NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Idaho of last decade

7. Stefan Gonzalez – Saint Mary’s / UC Davis

It’s not about where you start, it’s all about where you finish, and that was very true for Gonzalez in his career. A 6’2 guard from Pocatello, he began his collegiate career way back in 2015 at Saint Mary’s, barely playing for the Gaels across two seasons. Gonzalez then transferred to UC Davis and saw an uptick in playing time, while also emerging as one of the nation’s premier shooters.

Gonzalez never started a game at Saint Mary’s but did have a few nice performances off the bench, including a 15-point game ironically against UC Davis. After sitting out a season, he had two final seasons with those Aggies, eventually averaging 10.5 points per game as a senior. Gonzalez was mostly coming off the bench, but excelled that senior year as a long-range shooting, converting nearly 48% of his 3-point attempts.

Those numbers weren’t just good, Gonzalez led the entire nation in 3-point shooting during his senior season, the year that was cut off by the COVID pandemic. Statistically, his offensive numbers were impressive and he clearly fit the role of the sharpshooter off the bench for the Aggies. He was a very solid piece; it’s not every player from Pocatello that can lead the entire country in a relevant statistic, let alone long-distance shooting.