Fortunately for Dickau, he had time to correct his mistake, and he is now the latest cog in the mid-major juggernaut at Gonzaga, the tiny Jesuit school tucked into the rolling hills on the eastern edge of the state.

"I got blindsided by the fact that, you know, it wasn't the Pac-10, and all the good guards go to the Pac-10 to play," Dickau said of Gonzaga's interest in him out of high school. "I was 18 years old when I made my decision. You know, I was a little more mature when I transferred. I have to say, it was the best decision I've ever made."

Dan Dickau plans on showing off his shooting range during the tourney.(Allsport)

Dickau, a 6-foot guard with the floppy brown hair and killer shooting range, has thrived in the West Coast Conference after spending a year toiling against Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm in practice.

But a transfer isn't allowed to travel with his new team, so Dickau could not experience Gonzaga's successful run through the WCC Tournament or its upsets of Louisville and St. John's in the NCAAs last year.

Dickau has looked like a grizzled Zag this season, however. His 18-point average trails only Casey Calvary (19.2) on his team, and he torched Santa Clara for 39 points, with a school-record nine 3-point shots. Take that, Santangelo and Frahm.

Dickau also owns an assists-turnovers ratio of almost 2-1.

"I think I've made huge strides, and that's all because of the coaching staff, the freedom and respect they give you," Dickau said. "It's just unbelievable how much they place upon a point guard and expect out of you. When they expect so much, you can't help but give them your best.

"That's something I've enjoyed, the responsibility. This is what I expected and what I wanted when I transferred, and I have to give so much thanks and praise to the coaching staff. What more can you say?"

Dickau has said it all with his performance. With him, Gonzaga is 19-2. Before WCC play started, a broken left index finger sidelined Dickau for nine games, in which the Bulldogs went 5-4. Two of those defeats were to Florida and New Mexico.

At the University of San Diego on the final day of the regular season, Dickau's long bomb with 2.8 seconds remaining gave the Zags a 72-69 victory, and it was on the same court that his two free throws with 19.4 seconds left gave Gonzaga some late breathing room in its 80-77 WCC Tournament title win over Santa Clara on March 5.

In that one, a small band of rowdy Santa Clara fans chanted "Pac-10 re-ject!" when Dickau went to the line one time. He paid those words no heed, though, leading everyone with 25 points.

Dickau warmed up for that one like it was just another game. He was so loose, he attempted a couple of shots from behind the backboard, over the shot clock -- a 15-foot-high, acute-angle shot. One barely rimmed out.

Then Dickau goofed with 7-year-old ballboy Mike, who can dribble two basketballs at once but was no match for Dickau's pump fake and 3-point bomb from the left wing. Mike answered that by swiping the ball away from Dickau on his next attempt.

But there was no doubt who leads Gonzaga as the Zags lay around a free-throw circle for pre-game warmups -- Dickau was in the middle, stretching his right leg over his left, then his left over his right.

The player who knew Gonzaga coach Mark Few, then the Bulldogs' top assistant, and Calvary as a senior at Vancouver Prairie High -- where he played two seasons with current Zags forward Zach Gourde -- was right where he wanted to be.

"Coming in, I knew the guys, the system and the program, and that eased a lot of things, as far as what to expect and knowing how the coaches deal with the players," Dickau said. "It is the exact situation I wanted and, looking back, I wish I would have known that out of high school."

Dickau suffered an injury halfway through his sophomore season at Washington, and he chose to transfer when Huskies coach Bob Bender kept Senque Carey at the point when Dickau returned to full strength.

He said he had a "great" time playing at Washington, but ...

"But," Dickau said, "I'm obviously ecstatic that I made the decision to transfer."

Gonzaga, Florida, Michigan State, Duke and Purdue are the only teams in the nation which have won at least two games in each of the past two NCAAs.

"I've loved every minute I've been at Gonzaga, and this makes my transfer feel so much better," Dickau said. "The success the program has made this year has been awesome. You know, we're happy we made the tournament. Now we want to make a run, like those last two teams."