On Wednesday evening, college hoops reporter Jeff Goodman tweeted out the bad news that Steele Venters — the star wing transfer from Eastern Washington and last year's Big Sky Player of the Year — had suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the entire season.
It's absolutely heartbreaking news for Venters, who would've been able to showcase his talents for a much, much larger national audience as a member of the Bulldogs. It's also a very tough break for the team as a whole, as Mark Few now has to replace a starter and rejigger his rotation immediately before tomorrow night's regular season-opening matchup again Yale. It seems likely that standout 4-star freshman Dusty Stromer might now step into the starting lineup to fill Venters' slot (though there's an extremely slim chance that Few could insert redshirt freshman big Braden Huff and lean into a lineup with a ton of size in the frontcourt).
But rather than totally dwell on the bad news, fellow Kennel Corner writer Will Maupin and I decided to make 10 predictions about the upcoming campaign for Gonzaga.
GRAHAM CRACKIN'
After missing all of last season with a foot injury, and then missing Kraziness in the Kennel with issues on the same foot, there were some questions as to whether or not Wyoming transfer Graham Ike would be ready for the start of the season.Well, these questions were answered in last Friday's exhibition game. Ike started, played 19 minutes and scored 27 points on 11 of 13 shooting.
Ike doesn’t have the dizzying footwork of Drew Timme, but the big man should be more than capable of anchoring the center spot this season. His soft, left-handed touch around the basket is as pure as I’ve seen in a Gonzaga uniform.
Ike nearly averaged a double-double in his last season at Wyoming. At Gonzaga, accomplishing that should be no problem. (WM)
BRADEN HUFF: BREAKOUT STAR?
Braden Huff, who was named Mr. Basketball in his home state of Illinois as a high school senior, came to Gonzaga as a four-star recruit. Last year, he opted to ride the pine and take a redshirt year. In this day and age of immediate eligibility transfers, players of his stature rarely choose to redshirt in their first year on campus.Huff puts Mark Few in an interesting position. In recent seasons, Few has gone with a three-big rotation. Sometimes, like during the 2021 season when Corey Kispert took up most of the minutes at the four spot, he’s gone even smaller with just two bigs in the rotation.
Anton Watson is a fifth-year senior and proven commodity. He’s playing. Graham Ike was one of the most coveted transfers in the portal this offseason. He’s playing. Ben Gregg’s in his fourth year in the program and earned his way into the rotation a season ago. He surely expects, and deserves, to remain in the rotation this season.
But Braden Huff will deserve to be in the rotation as well. Which means that for the first time since 2017, when Gonzaga made its first Final Four, the Zags could play with a four-big rotation. (WM)
MEET YOUR NEW FAN FAV: DUSTY STROMER
For years when Gonzaga was on the rise, and before establishing the school as a true elite force in college hoops, the program was kind of known nationally for one thing — being that weirdly named school with all the floppy-haired white dudes who can ball.In fairness, it wasn't a mischaracterization, thanks to studs like Dan Dickau, Adam Morrison, Kelly Olynyk, Matt Bouldin, and many more. But there was always an inherent goofiness to all those guys. Freshman Dusty Stromer is the latest entry into the club, but with a twist. Instead of being kinda goofy lookin', dude looks like he was cast to play the basketball heartthrob is a Disney Channel movie. And while he's sure to get his GU coeds turning their heads when they pass him on campus, his game is eye-catching as well.
While Ike and Huff were awesome as the team's leading scorers in Friday's exhibition tilt, it was the freshman four-star guard from Los Angeles who stood out the most. While his offensive game was pretty on point, it was all the little things he was doing on the court that really stood out. He was flying around out there: jumping passing lanes for steals, crashing the offensive boards, and seemingly always being in the right place at the right time (a bit like the best parts of Anton Watson's game). He played within the team structure and showed a level of effort that went way beyond what one might expect from a star recruit in an exhibition game.
A lot of folks are gonna fall in love with Dusty Stromer this season. (SS)
WE DON'T NEED A-TON OF ANTON
Anton Watson is an absolutely beloved Zag. Anton Watson is a hometown legend. Anton Watson is one of those players who does all the little things right — making heady defensive decisions, tipping balls in passing lanes, finding open spots on the floor, hustling for every loose ball.One thing Anton Watson is not? A guy who should be the focal point of an offense.
It's going to sound mean, but the reason NBA teams weren't screaming for Anton Watson to leave GU and go pro is because his offensive skillset is extremely limited. While he's actually put up some stellar offensive efficiency numbers as a Zags, those are the result of always playing around much more talent offensive players. (How many of Watson's baskets in his career have been wide open lay-ins because the opposing defense feel asleep guarding Drew Timme? It feels like at least 50%.) The eye test tells a very different story, as Watson is a disaster when given the ball in isolation and rarely finishes around the rim when contested.
One of the major concerns I have entering the season is that the Zags will try to force the ball to Watson to get his offense going, which would be silly because he's probably the seventh or eighth most skilled offensive player on this roster. If the Zags end close games trying to get Watson a bucket instead of feeding Ike (or Huff), letting Nembhard or Stromer try to create something off the dribble, or even spotting up Hickman for a three-pointer, it's going to be maddening.
