Why it makes sense for Graham Ike to return to Gonzaga

Ike's led the Bulldogs in scoring since transferring from Wyoming in 2023

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior Graham Ike. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

When Graham Ike committed to play for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in March 2023 as a transfer from the Wyoming Cowboys, he arrived to fill the shoes once worn by program icon and Spokane legend, Drew Timme.

Two years later, after Ike heroically dropped 27 points on 8-for-13 from the field in a loss to the Houston Cougars in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, it's evident the 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward has embraced being Gonzaga's dominant, all-conference-caliber post player in a different manner compared to how his predecessor handled himself in the same role.

No one expected the soft-spoken Ike to carry himself like the more outgoing Timme did when he got to campus, nor was it fair to expect Ike to duplicate Timme's level of production. However, Ike's numbers in his final season with the Cowboys indicated he could contend for All-America honors if he played at that same level on a more competitive team. A season-ending leg injury in 2022 opened the door for Ike to find the right opportunity and allow his game to flourish, which led him on a path toward Mark Few and the Bulldogs.

Ike still wasn't 100% healthy heading into his debut with the Zags in 2023, though as he got his feet back under him over the course of the season, the Aurora, Colorado, native was playing like one of the best interior scorers in the country. Ike rattled off seven straight 20-point games —starting with a 23-point performance in a crucial win over the Kentucky Wildcats — to help guide the Zags to the NCAA Tournament and their ninth straight Sweet 16 appearance. Ike earned All-WCC first team honors in the process.

Even as the team's leading scorer, though, Ike has been implored to be more aggressive on the low block by his coaches at various points over the last two seasons. The Zags certainly needed the score-first mentality out of Ike in his first season with the team, and it showed: Gonzaga went 14-1 in games in which he scored 20 or more points.

Year two in Spokane featured a lot of familiar faces surrounding Ike, though with more mouths to feed after Khalif Battle and Michael Ajayi joined the ranks. Ike still paced the team in scoring, but he also understood when to take what the defense was giving him, which often led to more opportunities for his teammates. Ike finished with 14 20-point games in 2024-25, though the Bulldogs were actually better when he had less than 20 points (18-3) as opposed to when he went above that threshold (8-6). Granted his season-high of 28 points came in an overtime loss to the Wildcats in a game the Zags led by 18 at one point, and his 26-point outing against the Oregon State Beavers was so close to cashing in a win until Michael Rataj and company rallied down the stretch to steal a victory from Gonzaga in overtime.

March 11, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (13) hoists the Most Outstanding Player award after the game in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Ike's fourth year of college hoops saw him take him All-WCC honors again, as well as the WCC Tournament MVP award, but the Bulldogs came up short of their ultimate goal with a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. With four rotational players set to graduate and at least three more in the transfer portal, it's clear the Zags will look quite different in 2025-26. As such, retaining the talent that's currently on the roster will be key over the next few weeks for Few and company, and that includes bringing back Ike for a third season in Spokane.

If Ike exercises a fifth year that the NCAA would've granted for his season-ending injury in 2022, then it would make just as much sense for him to return to Gonzaga as it would for the Zags to welcome him back.

Coming off a season in which he's never felt more physically in-shape, Ike would have an opportunity to build off his 2024-25 campaign and have one last crack at boosting his draft stock before it's time to move onto the NBA level. And there aren't many places in the country that have been better at developing forwards and centers into pro-level talent than Gonzaga has been over the last decade. Time will tell who the coaching staff is able to land in the transfer portal, but either way Ike would come back as the focal point of the offense.

For the Zags, Ike's return would provide continuity in the frontcourt and quite the option for their next floor general, Braeden Smith, to find in the low-post. Given that Smith was with the team as a redshirt this past season, the two would have had ample opportunity to work on their pick-and-roll connection behind the scenes. Should Braden Huff come back as well, he and Ike would form one of the best frontcourt tandems in the nation.

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