Graham Ike played at 'All-American level' during first season at Gonzaga

Ike was dominant in the WCC, including a stretch of seven consecutive 20-point performances

Graham Ike averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first season at Gonzaga. / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Graham Ike came to Gonzaga with big shoes to fill.

No one expected Ike to match Drew Timme’s output, but many were hopeful he’d replicate his sophomore season at Wyoming in which he averaged nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds for an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. Those efforts earned the 6-foot-9 forward the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year honor before a foot injury forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 season.

Gonzaga brought Ike along slowly to start, being very cognizant of the fact he hadn’t played organized ball in roughly 18 months. He played 22 minutes per game in nonconference, never logging more than 31 minutes on the court through the first 13 games of the season. Along with conditioning, he had to adjust to a new offense while playing alongside new teammates, many of whom had to learn on the fly as well, while competing against some of the best bigs in college basketball right out of the gate.

Once the training wheels came off, though, and he developed chemistry with Ryan Nembhard, few teams could matchup one-on-one in the post. Along with some improvements on the defensive end, Ike’s impact in the paint propelled the offense to new heights down the latter portion of the season. Arguably deserving of the West Coast Conference Player of the Year award, Ike’s historic run in league play saw him become the sixth player in WCC history to lead the league in both points and field goal percentage in conference games. 

Overall, Ike put up 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He had 15 20-point games including a stretch of seven straight 20-point outings, the longest streak by a Gonzaga player since Adam Morrison in the 2005-06 season. Ike also shot 60.9% from the field.

Here’s an analysis of Ike's first season with Gonzaga.

WHAT WENT WELL

Arguably the only player who was more dominant than Ike inside the arc over the final two months of the season was Zach Edey, the now two-time reigning National Player of the Year. In fact, Ike posted the second-best offensive rating in the country according to KenPom, behind Edey of course, in large part because he was near unstoppable in the paint. Per hoop-math, Ike shot 71.5% at the rim and posted a 64.8% true-shooting percentage.

“Once [Ike] started understanding to get deeper post touches, he was playing at an All-American level,” Morrison said. “I thought he was a legitimate candidate [to win] player of the year in the West Coast Conference.”

A switch flipped for Ike following his quiet 5-point game in the loss to UConn in December. From that point forward, he demanded the ball on the low block, not 15 feet away from the hoop like he sometimes settled for early on in the season. Not only did the low-post touches help Ike, it set up his teammates out on the perimeter when opponents tried to send double teams.

Gonzaga finished the season fifth in offensive efficiency and seventh in 2-point field goal percentage per KenPom. It scored 58.7% of its total points on 2-pointers, the ninth-highest rate in the country, and had the sixth-best effective field goal percentage as well. Ike’s play in the post had a lot to do with the high-efficiency ratings.

“I think if he can go into next year understanding deeper post touches, obviously work on his outside shot, that’s going to help everybody,” Morrison said. 

WHAT HE CAN IMPROVE ON

Being able to switch screens and defend guards out on the perimeter is a common theme shared among Gonzaga bigs who eventually went on to play in the NBA. The 2018-19 team (Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke) and to an extent the 2021-22 squad with Chet Holmgren had the luxury of big men who could guard multiple positions in a single possession. That kind of versatility on the defensive end is almost a necessity in the modern era of basketball, college and pro.

For Ike, improving his ability to guard in space will help him in pick-and-roll situations on the defensive end of the floor as a senior in 2024-25. He showed growth in this department over the course of the season with hard hedges and switches at times. With some consistency, he’ll be a much-improved defender and perhaps stay further away from foul trouble.

Ike will likely garner more responsibility now that Anton Watson isn’t around to lock down the opponent’s biggest offensive threat. If the NBA is Ike’s goal, and the Zags want to take a step forward in 2024-25, then it’s important he builds off his strong finish this season and carry over the momentum into his senior year.

OFFSEASON EMPHASIS

The biggest key to Ike staying at the top of his game offensively and improving himself as a defender is through conditioning. Not having Watson around will put more weight on Ike to be that much more active on the defensive end of the floor. And even with Michael Ajayi and Steele Venters adding more firepower on the perimeter, the offense will still largely go through Ike on the low block.

The good news for Ike is he already has a head start on his conditioning compared to where he was a year ago. Now a full season removed from injury, he has a chance to hit the ground running next fall without the added stress of learning new schemes and building chemistry with his teammates from the ground up. Perhaps that’ll be enough for him to play more than 24.1 minutes per game and get him closer to the 31.6 minutes he played in 2021-22.

Watch the full season recap episode of Talking Zags on Gonzaga Nation's YouTube channel.