How does Gonzaga’s star duo of Braden Huff, Massamba Diop rank against the nation’s best frontcourts?

Gonzaga men’s basketball has prided itself on its frontcourt over the past decade. From towering giants like Przemek Karnowski to fluid, athletic bigs like Jonathan Williams, Zach Collins, Killian Tillie, and Brandon Clarke to game-breaking scorers and playmakers like Domantas Sabonis, Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren, and Graham Ike, Zags fans have been blessed to see a myriad of bigs operate in different but successful ways over the past 10-plus years.

Now enter the 2026-27 starting frontcourt — Braden Huff and Massamba Diop. Huff perfectly exemplifies a Gonzaga big man, a homegrown 6-10 senior forward who’s blossomed within the system for a couple of years before his big breakout last season (17.8 points in 18 games). And Diop, the hyper-athletic sophomore Arizona State transfer who looms at 7-1, swallows up feeble attempts at the rim on defense, and doesn’t get enough credit for what he did on the offensive end as a freshman last year (13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds).

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While Huff has become a favorite for the new Pac-12’s first Player of the Year award in the dawn of its second era, Diop has become a fascination in the Lilac City for his potential as an athletic lob threat for a heavy pick-and-roll offense while being a constant shadow on defense. Having the conference POTY candidate and a potential lottery pick in the 2027 NBA Draft in the same frontcourt should be as exciting as it sounds. While the regular season still hangs in the balance with the Nov. 2 date approaching against Purdue, here’s how Gonzaga’s frontcourt ranks amongst the best in college basketball (and will be updated throughout the season).

To me, seven frontcourts around the country stand out from the rest prior to the season. Some are harder to rank at this point because of transfers, injuries, or incoming freshmen. Surely these rankings will hold up against the test of time during the year!

Note: Didn’t include Chauncey Wiggins and Izan Almansa for Gonzaga because of eligibility issues.

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Publish date : 2026-10-16 02:52:00

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