Wiltjer transforms his game, and Zags

— -- SPOKANE, Wash. -- On a Friday morning in mid-February, Kyle Wiltjer walked through the doors of a conference room in Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center with that "Why am I awake right now?" grogginess that's so common on college campuses.

He had had a long night.

About 12 hours prior, Wiltjer had scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, hit four 3-pointers and blocked a shot in 26 minutes during his team's 80-51 victory over Loyola Marymount.

Later that evening, one of Wiltjer's favorite rappers and countrymen -- Wiltjer has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship -- had surprised the music world with a new album. Drake's "If you're reading this it's too late ..." album smashed the Internet when it was released. Wiltjer bought the album after the Bulldogs' win and listened to all 17 tracks.

"I like Drake because he's versatile," said Wiltjer, the West Coast Conference's Newcomer of the Year. "One song, he'll be singing to the girls and then another song, he'll be rapping. Who does that? It's crazy."

About as crazy as a 6-foot-10 forward connecting on 45 percent of his 118 3-point attempts? Or as crazy as a lanky white kid from Oregon going to inner-city, black-owned barbershops in Oakland to get his hair cut?

"We'd go to the hood and get a shape-up," said Mark Olivier, executive director of the Oakland Soldiers, Wiltjer's AAU team. "He wants to get a cut. You know how it goes in the hood. It's like 'What the hell are you doing in here?' He walks in with me and he just has that personality, that charisma. He can get along with anybody."

You can't put Drake's music in a box. You can't put Wiltjer in one, either. On or off the court. And that flexibility will be critical in Gonzaga's quest for its first trip to the Final Four.

Wiltjer is a veteran, despite this being his first season playing for the Bulldogs, who are 29-2 and ranked No. 7 in the country. He redshirted last season after transferring from Kentucky in 2013, where he won a national championship in 2011-12. He prefers a subdued lifestyle over a bond with the nightlife that so many college students enjoy. He'd rather listen to hip-hop at home, search online for an addition to his shoe collection (more than 40 pairs) or watch Netflix than frequent the local bar scene.

"I just finished up 'Breaking Bad,'" he said. "Everyone's been watching 'Scandal.' I watched the first episode, and the first 30 minutes, I wasn't into it. And then I ended it and thought, maybe I'll start episode two. Maybe tonight."

His eclectic personality comes through on the basketball court, too. He's averaging 16.5 points per game and boasts a 129.2 offensive rating according to Kenpom (second among players with a usage rate of 24 percent or higher). According to hoop-math.com, 28.2 percent of his shots have been at the rim, 38.6 percent have been taken inside the arc and 33.1 percent have been launched from beyond it.

He's also averaging 6.1 rebounds per game in WCC play, seventh in the league. Plus, he's a capable threat in the post now, too.

"Kyle can really score, and he's just an entity unto himself in college basketball," said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, WCC Coach of the Year. "I haven't seen enough of [Wisconsin senior Frank] Kaminsky. Kaminsky's unbelievable at what he does. You've got these two big kids that can really, really stretch the floor and shoot the 3. But Kyle's been incredible on the block, too."

His father demanded it.

Greg Wiltjer was a 7-foot center for the Canadian national team in the era of big men who were handcuffed to the post. Once Wiltjer began playing professionally in Europe, where he faced multidimensional players such as Vlade Divac and the late Drazen Petrovic, he realized that players overseas never felt imprisoned by the paint.

So he preached pick-and-pop to his son as often as he espoused the value of post presence.

"My dad sent me to a lot of shooting camps," Wiltjer said. "He really was instrumental in me developing my shot because he didn't really have a shot when he played. He was just strictly all post. And I think he was like 'My son's gonna have a jumper, too.'"

But Greg Wiltjer focused on fundamentals, not range.

Sitting on the edge of a chair in a large, empty room, Wiltjer demonstrates the technique that created a basketball prodigy.

He raises his right arm. Elbows tight. Perfect angle ...

"The basic stuff," Greg Wiltjer said. "Being square to the basket. Make sure you extend your arm, great follow through. I remember him spending hours staying late after practice, putting the time in."

Repetition helped, too. Kyle Wiltjer went immediately from the school bus to the driveway to take shots. On weekends, he'd rent old videos of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird from a nearby Hollywood Video. And then, he'd go back to the driveway and mimic the moves he'd just watched.

"One day," Wiltjer said, "I made my dad rebound for me in the rain."

Those occasionally saturated nights paid off in the long run. During one memorable effort in eighth grade, it became more obvious that Wiltjer had a gift.

"He started off really slow," Greg Wiltjer said. "In the second half, he hit nine or 10 3s. I was like 'Dang, that's my boy but that's incredible.' He's always had that shot."

