How good can Gonzaga be next season? Dan Dickau thinks the Zags are a ‘Final Four-caliber’ team

Dickau believes the Bulldogs have enough talent, experience, versatility and depth to push for a national championship next season

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Mark Few has a lot to look forward to as he heads into his 26th season at the helm of theGonzaga men’s basketball program.

As some top programs around the country are building their rosters from scratch, the Bulldogs welcome back seven of their top eight scorers from a team fresh off a Sweet 16 appearance. Three All-WCC players in Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Graham Ike decided to return to Spokane rather than pursue the NBA Draft. No last-minute transfer portal entries from Ben Gregg, Braden Huff, Dusty Stromer or Jun Seok Yeo. Steele Venters, who missed last season with an ACL injury, is poised to make his Gonzaga debut a little over a year after he transferred from Eastern Washington.

“Guys could’ve put their name in the portal, could’ve gone searching for money, could’ve gone in a lot of different directions,” Dan Dickau said. “But all those guys decided to come back, trust the process, trust the growth of their individual games, trust the vision and what’s going to happen this year in picking up guys in the portal that will complement not only their games, but the team’s game to give them what they all hope is ultimately success.”

Coach Few added key pieces to the rotation through the transfer portal. All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi has the potential to start after putting up 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds at Pepperdine last season. Arkansas grad transfer Khalif Battle packs quite the scoring punch as a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 29.6 points in his last seven games with the Razorbacks. Complementing Battle and Ajayi’s scoring capabilities is Tarleton State transfer Emmanuel Innocenti, a 6-foot-5 defensive specialist who was named to both the WAC All-Defense and WAC All-Freshman teams.

Fans will have to wait to see Colgate transfer Braeden Smith in action, as the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year will redshirt next season after committing to the Zags in May. The Seattle native figures to take over point guard duties once Nembhard, Hickman and Battle graduate next spring.

As for the 2024-25 campaign, the Bulldogs are built for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

“Getting to a Final Four, getting to a national title game and winning it … I think this roster as it shapes up has enough talent and experience, versatility, depth,” Dickau said. “I think you can start talking like it’s a Final Four-caliber [team] already because of the guys that are returning and the guys that are joining the mix now.”

Dickau shared his thoughts on the Zags' transfer portal additions, the NCAA Tournament potentially expanding and much more on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

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Produced by Christian Pedersen.

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