The Michael Ajayi era at Gonzaga was short, not so sweet, and filled with dreams of what could have been if it all just went better. Today, Ajayi announced he is entering the transfer portal.
He is the third Zag to do so, following in the footsteps of Dusty Stromer and Jun Seok Yeo.
When Ajayi first joined Gonzaga back in March 2024, it seemed like a match that was just too good to be true. Ajayi led the league in scoring at Pepperdine in the 2023-24 season, averaging 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He inexplicably shot 47 percent from three, granted just 2.5 attempts per game, but enough to be dangerous. Having him join an already lethal squad was just going to make Gonzaga unfair.
It was no surprise that his minutes went down at Gonzaga, dropping from 34.7 to 18.8 per game. What was a surprise, however, is how much his offense deteriorated as well. Ajayi still held his own on the offensive and defensive glass, but the rest of his game never clicked with the rest of the offense.
It was another part of this year’s theme: Just because things look amazing on paper doesn’t always translate to the court. Ajayi often times looked lost in the offensive scheme. Outside of a stellar outing against UConn and a pretty solid February, it was hard to put a solid spin on Ajayi’s time on the court. The defense was good, the rebounding great, the rest of it left a lot to be desired.
Most bizarrely, his three-point shot ABSOLUTELY DISAPPEARED OR WAS COMPLETELY VAPORIZED BY THE SUN WHERE THE HELL DID IT GO. After hitting 36-of-77 3PA last season, Ajayi was a woeful 8-for-44 (18.2 percent) this season. He made two threes against Oregon State on January 28 and that was it for the season.
Personally, I liked Ajayi. Holy moly I was rooting for him hard. I loved seeing his enthusiasm on the court, especially after searching out some offense and hitting the occasional tough shot. You could tell that the guy knew he was struggling, was still putting in the work, and was rejoicing in the few and far between moments that he could.
With that said, sometimes, the puzzle pieces in roster construction are just not going to quite fit together as well as we all hope. In the case of Ajayi, he theoretically has NBA potential, but I don’t think that would ever be displayed while in a Gonzaga uniform. He was at his best with the floor completely cleared and largely just going to work–in the simplest sense the modern NBA offense.
I’ll root for him where ever he lands. Once a Zag always a Zag and all that jazz. I’m just glad that he has the foresight to understand that this pairing with Gonzaga just isn’t the best for both parties.