Gonzaga's 2024-25 team is 'loaded at every position’

Former Gonzaga guard Eric McClellan thinks the Bulldogs "have the best big in the country"

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

On paper, it’s hard to find a hole on the Gonzaga men’s basketball roster. 

That’s mainly to do with the fact that there weren’t many holes to plug anyway, as seven of the top eight scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 team are back for another run. With a majority of the core back, Mark Few and the Bulldogs coaching staff sought to diversify the rotation with skillsets and player types they previously didn’t have on the roster.

So, in came Pepperdine transfer and All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi, a 6-foot-7 multi-level scorer who’s also athletic and willing to crash the glass. Grad transfer Khalif Battle from Arkansas adds some scoring pop after averaging 29.6 points in his final seven games of 2023-24. Emmanuel Innocenti, a 6-foot-5 guard from Tarleton State, complements the backcourt as a defensive specialist who was WAC All-Defense and WAC All-Freshman.

With All-WCC selections Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Graham Ike back, as well as Ben Gregg, Dusty Stromer, Braden Huff and Jun Seok Yeo, the Zags are poised to be ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 preseason poll.

“They have the best big in the country. They have one of the most tenured point guards in the country. They’re loaded at every position,” former Gonzaga guard Eric McClellan said of the 2024-25 Zags. “I mean they’re athletic, they’re long, they can shoot. They’re gonna play with pace. They’re gonna defend at a high level. They have guys that have the ability to switch from the big spot. They have guys that can guard multiple positions. So I’m looking forward to what they can accomplish this year.”

Having an abundance of immense talent on the roster can be a double-edged sword for whoever holds it, though.

“The only issue I see with this team really - which is one of those good problems - is that there’s only one basketball,” McClellan said. “And there’s a lot of high-level basketball players here.”

McClellan, who played 54 games at Gonzaga and was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2016, knows a thing or two about playing alongside some of the most talented players in the country. Two-time All-NBA big man Domantas Sabonis, as well as Kyle Wiltjer and Kevin Pangos, went on to play in the association. Many of McClellan’s other teammates (Pzremek Karnowski, Kyle Dranginis, Gary Bell to name a few) played professionally overseas, though during their time in Spokane, it was about team success over individual success.

“Kevin [Pangos], he was an All-American that year, but he sacrificed … Gary [Bell], a four-year starter, one of the best basketball players I know, he sacrificed tremendously for guys like Kyle [Wiltjer] and Byron [Wesley],” McClellan said. “I’m interested to see how [the coaching staff] divides up the minutes but again, that’s one of the problems that [Gonzaga] will figure out.”

McClellan shared his thoughts on the new-look Bulldogs, his new role as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic and so much more, on a new episode of Gonzaga Nation.

WATCH THE FULL ERIC MCCLELLAN EPISODE:

Produced by Thomas Gallagher.

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