Gonzaga Basketball: Projected rotation and minutes for 2022-23 season

Point Guard

Projected starter: Nolan Hickman (23 mpg), Malachi Smith (17 mpg)

While three starters are back, one who is gone is Andrew Nembhard, one of the best point guards in the country last season. That leaves the question of who will be the lead ball-handler next year and there are now two options with Smith on board. He led Chattanooga in assists as well as scoring and is capable of running an offense.

But the one true point guard on the roster is Nolan Hickman, a former five-star prospect that averaged 5.1 ppg as a freshman behind Nembhard last season. He had five games of double-digit scoring but struggled in the ladder half of the year, including total points in the final eight games.

Yet Hickman has plenty of potential and already has a year under Coach Mark Few’s system, so he should have the early nod to lead the offense in the first set of big games next season. But the addition of Smith will give him a small leash if the sophomore struggles and his minutes could suffer as a result.

Something else to consider is that Smith did play “point” at Chattanooga but he was a “score first” guard for them and Coach Few usually prefers “pass first” guys, which is what Hickman is. But these two are certainly capable of playing together and give Gonzaga two ball-handlers on the court, which is when they’re at their best offensively.

Point guard may be the one “weakness” on paper of all the positions, which is a rarity for a program that has a decade-plus run of talented lead guards. If Hickman can indeed have a breakout campaign in year two, that would solidify the Bulldogs as the team to beat.