Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi seeks storybook ending to college basketball career: 2024-25 player preview

From being an overlooked high school recruit to perhaps a future NBA draftee, Michael Ajayi comes to Gonzaga in hopes of capturing the school's first national championship

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Four years ago, Michael Ajayi was a rising senior on the Kentwood High School boy’s basketball team without a single scholarship offer from a Division-I program.

After a massive growth spurt during the height of a global pandemic, followed by two years at the JUCO level, some standout performances at a notable pro-am in Seattle and a breakthrough season at Pepperdine, the Kent, Washington, native finds himself back in the Pacific Northwest, this time competing for a national championship and potentially his NBA future on a team led by a future Hall-of-Fame coach.

“It's been a crazy ride,” Ajayi said after making his unofficial Gonzaga debut during Kraziness in the Kennel. “I was very happy to see the fans. Now I'm on the opposite side; I was at Pepperdine last year, playing against [the Bulldogs]. And it's different when [the fans] are rooting against you.”

Ajayi’s introduction to the Kennel Club was at the Spokane Arena on Jan. 4, when he put up 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Waves’ 86-60 loss to the Zags in the West Coast Conference regular-season opener. Less than three months later, Ajayi entered his name into the transfer portal after then Waves head coach Lorenzo Romar was let go from his position. 

Romar was the first Division-I head coach to give Ajayi an opportunity to play at the highest level of men’s college basketball after the longtime Washington coach received word about a skillful late-bloomer from former Huskies point guard and NBA veteran, Isiah Thomas. Ajayi had been a star at Pierce Community College at that point, as he averaged 20.4 points and 11.3 rebounds while being named the 2022 Northwest Athletic Conference West Region's Most Valuable Player. His name didn’t resonate amongst most recruiting circles coming out of high school due to travel restrictions his senior year, though it didn’t take long before Ajayi became a well-known name in the WCC.

Ajayi led the league in points (17.2 per game) and was second in rebounds (9.9 per game) while shooting 47.0% from 3-point range. In just his fifth game playing Division-I hoops, Ajayi dropped 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against UNLV, which boasted a top-100 defense, and shot 12-of-18 from the field in the process. Despite the 14-point defeat, it was clear Romar found a diamond in the rough.

“The shotmaking you get and ability to iso him in the mid-post and at the elbows, helps a lot too,” Kentwood High School boy’s basketball coach Blake Solomon said of Ajayi to Gonzaga Nation in May. “But just the fact that he competes so hard and does dirty work stuff. I mean, he's gonna fit in next to whoever he's playing with.”

Another Pacific Northwest connection helped guide Ajayi back closer to home following his standout season at Pepperdine. Not long after the Waves’ loss to San Diego in the WCC Tournament, Ajayi received a call from Gonzaga assistant coach R-Jay Barsh, a native of Tacoma, Washington, and formerly the head coach at Tacoma Community College. There were schools from power conferences across the country in line for Ajayi as well, though he didn’t spend much time in the portal before he committed to Gonzaga right in the middle of its Sweet 16 run last March.

“I felt like [Gonzaga] was the place to be,” Ajayi told Gonzaga Nation in July. “Parents can come to all the games and Mark Few is a really great coach. He takes players to the next level and that’s where I want to be.” 

Here’s more on how Ajayi can reach his goal of making it to the NBA, as well as his strengths and offseason work, heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.

STRENGTHS: REBOUNDING, SHOTMAKING

Oct 5, 2024; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi (1) rebounds the ball during Kraziness at the Kennel at the McCarthey Athletic Center. / James Snook-Imagn Images

Gonzaga has had its share of highly-touted board snatchers over the years, though already through a few weeks of practices, Ajayi’s ability to maximize his 7-foot wingspan on the glass has stood out above the rest to Few and the coaching staff.

“He might be as good a rebounder as we've had quite a while,” Few said of Ajayi after he grabbed eight rebounds during the Kraziness scrimmage. “He really tracks the ball. He's just been killing it in practice on the glass.”

Ajayi ranked 12th in the country last season in defensive rebounding percentage (28.2%) per KenPom.com. He had 19 games with 10 or more total rebounds — Anton Watson and Graham Ike had that many 10-plus rebound games combined. Especially with the former now in the NBA, Ajayi’s length and hustle provide much-needed support in the rebounding department this season.

