National expectations grow for Gonzaga’s Braden Huff and Massamba Diop

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have long dominated on the interior, a calling card of Mark Few’s teams dating back to Casey Calvary, Ronny Turiaf, and JP Batista 20+ years ago.

From those three to more modern stars like Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis, Brandon Clarke, Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme, and Graham Ike, Gonzaga almost always rosters one or two of the best frontcourt players in the entire country – and that remains the case in 2026-27.

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Returning forward Braden Huff and Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop were both named to their respective preseason watch lists for the Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Awards, given annually to the best power forward and center in the country.

Huff and Diop join Davis Fogle, who himself was nominated for the Julius Erving Award as the best small forward in the sport.

Braden Huff faces lofty expectations in final season

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Huff returns to Gonzaga for a fifth year, coming off an excellent season in 2025-26 that was unfortunately cut short when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-January.

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Through 18 games, Huff averaged 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds, and he has a clear path to a dominant senior season in Gonzaga’s paint touch heavy offense.

Huff is looking to become the second Zag to win the Karl Malone Award after Drew Timme took home the honors in 2021. His competition is very stiff, including Arkansas forward Miika Muurinen, preseason All-American David Mirkovic at Illinois, former All-American JT Toppin at Texas Tech, and fifth year seniors Malik Reneau (Miami) and Jaxon Kohler (BYU) among others.

Massamba Diop looks to make an immediate impact

Diop is Gonzaga’s third nominee, getting placed on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar list after an excellent freshman season last year at Arizona State.

Gonzaga Bulldogs center Massamba Diop. | Photo by Erik Smith

The 7’1 big man is an imposing presence down low thanks to his athleticism and shot blocking ability, although his…

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Publish date : 2026-10-30 20:59:00

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