The calendar offers no mercy in August. This is the annual stretch of the offseason when Gonzaga fans watch the calendar more than the scoreboard, counting the days until Kraziness in the Kennel. Despite all the excitement surrounding a roster that appears loaded with talent, the stability of the frontcourt rotation remains unsettled, with open […]
The calendar offers no mercy in August. This is the annual stretch of the offseason when Gonzaga fans watch the calendar more than the scoreboard, counting the days until Kraziness in the Kennel. Despite all the excitement surrounding a roster that appears loaded with talent, the stability of the frontcourt rotation remains unsettled, with open questions about depth, foul management, and how effectively the bigs can shoulder extended minutes over the course of a full season. Graham Ike and Braden Huff return for the Zags as probably the best big-man duo in college basketball, and the Zags seemed to crack the code towards the end of last season when they both earned starting minutes alongside one another. The problem is that a college season lasts far longer than three games, and this time, opponents will have some tape of the Ike-Huff lineup to prepare with.
Prior to the two-big lineup Gonzaga unveiled in the final three games of last season, the Zags had spent a season experimenting with different combinations at the 4/5 spot. Huff, Ben Gregg, and Michael Ajayi all shared minutes at power forward, but none ever seemed to lock in and own it, especially considering how valuable Huff proved to be as an off-the-bench backup to Ike. Gregg brought hustle, vision, and experience to the position, and Ajayi could change games defensively with his length and physicality, but the lack of consistent scoring from either left the Zags vulnerable to droughts. Anton Watson remains the gold standard for power forwards in recent memory. His ability to guard one through five, create from the high post, hit just enough perimeter shots to force closeouts, and dominate the glass blurred positional definitions, and the Zags spent last season in search of the Next Man Up.
Gonzaga enters this season with what is likely the most productive and efficient scoring frontcourt in the nation. Ike is one of the most punishing interior scorers in the country — 17.3 points per game, nearly 60% shooting from the floor — a patient, physical force whose two-man game with Ryan Nembhard was last season’s most dependable scoring option. At 6’9”, he has never needed extra inches to produce, but rim protection against taller frontlines (and recurrent foul trouble) have been a lingering challenge throughout his playing career. The Zags figured out late last season that Huff offers a complementary profile: a skilled 4/5 who can operate inside or draw bigs out to the arc. Few players of Huff’s size offer the versatility in scoring options that Huff does, and as a redshirt freshman, his efficiency near the basket was top 10 in the nation. But neither Ike nor Huff is a natural rim protector, and both get whistled at high rates (Ike ranked fourth in the WCC in fouls per 40 minutes at 5.1, Huff ninth at 4.6) which increases the stakes for this season’s backups.
Depth, Uncertainty, and Waiting Games
The first option behind Ike/Huff is sophomore Ismaila Diagne, a legitimate seven-footer with a very promising touch around the rim and the length necessary to change the team’s defensive profile entirely. His best night last season came against Santa Clara: 18 minutes, nine points, four boards, perfect 4-for-4 shooting, 1-for-1 from the line. But the sample size is extremely small: outside of that one game, Diagne averaged barely over five minutes in the other nine in which he appeared, totaling just 48 total minutes of action. In that small window he went 12-for-15 from the field and 10-for-12 at the stripe, efficiency that hints at an absolutely ridiculous offensive upside. But in the 66 total minutes he played last season, Diagne also committed 17 fouls, an absurd rate of 10.3 per 40 minutes, and when his 18-minute Santa Clara outing is removed from that sample, that number climbs to 11.7 per 40. The question for the Zags will therefore not be how valuable Diagne is, but whether or not they can keep him on the floor if he remains even more foul prone than Ike or Huff.
