How Mark Few rebuilt Gonzaga’s roster after losing 12 players

Mark Few is in Springfield, Mass, getting inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, an entirely deserved honor for a coach who turned the Gonzaga Bulldogs into a college basketball powerhouse over the last quarter century.

Few hasn’t had much time to celebrate, however, as he continues to find ways to keep the Zags among the top teams in the country. Gonzaga lost 12 players from last year’s 31-4 team, yet Few and the coaching staff have rebuilt the roster into one that is expected to compete for a Pac-12 title and potentially make another run to the Final Four.

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Few has used nearly every avenue of roster construction possible this offseason – recruiting, the transfer portal, international recruiting, and recently the newly available fifth-year seniors – putting together a squad that is still one starting-caliber point guard away from being truly complete.

Where’d everyone go?

Former Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Photo by Myk Crawford

To evaluate how this roster came together, first let’s look at how it came apart. When Gonzaga’s season ended at the hands of Sean Miller and the Longhorns, five players were immediately out of eligibility: All-American forward Graham Ike, wings Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster, guard Adam Miller, and walk-on Noah Haaland.

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None of those five were eligible to return even after lawsuits granted eligibility to seniors looking for a fifth year, since all of them redshirted or missed a season medically during their careers.

In addition to five departing seniors, Gonzaga also saw six players from last year’s team enter the transfer portal and land at another Division 1 program: Emmanuel Innocenti (Arizona State), Steele Venters (Washington), Braeden Smith (Notre Dame), Ismaila Diagne (San Francisco), Cade Orness (Mount St Mary’s) and Joaquim ArauzMoore (High Point).

Last – but certainly not least – was Gonzaga’s loss of freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who was widely expected to be a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mark-few-rebuilt-gonzagas-roster-021500053.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-16 02:15:00

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