Julian Strawther coming back to Gonzaga for junior season

Before the Wednesday night deadline for the NBA Draft, Strawther announced that he'd be removing his name from the pool and coming back to Spokane

Strawther initially declared for the draft as an early entry candidate in mid-April, but announced he'd be returning to GU on Twitter Wednesday. 

Two out of three is more than just not bad for Gonzaga men’s basketball fans, it’s probably music to their ears. With Julian Strawther now returning for his junior season at GU as he announced on Twitter and Instagram Wednesday, the Zags have two of their three starting guards from last season back in Spokane.

Strawther, a guard/forward from Las Vegas, was the second of five GU players to announce that he entered his name into the 200 NBA Draft pool back on April 18. He was coming off his second season at GU where his minutes burgeoned in a starting role and he averaged 11.8 points per game and 5.3 rebounds on 49.6% field goal shooting.

The former ESPN top-100 recruit was one of four Zags to receive an invite to the 2022 NBA Draft Combine where he was listed as a small forward. There in Brooklyn, Strawther measured 6-foot-7 in shoes with a 6-foot-9.5 wingspan, and came in first in the lane agility drill. Strawther didn’t participate in the scrimmages at the combine.

Strawther joins Rasir Bolton as the second GU player to announce their return to Spokane next season after initially weighing the draft process. Both guards made their decisions within 48 hours of the Wednesday night deadline for all 2022 NBA early draft candidates to decide whether to keep or remove their name from the draft pool.

The third GU guard from last season to announce that he was entering the draft was Andrew Nembhard, who after declaring for the third time in his collegiate career, has become ineligible to return to college, meaning that at least one of the starting guard roles will be up for grabs. 

Drew Timme is the last Zag with their name in the draft pool to officially declare whether they’re staying or going, with the deadline being 8:59 p.m. PST Wednesday.