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# How Will Gonzaga's Offense Translate With Braeden Smith Running the Show?
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/how-will-braeden-smith-run-gonzaga-offense/
- Published: 2025-07-29T23:06:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:58:53.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: News, Analysis, Gonzaga, Bulldogs, Zags, Braeden Smith, Ryan Nembhard

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Although the Gonzaga Bulldogs are not a Power Five program, they remain competitive through a system that has been built over decades and predicated on a standard culture of winning. Churning out a product that can compete with the best in the nation takes time for players to individually adjust to and meet. 

Being a mid-major, the Zags must be creative on the margins. A common practice popularized in Spokane has been the plans for their redshirt players, like picking up a player with tools and intangibles, even though the player might not be ready to contribute to the team immediately. Regardless of a player’s prior experience or production at their previous stop, they might be redshirted solely to conform to what is expected from Mark Few and his staff — both mentally and physically. The Bulldogs’ redshirts will sit, watch, listen, and learn in the Bulldogs’ system for one or even multiple years with expectations that they will come out the other side more well-rounded and prepared to perform in the winning basketball Gonzaga continuously strives for. 

The projected new starting point guard for the Zags, Braeden Smith, is another player who has gone through this process. After two phenomenal years at Colgate University, Smith transferred to Spokane after the 2023-24 season. Coming off a Patriot League MVP campaign where he led the conference with 5.6 assists while scoring 12.5 points per game, there was reason to believe the 6-foot, 180-pounder had a chance to offer value to Gonzaga in some capacity the following season. 

But the Bulldogs had a point guard in place. In his senior season and second year in Spokane, Ryan Nembhard went on to have one of the best seasons by a point guard in college basketball history. He led the nation in assists per game, averaging 9.8 dimes and totaling 344, the fifth-most of all time. Nembhard was third in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.00), but he had 31 more assists than Purdue’s Braden Smith, who finished second. Nembhard had a 41.5 percent assist rate and logged .27 assists per possession. 

He was the engine for a Zags squad that led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.07) and was second in the sport in field goal percentage (50 percent). For good measure, Nembhard led the WCC with 60 total steals and 1.7 steals per game.

It is difficult to expect similar production from the Seattle native Braeden Smith, who will assume the role of running the Bulldogs’ offense. But with what he showcased at Colgate combined with having a front-row seat for Nembhard’s historic season and becoming more knowledgeable on what is required from a Gonzaga point guard, there can — and should — be cautious optimism on what Smith can do as the Zags’ primary ball-handler.

Smith excelled at customary point-guard expectations, pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs. He showed the ability to come out of these plays either shooting long threes above the action, firing mid-range shots at the elbow off-the-dribble, or diming it to his rolling big man. The rapport, feel and touch Smith had in the two-man game were evident and could be a go-to play for the Zags with either Graham Ike or Braden Huff.

Playing in a drastically slower offense at Colgate, Smith still posted elite facilitating numbers. With a year to acclimate to the pace of Gonzaga’s system and being surrounded by a better supporting cast, Smith has the foundation to keep the ball rolling in Nembhard’s offense. He had a 35.5 percent assist rate in his sophomore season and showed touch and basketball IQ when it came to patience and fitting the ball into tight windows.

Smith is also aggressive in all parts of his game. He’s decisive with the ball in his hands, whether that is deciphering a defense or committing to pulling the trigger and shooting over a defender. He wasn’t necessarily efficient as a shot-maker (shooting under 40 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc), but he knew his spots and frequently drew contact and got to the free-throw line. Even with his small frame, Smith grabbed 5.5 rebounds a game, which would’ve been second on last year’s Zags to Graham Ike. He turns these defensive boards quickly into fast-break opportunities, which should be advantageous scenarios for Gonzaga with Ike, Huff and the added shooters around them. 

Statistically, Smith did more than hold his own defensively at Colgate. He led the Patriot League in defensive win shares (2.6) and total steals (66). But as undersized as he is, there is reasonable skepticism about how he will fare against bigger and more skilled competition. There can be a propensity to be beaten physically or fall out of plays by getting put in jail on ball screens. This weakness could be compounded by his projected counterpart in the backcourt, Adam Miller, who also isn’t known for his defensive prowess. 

But the Zags have rolled out a subpar defensive guard tandem in the past, including last season, and have found ways to counter this deficiency by using the players’ skillset to their advantage. Smith’s 6-foot frame allows for speed, both to get back into plays and in front of defenders, along with lurking in passing lanes.

Smith brings a different element to the Bulldogs as the new head of the snake. There will almost certainly be a drop-off from Nembhard’s illustrious year, but Smith’s playstyle brings excitement with his ability to improvise when plays break down and always play at an upbeat tempo, both offensively and defensively. The half-court offense could be a work-in-progress initially but, in addition to new players on the roster, Smith could bring necessary shifts to the Zags in order to, once again, be one of the country’s top-tier offenses.