The past 48 hours have been absolutely incredible for Gonzaga Basketball. It started out with sharpshooting guard Rasir Bolton electing to come back for a 5th year on Tuesday. Then on NBA Draft deadline day on Wednesday, the team was able to get back both Julian Strawther and All-American big man Drew Timme.
Considering that the Bulldogs could’ve easily lost all five starters to the NBA Draft, getting three of them back was a big deal. Throughout the process, it was viewed as 50/50 at best that any of them would potentially return. That left the coaching staff to come up with contingency plans in case any of them left.
For Bolton’s potential replacement, it was Malachi Smith, a 6’4 guard from Chattanooga that averaged 19.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 3.0 apg en route to winning SoCon Player of the Year and making the NCAA Tournament as a 13 seed.
Smith’s arrival adds another quality-level rotational piece to the team and is the second offseason transfer, as former LSU center Efton Reid picked Gonzaga a month ago. Will he be just the backup to Timme at the five-spot or will he play another position?
That’s one of several questions that the coaching staff will have to answer for the upcoming season for Gonzaga Basketball. There are many different ways the lineups can work and your guess is as good as mine but for now, here’s an early look at how the Bulldogs’ roster may shake out after the recent draft and transfer decisions.