Gonzaga’s Graham Ike named to The Athletic’s preseason All-America team

All-WCC forward earned a spot on The Athletic’s preseason All-American second team ahead of 2024-25 campaign

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) gets hyped up with his team before their exhibition game at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. / Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gonzaga men’s basketball forward Graham Ike was named to The Athletic’s preseason All-American second team which was revealed Monday.

The 6-foot-9 redshirt forward was one of the most productive and skilled low-post bigs in the country to end the 2023-24 campaign, averaging 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 71.5% at the rim, per hoop-math.com. According to KenPom.com, Ike’s 123.0 offensive rating was second-best in the country behind Zach Edey (128.8). Ike was also just the sixth player in West Coast Conference history to lead the league in both scoring and field goal percentage in the same season (conference games only).

“Blame the ‘East Coast bias’ for Ike not getting the national attention he deserves,” wrote The Athletic’s Brendan Marks. “But as the centerpiece of another loaded, top-10 Zags squad, we cannot ignore the 6-9, 250-pound forward’s production or his development into arguably the best back-to-the-basket big in the country.”

Ike did earn All-American honorable mention honors from the Associated Press at the end of last season, though Marks might have a valid point in regard to his “East Coast bias” theory. 

CBS Sports ranked the All-WCC forward at No. 52 in its top 100 and 1 player rankings going into the season, which was notably lower than six freshmen on the list who’ve yet to play a minute of college hoops in their lives. Duke’s Cooper Flagg appears poised to be the No. 1 pick in next summer’s draft, though in a landscape that’s still dominated by older players, it’s hard envisioning all six newcomers having “better” seasons than Ike will with the Zags.

The AP left Ike off it’s preseason All-American team heading into 2024-25, though he did make his way onto Blue Ribbon Yearbook’s All-American third team, in addition to The Athletic’s second team. The league's coaches also tabbed him to the preseason All-WCC team. 

Alabama graduate guard Mark Sears headlined The Athletic’s first team, which also featured North Carolina guard RJ Davis, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Kam Jones from Marquette and Flagg. All those players were featured on the AP’s preseason team except for Jones, who also earned preseason All-Big East first-team honors earlier this week after finishing fourth in the league in scoring last season at 17.2 points per game.

The preseason Big East Player of the Year, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and UConn’s Alex Karaban were named to The Athletic’s six-person second team, along with Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Love from Arizona, Purdue’s Braden Smith and Ike.

Bulldogs point guard Ryan Nembhard was among the 10 players who just missed the cut, as the senior received three second-team votes. The All-WCC guard was also named to the preseason watchlist for the Bob Cousy Award.