Gonzaga Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Bulldogs

Season Outlook

The aforementioned preseason conference ranking doesn’t mean anything, and neither does their national 11th place ranking in the AP Preseason Poll. There is enough history with this program and how they operate that you’d be a fool not to give them the benefit of the doubt. But this feels like the program is headed into a different era than it’s been for the last six or so seasons.

Dusty Stromer is no consolation prize, he’s a legitimate prospect that projects to be a game altering player. But there is a clear void in terms of what recruiting has been for three seasons. The Zags have had six players drafted in the last three NBA drafts. That streak likely ends this season. They’ve waited on the decision of Prolific Prep’s Zoom Diallo for a year and struck out with several bigtime recruits following the class that landed them Chet Holmgren, Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman.

Not landing five-stars is by no means the end of the world or a dealbreaker for title aspirations. It just means that Mark Few and company will need to retool and find another new angle to take this program to even more unforeseeable heights. Few spent the summer with the US FIBA team, working under Steve Kerr with Erik Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue as the only college coach surrounded by three guys who’ve won NBA titles as a head coach. Does that experience inform him as a coach and program builder? Was it largely performing an honored duty? Time will tell.

One thing is clear though, if this Gonzaga team can resemble the success of last season or years prior this will be one of the greatest coaching achievements of Few’s career. He coached his tail off last season trying to bridge the obvious glaring gaps that were made present in the low-points of nonconference play and early on in WCC action.

There is no 99th-percentile athleticism on this roster. As of now there doesn’t appear to be a clear end-of-game option like there was with Timme or Strawther. What there is though are workable pieces. Communication was the achilles heel of last year’s group. Few mentioned this several times. How the staff approaches team building and ensuring those kind of culture deterrents don’t occur with this team will be vital as they try to find their identity.

Last season brought Gonzaga fans back to earth in terms of acknowledging limitations and flaws. This year may be about how they team is able to exceed them.