Gonzaga basketball: Analyzing 2020-21 frontcourt without Filip Petrusev

Pavel Zakharov

If Petrusev opted to return to Gonzaga, I fully expected Pavel Zakharov to either transfer or take one of Gonzaga’s famous redshirt seasons, as they just would not have had the minutes for him.

Now, with both Petrusev and Killian Tillie gone, Zakharov will likely inherit the team’s fourth big man role. That should allow him to see the court more than he did in 2019-2020 when he averaged 4.5 minutes in 19 games played.

Zakharov is a six-foot-eleven Russian big man with good touch around the rim and a developing outside shot, which could make him a valuable role player right away. He needs to work on his defensive footwork and overall body coordination, but I have little doubt Zakharov can step into a fairly limited role in 2020-2021.

Of course, the team could opt to give him that redshirt year anyway, especially if Kispert returns, which would allow him to work on his physicality while giving him three more years of eligibility starting in 2021-2022.

The Zags have more than enough depth to mitigate the loss of Petrusev, and whether Zakharov is a part of the rotation or not remains to be seen.