Long road ahead for Zags' Raivio

Less than 24 hours before Gonzaga and Washington stepped on the court Wednesday night, Derek Raivio's father had an observation that now seems almost haunting.

"He's not playing like the Derek I know," Rick Raivio said. "You haven't seen much of how he can really play. He can do some things he hasn't shown yet."

If Raivio's son left any of his resources untapped against the Huskies, Gonzaga fans can't wait for the unveiling today at KeyArena against Massachusetts in the annual Battle of Seattle.

After a season-plus worth of message-board murmurs and speculation in Spokane whether the Zags had an adequate replacement at point guard for four-year starter Blake Stepp, Raivio took the stage against UW and delivered an acceptance speech that brought down the house.

He had a career-high 21 points, eight assists, four steals and no turnovers in 38 minutes.

"I don't think you'll see a guard all season go a game against (the Huskies) without a turnover," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

But nobody, not Few, Raivio or his dad — especially his dad — is ready to say the sophomore has arrived just yet.

Derek Raivio has the perfect mentor to tell him there will continue to be jagged edges along the way, practices with coaches screaming in his face, days when the one thing he does wrong is a bigger deal than the 99 he's doing right.

A generation ago, Rick Raivio played for Jack Avina at the University of Portland. Avina grew up dirt poor, scrapped for everything he got and was notorious for the way he drove the Pilots.

"I hated Jack when I played," said Rick Raivio. "I hated the guy. I don't know what (Derek) thinks of Mark, but you don't love your coach until you're out of college."

Raivio (pronounced RY-vee-o) had a long career in basketball to contemplate Avina's influence. A bruising, 6-foot-5 swing player, he was drafted by the Lakers and spent some time in camp before Europe beckoned. From 1981-92 he played professionally in Belgium and France.

As Avina was with the elder Raivio, Few is hard on the son. Few was a point guard himself and realizes how the position is crucial to chemistry on offense and tone-setting on defense.

"I don't know that I'm more critical of that spot than any," Few said. "I just realize how important it is, and maybe more so than that, having the guys before him and how they developed."

In other words, the Zags have had point guards like Quentin Hall, Matt Santangelo, Dan Dickau and Stepp, and they aren't inclined to surrender the tradition easily.

"He also has to carve out his own niche," said Few. "He's got to get to the bottom-line maintenance — taking care of the ball, getting us into offense, being able to handle pressure, getting the ball up. We'll work with you in other areas, but those are pretty much non-negotiable."

Translation: Save the off-balance jumper for when the first, second and third options in the flex offense have been exhausted.

"I've been challenged in practice and stuff by coaches," said Derek Raivio. "I think all players face it. Sometimes they get yelled at, or sometimes they're just tired and don't want to show up and get yelled at.

"You can look at it two ways: Throw the towel in, or just knuckle up, bite your teeth, take it personally and give it all you've got."

It figures that Raivio would hew to the latter approach. Born in Wilrijk, Belgium, he used to tag along with his father to the gym and dribble along the sideline with either hand. All three sons of Rick and Chris Raivio spent their early years in Europe, and when Derek came to the U.S. as a second grader he was fluent in French.

That gives him an inroad into conversations between senior forward Ronny Turiaf, a native of Martinique, and freshman guard Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes of Montreal.

"I understand what they're saying," Raivio said. "I can throw in a couple of phrases, but I've forgotten a lot of it."

His parents settled in Vancouver, Wash., and Raivio developed into a prolific scorer and shooter at Mountain View High. He had some serious recruiting interest from Texas, New Mexico and some Pac-10 precincts before choosing Gonzaga.

He doesn't really look the part, with a baby face and a still-developing 6-3 frame. That just adds to the persona and, for some, the skepticism.

Said his dad: "He's a kid that if you tell him it's impossible to do this, he'll be the first one out there to tell you it isn't."

More of those impossibilities lie ahead. But after Wednesday, there's one fewer facing Raivio.

Notes

• Junior G Erroll Knight, who sprained a thumb in preseason practice and hasn't seen action yet, should play against the Minutemen. Knight's No. 21 was retired in a ceremony at Sealth High yesterday. Zags assistant Leon Rice, who accompanied Knight to the assembly, said, "It was neat. He was saying things like, 'There's the math teacher who helped me so much.' He talked to kids about how important it is to take care of academics."

• About 9,000 tickets have been sold for today's game.

• UMass (2-1) has had three straight losing seasons but returns four starters from a 10-19 team. It lost its first game, 84-68, at home to Northeastern Wednesday night.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com