Gonzaga’s season ended in the Sweet Sixteen after a double-digit loss to Florida State. But the future is bright for the Bulldogs, although it’s a bit uncertain.
If you tell Gonzaga fans that they would lose an All-American point guard in Nigel Williams-Goss, a freshman lottery pick in Zach Collins, a sharpshooting grad transfer in Jordan Matthews, and a 300-pound fifth-year senior in Przemek Karnowski and still make the Sweet Sixteen, they would take that deal.
The only reason why Zag fans are hurt is that of the wide-open opportunity that the left side of the NCAA Tournament bracket was, with either Kansas State or Loyola-Chicago being their possible Final Four opponent.
But all in all, this was a great season for the Zags. Zach Norvell Jr. became a quality scorer, both Rui Hachimura and Killian Tillie took big steps in their sophomore seasons, and Josh Perkins showed that he can be a starting point guard of a Final Four team.
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The Zags will lose graduating seniors Silas Melson and Johnathan Williams but will get Brandon Clarke, who redshirted after transferring in from San Jose State. He averaged around 18.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg with the Spartans.
There are two issues Gonzaga has to deal with in the program’s immediate future. First is seeing who officially returns. Norvell Jr. already has said he’s coming back, but both Hachimura and Tillie are to be determined. The Japanese forward is a likely first-rounder if he comes out, but has plenty to work on as he transitions into American basketball.
The Frenchman is more of a second-rounder, but it’s hard to determine what international players will do, as playing overseas is always an option. But if everyone does come back, this is a preseason top-10 team.
The other issue is the conference affiliation, with reports from earlier in the month having Gonzaga involved in discussions with the Mountain West Conference. Compared to the West Coast Conference, they’re a step up, but is it worth moving out of a league they’ve dominated for two decades?
There’s also, of course, the transfer market, an area where the Bulldogs have made their living out of. There are open slots available for another quality player.
Next: Why Gonzaga moving to the Mountain West is a bad idea
Some have previously said that this was a “rebuilding year”. Well if a Sweet Sixteen appearance is rebuilding then Gonzaga has truly made it. But the next month will be important in determining the Zags future, from both a personnel and league perspective. Other programs will be impacted by what happens next with Mark Few and Gonzaga.