Gonzaga Basketball: Is Jose Perez a good fit for the Bulldogs roster?

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 23: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts to a play during the first half against the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 23, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga Basketball is potentially a real contender to land West Virginia transfer Jose Perez. Could this pairing eventually end up happening?

It’s a rare situation for Gonzaga Basketball when it comes to its roster situation. When four-star commit Alex Toohey elected to stay home in Australia and go pro instead of going to college, that left the program with three open roster spots. Plus, the Bulldogs have two frontcourt players (Graham Ike and Kaden Perry) who each were coming off of injuries and didn’t play last season.

Gonzaga reportedly is still scouring the transfer portal, looking for capable players to add to the roster. One that seems to have some legs to it is Jose Perez, a transfer from West Virginia that left after Coach Bob Huggins was forced out a month ago.

Perez has had a complicated college career. He was a star at Gardner-Webb in his first two years, before having a rough season at Marquette, before leaving after his HC got canned. He went to Manhattan, where Perez averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 apg in 2021-22. After a late coaching change, the 6’5 guard transferred out to WVU but wasn’t able to get a waiver in order to play.

Gonzaga has emerged as a strong contender for West Virginia transfer Jose Perez. A visit is in the works.

He’s scheduled to visit Michigan from July 28-30.
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) July 16, 2023

When he entered the portal, Michigan was viewed as a heavy favorite to land Perez. And while a visit is set for the works, there’s a chance that Gonzaga actually could find a way to land him. The backcourt could use another veteran ball-handler, as the only non-freshmen the team has right now are Nolan Hickman and Creighton transfer, Ryan Nembhard.

The concern with Perez is that he’s a career 40% shooting from the field and 30% from deep. And those numbers plummet when you take away his freshman year at Gardner-Webb. He’s high-volume and inefficient and that isn’t the most effective for a 6th man, which is what he’d be with the Bulldogs.

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Still, we saw the percentages for guys like Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith go up in this system and the same could very well happen to Perez. He may be the best option for Gonzaga Basketball left this offseason so maybe they make a run for it. Otherwise, the team may end up with just 10 players on the roster for the 2023-24 campaign.