Gonzaga Basketball: What happens if Malachi Smith joins the Bulldogs?

Last season, Chattanooga had quite the revival, standing out and winning the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles. In the NCAA Tournament, the Mocs nearly pulled the first-round upset over Illinois. Head coach Lamont Paris parlayed that success into the coaching job at South Carolina. The pieces will certainly look different next season, with parts moving in and out at Chattanooga.

One of the biggest parts of that success was the play of guard Malachi Smith. An All-SoCon first-teamer in 2021, Smith played even better this past season, averaging nearly 20 points per game and winning SoCon Player of the Year honors. As previously mentioned, he helped lead the Mocs to the NCAA Tournament, and his play with monumental to that success.

With times changing in Chattanooga, Smith entered the Transfer Portal, becoming one of the better names available in the entire country. A dynamic shooter and scorer, there’s some hesitance when half of his games have come against the SoCon, but there’s no denying that he’s a talented player. He was immediately a target for a great number of power conference schools, a move that would mark a giant step up for Smith, especially when he has his eyes on playing at the next level.

After a quiet process, it looks as if a contender is starting to emerge. An article from Jamie Shaw of “on3recruits” suggests that the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Texas Tech Red Raiders are finalists for Smith if he leaves the draft process.

Smith has been in the Portal for nearly a month, and clearly has his eyes on playing in the NBA, but if he does return to play one more season in college basketball, picking Gonzaga would be quite the decision. He’s the type of player who would make an immediate impact on every single school in the country, even that powerful West Coast mid-major juggernaut. He’d then become a very special new piece for Gonzaga coach Mark Few to work into his reshuffled lineup. Let’s take a closer look at how exactly that decision would impact the Bulldogs.