Analysis: What Three Areas Do Gonzaga Bulldogs Need to Address This Offseason?
With the NCAA transfer portal now officially closed, the returns of Braden Huff, Mario Saint-Supéry, Davis Fogle, and Parker Jefferson to Gonzaga next season are all but confirmed barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Still, the Zags’ roster is in a more barren place than years past. Seven players from last season’s team entered the transfer portal, and four others exhausted their college eligibility. With transfer Isiah Harwell on his way to Spokane from Houston and three freshmen incoming, the Bulldogs have up to seven scholarship spots to fill, pending the return of walk-on Alonzo Metz.
Depth and versatility were key components to GU’s 31-4 campaign, making the coupling of quality and quantity imperative for Gonzaga as it recruits players in the portal. So with an influx of new faces on the horizon, what areas are to be prioritized for the Zags as they attempt to finalize their 2026-27 personnel?
Starting Player at the Five Position
It will be hard to duplicate the production the Bulldogs received from Graham Ike, who is done at the collegiate level after five seasons. A third team All-American who averages nearly 20 points and eight rebounds a game doesn’t grow on trees, but GU’s looming acquisition at the five will be a huge piece in next year’s starting lineup. The center/forward will be positioned alongside Huff in the frontcourt, forming the Bulldogs’ patented model of playing through two bigs primarily.
As far as the depth behind Huff, 7-0 Ismaila Diagne went into the portal after not getting much tick during his two seasons in Spokane. The 6-9 Jefferson, who redshirted this past year, and 6-10 Sam Funches, one of the three freshmen, will likely compete for Diagne’s role as the first big man off the bench.
Available options for Gonzaga at the big man spot currently vary, with the rumored and reported candidates to fill this hole ranging from players entering their second year to guys walking into their final year of eligibility. The only confirmed visit to this point is Arizona State freshman transfer Massamba Diop, who listed the Zags and St. John’s as his two finalists. After visiting Spokane last weekend, Diop is scheduled to travel to Queens this weekend. Other names in the mix include junior Anton Bonke (Charlotte) and senior Baba Miller (Cincinnati).
Three-Point Shooting
Although this was an area of need last offseason, it’s safe to say the swings GU took to address it were firm whiffs. As a microcosm of how the intended rotation additions to improve the Bulldogs’ shooting clip from the outside fared, both Steele Venters and Adam Miller entered the transfer portal before it closed.
Adam Miller, who will need an extra year of eligibility, started 25 games in the backcourt but finished the season shooting only 30.2% from deep. Venters, who has already committed to Washington, finally got to suit up for the Zags after tearing both his ACL and Achilles before each of the previous two seasons. He shot a respectable 36.7% from the outside but didn’t defend well enough to stay on the floor. The 6-7 guard was also just 12-for-42 (28.6%) from three-point range during conference play and registered ‘DNPs’ in seven of the team’s final eight games.
The good news for the Bulldogs is that they are in solid shape if they optimize the shot diets of their already-committed guards. Saint-Supéry shot 40.3% from distance on the second-most attempts on the team (119) behind Adam Miller, with more of them coming in the final quarter of the year due to the coaching staff urging him to pull the trigger more often. Discovering that he was probably the best shooter on the roster, the Zags found creative ways to get their primary ball-handler more open looks off the ball as a catch-and-shooter.
Fogle also shot a respectable 35% on 40 tries from three, making him no slouch from the outside either. And although he didn’t showcase it much with the Cougars last year, Harwell was a renowned shooter coming out of high school, while the two freshman guards, Jack Kayil and Luca Foster, are threats from beyond the arc as well.
The needle that Gonzaga will need to thread – which will be expanded on in the next section – is making sure the shooters it acquires can hold up on the other end. Adam Miller could do so and therefore, remained a consistent face in the lineup throughout the season despite struggling with his jumper. Even more so with departures of several high-impact defenders, finding viable two-way wings who can knock it down from three-point range is GU’s next step toward going deep in March.
Wing Defense
Aside from Ike’s dominance and the emergence of Saint-Supéry and Fogle in their first years, the most imperative part of the Bulldogs’ success came on the back of an elite defense. But by the time summer workouts roll around, their three most impactful defenders from last season will have walked out of the door. Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster have run out of eligibility, while Emmanuel Innocenti transferred to Arizona State for his senior season. Each of them played unique roles on the Zags, so it will be intriguing to see how much Mark Few and his staff value defense in the next iteration of their program.
Innocenti was the point-of-attack defender in the half-court, getting the assignment of the opposing team’s primary ball-handler in each contest. He fought over screens, contested shots, and deterred players from getting to their spots. When Huff went down in the middle of the season with a dislocated knee, the 6-7 Warley held things down as Gonzaga’s starting four, guarding players much bigger than him while still being a pest in passing lanes. And Grant-Foster displayed the best ability to block jumpshots Few has ever seen, rejecting a team-high 38 attempts and flying around on defense with eye-popping hops and tremendous length.
Sharing different traits with all three of those former teammates, Fogle has the potential to be a dynamic two-way player with more seasoning. When the 6-7 guard showed off his strong shotmaking ability during garbage time earlier in the season, Few mentioned wanting to see growth in Fogle’s decision-making and effort when his back was to the basket.
Harwell falls in a similar boat, but like Fogle, doesn’t project to be the leader of a defensive unit even though he can surely be a plus player on that end. Kayil and Foster are somewhat projects for different reasons. With a stockier build at 6-5, Kayil did most of his production defensively off-the-ball, primarily going for steals in passing lanes. And possessing a longer and lankier frame at the same height as Kayil, Foster could use more physicality to become more of a stalwart on defense.
It remains the biggest mystery what archetype the final member of the starting lineup will be once the decision on the center is taken care of. Will Harwell be the choice? Will either a sharpshooter or a defensive-minded wing get the nod? Could it be a mix of both?
Retaining a lot of the main pieces of next year’s roster is a luxury for Gonzaga, but nailing the depth and auxiliary players in the portal will be just as significant.