Kyle Wiltjer starred at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon, where he won three state titles. And then, he increased his profile during a stint as a forward with one of the best West Coast AAU teams ever assembled.

Olivier's Oakland Soldiers featured Nick Johnson, Brandon Ashley, Aaron Gordon,  Stanley Johnson, Dominic Artis and Wiltjer. But Wiltjer's limited athleticism was not an obstacle as he competed with future pros and current collegiate stars.

"Watch [him] because he's going to outwork you," Olivier said. "He really likes competition. You can't rattle him. I love that kid to death."

John Calipari felt the same way, so he added the 2011 McDonald's All-American to his recruiting class that year. After helping the Wildcats win a national championship in his freshman season, he earned SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors as a sophomore in 2013 after averaging 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Then things changed.

The Twitter-verse swore the only reason Wiltjer decided to transfer was because he couldn't compete with the influx of talent that Calipari had signed in his top-ranked 2013 recruiting class. Wiltjer's athleticism had been a challenge throughout his career. And he'd never really worked on strengthening his body.

But he was still the sixth man of the year in a Power 5 conference.

Wiltjer, however, couldn't escape the doubters when he transferred to Gonzaga after an NIT season at Kentucky.

"Leaving Kentucky is like leaving your first girlfriend," Greg Wiltjer said. "You're in love. They treat you well. You're a rock star. There are a lot of cool things about Kentucky."

Kyle Wiltjer still talks to Calipari. And he remains close to the Wildcats on those Kentucky squads.

But he wanted to be closer to home. He wanted to be in a system that seemed more appropriate for his skill-set. He wanted to work on his body.

He'd already won a national title, so he felt no pressure as he contemplated a switch. Plus, Wiltjer had bonded with another Canadian, Gonzaga star Kevin Pangos, on the country's national developmental team at the 2013 World University Games in Russia.

That didn't stop the haters, though.

"People were saying, 'You couldn't make it at Kentucky so that's why you left,'" Wiltjer said. "I know why I left and that wasn't the reason. I actually was playing like 24 minutes [per game] when I left. They were acting like I never even played ... and people just saying I wouldn't even play on this Kentucky team now. I take that personally. All those fans, they're excellent. They were super nice about it. But the few that doubted me, I just want to prove them wrong."

First, however, he had to add some muscle and mobility.

Travis Knight, Gonzaga's strength and conditioning coach, had concerns as he analyzed Wiltjer on film for the first time. By then, he'd utilized his size and skills to be an effective contributor on the court. His length created mismatches. But as he continued to face more athletic, agile and stronger opponents, his flaws were magnified.

"His shuffle, his inability to do anything explosive," Knight said about his first impression of Wiltjer on film. "Kelly [Olynyk] was a big challenge, but this guy? Are you kidding me?"

They began with the basics. For hours, Wiltjer would move from side to side in the weight room with bands attached to his ankles. That monotonous, rigorous work occupied Wiltjer's time throughout his redshirt season in 2013-14. Knight emphasized hip movement. He employed more conditioning so that Wiltjer, who never felt good in the final weeks of a season, could be vibrant in February and March.

And he added strength to Wiltjer's body.

This is not the same player who left Kentucky.

"In the past, you could shut him down by making him feel you and making him say, 'I don't want to' or 'You know I can't go that way because of my body,'" Knight said. "So instead of the defender dictating things, he's dictating things."

He tested himself in practice sessions against Few's best players, but he also faced NBA talent in offseason pickup games in Portland. Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyle Singler, Channing Frye and Steve Blake invited Wiltjer to play with them in runs last summer. There, Wiltjer realized how much he'd grown.

"One day, [Frye and I] were doing [one-on-one], first to five makes," Wiltjer said. "I just scored the ball a couple of days really well."

That's the Kyle Wiltjer who entered the 2014-15 season.

A stronger, smarter, more confident Kyle Wiltjer.

His 45-point effort in a Feb. 19 win over Pacific only surprised those who weren't aware of the work he's put in since he arrived in Spokane two summers ago.

"It's great because it just makes us so hard to guard because the other team has to respect him," Pangos said. "Just gets the defense scrambling."

Today, he's the versatile performer that his father inspired. Wiltjer is comfortable inside. He crashes the boards. And he has a torch from 17 feet and out.

It's that arsenal that Gonzaga will rely on as it seeks a national championship.

"He has the ratchet," said Bulldogs guard  Gary Bell Jr., the WCC Defensive Player of the Year. "Every time he shoots it, it feels like it's going in. He just spreads the floor even more. You can't help off him."

But you can definitely win with him.