Current statuses of Malachi Smith and Anton Watson
Gonzaga Basketball has been fairly lucky when it comes to the NBA Draft process. It’s not that they haven’t lost players early to the draft but they rarely have 50/50 decisions go against them, with Zach Norvell and Joel Ayayi the recent exceptions.
The two guys left are role players, yet quality ones for the Bulldogs. Smith was the WCC 6th Man of the Year this past season, averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.6 rpg. It’s a far dip from his 19.9 ppg average when he was at Chattanooga, but one positive was that he shot a whopping 50% from three-point range on 132 attempts and also played well against power conference opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
Watson averaged 11.1 ppg and 6.2 rpg last season, both career-high numbers. Whether it’s Drew Timme or Chet Holmgreen, the 6’8 forward was always taken a backseat in the frontcourt. But he’s one of the best glue guys in the sport and always seems to make an impact on both ends of the court.
If Watson doesn’t come back, look for Ben Gregg to slide in as the starter. His spacing ability would be great next to Ike but the team defense would take a hit. And Smith could actually start at the three-spot or still get around 25 mpg as the first ball-handler off the bench. If he doesn’t come back, Gonzaga will need top-50 incoming prospect Dusty Stromer to have an immediate impact as a freshman player.
Unless they find a transfer.