It started out as a hectic first month of the offseason for Gonzaga Basketball. It started out with the expected NBA Draft departures of Drew Timme and Julian Strawther. Following them were Malachi Smith and Anton Watson, also going through the process. Rasir Bolton, the starting shooting guard for the past couple of years, ran out of eligibility.
Not only are there some storylines going on with the Bulldogs regarding the NBA Draft but there are also some things going on regarding the transfer portal. The team already has landed three quality transfers so far in Ryan Nembhard (Creighton), Graham Ike (Wyoming), and Steele Venters (Eastern Washington).
So right now, there are 13 players officially on scholarship. Assuming that both Timme and Strawther remain in the draft, that takes it down to 11 Gonzaga Basketball players. And if both Watson and Smith opt to stay as well, that takes it down to nine players and just one returning starter in Nolan Hickman.
A year ago, Gonzaga came right up to the NBA Draft deadline with its top three players. But Timme, Strawther, and Bolton ultimately came back. So while there won’t be as much drama this time around ahead of the NBA Draft deadline, look for them to still have a couple of decisions to wait on. Plus, could they be adding another player out of nowhere to the roster?
I talk about that and what else the program is up to in the dog days of the Summer this offseason.