The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the AP Preseason No. 11 team, the lowest mark since the 2017-18 season at No. 18. Since then, it has been nothing but the moon and beyond: No. 3, No. 8, No. 1, No. 1, and No. 2.
Seems weird to lead off with what is theoretically a statement about how Gonzaga has moved backward, but hey, that is college basketball for you. And despite the fact that the Zags aren’t theoretically as good as they’ve been in previous seasons, there is still more than enough excitement around the program to have a memorable season. Here are just a few of the things I will be reveling in throughout the year:
- Anton Watson is the dude
- A return to the comfortability of being the underdog
- Transitioning to the “new blood”
- Who is the next pro?
- Lots of questions = lots of intrigue = lots of fun
Anton Watson is the dude
If you are a fan of basketball and you are not a fan of Anton Watson I need you to turn off whatever device you are reading this post from, walk to the nearest bathroom, and dunk your head in the toilet.
The defense has always been there. He is versatile and can be just as easily leading the pack on a 3/4 press as he is pounding it out down low with an opponent’s big. His basketball IQ is evident. Rarely does he miss a defensive assignment, and he is one of those players that you can watch to appreciate all the little things he adds, the eye-test metrics that don’t necessarily translate to the box score. He didn’t end up on Seth Davis’ 2023 All Glue Guy Team by accident.
Offensively, Watson had a tendency to disappear in games in his early years. Playing alongside the likes of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren can do that to a young man. Last season, Watson turned a corner. He was the third-highest scorer on the squad, displayed a decent three-point stroke for a forward, and was largely efficient on offense (the free-throw shooting left some to be desired).
The overall output of that effort was a Box Plus/Minus of 8.8, second on the team to Drew Timme.
Watson is the longest-tenured member of this team and should move from Glue Guy to face of the squad. For someone whose style of play can largely go unappreciated by the average college hoops fan, it’ll be a treat to watch him make his mark on the season.
A return to the comfortability of being the underdog
If you are an #angryoldalumni like myself, you remember a period of time in which the Gonzaga Bulldogs were successful, and that meant ranked in the low teens in AP Polls at best. First/second round NCAA exists were routine. Largely, the biggest upsets happened during the non-conference, and they were fun to watch.
Not all Gonzaga fans have that angle, however. My cousin, for example, had her freshman year culminate on the sidelines in the student section for the 2017 Final Four and championship game. Our perspectives on what we know and expect are a bit different.
After multiple years of being one of the undisputed best teams in the country, the Zags are finally not that. It isn’t like they are bad, obviously, but they won’t be favored against Purdue in the Maui Invitational, for example.
For many alumni and fans who have been watching for 20+ years, this is a slight return to some of the more memorable victories. When you are the No. 1 ranked juggernaut and you beat a ranked team because you are favored, the victory tastes fine. When you are the underdog and you topple a mighty giant? That is what Gonzaga Basketball was all about.
Transitioning to the “new blood”
This is a bit of a misnomer because just by nature of the fact NCAA athletes get four (normally) years of playing time, but with the departure of Drew Timme and Julian Strawther, it truly seems like the “era” of 2018-2023 has closed.
This is a new team. Of the 10 scholarship players who saw time on the floor last season, only Watson, Nolan Hickman, and Little Ben Gregg return. Red squad dudes like Braden Huff, Jun Seok Yeo, Colby Brooks, and Joe Few are there to balance it out. However, the team we will see hit the court on Nov. 3 will be dramatically different than the year prior. Such is the state of college hoops.
Considering Timme accounted for 30.6 percent of all possessions used by Gonzaga last season, there aren’t just minutes to go around, but also the basketball as well. Watching guys come into their own as more primary scoring options (Gregg, Huff, Hickman, Yeo, Stromer) combined with the elder statesman taking on larger/new roles (Watson, Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard, Steele Venters) is going to be fun.
Who is the next pro?
There are currently eleven former Gonzaga Bulldogs who will be guaranteed to suit up for various NBA teams this season. Seven of those players arrived in the NBA within the past five years. Of those seven, two would’ve been in the NBA without time at GU (Jalen Suggs, Chet Holmgren). The other six- Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, Filip Petrusev, and Julian Strawther – are the traditional Gonzaga mold. A very good and talented player who developed the skills necessary to succeed at the highest level.
Kispert did not look like an NBA player his freshman year. Hachimura was hyped but obviously needed the time and work. No one envisioned Clarke sticking with the Zags for just one (two with redshirt) year when he transferred.
The Zags’ opening day roster doesn’t have a single individual on it who I feel comfortable in saying “They will be a first-round pick in the 20XX NBA Draft.” That doesn’t mean I don’t necessarily think there is NBA talent on the roster. This season will sort of be like watching your young child grow up right in front of you.
Lots of questions = lots of intrigue = lots of fun
I was excited about the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2021-2023 seasons. I promise, I really was. However, I’ll be the first to admit that opening the season as a No. 1 or a No. 2 team, predestined to be National Championship or bust, can be a bit boring. Those teams are expected to win every single game. And when they don’t, the sky comes falling.
That is a largely simplistic overview of those power seasons and it is not a view we will have to deal with this year. The Zags are preseason No. 11, which is higher than many national writers who are also AP voters are putting in their own preseason columns.
That means this Gonzaga team has a lot of questions, and that means a lot of storylines, and to a certain extent, a more interesting season to follow. 2021-2023, those years were straight fun. I had a blast tuning in to watch Chet Holmgren drop a cool 20 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, five blocks night against BYU. That is fun.
Intrigue is a different level of fun and interest. This seems like a season with a step back after five years of pretty absurd success. It might shake out that way just as easily as Gonzaga ends up better, or worse. Who knows? Either way, it is a level of drama we haven’t seen with this squad for a few years.
I agree! no pressure!