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

A veteran presence in the rotation

We’ve touched on this a little bit already, but Gonzaga is going to look different next season. Obviously, this isn’t a surprise, especially as the Transfer Portal causes quite the yearly transformations on many of these college basketball programs. It’s very likely that Timme is not coming back to Gonzaga, meaning the Bulldogs will be leaning on players like Julian Strawther and recent addition Efton Reid.

Regardless of some of these last-minute decisions, Smith would play a major role on this roster, and we don’t just mean as a scorer or shooter. The Illinois native is nearly 23 years old already and has already gotten experience on two very talented mid-major teams. He’d clearly spend just this one year in Gonzaga, but he brings a certain level of experience that some of these players simply don’t have.

Right now, Gonzaga’s leaning on players like Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis to take a big step forward and deliver, potentially as starting guards. Smith’s experience will be fantastic not just to help this Gonzaga team win games, but with each practice and moment he spends with those less experienced guards. This roster is very much still in flux, but the addition of Smith matters in more ways than just one, giving them a starting guard who’s played consistent basketball in the recent past.