Jun Seok Yeo’s path to playing time for Gonzaga in 2024-25

Gonzaga forward will need to provide energy and hustle to earn solid minutes in Mark Few's rotation

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Mark Few has quite a logjam at the small forward position next season.

It’s a good problem to have considering the talent at the position: Michael Ajayi, a 6-foot-7 All-WCC wing who led the West Coast Conference in scoring; Steele Venters, a sharpshooter and former Big Sky Conference Player of the Year; and Dusty Stromer, a former four-star recruit who started 15 games as a freshman. Not to mention 6-foot-5 grad transfer Khalif Battle and 6-foot-5 defensive specialist Emmanuel Innocenti could see minutes on the perimeter in certain situations, as both possess enough versatility to give Few that option.

Depth certainly won’t be a concern this season for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Though with so many mouths to feed, it begs the question of what role Jun Seok Yeo will serve in his second (technically third) season with the program. The 6-foot-8 Korean forward played sparingly for the Zags down the stretch of the 2023-24 season, his first experience of college basketball in the U.S., while having to adapt his style of play within a more team-orientated construct.

Yeo had his moments early in the nonconference portion of the season. In the first start of his career against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, he shot 4-of-6 from the field and recorded 10 points to go with four rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Yeo logged a season-high 23 minutes a week later against Mississippi Valley State and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to finish with six points.

As the season progressed, Yeo’s opportunities came few and far between. After playing in all 13 nonconference games, he appeared in 10 of Gonzaga’s 16 league games and averaged 6.0 minutes in those outings (down from 8.0 in non-league play). Yeo didn’t play in either of the team’s two WCC Tournament games.

“He wasn’t ever able to take advantage of his opportunities early,” Dan Dickau said on an episode of Talking Zags. “He’s got the tools … but he didn’t take advantage of it yet.” 

Indeed Yeo’s physicals indicate he can compete at the college level. He’s 6-foot-8 and weights 215 pounds. But to earn meaningful minutes as a junior, Yeo’s mental awareness and basketball IQ have to complement what he brings to the game as an athlete. 

Yeo has room to make considerable strides, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, where he sometimes found himself out of position or just a step behind where he needed to be. With more reps over the summer, pickup games and practice, those errors come few and far between. Understanding positioning, when and when not to play help side defense and how to play physically without fouling can help earn Yeo more minutes. 

Offensively, those within Gonzaga’s walls understand what Yeo can do when he has freedom with the ball in his hands. This a player who once led the FIBA U-19 World Cup in scoring at 25.6 points per game. But with so many teammates who are gifted scorers in their own right, Yeo can stand out with his energy and hustle for loose balls, rebounds and as a defender in order to stay on the floor longer.

Yeo has the skill set to score, clearly, but if he’s not asked to step in and be one of the team’s top contributors on offense, that won’t prevent him from excelling in the little areas like screening hard, crashing the glass and deflecting passes on defense. Stromer earned himself minutes as a freshman by doing some of the dirty work in his time off the bench. Yeo isn’t the same player, but that doesn’t exclude him from being able to contribute in a similar manner.

Yeo faces a unique sense of pressure as the only Korean player in Division-I men’s basketball. His following was present at nearly every road game in WCC play. On top of adjusting to life as a U.S. college student, Yeo faced plenty of obstacles that most domestic players don’t have to go through in their first season.

That pressure likely won’t go away, but at least Yeo has had a year to manage everything. Good habits, both on and off the court, go a long way for a player in his position. With some more time, Yeo can develop into the player that fans dreamed of ever since he committed to Gonzaga in January 2023.