Busting Brackets
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Gonzaga Basketball: Early look at Bulldogs 2020-21 roster with Jalen Suggs

By Tristan Freeman

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 04: Jalen Suggs #1 of Minnehaha Academy Red Hawks looks on after the game against the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers at Target Center on January 04, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 04: Jalen Suggs #1 of Minnehaha Academy Red Hawks looks on after the game against the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers at Target Center on January 04, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 12: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 12: Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Who won’t be on the roster for Gonzaga after this season?

The Bulldogs already lost a scholarship player on the roster when freshman guard Brock Ravet took a personal leave of absence. According to the school, he’s not a part of the team anymore. There is also a trio of seniors whose eligibility will be up at the end of the season.

The most important player is Killian Tillie (13.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg), the reason why the Bulldogs are 2-0 in the WCC right now. He had a pair of 20+ point games against Portland and Pepperdine, using his scoring and defense to help Gonzaga pull ahead. The team projects to be fine in the frontcourt but when healthy, Tillie is one of the best players in college basketball.

The other two leaving are the grad transfers, Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder. Both starters are averaging in double figures and have been key at different times to the Bulldogs winning. They’ve both (along with Joel Ayayi) have been effective guards and great stop-gaps for the program for the upcoming recruiting class.

Who else might be leaving?

Besides Tillie, there are three other players who are on some NBA Draft second-round boards. Ayayi has had a breakout sophomore season and is now a starter, showing his shooting and rebound capabilities. He’s still relatively young and with his size could be a project a team might want to take. But with an important role on a top team that won’t change next year, look for Ayayi to stay.

Same goes for Corey Kispert, a sharpshooting junior whose second on the team with 14.3 ppg. But the 33 mpg he’s averaging won’t go down next year as he’s the perfect wing player to utilize and will have even more shots coming his way with Suggs coming on board. There’s a possibility that the team’s leading scorer and rebounder Filip Petrusev (16.6 ppg and 8.1 rpg) could leave after this big year but with Tillie gone, he’ll become the clear-cut go-to guy down low in the paint next season. Besides, he still needs to work on his free throw shooting (67%) and expanding his range (1/10 free three-point range). Unless he wants to leave the program, Petrusev will be back as well.