The college transfer portal has completely reshaped the offseason for most basketball teams, and this year, with over 1,800 players entering their names into it, is no different.
Gonzaga is no stranger to the pitfalls and highlights of the transfer portal. Huge pieces from last year’s team in Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike cut their teeth earlier at different schools. Steele Venters would’ve been the same. At the same time, in the past few years, the Zags have also lost mid-sized to larger contributors in Oumar Ballo, Hunter Sallis, Dominick Harris, and Efton Reid.
This year, however, Gonzaga is a firm winner in the transfer portal for one big reason: They largely were able to avoid it this year.
Last year’s team is sticking around for another go
In my humble opinion, this isn’t much of a surprise at all. Ike and Nembhard both had just transferred into Gonzaga and enjoyed a level of national respect all season. Transferring out for their senior years would’ve been a bit odd.
Of the rest of the major contributors, Nolan Hickman has been vocal in about his support for playing basketball at Gonzaga. Ben Gregg called it a childhood dream to be a Zag. One could argue that Braden Huff and Dusty Stromer could’ve tried for something else, but both players saw meaningful playing time last season and would be poised for just as much, if not more, next season.
Anton Watson, obviously, could not stick around for another year, but with a majority of the core rotation staying intact, the Zags really did not have much of a need to dive into the transfer portal. This is a big reason why many of the too-early top 2024-25 posts have Gonzaga back in the top five. They are a Sweet 16 team returning basically everyone.
They still picked up an impact transfer in Michael Ajayi
With such few roster spots open, the Zags didn’t have to go too far to pick up an impact player in Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi. Last year as a starting forward for the Waves, Ajayi was a near double-double machine, averaging 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, all the while hitting 47 percent from long range.
Gonzaga fans should not expect that level of production from Ajayi again. He will not enter the team as one of the top focal points of the offense, as he was in Pepperdine. However, his versatility on the offensive end easily helps fill much of the void Anton Watson’s departure left.
Consistency still matters in college hoops
Last season, there was a huge difference in the quality of basketball played by Gonzaga in November versus March. In November, the Zags did not really look like a NCAA Tournament team at all. In March, they looked like a second weekend team.
This coming season, the Zags will have all played together for at least one year, except for one person. In this day and age of transfer portal madness, experience does matter to a certain extent. While many teams will be opening their seasons still trying to figure out how to work best together, the Zags will already know how.
Considering that the non-conference has greater importance for Gonzaga than it does for every other Power 5 team, playing like the squad you are expected to be from the beginning will pay huge dividends for seeding come March.