[Anton123Participant]

Every ranking I see Gonzaga is ranked pretty low. I think they will surprise a lot of people and might all the way to the elite 8/final 4.

I rarely make posts this big, but I hope someone finds it interesting. I hate projected stats, they are never correct and very hard to make, but I will give them a try too.

Notable returning players: Przemek Karnowski, Silas Melson, Josh Perkins, Bryant Alberts

Incoming players: Nigel-Willams Goss, Jonathan Williams III, Zach Collins, Zach Norvell, Killian Tillie, Jacob Larsen, Rui Hachimura

Projected lineup:

PG Nigel Williams-Goss RS Jr.

SG Josh Perkins RS So.

SF Silas Melson Jr.

PF Jonathan Williams III RS Jr.

C Przemek Karnowski RS Sr.

Bench: Zach Collins, Bryant Alberts, one of the international guys.

Nigel Williams-Goss may be one of the best guards in the NCAA next year. Second team All-PAC-12 two years ago, Nigel averaged almost 16 ppg, 6 apg and 5 rpg. He struggled with his 3pt jumper in his two years at Washington, but was known as a good shooter in high school (won the McDonalds Three Point Contest); hopefully, he has worked on his jumper and will come back much improved.

Projected stats: 18 ppg, 7 apg, 4 rpg, 48 FG%, 39 3P%, Second team All-American

Przemek Karnowski will almost literally be a man among boys. As the season begins, Przemek will be a 23 year old enormous heavily-bearded center with a soft touch around the basket, good post moves and good passing ability out of the post. Not the best defender, but being five times stronger than anyone around him should help.

Projected stats: 14 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg, 1.5 bpg, 55 FG%, 55 FT%, First team All-WCC

Jonathan Williams III fits very nicely next to Karnowski: he can spread the floor and has much better foot speed than Kyle Wiltjer so the team won’t have the defensive problems that the 14-15 Gonzaga team had. Had a very good freshman season but transferred after a disappointing sophomore season on a terrible team.

Projected stats: 12 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 46 FG%, 35 3P%

Josh Perkins will be an important contributor. He has shown he can create his own shot and be a playmaker. He will play on the ball when Williams-Goss is out and off the ball when he is in. Perkins can shoot, pass and get to the basket.

Projected stats: 12 ppg, 3 apg, 4 rpg, 1.2 spg, 45 FG%, 39 3P%

Overall team outlook: the team has experience on its side, the starting lineup basically has 2 juniors, 2 seniors and a fifth year guy all of whom have proven themselves to be effective college players. I think they can battle any other team and have a chance to win.

So, what do you guys think? Am I overrating Gonzaga? Was this any fun to read?

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

 Will all hinge on Nigel Williams Goss’ play imo. He could play them into a 3 seed or a NIT birth.

[he_gets_bucketsParticipant]

 Will all hinge on Nigel Williams Goss’ play imo. He could play them into a 3 seed or a NIT birth.

[TRC1991Participant]

 Perkins and Melson were pretty bad last year. Their improvements will be hugely impactful on the Zags chances 

[TRC1991Participant]

 Perkins and Melson were pretty bad last year. Their improvements will be hugely impactful on the Zags chances 

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 This won’t be the zags year. Last year was the year. I’m hopefully the team grows around goss and maybe in 2 years they have 1-2 seed. But they will be a tournament team. They always are.

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 This won’t be the zags year. Last year was the year. I’m hopefully the team grows around goss and maybe in 2 years they have 1-2 seed. But they will be a tournament team. They always are.

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 Two years ago was the Zags year. LAst year they advanced way further than people expected and they had to win the WCC to just get in the thing. 

I think Gonzaga will be good next year but it’s largely dependent on how quickly their freshman provide good minutes and how those transfers play. 

If Jordan Matthews grad transfers there, that helps them in a big way because Melson didn’t look like a starting caliber player last year. That would instantly give them a reputable shooter and help their overall depth. 

