Way-too-early polls come to consensus that Gonzaga could enter 2024-25 as top-10 team

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Apr. 10—If the last basketball season was about exceeding expectations for Gonzaga, the next one could be all about delivering on them.

It’s far too early to project how college basketball rosters will transform over the next three months, let alone predict what they’ll look like in October, but that hasn’t stopped national analysts and reporters from taking a stab with preseason polls that went live just hours after — or in one case, hours before — Monday’s national championship game between UConn and Purdue.

As of Wednesday morning, none of the 1,400-plus college basketball players who’d entered the NCAA transfer portal came from Mark Few’s roster and most media outlets came to the consensus that Gonzaga’s cast of projected returners — Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman and Ben Gregg among them — will overshadow the loss of do-it-all forward Anton Watson, allowing the Bulldogs to enter the season as nothing worse than a top-10 team.

Of the 11 way-too-early polls consulted to get a sense of how pundits feel about Gonzaga’s chances in 2024-25, three — ESPN, The Athletic and 247Sports — listed the Bulldogs at No. 2 in the country, and many of the others included them in the top 10.

“Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike form one of the best inside-outside duos in the country, and Mark Few will also welcome Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi and welcome back former Eastern Washington transfer Steele Venters — who missed this past season with injury — to provide added perimeter pop,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote.

Two of the three websites featuring Gonzaga at No. 2 came to a consensus that Duke, led by top recruit Cooper Flagg, would open the season as the No. 1 team in the country. The third, 247Sports.com, gave the nod to Kansas, which lost 89-68 to the Zags in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.

“Yeah, Gonzaga is very well-positioned to succeed, and that’s before even getting to (Braden) Huff, who we believe has legitimate star potential in college basketball,” The…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/way-too-early-polls-come-020100968.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-04-11 02:01:00

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