Gonzaga Basketball: 3 takeaways from Zags impressive victory over No. 5 Texas
3. One of college basketball’s most dominant teams may be topped by its next incarnation already
Time will tell if this game tells more about how dominant Gonzaga is or how much work the Longhorns have to do, but one thing is for certain: the Bulldogs are legit, and there is a legitimate argument to be made – already – that this season’s squad is better than the 2020-21 team that went 31-1 and reached the National Championship game.
Aforementioned points about Andrew Nembhard and Chet Holmgren aside – both of whom, again, are significant contributors but only scored single-digits in a double-digit dismantling of the fifth-ranked team in the nation – the Zags have an insane surplus of talent that has the potential of bursting onto the scene at any time. There may be no greater example of this than the fact that Hunter Sallis – a five-star freshman and the 21st-best recruit in the nation, per 247Sports – played just four minutes against Texas.
This is all without mentioning players like Julian Strawther, who saw limited time last season but has comfortably found a spot in the starting lineup and is averaging 11 points across both games, as well as Anton Watson, who fell out of the starting five halfway through last season but poured in 10 points against Texas.
Time will also tell if depth becomes an issue at some point this season – but the potential for Mark Few to swap out any of his starters and, most likely, not experience much of a drop-off among his first units off the bench speaks volumes to the amount of talent on this roster. With Gonzaga’s next three games all easily winnable, the ability for the roster to mesh together even further is very much possible.
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Again, that Nov. 23rd duel with UCLA looms large, and meetings with Duke, Alabama, and Texas Tech are all right around the corner, as well. Drew Timme’s continuing hunt for National Player of the Year will continue on Monday, Nov. 15, against Alcorn State – and another opportunity for talents like Nembhard and Holmgren to showcase their abilities and reliability will be on full display.