The next variable for the Zags is entirely off the court. Seventy-seven days have passed since Tyon Grant-Foster committed to Gonzaga, and the NCAA eligibility waiver process has turned into an unfortunate offseason subplot. At Grand Canyon last season he averaged 14.8 points in 27.5 minutes per game, shot 40%, and took 54% of his shot attempts at the rim. He ranked ninth nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.2), producing 7.1 free-throw attempts per game and hitting 127-of-185, a workload in the same range as Ike’s 169 attempts. He started 17 of 26 games for the ‘Lopes, alternating between energizer and finisher depending on the opponent. Gonzaga most likely envisions him as a hybrid 3/4 who can muscle bigger wings or slide down to chase guards, but that role stays hypothetical until the paperwork clears.
Beyond Grant-Foster, the depth chart gets weird, hypothetical, and thin. There’s Steele Venters, who at 6’7” is long enough to play the 4, but remains a perimeter specialist in its purest form. In his last healthy season at Eastern Washington, 52% of his shots came from beyond the arc, and he made 40.3% of more than 500 career attempts. That season he averaged 15.3 points and 2.8 rebounds. He bends defenses, but he’s not a glass presence. Behind Venters there’s incoming freshman Parker Jefferson, who offers the opposite profile: a 6-10, 230-pound true center who ranked No. 164 nationally, No. 25 at his position, coming off a senior year at Inglewood High with 16.3 points on 53% shooting, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He’s a developmental big in a program that has a history of refining that archetype, but immediate minutes will depend on physical readiness and system fit.
Whomever steps in to soak up minutes at the 4 will have a vital and very specific role in Gonzaga’s scheme: own the glass. Gregg and Ajayi combined for 10.3 boards per game in about 20 minutes apiece at the 4 last year; a Huff–Grant-Foster pairing projects closer to 9.3 if their rebounding numbers from last year hold, and Grant-Foster–Venters drops to 8.7. Whomever steps in, the physicality and tenacity of Gregg and Ajayi will certainly be missed in that department.
Lineup Puzzles and Late-Summer Targets
Of course, the ideal version of this season’s frontcourt keeps Ike and Huff in tandem. It also keeps Diagne healthy enough for consistent minutes, and ensures Grant-Foster is cleared to lock down a hybrid role. If that doesn’t materialize, adjustments are on the table. And although the promise shown by Gonzaga’s two-big lineup last year is enticing, it wouldn’t exactly be the end of the world if Ike and Huff didn’t earn big minutes alongside one another.
One possible lineup we may see this year involves giving Diagne long stretches at the 5 with Ike or Huff at the 4. Gonzaga has made similar alignments work in the past: Holmgren-Timme’s inside-out versatility, Karnowski-Collins’ combination of power and touch. In this setup, Diagne supplies the rim protection and defensive gravity the Ike–Huff duo lacks, while the 4 spot becomes a hub for one of the most efficient scoring bigs in the sport (whether that’s Ike or Huff is immaterial as they can both dismantle single-coverages on the backside once help defenses collapse to double the 5). Neither offers consistent three-point range (as of yet…), but both punish single coverage if the defense collapses in the lane.
With so many unknowns still to be figured it, it’s hard to imagine the staff’s shopping list doesn’t includes a depth piece at the 4; someone with size, proven rebounding, and the ability to keep the ball moving from the high post when the high-low offense needs to reset. The likeliest targets are overseas, with Croatian forward Ivan Bogdanović still a name to watch. He averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists for Croatia’s U-20 team at the FIBA EuroBasket, drawing interest from Louisville, Michigan State, and Texas A&M in addition to Gonzaga. No visits are set, but his arrival would stabilize the rotation in a huge way: Grant-Foster and Venters could stay locked at the 3, Huff would gain a true backup, Diagne could slot behind Ike, and Jefferson could focus on development.
Framing the Season Ahead
August rarely settles anything, but it does help define the scope of the coming months. The frontcourt’s top end is built to carry Gonzaga deep. Ike and Huff may be the most potent scoring duo in the country, and their versatility ensures the offense will have answers for most coverages. The variables are health, foul management, and whether a fourth dependable frontcourt player emerges. Somewhere in those moving parts is the version of this team best suited for the grind of January and February. Until then, the roster is set on paper, the rotations are in pencil, and the wait for clarity continues.
Category: General Sports
