Gonzaga’s Graham Ike named preseason All-American by Sporting News

Bulldogs senior forward was tabbed to Sporting News’ preseason All-America team for the second consecutive season

Gonzaga senior forward Graham Ike. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Sporting News named Gonzaga men’s basketball forward Graham Ike to its preseason All-America second team on Monday.

The 6-foot-9 redshirt senior led the Bulldogs in scoring last season at 16.5 points and was second in rebounds with 7.4 per game. Once he found his footing around the midseason mark, Ike played like one of the best back-to-the-basket centers in the country down the stretch. His 123.0 offensive rating was second-best in the country behind Purdue’s Zach Edey (128.8), per KenPom.com. 

Ike also became the sixth player in West Coast Conference history to lead the league in both points (18.4) and field goal percentage (64.0%) in conference-only games.

Featured alongside Ike on Sporting News’ second team was fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson from Kansas, 7-foot-1 senior Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton, Iowa State junior guard Tamin Lipsey and Purdue’s Braden Smith. Three preseason AP All-Americans headlined Sporting News’ first team: Alabama’s Mark Sears, Duke’s Cooper Flagg and North Carolina’s RJ Davis were accompanied by 6-foot-5 senior Cam Jones from Marquette and UConn’s Alex Karaban.

Former Gonzaga and current Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis was tabbed to the third team. Sallis put up 18.0 points per game and shot 40.5% from 3-point range with the Demon Deacons last season.

Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe, a five-star recruit whom Gonzaga had to face on the opening night of the college basketball season, as well as Arizona’s Caleb Love, Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV and Johni Broome from Auburn, rounded out the third team.

Sporting News was the third major outlet to feature Ike on one of its All-America teams, joining The Athletic and Blue Ribbon Yearbook. The All-WCC forward was also named to separate preseason watch lists for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award.

Ike helped fuel the Bulldogs in the second half of their 101-63 victory over No. 8 Baylor with 11 second-half points and some solid play defensively against Orchard Omier. He finished with nine points and grabbed four rebounds in Gonzaga's 88-80 win over Arizona State.

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