> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Point Guard Position Remains Question Mark for Gonzaga as Regular Season Approaches
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/point-guard-position-remains-question-mark-gonzaga-bulldogs-regular-season-approaches/
- Published: 2026-08-24T17:21:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-24T17:21:44.000Z
- Author: Howard Woodard
- Tags: News, Analysis, Gonzaga Men's Basketball, Javon Bennett, Xaivian Lee, Nathan De Sousa, Donovan Dent

Although the Gonzaga Bulldogs have several committed players capable of playing the position, the status of the Zags’ starting point guard for the 2026-27 season is far from settled.

One of the Zags’ biggest ‘5-in-5’ targets, UCLA transfer Donovan Dent, committed to LSU on Friday. He is one of the best true point guards in the country, but will head to New Orleans, not Spokane, for his fifth and final collegiate season. Also on Friday, the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s stay request in Wisne v. NCAA, which includes the Colorado and Ohio lawsuits that were previously cleared, the latter involving Bulldog transfer Javon Bennett.

So Bennett, a 5-10 point guard from Dayton, who was expected to factor into GU’s point guard situation, is currently ineligible. And although Theo Lawson of The Spokesman-Review reported that 23-year-old Nathan De Sousa plans to arrive in Spokane this week, the French point guard is still awaiting approval for eligibility after committing to Gonzaga in June.

So where do the Zags go from here, still searching for a definitive answer at lead guard?

Although Dent emerged as the primary point guard option once the Class of 2022 began earning fifth NCAA seasons, another fifth-year player could be a strong addition to the Bulldogs’ offense. Xaivian Lee, who spent his senior year at Florida after three years with Princeton, is another dynamic ball-handler who is still available. Like Dent, Lee was a plaintiff in a California lawsuit that received a temporary restraining order against the NCAA last week, clearing them and more than 40 other players to suit up this season.

Lee started all 35 games for the Gators last year, averaging 11.6 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. His shooting numbers don’t jump off the page (42% from the field and 29.2% from three-point range), but Lee has posted better marks earlier in his career. He split backcourt responsibilities with Boogie Fland, unlike Dent, who virtually ran the show with the Bruins. Still posting an admirable 24.5% assist rate for Florida, Lee can definitely facilitate when necessary while providing more juice as a shot creator and scorer.

The Toronto native likely won’t have Dent’s gaudy 41.5% assist rate that lines up with the Bulldogs’ all-world facilitators of the past, but could ideally give Gonzaga a more balanced combo of scoring and deferring. In his final year with the Tigers, Lee logged a 36.3% assist rate, proving he could run an offense at a high level. Lee has also been a better isolation scorer, pick-and-roll threat, and volume shooter than Dent. For a Zags squad that lost its intended starting backcourt in Mario Saint-Supéry and Jack Kayil, Lee figures to be more of a dynamic player in GU’s backcourt if he commits.

Bennett was the first player the Bulldogs added via the ‘5-in-5’ system, but he will have to wait until his transfer becomes official. His current ineligibility status is not permanent, as the NCAA still has to win its appeal in the Ohio lawsuit, but it will delay Bennett’s arrival on campus.

At least 52% of Bennett’s shot attempts have been from beyond the arc in each of his first four seasons. Because of that, he has the lowest ability to create for others in the bunch, making Bennett more viable coming off the bench or in an off-guard role. And despite being an undersized guard on the perimeter, Bennett has been productive defensively.

International recruit Nathan De Sousa is coming off his best season with Cholet Basket, notching career highs in field goal percentage (44.7%), three-point shooting (36.1%), and free-throw efficiency (76.9%), culminating in an elite 72.3% true-shooting clip. If the 6-1 point guard gets eligibility, his experienced presence could be just what the doctor ordered in the Zags’ system.

Even though Saint-Supéry was projected to improve in his sophomore season, any of those options should be upgrades over what the Spanish point guard gave Gonzaga as a freshman. His inconsistent performance and acclimation to the college game led to more up-and-down play than GU hoped for from its primary ball-handler.

The Zags have several available athletes to fill the biggest void on their roster officially; it is just a waiting game to see who in the group will be eligible to perform point guard duties.