Transfer Portal Benefiter: Gonzaga Bulldogs
Transfer Portal Benefiter: Gonzaga Bulldogs
After losing their top two scorers from the 2022-23 season, the Gonzaga coaching staff has relied on the transfer portal to build their team for the 2023-24 season.
Transferring In:
Ryan Nembhard, G
Steele Venters, G
Graham Ike, F
Transferring Out:
Hunter Sallis, G
Efton Reid, F
Dominick Harris, G
Gonzaga’s Head Coach, Mark Few, knew he had to attack the transfer portal after losing his two best players from last season to the NBA Draft in April. It is a challenge replacing a player like Drew Timme, but Few did his best when 6-foot-9 Graham Ike transferred to Gonzaga on April 22. Ike last played in the 2021-22 season for the Wyoming Cowboys. During that 2021-22 season, Ike and the Cowboys won 25 games. Ike was awarded preseason Mountain West Player of the Year before last season; however, Ike did not play due to a right foot injury. The Cowboys struggled in his absence and lost 22 games on the season.
Ike's 2021-22 season stats give Gonzaga fans a sample of what they can expect next season. He averaged a near double-double with 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Ike’s offensive game is very similar to Timme’s. Like Timme, Ike is a relentless inside scorer with excellent post moves and footwork. He tends to back down defenders and looks to dominate 1v1s on the block. Ike will have big shoes to fill trying to replace Timme, but the similarities in each other’s game will help Ike.
Julian Strawther is the other Bulldog that entered the NBA Draft. Strawther was the second scoring option for the Zags' 2022-23 season. Strawther averaged 15.2 points per game and had a 40-point game for the Bulldogs last season. Along with the offense, his 6-foot-7 frame helped him become a reliable defender for Few. The void Strawther leaves is quite large, but fortunately for Few, another 6-foot-7 shooter, Steele Venters, chose to stay in Spokane, WA to play for Gonzaga after his 2022-23 season at Eastern Washington University. Venters shot 45.7 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc last season. He also led his team with 15.3 points per game.
Since the 2018-19 season, Gonzaga has averaged the highest team points per game every season so Venters’ scoring should transfer well to the Bulldogs.
Few did very well recruiting players to replace Timme and Strawther, but he continued his recruiting to Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard. The Nembhard name was already popular with Gonzaga fans because of Ryan’s older brother Andrew. Andrew Nembhard is a former Gonzaga player that is currently in the NBA on the Indiana Pacers. Andrew contributed heavily to Gonzaga’s near-perfect 2021 team and led the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 in 2022. During Andrew’s senior season with the Zags, Ryan suffered a season-ending injury to his right wrist in his freshman year at Creighton. Ryan was healthy for the 2022-23 season and had a good year with the Creighton Bluejays. The 6-foot point guard averaged 12.1 points per game along with four rebounds and just under five assists per game last season. Ryan was included in the 2023 Bob Cousy Award watch list in late October of 2022 and led the Bluejays to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Despite the height difference, Ryan plays almost exactly like his older brother Andrew. Like Andrew, Ryan possesses the same leadership and ball handling skills.
Gonzaga fans have a lot to look forward to with these new additions, but the team did lose three players from the 2022-23 season to the transfer portal. Former five-star combo guard, Hunter Sallis, transferred to Wake Forest four days after Nembhard chose Gonzaga. Sallis came off the bench for Few in the two years he played at Gonzaga. Efton Reid joined Sallis at Wake Forest just a little over a week later. The 7-foot center entered the transfer portal on April 4 but did not choose a school until May 4. Reid did not play much during his one-year stint at Gonzaga but was an energetic giant on the bench.
Dominick Harris, a junior guard, announced his next school on the same day Reid did. Harris will continue to play in Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center, just in a different uniform. Harris chose Loyola Marymount University (LMU) over Brigham Young University. The Bulldogs will play Harris and his fellow LMU Lions twice next season.
Losing players from an Elite Eight team is always a difficult pill to swallow, but it looks like Few and his staff are doing their best to build a new rotation for the 2023-24 season.