Gonzaga Basketball: Grad transfer Geno Crandall commits to the Bulldogs

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: Geno Crandall #0 of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux is defended by Parker Jackson-Cartwright #0 of the Arizona Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga basketball has sky-high expectations for 2018-19. These expectations got even higher with the addition of North Dakota grad transfer Geno Crandall.

By mid-summer, NCAA basketball rosters for the coming season are almost completely set. Teams are beginning to practice together and preseason rankings are starting to come out. For Gonzaga basketball, expectations are extremely high heading into 2018-19. This is mainly due to the abundance of returning talent for head coach Mark Few. However, there will be a few new faces in Spokane. In addition to a few freshmen and transfer Brandon Clarke, the program welcomed North Dakota grad transfer Geno Crandall to the team on July 5.

One of the most talented grad transfers on the market, the addition of Crandall is huge news for the Bulldogs. Crandall started all 32 games for the Fighting Hawks last season and was the clear star player. For the year, he averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. He is an high-scoring guard who can get it done at all three levels. In addition to these traditional counting numbers, Crandall was also remarkable efficient. He shot 50.3% from the field this past season, including 41.7% from 3-point range on 120 total attempts from distance. Given the fact that he had to shoot in high volumes, this kind of efficiency deserves praise.

The biggest weakness in Crandall’s game is his propensity for committing turnovers. He averaged 3.3 giveaways per game last season. However, now that he has joined Gonzaga, Crandall will be able to spend much more time as an off-guard. This means that he will mainly be asked to score rather than create, a role that definitely plays to his strengths.

Gonzaga fans are also already familiar with the guard. This is due to the fact that the Bulldogs faced off against Crandall’s North Dakota Fighting Hawks just this past season. Gonzaga came out on top in that game, 89-83, but it was not easy. Crandall scored 28 points and added five rebounds and five assists. This surely caught the eye of Coach Few.

Now that he is on the team for 2018-19, Crandall will be expected to immediately provide a boost to the rotation. Given the roster construction in Spokane, it is unclear whether or not Crandall would be featured in the starting lineup. Prior to this addition, the expected starting lineup would have been: Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell, Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura, and Killian Tillie. Regardless of whether or not Crandall starts, though, you can be sure that he will find the court for plenty of minutes.

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For Gonzaga, the addition of Crandall means that they might have too much talent on the roster. That is…not a bad problem to have. I had pegged Gonzaga as a top-5 team in my preseason top-25 prior to this acquisition and you can bet that they are still there.

Along with Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke, Gonzaga should be one of the preseason favorites to cut down the nets next April. With Crandall now in the fold, the Bulldogs have more depth and experience in the backcourt. This team will be scary good.