Excitement around Gonzaga’s frontcourt has centered all offseason on Braden Huff and Massamba Diop, and for good reason. That pairing was widely viewed as one of the best in college basketball. But the real early-season development for the Bulldogs has been the way Izan Almansa has forced his way into the conversation.
The 21-year-old Spanish big man has looked sharp from the jump. He stood out in exhibition games against Arkansas and Lewis-Clark State, then backed it up in his college debut Monday against Purdue with 11 points and four rebounds in 29 minutes. Almansa went 4-5 on two-pointers and hit all three of his free throws.
His path to the floor took a while to clear. Almansa committed to Gonzaga in May, but he wasn’t officially cleared by the NCAA until late October, just one day before the team’s exhibition opener at Arkansas. Since then, he’s made himself useful in all the little ways that matter: being in the right place, finishing around the rim, cleaning up rebounds on both ends, and even creating offense from the elbow.
That’s the part that has stood out to Mark Few.
“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” coach Mark Few said after the Purdue game. “He’s just an easy-going guy, he reminds me so much of Killian Tillie with how you can initiate offense with him. He’s got a wonderful feel for the game...we’re asking him to be more and more aggressive offensively, I thought he did a nice job with that tonight.”
Almansa’s 29 minutes Monday nearly doubled Diop’s workload, and that wasn’t by accident. Diop, Gonzaga’s starting center, was again slowed by foul trouble, the same issue that showed up in both exhibition games.
He arrived as the team’s prized offseason addition, a 7-foot-1 rim protector who blocked more than two shots per game as a freshman at Arizona State. His size and defensive presence were supposed to pair cleanly with Huff’s scoring punch, offensive rebounding and limited rim protection.
Instead, Almansa has given Gonzaga another option - and maybe a better one right now. Diop’s offensive game is still catching up, while Almansa has looked comfortable from the start. If the foul trouble keeps coming, the minutes could tilt even further toward Almansa, especially with Few’s long-standing caution around players in foul trouble.
There’s still a clear difference between the two. Almansa is not the shot-blocker Diop is, and Gonzaga has already seen what that can mean. Purdue’s 7-foot-4 Daniel Jacobsen scored 22 points on 9-11 shooting in 26 minutes, a reminder that the Bulldogs can be tested inside.
Even so, Few now has three frontcourt pieces with very different skill sets, and Almansa’s early production has raised the floor even higher for a team already carrying big expectations in the first season of the new look Pac-12.
Gonzaga’s next game is the home opener Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2:00 PM PT against New Mexico State. The game will air locally on KHQ and on ESPN Unlimited.
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Gonzaga Just Made This Elite In-State Recruiting Battle Very Real
Jalen Davis has put Gonzaga squarely in the mix for one of the most closely watched recruiting battles in the region. The five-star combo guard from Bremerton, a top prospect in the 2027 class, has trimmed his list to four schools, and the Bulldogs are right there among the finalists for a player ranked No. 21 overall who already stands out for his size, shooting touch and athleticism.
For Gonzaga, the appeal is obvious: landing a local talent with that kind of ceiling would be a major win, especially with elite programs circling. There is no commitment date yet, which keeps the picture fluid for now, but Davis decision to include the Bulldogs gives this race a real Northwest angle and sets up a recruiting fight that could linger for a while. [Read more 🡒]