Gonzaga's Emmanuel Innocenti brings much-needed defensive versatility to Bulldogs lineup: 2024-25 player preview

Sophomore wing from Italy will likely see the floor a lot in 2024-25 for his ability to wreak havoc on the defensive end

Cole Forsman | Nov 2, 2024

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

It didn’t take long for Emmanuel Innocenti to make a strong first impression in his unofficial debut with the Gonzaga men’s basketball team.

A few possessions into the blue-white scrimmage during Kraziness in the Kennel, the Tarleton State transfer managed to squeeze his way in between two Zags to break up a dribble-handoff, deflecting the pass into white’s backcourt before Innocenti could scoop up the loose ball for a breakaway dunk in transition. Though it was his only steal of the game, the 6-foot-5 guard’s constant ball pressure made life that much harder for his new teammates.

After blue took the lead late, Innocenti stepped up again, this time on the offensive end of the floor as he drained his lone 3-pointer of the night in the final seconds of the scrimmage to seal the win for white.

“He's been a real pleasant surprise for us,” Few said of Innocenti. “He's an incredible on-ball defender, bigger wing, which we didn't have in the past. So we'll have to see just if we can get him those type of minutes that makes it worthwhile.”

Innocenti, a native of Ranzanico, Italy, transferred to Gonzaga on May 15, just over a week after Few and the coaching staff landed a commitment from another 6-foot-5 guard in Arkansas grad transfer, Khalif Battle. With Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman back from last season, the Bulldogs’ backcourt room all of a sudden felt much more crowded in comparison to where it was this time a year ago. A redshirt year was not off the table for Innocenti when he arrived in Spokane, though already through the first few weeks of practice, the sophomore’s ability to wreak havoc defensively could make him an impact player from day one.

“He’s been playing so good, it'll be interesting to see if we can end up [playing him more minutes] because he's shot the ball really well from 3 in all our practices,” Few said of Innocenti. “Defensively his physical presence just gives us a totally different look.”

Here’s a look at Innocenti’s strengths, his offseason work, his NBA outlook and why he might play an important role in the Zags’ high-profile matchups in nonconference play this season.

STRENGTHS: ON-BALL DEFENSE, PLAYING FAST

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Innocenti’s nose for the ball and relentless pressure earned him WAC All-Defense honors — in addition to being named to the WAC All-Freshman — with the Texans, who ranked 20th in the country in steals per game with 8.8 last season. Innocenti had a lot do with Tarleton State’s success on that end of the floor, as he racked up the third-most total steals (59) and posted the fifth-best defensive win shares (2.2) in the conference. By comparison, Anton Watson led the Bulldogs with 53 steals during his fifth season of college basketball.

Innocenti, who was also top three in the WAC in defensive rebounds as a freshman, does not impact the game the same way that Watson once did for the Zags, but with the Spokane native now in the NBA, it’ll require a group effort on the defensive end of the floor to fill the void left by the 6-foot-8 forward. Innocenti can help by applying on-ball pressure and disrupting passing lanes.

Incredible individual efforts on defense, like the aforementioned play from Kraziness, can generate easy scoring opportunities in transition for Innocenti. For a Gonzaga program that historically likes to push the tempo, his athleticism on the break could lead to a lot of fastbreak points for the Bulldogs in 2024-25.

OFFSEASON WORK: 3-POINT SHOT

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Innocenti shot 30.8% (24-of-78) while attempting 2.2 attempts from 3-point range last season. Not the most efficient numbers by any means, despite sound shot mechanics and encouraging free-throw statistics, but none of that has wavered Innocenti’s confidence in his shot; five of his seven field goal attempts during Kraziness were from beyond the arc (1-of-5). When given space, he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger.

Accounting for all the skilled offensive players surrounding Innocenti, he should have his share of opportunities to capitalize off the playmaking prowess of Nembhard, the dribble penetration from Michael Ajayi and Battle, as well as Graham Ike’s captivating presence on the low block. In fact, don’t be surprised if Innocenti takes full advantage of slot cuts and cuts along the baseline this season. Similar to how Joel Ayayi impacted the game offensively with his basketball intelligence during his days at Gonzaga.

NBA OUTLOOK: POTENTIAL DRAFT PICK IN 2026 OR 2027

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When his college career is over, whenever that may be, Innocenti’s athleticism and defensive capabilities should bolster his draft stock significantly in the eyes of scouts and general managers. Offense gets the better of the doubt in the association, but that doesn’t mean teams have stopped valuing the other end of the floor altogether. Gonzaga’s latest NBA alum, Watson, made his way to the next level with the reputation of being a versatile defender, among other things, which is why the reigning champion Boston Celtics took him with the 54th overall pick in the most recent draft.

For someone like Innocenti, though, there’s an even greater emphasis as a guard to be able to knock down outside shots with some consistency at the pro level. Based on his free-throw numbers as a freshman (44-of-55, 80.0%), there’s reason to believe that with some time to work on his shot with Gonzaga’s coaching staff, Innocenti’s 3-point percentage will start to go up.

If that ends up being the case, Innocenti could grow into an intriguing NBA prospect over the course of his college career.

PREDICTION: SURPRISE PLAYER IN BIG MOMENTS

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For all that’s been made about Gonzaga’s offensive efficiency numbers over the last decade, its defense has quietly been ranked near the top 10 in the country since the school’s first Final Four appearance in 2017. However, the past two seasons have seen a slight dip — the Zags ranked 73rd in defensive efficiency in 2022-23, then checked in at No. 51 to finish the 2023-24 campaign. Call that the Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren effect.

While having future NBA talents certainly helps, those Gonzaga teams also had hard-nosed defenders like Watson up front and Ayayi in the backcourt for support. Few hasn’t had an on-ball defender like Innocenti for the past couple of seasons now, and since the redshirt idea was put on hold, there’s more incentive to find opportunities for him to play meaningful minutes in year one.