station. Those stories, plus we have the most heated pod dedication argument in recent memory (all five episodes), Heister learns what kinesio tape is and we struggle to find any noteworthy alums from our next opponent, Cal

In 2017, led by one Geno Crandall, North Dakota came into the McCarthey Athletic Center and pushed a loaded Gonzaga team (aren’t they all loaded, really?) to overtime. That 2017 team, however, did not have Filip Petrusev. Filip Petrusev does not suffer such dramatics. Nor would be there any of the accompanying hand-wringing this year from Free Ira Brown. That’s right, dear FIBbers, we’re back, and in the latest episode our heroes go deep into finer aspects of the cruise-control wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and the Fighting Hawks: Petrusev feasting on lesser fools, Corey doing a bit of everything and Woolridge being really fast. Those stories, plus we get into the NCAA and why they got it right (or didn’t) with the James Wiseman situation in Memphis, take a swim in the waters of Lake Schadenfreude (Winthrop! At home!), nod our collective heads and drinks to Kevin Pangos (and P-Maag!), try to determine whether Joel Ayayi (#A11Aboard) is the best rebounding guard in Gonzaga history and finish up with a brief ga

Basketball. Games. Actual, counts-for-real, honest-to-goodness basketball. Gonzaga is back! And to help celebrate the season-opening romp past Alabama State, we here at Free Ira Brown brought in someone who kinda actually knows what he’s talking about: friend of the pod Steven Karr (he’s on twitter at @skarrGo, which we’re told is pronounced like the snails, not a nickname for Scarlett Johansson). Steven helps our heroes preview the Gonzaga women’s season, discuss whether it’s too early to give Corey Kispert the Naismith Award now and figure out Alabama State is about on par with Michigan State. Those stories, plus we brave through Filip’s injury scare (no getting hurt!), we preview the upcoming games against Arkansas Pine Bluff and North Dakota (the Geno Crandall internal Civil War special!) and run through some pet peeves from the sporting world and elsewhere. All that and more in the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come revel in the return of actual basketball, won’t you? @f

It can be scary out there, in the offseason. No ghoulish games to look forward to, no ghastly matchups to set your mind aflutter. Nothing but the vast, dark emptiness that is the wasteland of sports without college basketball. Thankfully, our nightmare is over. Yes, the Gonzaga Bulldogs will finally come back to the court. And with them, so Free Ira Brown returns! That’s right, dear FIBbers, our heroes are back to finish off the season preview pods. A scrimmage against Michigan State? We got that. Breaking news on Oumar Ballo and how that affects us? We got that, too. Those stories, plus we take a look at each other freshman and what to expect/hope, go over the roster/rotations with a fine-toothed comb and break down our non-conference schedule. We also have a lightning round at the end, just for giggles. All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do join us in the season countdown, won’t you? @freeirabrown freeirabrown@gmail.com

Free Ira Brown Returns! That's right, four of five starters from last year's team have moved on, but Free Ira Brown is here to get you introduced to the new squad. In this ep, we take a look at the veterans, returning players and transfers, who will form the backbone of the roster.  We also go over the new NCAA rules and look back at our own personal shining moments. Thanks for listening to THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. @freeirabrown  freeirabrown@gmail.com  

Yeah. So, this is our summer pod. It was recorded before the USWNT won the World Cup, so we didn't talk about that. Also, we pick a player from the past to name the episode after, but you can tell that from the title.  We talk about the off-season moves, the inevitable departures and the welcome surprises, then we tell you, with complete accuracy, how all these young guns are going to fit together next year. Do have a beach day with us, won't you? We're a little laid back here at headquarters, so this one's a freebie patreon patrons. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! If you aren't contributing, we'd welcome any support you can muster, go to patreon.com/freeirabrown. Follow us on twitter @freeirabrown.

If you thought, after five years, it would be easier to put together an end-of-season pod; if you thought, after five years, we would keep things in the proper perspective, not get too up or down on the emotional roller coaster which is college sports; if you thought any of these things...you thought entirely and utterly inaccurately. Because, dear FIBbers, there’s no getting around it: this one hurts. A lot. But through the pain, through the sniffles and the hangovers, Free Ira Brown still manages to cobble, well, something together. In our last episode of the season, our heroes look back at Gonzaga’s loss to Texas Tech in the Elite 8 and try to figure out why a season with so much promise ended so abruptly. Those stories, plus, we look ahead to who may or may not be coming back next year, what our starting lineup for the opening game might be and we try to figure out why this loss stings more than some of the others. And finally, we try to remember it’s not all bad, as we realize, yes, Gonzaga may have lost

Free Ira Brown reacts to Gonzaga's magnificent victory over the Seminals(sp) of Florida State. We're celebrating that win and taking a look ahead to Saturday's Elite Eight Match-up with Texas Tech.

You ever get a cavity and you’re not sure how you got it? You floss regularly, you’re a good brusher, you don’t flood yourself with sugar. But sure enough, there it is, the hole in your enamel which will cause you to sit in a dental chair for 90 minutes and accidentally bite your tongue as it comes out of anesthesia. Well the same thing happened to your faithful hosts of Free Ira Brown. And after going to our respective dentists, we were asked one question: “What did you expect? You’ve had five straight years of sweetness every March.” Of course! Now it all makes sense. Five consecutive years of the Sweet 16! Why didn’t we think of that? We must have been thinking too much about Brandon Clarke (do doo do do do do) becoming the best player Salt Lake City has ever seen, Tillie dunking on Fairleigh Dickinson and Corey Kispert having his best game as a Bulldog. An in our latest episode, our heroes take a look back at it all. We also look ahead to the rematch against Florida State in the Sweet 16. Will this time a

Can you feel it? That tingling in the air? The sense of anticipation? It’s almost here. Just a few days until we’re all glued to the court to watch Gonzaga make another run at the Final Four. And to get you (even more) primed, dear FIBbers, the Free Ira Brown crew is here to help you break down the brackets. In our latest episode, our heroes take a look at the Bulldogs (you know, Number 1 seed in the West) and their path to Minneapolis. Is the west really as bad as some are making it out to be? Is the west really as easy as others are making out to be? Does it really matter? Those stories, plus Randy Bennett actually has to get on a plane, we take a look at some of the best second-round matchups across all the brackets, Adam learns where Fairleigh Dickinson is and we spend some time with the Gonzaga haters (derpy-derp). And finally, we give our preferred routes to the national title. Syracuse or Baylor? UNC in the national title game? How about Florida State in the Sweet 16? We’ll tell you how we’d like to se

The hardest things to do, dear FIBbers, after a loss like that: 1) Explain it. 2) Calm down. It’s unclear whether we did either, but we here at Free Ira Brown at least tried. Sort of. Mostly. In our latest episode, our heroes take a look back at the West Coast Conference Tournament and specifically at what went wrong in the final…well…pretty much everything, but then you knew that already. There are stats (lots and lots of stats), complaints (we’ve got a few), and an emphatic answer to the question: did Saint Mary’s provide a blueprint to beating Gonzaga? Those stories, plus we look ahead to Selection Sunday. Does the loss to Saint Mary’s affect our expectations heading into the NCAA Tournament? What teams do we want to avoid, which do we want to play? We cover it all, plus we turn our attention to a very sobering trip to Las Vegas for the Gonzaga women, who had their own loss in the WCC Tournament final, and then suffered a much more affecting loss. And finally, we here at Free Ira Brown felt it was time to