Should Gonzaga target Wyoming guard in the transfer portal?

After a loss to Houston in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs' attention now shifts to the transfer portal

Wyoming Cowboys guard Obi Agbim. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

While college basketball fans around the country put off work obligations and find the nearest TV to watch the NCAA Tournament this March, the coaching staffs who are participating in the single-elimination event will be keeping an eye on any significant player movement going on elsewhere.

With the 2025 NCAA Tournament in full swing, a handful of teams outside the field of 68 are already experiencing roster turnover. The transfer portal opened on March 24, though some players who aren't dancing in the tournament already made their intentions clear — perhaps just in case a contending team wants to open up a recruiting process while in the middle of a postseason run.

Graham Ike's journey to Gonzaga started off in a similar manner. The Bulldogs' coaching staff held a Zoom meeting with the former Wyoming transfer while they prepared for their upcoming opponent in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, though that was when the portal opened up closer to Selection Sunday, rather than a week later like this year's cycle.

The portal window has also shrunken from 45 to 30 days — a change that many college coaches asked for to provide some stability to the sport.

Who will the Zags look to target during this year's cycle? Especially with a handful of seniors set to depart this offseason, Mark Few and company will have to add depth at a few positions if they're to keep up with the other top-tier programs around the nation. The guard spot will likely need some retooling given that Ryan Nembhard, Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman all have expiring eligibility; Ben Gregg will leave a vacant spot in the frontcourt once he graduates this spring. It's still unclear whether Graham Ike or Michael Ajayi will return for another season.

If the Bulldogs are indeed in the market for a backcourt player, they might want to reach out to another player who attended Wyoming and grew up in Aurora, Colorado: Obi Agbim, a 6-foot-3 guard who earned All-Mountain West honors with the Cowboys in his first season of Division-I hoops.

Wyoming (12-20, 5-15 MWC) finished near the bottom of the league standings this season, though hardly to the fault of Agbim, who led the way in scoring at 17.6 points per game while shooting 46.9% from the field, including 43.7% from 3-point range (6.3 attempts per game). He dished out 3.4 assists, grabbed 3.2 rebounds and recorded 1.1 steals per game as well. The junior logged 34.4 minutes per game.

Prior to joining Wyoming, Agbim spent his first two seasons of college basketball at the sub-Division-I level. He played the 2020-21 season at Northeastern Junior College, a public community college located in Sterling, Colorado; followed by one year at Fort Lewis College, a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado.

Agbim was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year for his efforts, becoming the first player in program history to earn the honor since the 2000-01 campaign. Agbim, who announced his intentions to enter the portal earlier this week, is the No. 5-ranked transfer available according to 247Sports.com.

Here are some other names out of the West Coast Conference to track in the transfer portal.

Moe Odum, Pepperdine

Pepperdine Waves guard Moe Odum. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

6-foot-1 junior who averaged 13.1 ppg, 7.5 apg, 3.2 rpg; averaged 21.5 points and 9.3 assists during the Waves' four games in the WCC tournament. All-WCC freshman honors in 2022-23 with Pacific.

Will Johnston, Loyola Marymount

Loyola Marymount Lions guard Will Johnston (4). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

6-foot-3 senior who averaged 11.9 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.2 rpg; career 39.3% 3-point shooter (5.6 attempts per game).

Isaiah Watts, Washington State

Washington State Cougars guard Isaiah Watts (12). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

6-foot-3 sophomore who averaged 11.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 apg; Tied for No. 1 in the WCC with 1.7 steals per game.

Dragos Lungu, San Diego

San Diego Toreros guard Dragos Lungu (7) shoots the basketball against Santa Clara Broncos forward Camaron Tongue (21) and guard Tyeree Bryan (1). / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

6-foot-6 sophomore who averaged 3.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.6 apg in seven appearances; scored season-high 12 points against Portland State on Nov. 12.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Gonzaga's Dusty Stromer enters transfer portal

• Heartbreaking end for the Zags: 3 takeaways from Gonzaga’s loss to No. 1 seed Houston in March Madness

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after loss vs. Houston in NCAA Tournament

• Houston's Kelvin Sampson after NCAA Tournament win vs. Gonzaga: 'They were not an 8-seed'

• Gonzaga Bulldogs come up short to Houston Cougars in NCAA Tournament