When he has the ball in his hands, Ajayi’s ability to create opportunities for himself in the midrange area adds another layer of depth to the Bulldogs’ already potent offense. He was also one of the better catch-and-shoot players in college basketball last season, as he ranked in the 98th percentile with a 71% effective field goal percentage on his catch-and-shoot attempts. 

“He's also a guy that kind of gets to his own shots,” Few said of Ajayi. “And when you’re playing those tough, hard-nosed games where it's just hard to find buckets and guys just got to make plays and make shots, I think he's somebody that can do that.” 

OFFSEASON WORK: LEARNING THE ROLE

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga knew it wouldn’t find a one-for-one replacement when it came to filling the void left by Watson, the program’s latest NBA alum who’s now with the Boston Celtics after being selected with the 54th overall pick this past NBA Draft. The Spokane native was Few’s problem solver on both ends of the floor for the majority of his five-year run with his hometown team, as Watson finished second all-time in steals and left the school as its third-winningest player ever. 

As much as Ajayi has the potential to impact the game in a similar way Watson did defensively with his length and athleticism, the main difference between the two, as Few noted, is their feel for the game. Watson was often used as the connecting piece to the puzzle on offense because of his high basketball IQ and decision-making process as a passer. Watson’s assists numbers weren’t off the charts, but he was especially effective at high-low entry passes to Drew Timme — a staple in Gonzaga’s offense over the years has been the connection between its frontcourt players.

“I feel like just me being a dog on the defensive end, grabbing boards on the offensive side, defensive side, obviously scoring and facilitating … just do a lot of everything you know,” Ajayi said of his role. “I know Anton is gone and I’m back and filling that position. So just … big shoes to fill and yeah, just trying to find my way into the offense more. I feel like I'm doing that and it's gonna be a good year.”

NBA OUTLOOK: SHADES OF KAWHI LEONARD

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Bulldogs have had a player selected in each of the last four NBA Drafts. Ajayi is reason enough to believe that streak will extend to five later this coming spring, as the senior forward is already appearing on multiple mock drafts following his performances and results from the NBA Draft Combine this past May. 

In addition to measuring in with a 7-foot wingspan, Ajayi posted a 34.5-inch max vertical and a 27.0-inch standing vertical at the combine. He stuffed the stat sheet in his first combine scrimmage — nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals — followed by 14 points and seven rebounds the following day.

“It was a great process, I learned a lot,” Ajayi said of the combine. “Just wanted to have my name out there more because I didn’t have that much buzz, so I just wanted to go into every workout and show GMs and coaches what I’m all about.”

Safe to say Ajayi accomplished that goal in no time. About a month after the combine, he checked in at No. 36 on a 2025 NBA mock draft from ESPN. The latest mocks from NBADraft.net (46th) and NBA Draft Room (59th) also project Ajayi going somewhere in the second round.

Ajayi earned the nickname “baby Kawhi” from former NBA veteran Jamal Crawford, likely due to their similar builds and ability to impact the game with their rebounding effort. Like Ajayi, Leonard was listed at 6-foot-7 coming out of San Diego State and weighed only one pound heavier than Ajayi's weight listed on Gonzaga’s official roster. Leonard’s 7-foot-3 wingspan trumps Ajayi’s, though Ajayi’s max vertical from this past combine was two inches better than Leonard, who was the 15th overall pick in the 2011 draft.

PREDICTION: ALL-WCC, 1ST ROUND NBA DRAFT PICK

Oct 5, 2024; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi (1) is introduced during Kraziness at the Kennel at the McCarthey Athletic Center. / James Snook-Imagn Images

Should Gonzaga take advantage of its most prominent opportunities during its nonleague schedule, it will be in part due to Ajayi’s ability to generate offense against stifling defenses. A lack of shot creation hindered the Bulldogs during stretches against UConn, Washington, San Diego State and Saint Mary’s last season. Along with Khalif Battle, Ajayi can help kickstart an offense with his shotmaking, similar to how Rui Hachimura could get to the free throw line for a pull-up jumper whenever he wanted. 

Some big performances in November and December could boost Ajayi’s draft stock heading into WCC play. Neutral site games against Kentucky (Seattle), UConn (New York) and UCLA (Inglewood, California) along with the Battle 4 Atlantis event and matchups with Baylor and Arizona State in Spokane, provide plenty of platforms in the regular season for Ajayi to show his game to a national audience. If he makes the most of his opportunities, he’ll hear his name called at the 2025 NBA Draft next spring, likely sooner than what most mocks have him at currently.