NCAA Basketball: Top 25 frontcourts for 2020-21 season
By Ian Mumm
. . Bulldogs . 2. team. 541.
The Zags have made quite the habitat of signing bigs and developing them to be stars in college basketball. Head coach Mark Few rode Filip Petrusev and Killian Tillie to 30.1 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Now that both players have left the program, Gonzaga fans will be looking to one of the team’s talented young forwards to step up and fill the void.
Sophomore Drew Timme gained the most experience last season and projects to be the top option in 2020. He scored nearly 10 points per game, despite playing 5-6 minutes less than both Tillie and Petrusev. Timme was one of the better offensive rebounding weapons on last year’s team and it’d be a likely assumption he takes the top spot this season.
When he saw the floor, freshman big Pavel Zhakarov was efficient and aggressive. He found a way to average a bucket per game, even though he only saw four minutes of action per contest. He stands to inherit a large increase in minutes this season, but whether he receives the primary backup job or not will depend on the development of Oumar Ballo.
After redshirting last season, Ballo brings a lot of international experience to the table. He has flourished on the FIBA scene and displayed a prominent skillset in blocking shots. The Zags did not feature a true defensive Big last season, but Ballo’s ability to put points up quickly and provide quality shot disruption is an ideal asset for Gonzaga to chase a title. He hasn’t stepped on the floor yet, but the hype and excitement around him remains.
Another breakout candidate, Anton Watson is looking to show what he can do with a full season under his belt. Playing just below a half-season in 2019, Watson will be looking to make up for lost time and display a much more aggressive playing style with the potential for increased minutes on the table. Featuring a ton of versatility, he can slide into both the wing and power forward spots on next year’s roster and will have multiple avenues to see the floor.
The Zags frontcourt isn’t the deepest among teams on this list, but there’s a lot of talent for Coach Few to incorporate on the 2020 roster. Each of the mentioned players should see boosts to their usage if the typical rotation holds relative to previous seasons.