Gonzaga Basketball: Impact of landing both Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike
Gonzaga Basketball’s next steps this offseason
After landing both Ike and Nembhard, the Bulldogs now have two open roster spots available. But that can change depending on what Malachi Smith and Anton Watson do with their extra years available. Smith, in particular, also has entered the NBA Draft and will go through that process as well.
There are a couple of needs that stand out for Gonzaga. One is at center off the bench, as the program can’t depend on Perry and his health. They could play Watson some at the five but again, he’s not a guarantee to come back. They recently reached out to 7’4 center Naheem McLeod, who played 12 mpg off the bench at Florida State this past season and would be a perfect reserve for the Bulldogs.
They also will need a combo guard in case Smith isn’t around, as it’s preferred to have three ball-handlers on the roster if there are any injuries that occur. They also can use another shooter to replace Bolton and have spacing in the lineup.
Next. 20 early team winners in transfer portal. dark
And who knows, maybe they aren’t fully comfortable having Venters playing 30 mpg at the small forward position and could use another small forward in the rotation. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Gonzaga Basketball makes another splash via the portal as they just did and find a way to be another top-10 team for 2023-24.