I don’t see a Final 4 team, mostly because there have been better Gonzaga teams that didn’t go to the Final 4 and its never happened for them but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a damn good team and go deep in the tourney. 

I’m mostly excited to see them play St. Mary’s. Both teams should be really solid next year. 

 

 

 

 

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 Two years ago was the Zags year. LAst year they advanced way further than people expected and they had to win the WCC to just get in the thing. 

I think Gonzaga will be good next year but it’s largely dependent on how quickly their freshman provide good minutes and how those transfers play. 

If Jordan Matthews grad transfers there, that helps them in a big way because Melson didn’t look like a starting caliber player last year. That would instantly give them a reputable shooter and help their overall depth. 

I don’t see a Final 4 team, mostly because there have been better Gonzaga teams that didn’t go to the Final 4 and its never happened for them but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a damn good team and go deep in the tourney. 

I’m mostly excited to see them play St. Mary’s. Both teams should be really solid next year. 

 

 

 

 

[Captain LParticipant]

 Gonzaga is almost always a good team and I don’t see why they won’t be again this year but they could be challenged by BYU this yr and especially the year after, BYU has most of their top 100 players back off of missions and depending on how long it takes them to get in shape and back into game shape etc BYU could be the team to beat in the WCC and advance deep into the tournament. Top 100 players returning, Emery ( last yr ) , this yr , Mica, Haws, Dastrup, Childs and several other good young players.

[Captain LParticipant]

 Gonzaga is almost always a good team and I don’t see why they won’t be again this year but they could be challenged by BYU this yr and especially the year after, BYU has most of their top 100 players back off of missions and depending on how long it takes them to get in shape and back into game shape etc BYU could be the team to beat in the WCC and advance deep into the tournament. Top 100 players returning, Emery ( last yr ) , this yr , Mica, Haws, Dastrup, Childs and several other good young players.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Collins, Norvell and Tillie are a very underrated recruiting class and I expect them to make a big impact on the college level and be household names. Mark Few has done more with less and doesn’t have a problem with playing freshman as long as they are productive. I believe all three are ready to play in the WCC and make an impact. I would say top 5 is a stretch but top 10 is reasonable.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Collins, Norvell and Tillie are a very underrated recruiting class and I expect them to make a big impact on the college level and be household names. Mark Few has done more with less and doesn’t have a problem with playing freshman as long as they are productive. I believe all three are ready to play in the WCC and make an impact. I would say top 5 is a stretch but top 10 is reasonable.

[llperez]

Top 5 is really pushing it. They weren’t top 25 last year and they lose their by far two best players.

[llperez]

Top 5 is really pushing it. They weren’t top 25 last year and they lose their by far two best players.

[Anton123Participant]

Thanks for the input, guys. I agree with most of what you said, I totally agree that for them top be a top 5-10 team all the pieces would have to fall into the right places: Nigel Williams-Goss plays great, all players improve, the recruiting class surpasses expectations. 

To be honest, the title was more of an attention grabber, wanted more people to read and give their thoughts on the subject. I am always fascinated by Gonzaga teams for some reason. They are always constructed by a combination of transfers and under-the-radar recruiting and have an team that is interesting to watch basically every year. 

Thanks again for reading. I hope to make more such posts in the future, I love writing and basketball and would like to try myself a bit more at combining the two. 

[Anton123Participant]

Thanks for the input, guys. I agree with most of what you said, I totally agree that for them top be a top 5-10 team all the pieces would have to fall into the right places: Nigel Williams-Goss plays great, all players improve, the recruiting class surpasses expectations. 

To be honest, the title was more of an attention grabber, wanted more people to read and give their thoughts on the subject. I am always fascinated by Gonzaga teams for some reason. They are always constructed by a combination of transfers and under-the-radar recruiting and have an team that is interesting to watch basically every year. 

Thanks again for reading. I hope to make more such posts in the future, I love writing and basketball and would like to try myself a bit more at combining the two. 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 You should post more.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 You should post more.

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 totes agree with OhCanada

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 totes agree with OhCanada

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