Drew Timme, Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton are coming back to Gonzaga

I believe it was the famed Irish poet Phil Lynott of the rock-and-roll combination Thin Lizzy who once spoke these wise words that have since become an iconic part of our collective lexicon...

"The boys are back in town."

Late Wednesday night, the reigning All-American and WCC Player of the Year withdrew his name from the NBA Draft to return for his senior season at Gonzaga. Drew Timme kept things short in sweet in his tweet announcing his return: "I'm back".

I’m back

— drew timme (@drewtimme2) June 2, 2022

While Timme's return instantly vaults the Zags back into national title contention next season, it was only the third big return over the past few days. Earlier in the day, wing Julian Strawther took to Instagram to announce he's coming back for his third season in Spokane.

spokane let’s run it back ! 🏃🏽 pic.twitter.com/E4BNCKqwC2

— The Source (@JulianStrawther) June 1, 2022

But the man who started the parade back to the Kennel was guard Rasir Bolton, who made it known on Tuesday that he would use his extra year of eligibility (everyone got an extra year because of COVID) to suit up for the Bulldogs one more time.

Run it back 1 more time! #ZagUp❤️ pic.twitter.com/2Ja0GT1KSz

— Big Fo’ Five⚡️ (@rasir_45) May 31, 2022

Timmie and Bolton started every game last season, while Strawther started all but one. Together the returning trio averaged 41.4 points per game, so needless to say, the Zags have replenished their offensive firepower.

Essentially, the 2022-23 Gonzaga Bulldogs will return everyone from last campaign except big man Chet Holmgren (possibly the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft) and point guard Andrew Nembhard (who is also likely to get drafted). Timme, Strawther and Bolton will be joined once again by intriguing young guards Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman, overqualified glue-guy Anton Watson, and young bigs Ben Gregg and Kaden Perry.

Gonzaga will also have a couple of fresh faces in four-star freshman forward Braden Huff (Illinois' Mr. Basketball) and LSU transfer center Efton Reid (a former five-star prospect). There are also rumblings that the Zags could land Chattanooga guard Malachi Smith (who won Southern Conference Player of the Year) and Spanish prospect Baba Miller.

Regardless of any further additions, Gonzaga is once again a Final Four frontrunner. Time to start counting down the days until Kraziness in the Kennel...