Dan Dickau's girlfriend doesn't always approve, but she is used to it by now.

She understands.

It has been this way for some time. Years in fact. Since he was a child, Dickau attacked literature and videos on basketball like he now does a half-court trap. Anything he could read, watch, get his hands on, he did so without fail. He memorized words, actions, outcomes, situations. He is a hoops junkie in the truest sense, an addict whose fix is a round leather ball and orange rim.

In terms of basketball I.Q., he is off the charts.

"Basketball has always been something I love," says Dickau. "My dad created an interest when I was young and I kind of took it from there.

"I think it's important for guys my age to know about all players, past and present."

So when he finds a spare moment, when the demands of being a student-athlete and starting point guard at Gonzaga subside a bit, Dickau pulls up a chair and turns on the VCR. And maybe he studies the wondrous passing of Pete Maravich. And maybe he watches that 1994 game between Cal and Arizona, watches the way Jason Kidd ran a college team. But he watches. He always watches.

"Yeah, my girlfriend does get sick of it some times," he said.

From this vast education has born a savvy that sets him apart. A shrewdness. Much of the nation only sees Dickau each March, when the Zags receive their annual NCAA Tournament bid out of the West Coast Conference and proceed to shred apart the skeptic's bracket. How about three straight Sweet 16s and counting?

	Dan Dickau scorched Virginia for 29 points in Gonzaga's NCAA Tournament first-round upset.

But those who watch Dickau from November on know better: When the ball goes up and someone must lead, someone must exhibit an extraordinary court sense, few stand above a certain 6-foot senior from Vancouver, Wash.

"Dan has such a tremendous feel for the game," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "He has what every great point guard has -- he understands situations and will make the correct decision 99 percent of the time. Whether he needs to start a play or make something happen off the dribble or pull the jumper ... Usually, it's the right decision.

"Two things set him apart. He studies the game. It is not just a form of entertainment for him, but a tool which he uses to learn as much as he can. And I don't think anyone can match how hard he works. The time he spends playing is phenomenal. We have had some real basketball freaks here and he is at the top of the list."

You have heard it before, how the better a player is, the slower a game develops before his eyes, that the more comfortable someone is in a system, the easier it is to rely on instincts over technique. This is all Dickau, who averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists last season. Always one step, one thought, one play ahead of the other guy.

He talks most about the 1999-2000 season, when he sat out after transferring from Washington. This is when Dickau's eyes opened a little wider, when the flower began to bloom. This was the most critical time.

"It definitely allowed me to get a great feel for our system," says Dickau. "I don't want to ever say the game has become too slow in my mind, but having that year helped me become a much better point guard. I like to score and think I have the capability of winning games with my scoring if we need it, but I want to be the guy who puts his team in position to win down the stretch.

"That is how every point guard is judged."

Imagine coaching against him. Brad Holland knows all about it. The University of San Diego has played Gonzaga tougher in conference than anyone in recent years, but you need more than X's and O's to disrupt Dickau. He is much like former WCC and Santa Clara star point guard Steve Nash, in that it is almost impossible to defend him at times.

Play off him, and Dickau will make a shot. Press, and he will find an open teammate. Hedge, and he will penetrate. It can be maddening.

MAKING A POINT

His 2000-01 numbers show Dan Dickau has held his own against the nation's better-known point guards: vs. Michigan State NCAA Tournament Charlie Bell 21 pts. | 3 ast. | 10 rebs. Dan Dickau 19 pts | 2 ast. | 4 rebs. vs. Virginia NCAA Tournament Donald Hand 14 pts. | 5 ast. | 2 rebs. Dan Dickau 29 pts | 5 ast. | 0 rebs. vs. Arizona Regular Season Jason Gardner 11 pts. | 5 ast. | 1 reb. Dan Dickau 20 pts | 7 ast. | 5 rebs

"His game has virtually no weakness," said Holland. "He is such a skilled player. He is very special. I really look forward to the day I can coach someone with that kind of ability. He is always trying to improve, always trying to become the best player he can be.

"I mean, what do you do? You hope he is off the night you play against him. People talk about the best point guards in the country and the discussion always seems to start with (Duke junior) Jason Williams.

"But I'm telling you -- Dan Dickau is right there."

He will accept an even greater challenge this season, now that veterans such as Casey Calvary and Mark Spink are gone. Dickau has always led on the court, but now he is shouldered with even greater duties.

Now, he must be the heart and soul and spark that pushes the Zags through times both good and bad. Not that he wasn't last season, mind you. Gonzaga went a modest 5-4 during nine non-conference games he missed with a broken thumb. With Dickau in the lineup, Gonzaga was 21-3 with its only losses coming at Arizona (when he broke his finger late in the second half); at Santa Clara (when he scored a career-high 39 points), and to defending national champion Michigan State in the Sweet 16.

This season brings that part about raising the level of those around him to a special place within the context of a game. To his place.

"I've become more vocal," says Dickau. "I'm going to talk guys through situations and get them to do things the right way. I'm the upper-classman and I can help our younger guys a lot."

In other words, he is going to be Dan Dickau -- savvy, shrewd, crafty, the kid who will take a few hours of Larry vs. Magic, circa 1979, over dinner and movie any day.

His girlfriend is used to it by now.

She understands.

Ed Graney of the San Diego Union-Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com.