PROVO — The Gonzaga basketball program attained national powerhouse status quite a while ago.
The Zags’ accomplishments the past two decades are well-documented, including eight straight West Coast Conference championships, two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances, and an appearance in the national championship game in 2017 under coach Mark Few.
Gonzaga has been ranked in every final Associated Press poll since the 2008-09 season.
Pretty much everybody is projecting the Zags as a preseason top 10 program once again going into the 2020-21 season.
BYU finished second to Gonzaga last season in the WCC standings but defeated the No. 2 Zags on Feb. 22 at the Marriott Center, 91-78. In nine seasons as members of the WCC, the Cougars have never won the league championship.
BYU lost seven seniors from last year’s team that finished No. 18 in the final AP poll, including stars Yoeli Childs, TJ Haws and Jake Toolson.
Still, coach Mark Pope has assembled an impressive roster, including the signing of grad transfers Matt Haarms (Purdue) and Brandon Averette (Utah Valley University). The Cougars also return Alex Barcello, Connor Harding, Kolby Lee and Gavin Baxter and while welcoming highly touted freshman Caleb Lohner.
On the day that Pope was hired in April 2019, he was asked about the Zags’ dominance.
“How can we build the greatest product that we can possibly build at BYU? We spend a lot of time focused internally. When you’re as relentless in developing your players as we are, it takes all your focus,” he said. “Everything is focused inward, way more than chasing some group out there. Certainly, we want to go beat the Zags and everybody else in the WCC and everybody else in the country. I’m not sure if that’s realistic, but that’s what we want to do and that’s what we’re chasing. What coach Few has done is something nobody believed he could do.”
That’s right, dethroning Gonzaga isn’t an easy task.
On Monday, news broke that reigning WCC Player of the Year Filip Petrusev isn’t returning to Spokane. He’s signing a professional contract with a team in his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia, Mega Bemax.
“For all his strengths, in some ways the Zags make more sense without (Filip) Petrusev than with him. It’s a strange situation, to be sure. But this is what happens when you’re in the sort of elevated program territory where Gonzaga now finds itself.” — Eamonn Brennan, The Athletic
But the Zags are so loaded with talent they are still considered a national championship contender without Petrusev.
Gonzaga’s projected starting five next season features forwards Drew Timme and Corey Kispert; guards Joel Ayayi and Jalen Suggs; and 6-foot-10 center Oumar Ballo.
Both Ayayi and Kispert are planning to go through the NBA draft process, so there’s a chance that they could forgo their remaining eligibility.
Newcomers expected to make an impact for the Zags include Suggs, Dominick Harris, Aaron Cook (a transfer from Southern Illinois) and Julian Strawther.
Gonzaga checks in at No. 3 in the NBCSports.com’s preseason poll.
“The Zags should once again be a powerhouse next season, but they are still waiting on a couple of draft decisions. Their star freshman guard is Jalen Suggs, who would be a perfect fit next to Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert on Gonzaga’s perimeter if both return to school,” wrote Rob Dauster of NBC Sports. “As much as I like Ayayi as a player, I’m not sure he’s going to be drafted this year. Kispert doesn’t have much else that he can prove at the college level and has a real chance to be an early-to-mid second round pick. Gonzaga’s frontcourt is going to be absolutely loaded even without Filip Petrusev because Drew Timme and Oumar Ballo both have WCC Player of the Year upside. Throw in a healthy Anton Watson, and the Zags should be loaded again.”
Yes, even without Petrusev, it appears that it’s business as usual for Gonzaga.
“For all his strengths, in some ways the Zags make more sense without Petrusev than with him. It’s a strange situation, to be sure. But this is what happens when you’re in the sort of elevated program territory where Gonzaga now finds itself,” Eamonn Brennan of The Athletic wrote this week. “Year after year, good players show up. Year after year, they get better. Sometimes, your roster is so overflowing with assets that you can’t find enough time on the basketball court for all of them. Sometimes, your best player leaves, and you wonder whether it might not just be a good thing after all.”