Ideally, Watson's role would be closer to a glorified Mike Hart — do everything on defense and don't worry about getting any shots — rather than the high-volume role that I fear he might get just by virtue of being the team's veteran leader. (SS)
NEW NEMBHARD, SAME RESULTS
Ryan Nembhard was named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith National Player of the Year award.The last time a Gonzaga point guard earned that honor was two years ago. It was Ryan’s brother, Andrew.
In the intervening season, the Zags played without a true point guard, instead using an out-of-position Nolan Hickman in that role.
This year, the Zags have a true point guard once again. A really good true point guard. One of the best in the sport. When he’s on the floor, the Zags’ offense will be as lethal as there is in the country. (WM)
HICKMAN FINDS HIS ROLE
No player was more frustrating last season than Nolan Hickman. The Seattle guard struggled mightily to run the offense while also being a sieve on the defensive end of the floor. And as painful as it was to watch him play at times, it really wasn't his fault. He was entirely miscast. He simply isn't a point guard. It's blatantly obvious even if you watch him play 10 minutes of basketball, but despite this, Mark Few never wavered from essentially giving him star point guard minutes despite him being the fourth best guard on last season's squad (*whispers* No surprise, but Hunter Sallis is already killing it at Wake Forrest.).The best thing that happened to Hickman in the offseason? The Zags brought in Nembhard. No longer saddled with being a point guard, Hickman can slip into the role his game is clearly more suited for: shooting guard. Even last year, the best Hickman moments often came when he was seeking out his own shot rather than trying to help create for others. Freed from his point guard responsibilities (hopefully entirely, see Will's next prediction), Hickman should be able to open up his game, which his skillset suggest should be closer to his new coach and former Zags scoring guard Zach Norvell than a stalwart GU floor general point guard like Nigel Williams-Goss. He's gotta stop falling asleep on so many defensive possessions, but the new role at least should give fans some hope that his spot in the starting rotation won't be the bane of their existence this campaign. (SS)
FOREIGN LEADER (OF THE BENCH)
Gonzaga needs a backup point guard, and freshman Luka Krajnovic can be that guy.The 6-foot-5 Croatian won the skills contest at Kraziness in the Kennel (an award I’m sure he values similarly to his Croatian Premier League MVP award that he won last season). And it's easy to see those skills translate in-game, as was the case in Friday's exhibition when Luka was clearly the best initiator of offense behind Nembhard.
Krajnovic may be a freshman, but his background is in playing with and against grown, professional basketball players. His size and strength in attacking the basket will give opposing defenses a different challenge than guarding the smaller, shiftier Ryan Nembhard. (WM)
GOING DEEP
While I was devastated when reading Jeff Goodman's tweet about Steele Venters' season-ending injury, there was also one line that totally baffled me.Goodman wrote "Gonzaga isn’t deep to begin with. This will definitely hurt the Zags."
While the second sentence is obviously true, the idea that this Gonzaga team isn't deep is absurd. In fact, prior to Venters' injury, one of my worries about this year's squad was they were too deep and some very talented players might get frustrated (or even transfer away) because they weren't getting enough minutes.
Watson, Nembhard, Ike and Hickman are locked-in starters, but the aforementioned Stromer, Huff and Krajnovic would immediately be starters and focal points for the vast majority of college hoops teams in the country. Ben Gregg would've been a stretch-big starter that no one would've scoffed at if Watson had decided to not return for another year. And if you've watched any tape, you know that Korean newcomer Jun Seok Yeo has a chance to be a thrilling wild card at the wing (though he may need another year of seasoning to be ready for a big role).
Considering Few rarely likes to run rotations more than 8-players deep, it looked like a 10-man rotation would've been ideal prior to Venters injury, and the team still looks at least nine deep at present (and that's with guys who have actual talent like foreign freshman Pavle Stosic presumably riding the bench all year). Heck, you could put together a starting lineup of guys who started on the bench during the exhibition game — Krajnovic, Stromer, Yeo, Huff, Gregg — that's better than any other starting lineup in the WCC outside of St. Mary's.
Barring a string of more injuries, depth will not be an issue for these Zags. (SS)
STRESS THE PRESS
The Zags like to run. They like to play fast. Opposing teams would often rather try to slow things down.That’s where the 1-2-2, three-quarter court press comes into play.
Against Lewis & Clark State last Friday, the Zags employed the press 12 times. Over those 12 possessions, L&C State managed just four points.
While the press only led to one turnover in the backcourt, it was the Zags’ ability to pester and speed up their opposition before transitioning seamlessly into their normal half-court defense that was most impressive.
Efficient offense has been Gonzaga’s calling card under Mark Few, and in recent years they’ve been better than anybody on that end of the floor. If the Zags regularly break out their press as often as they did against L&C State, they’ll be just as impressive on the defensive end as well. (WM)
HOME COOKIN' IN THE TOURNEY
Let's go out with a little postseason prediction. Spokane is one of the sites for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament this year. Sure we've yet to see this team in real action and all the new faces might take some time to gel, but when it comes time for Selection Sunday, expect the Zags name to be called with another high seed and a date to stay at home and play in Spokane Arena.
After all, it wouldn't be March Madness without Gonzaga. (SS)
