Strategic transfer portal efforts helped Gonzaga add ‘different aspects,’ rebuild roster around returning core

Jun. 19—Mark Few will have plenty on his plate when he links up with Team USA in Las Vegas a few weeks from now to start preparations for the Summer Olympics, but the Gonzaga coach shouldn’t have many concerns about the state of his program back in Spokane as he begins an international tour that includes stops in Abu Dhabi and London before a late-July arrival in Paris.

Early projections featuring Gonzaga as a top-five team entering the 2024-25 college basketball season are largely based on the group’s returning core, but Few’s confidence in the team he’ll return to this August after wrapping up Olympic duties also stems from a transfer class that was strategically selected to fill in various gaps and holes.

“The best thing I think we did during this offseason was we added pieces that bring different aspects to the program that we don’t have,” Few said Tuesday during an availability with local media at McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Zags got to work in the transfer portal earlier than they ever have under Few, picking up a commitment from Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi on March 26 — roughly 72 hours before GU took on top-seeded Purdue in the Sweet 16 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Ajayi went through the NBA Draft process, and impressed as one of 78 players invited to the NBA Combine, but ultimately decided to put a career in professional basketball on the backburner and withdrew his name from the Draft just hours before the 9 p.m. PT deadline on May 29.

An athletic, high-upside wing from Kent who led the WCC in scoring (17.9 ppg) and finished second in rebounding (9.9 rpg) last season, Ajayi arrived in Spokane last week and has already gone through a handful of summer workouts with his new team.

“We had great communication, which is how those things really turn out the way they should whether they go or stay or whatever,” Few said. “We had great communication and he ended up making a good decision. Everyone was on the same page and he was able to get some great…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/strategic-transfer-portal-efforts-helped-020200304.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-06-20 02:02:00

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