How adversity brought Gonzaga’s roster ‘closer together’ last season: ‘We didn’t want to leave each other’

'I think some people forget that adversity brings you closer,' Gonzaga assistant coach R-Jay Barsh said.

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

There were moments this past season when the Gonzaga Bulldogs were a victim of their own success.

Each loss felt like it was under a giant microscope that was being viewed by skeptical outsiders. One of the winningest programs over the past decade had suffered its fifth loss of the season on Jan. 11, a 77-76 loss in the final seconds to Santa Clara — which hadn’t beaten Gonzaga in 26 straight head-to-head meetings dating back to 2011. Some notable bracketology experts had taken the Zags out of their 68-team field projections following the Broncos loss, based on the fact that Saint Mary’s had a firm grasp on the West Coast Conference regular season title and there weren’t many quality games on the schedule outside of road games at Kentucky, San Francisco and the Gaels.

It all changed in mid-January. Ben Gregg provided a much-needed spark in the starting lineup. Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike developed a strong connection in the pick-and-roll game, which opened up a lot of opportunities for Nolan Hickman to play in space on the perimeter. As things began to gel, the wins started adding up. 

“I think some people forget that adversity brings you closer. And we faced that this year,” Gonzaga assistant coach R-Jay Barsh said. “We faced some criticism that forced us to be closer together.”

The Zags won 14 of their last 16 games heading into the NCAA Tournament and ultimately reached the program’s ninth straight Sweet 16 after some experts had been skeptical of their postseason chances just weeks earlier. 

The bonds and relationships that were formed throughout the ups and downs of the 2023-24 season paved the way for a big reunion next fall. Made official through a social media post, 10 returners are rostered for the 2024-25 season, including seven of the team’s top eight scorers. In an era where player movement is at an all-time high, there were no last-minute portal entries or declarations for the NBA Draft coming out of Spokane. 

“In that closeness, guys kind of have a mutual respect for, we’re not done,” Barsh said. “So it wasn’t this, re-recruiting plan. It was literally, life happened to us, put us in a cave where we all had to figure it out together, and when we looked up we didn’t want to leave each other.”

“I think [the players] looked around the country and saw that everybody was selling something, but what they’re selling may not be true," Barsh said. "And the reality of where they're at [Gonzaga] was really good."

Barsh shared his thoughts on what makes Gonzaga special, the thing that surprised him most about head coach Mark Few and much more, on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE BELOW:

Produced by Thomas Gallagher.

FOLLOW GONZAGA NATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Instagram and Twitter @FanNationZags.