Gonzaga basketball returns over 80% of their minutes from last season and hope experience brings them a National Championship.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Gonzaga basketball.
In the transfer portal era, Mark Few played his cards a bit differently this offseason. He lost only one of his top seven scorers from last year and brought in three double-digit scorers from the portal. He believes those key editions will complement the experience nicely.
Gonzaga has the ability to score from anywhere. Ryan Nembhard will command the floor, Nolan Hickman and Michael Ajayi will score at high clips on the wings, and Graham Ike was the Zags leading scorer last year. They will have no issues with points.
Gonzaga basketball has had storied success in the past decade and beyond, none of which culminated in a National Championship. They ran into a buzzsaw in Purdue last year, but this team has the depth and the experience to be Mark Few’s first champion in his 25-year tenure.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Mark Few (25th season at Gonzaga, 25th overall)
2023-24 record: 27-8 (14-2)
2024 postseason finish: Lost to Purdue (80-68) in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- Anton Watson (14.5 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 41.2 3P%)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Baylor (Nov. 4)
- vs. Arizona State (Nov. 10)
- at San Diego State (Nov. 18)
- Battle 4 Atlantis (Nov. 27-29)
- vs. Kentucky (Dec. 7)
- vs. UConn (Dec. 14)
- vs. UCLA (Dec. 28)
Projected Rotation
PG: Ryan Nembhard (6-0, 180, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 44.5 FG%
SG: Nolan Hickman (6-2, 190, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 14.0 PPG, 2.7 APG, 2.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 41.3 3P%
SF: Michael Ajayi (6-7, 238, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 17.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 47.0 3P% (Pepperdine)
PF: Ben Gregg (6-10, 230, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 9.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 54.1 FG%
C: Graham Ike (6-9, 250, Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 16.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 60.9 FG%
6: Khalif Battle (6-5, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 14.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 40.6 3P% (Arkansas)
7: Braden Huff (6-10, 250, So.)
2023-24 stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.5 APG, 59.8 FG%
8: Dusty Stromer (6-6, 200, So.)
2023-24 stats: 4.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 35.8 3P%
9: Steele Venters (6-7, 200, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 15.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 37.1 3P%, 45.7 FG% (Eastern Washington)
10: Emmanuel Innocenti (6-5, 198, So.)
2023-24 stats: 6.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 40.6 FG% (Tarleton State)
Gonzaga Basketball team MVP: Ryan Nembhard
Gonzaga is loaded with scorers, and Nembhard will most definitely not top that list. However, due to the clip at which the rest of the team scores at, a facilitator is needed to make the ship run smoothly.
Four out of the five Gonzaga projected starters averaged double figures last season, as well as two more off the bench. Gonzaga returns six of their top seven scorers from last season, adding three more double-digit averages in the offseason. Everyone on this squad will be needing touches, and Nembhard has shown in his career that he is the guy to find the guy.
We have seen college teams loaded with talent in the past not fair too well especially on the biggest stages. Mark Few is especially glad his floor general has three years of experience, as a new guy could not be asked to do his job this season. Nembhard will have his opportunities to score, yes, however, his importance relies on his passing and leadership.
Gonzaga Basketball make-or-break player: Michael Ajayi
It is tough to pick anyone on this team as “make-or-break,” as if someone falls below expectations, the bench is deep enough to run someone else out there and get the job done. Ajayi seems most fitting for this one, not because the team’s success necessarily depends on his personal play, but because he is the only guy in the starting lineup that Mark Few does not know exactly what he is getting.
Few’s starting five has four returning guys and Ajayi, who won first-team all-WCC at Pepperdine last year. Ajayi is Gonzaga’s most exciting professional prospect in the eyes of many scouts, and there is no doubt that he can play at this level, especially given the track record of success in the conference. The only growing pains will be how long it takes to adjust to the system, and with Gonzaga’s loaded non-conference schedule, they hope a quick adjustment happens.
Key analytic: SPG and BPG
Gonzaga has little flaws this year, but to be picky, they would add another dimension if their steals and blocks went up from a season ago. Steals were 6.7 a game, with blocks being 3.9. With their tallest player being 6’10”, the Zags do not have a true rim protector, but they are very physical down low.
Even if this clip stays somewhat the same, Gonzaga basketball should not have a tough time winning a lot of games. However, inducing turnovers and bad shots can prevent a team from catching fire and either upsetting the Bulldogs or hanging with them in the postseason where anything can happen.
Gonzaga Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the WCC
Projected postseason ceiling: National Champions