Gonzaga anticipates impact from Luka Krajnovic: 'He can really help us'

Krajnovic has played for Croatia’s U18 teams the past two summers

Gonzaga men's basketball coach Mark Few and his assistants bolstered their backcourt by signing Croatian guard Luka Krajnovic to a financial aid agreement.

Krajnovic, an incoming freshman, announced his commitment to Gonzaga on his Instagram account.

"Happy and proud to become a part of the Gonzaga family. GO ZAGS," Krajnovic captioned a picture of himself wearing a No. 3 Gonzaga jersey. 

Krajnovic averaged 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season for Bosco Zagreb in the Croatian Premier League. He received Most Improved Player of the Year and Second Team All-League. 

"Luka is a guard that can really help us," Few said. "He is versatile and has decent size. He also had good experiences playing against older guys back home in Croatia."

With a 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame, Krajnovic's role as a taller shooting guard adds a new dimension to Gonzaga's mostly undersized backcourt lineup. Many expect the Zags to start 6-foot Ryan Nembhard, a transfer from Creighton, alongside 6-foot-2 Nolan Hickman, last season's starting point guard.

Krajnovic also brings an effective scoring repertoire, making 58.4% of his shots from inside the arc, 35.4% from 3-point range and 72.2% at the free-throw line during the 2022-23 season. 

Aside from Hickman and Nembhard, Krajnovic will compete for minutes with 6-foot-7 wing Steele Venters, who transferred from Eastern Washington. Venters is projected to start, replacing first-round NBA Draft pick Julian Strawther. 

Krajnovic and Venters are among several Zags who can play either guard, wing or forward. Gonzaga's other players with multi-positional potential include 6-foot-6 Dusty Stromer, 6-foot-8 Jun Seok Yeo and 6-foot-8 Marcus Adams. 

The starting frontcourt pairing will likely be fifth-year senior Anton Watson and Wyoming transfer Graham Ike. Ben Gregg, who returns as a redshirt junior, is expected to serve another season as the team's primary reserve big man.