For all the offseason turnover around Gonzaga, the biggest question still hanging over this team is simple: who exactly are the Zags going to be?
Even the coaches watching every practice inside the Volkar Center don’t have a clean answer yet. As assistant Brian Michaelson put it two weeks ago, “It’s wild that I can’t tell you on Oct. 21, because there’s still some uncertainty,”
That uncertainty starts at the perimeter. Gonzaga has finished with the lowest 3-point percentages of the Mark Few era in back-to-back seasons, but there’s reason to think that number can climb.
A lot of that hinges on fifth-year transfer Chauncey Wiggins, a smooth-shooting forward who knocked down 157 3s during his time at Clemson and Florida State. After watching Gonzaga miss 11 straight 3s and go 6 of 28 in an exhibition loss to Arkansas, Few said, “He’s far and away our best shooter and we could’ve used some 3s tonight,” and added, “I think that’s why I feel encouraged.”
Point guard is another moving piece. If Florida transfer Xaivian Lee and Dayton transfer Javon Bennett are cleared, Gonzaga could suddenly have one of the deepest point guard groups in the country. If those rulings go the other way, Frenchman Nathan De Sousa becomes the only point guard guaranteed to be eligible through March, and his workload would jump sharply.
Still, the most intriguing possibility is that Gonzaga doesn’t need all of those answers to be perfect. If the Zags get enough from a Big Four of Braden Huff, Davis Fogle, Massamba Diop and Isiah Harwell, they could still stay in the top 15, win a Pac-12 title and get back to the Sweet 16 after consecutive second-round exits.
Huff looks ready to be the anchor. He missed the final two months of last season with a left knee injury, but early signs point to no real drop in his conditioning or his touch around the basket. He led all scorers with 19 points against Arkansas and appears set to resume a major role in the paint.
Next to him is Diop, the Arizona State transfer who landed at Gonzaga after a high-profile portal battle with St. John’s and Rick Pitino.
Diop isn’t as polished around the rim as Graham Ike was, but he brings size, strength and rim protection Gonzaga hasn’t had since Chet Holmgren. He also gives the Zags a lob threat when defenses collapse on Huff.
“Graham and B-Huff are both big guys, but obviously Massamba’s just 7-foot -plus, so to have legitimate size and strength at both those positions is something we’re really excited about, something we really wanted,” Michaelson said. “Then I do think their skill sets will complement each other.
They’re both unselfish players, B-Huff is obviously a big-time, big-time scorer. Massamba’s ability to run the floor, Massamba’s ability to be a lob and shot-blocking threat.
They can both drive the ball, they can both make an outside shot.
“You can post one and the other can be off the ball. You can ball -screen with one and the other can be off the ball, they can have a skill overlap that fits together.”
Fogle may be the next name to watch if Huff isn’t Gonzaga’s top scorer. The sophomore wing averaged 10.9 points once he settled into the rotation last season, then turned heads at Kraziness in the Kennel with 30 points in just 20 minutes. He spent the offseason adding muscle and sharpening his 3-point stroke, and that work showed when he hit 6 of 7 from deep at Kraziness.
“He’s got such an awesome love for the game, a high care factor, he’s super passionate about his craft that if he wants to be here extra, he wants to be in here,” assistant coach Stephen Gentry said. “It’s part of what makes him awesome and so great is his drive and love for the game of basketball and competing.”
Harwell might be the wild card that changes the ceiling altogether. The former five-star recruit entered college with NBA lottery buzz before injuries and uneven offense slowed his freshman season at Houston. At Gonzaga, he has a chance to become the team’s most complete two-way player - a bigger guard who can create his own offense and take the toughest defensive assignment.
He shot just 27.1% from 3 at Houston, but Harwell believes that part of his game is coming back. In his first two public appearances for Gonzaga - Kraziness and the Arkansas exhibition - he went 5 of 7 from behind the arc and 10 of 14 overall.
“I feel like I lost a little bit of confidence in myself coming from Houston,” Harwell said. “Staying in the gym and working on it day and night with B-Mike and Snacks (assistant Zach Norvell Jr.) really helped me. Repetition and getting that confidence back that I was a good shooter.”
The bench picture, like everything else, depends on the legal battles still playing out in the 5-in-5 cases. If Lee is eligible, he likely takes over at point guard and pushes De Sousa to the bench, where he could be joined by Wiggins and Bennett, a trio of veterans with 2,533 career points and three NCAA Tournament appearances between them.
Almansa should also be part of that second unit. The Spanish forward gives Gonzaga a rebounding presence it doesn’t really have elsewhere in the frontcourt, and he made an immediate impact against Arkansas after learning just 24 hours earlier that he was eligible. He scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.
If the rulings break the other way, Gonzaga may have to shorten the rotation and lean on younger depth. Freshmen wings Luca Foster and Juwan Ekanga showed flashes in preseason scrimmages and exhibitions, while sophomore forward Parker Jefferson and freshman center Sam Funches are the emergency options up front. But behind Huff, Diop and Almansa, there doesn’t appear to be much expectation for those two to play major minutes.
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