2021–22 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

2021–22 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
2021–22 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	West Coast Conference
Head coach	Mark Few (23rd season);
Assistant coaches	Brian Michaelson (9th season); Roger Powell Jr. (3rd season); Stephen Gentry (1st season);
Home arena	McCarthey Athletic Center
	Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Gonzaga †	13	–	1	.929	28	–	4	.875
No. 18 Saint Mary's	12	–	3	.800	26	–	8	.765
Santa Clara	10	–	5	.667	21	–	12	.636
San Francisco	10	–	6	.625	24	–	10	.706
BYU	9	–	6	.600	24	–	11	.686
Portland	7	–	7	.500	19	–	15	.559
San Diego	7	–	9	.438	15	–	16	.484
Pacific	3	–	11	.214	8	–	22	.267
Loyola Marymount	3	–	12	.200	11	–	18	.379
Pepperdine	1	–	15	.063	7	–	25	.219

† 2022 WCC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2021–22 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team will represent Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed "Zags", is expected to be led by head coach Mark Few, in his 23rd season as head coach. This will be the Bulldogs' 17th season at the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center and 42nd season as a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC).

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the regular season 26–0 and 15–0 in WCC play, going on to defeat Saint Mary's and BYU to win the WCC Tournament. The Zags thus became the first Division I men's team since Kentucky in 2015 to enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. They went on to become the first undefeated team to advance to the national championship game since Indiana State in 1979. Gonzaga lost 86–70 to fellow 1-seed Baylor in the championship game, denying the Bulldogs a perfect season.

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)	Reason for departure
Tommy Lloyd	Associate Head Coach	20th	Whitman (1998)	Head Coach at Arizona^[1]
Ken Nakagawa	Video Coordinator	5th	Long Beach State (2014)	Director of Advanced Scouting at Arizona^[2]

Additions to staff

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)	Previous Job
Stephen Gentry	Assistant Coach	1st	Gonzaga (2006)	Assistant Coach at Illinois^[3]

Player departures

Due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled in October 2020 that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player, thus giving all players the option to return in 2021–22.^[4] Additionally, any players who have declared for the 2021 NBA draft—including seniors, who must opt into this year's draft—have the option to return if they make a timely withdrawal from the draft and end any pre-draft relationships with agents. Thus, separate lists will initially be maintained for confirmed and potential departures.

Confirmed

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Aaron Cook Jr.	4	G	6'1"	180	Senior (Redshirt)	St. Louis, MO	Transferred to Georgia^[5]
Joël Ayayi	11	G	6'5"	180	Junior (Redshirt)	Bordeaux, France	Declared for NBA draft and renounced remaining eligibility^[6]
Pavel Zakharov	10	F	7'0"	235	Sophomore	St. Petersburg, Russia	Transferred to California Baptist^[7]
Oumar Ballo	21	C	7'0"	260	Freshman (Redshirt)	Koulikoro, Mali	Transferred to Arizona^[8]
Jalen Suggs	1	G	6'4"	205	Freshman	West St. Paul, MN	Declared for NBA draft and renounced remaining eligibility^[9]

Potential

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Potential reason for departure
Corey Kispert	24	F	6'7"	220	Senior	Edmonds, WA	Graduated; expected to declare for NBA draft

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Years Remaining	Date Eligible
Rasir Bolton	–	G	6'3"	185	Senior	Petersburg, VA	Iowa State	2	October 1, 2021^[10]

Recruiting classes

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kaden Perry PF / C	Battle Ground, WA	Battle Ground	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jun 27, 2019
Kaden Perry PF / C	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
Hunter Sallis PG / SG	Omaha, NE	Millard North	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Mar 26, 2021
Hunter Sallis PG / SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93
Chet Holmgren C	Minneapolis, MN	Minnehaha Academy	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 19, 2021
Chet Holmgren C	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 97
Nolan Hickman PG	Seattle, WA	Wasatch Academy (UT)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 15, 2021
Nolan Hickman PG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 4 247Sports: 5 ESPN: 5
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Gonzaga 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021. "2021 Gonzaga Bulldogs Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.

Roster

2021–22 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	23	Matthew Lang (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Jesuit	Portland, OR
G	35	Will Graves (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	South Eugene Lane CC	Eugene, OR
G	3	Andrew Nembhard	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Montverde Academy Florida	Aurora, ON
G	–	Rasir Bolton	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Massanutten Academy Penn State Iowa State	Petersburg, VA
F	22	Anton Watson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Gonzaga Prep	Spokane, WA
G	5	Martynas Arlauskas	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	President Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium	Kaunas, Lithuania
F	2	Drew Timme	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Pearce	Richardson, TX
G	55	Dominick Harris	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Rancho Christian	Murrieta, CA
G	0	Julian Strawther	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Liberty HS	Las Vegas, NV
G	32	Evan Inglesby (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Barlow	Gresham, OR
F	30	Abe Eagle (W)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Chaminade Prep	Los Angeles, CA
F	20	Colby Brooks (W)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Loyola HS	Los Angeles, CA
F	33	Ben Gregg	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Clackamas	Clackamas, OR
F	–	Kaden Perry	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Battle Ground	Battle Ground, WA
G	–	Hunter Sallis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Millard North	Omaha, NE
C	–	Chet Holmgren	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Minnehaha Academy	Minneapolis, MN
G	–	Nolan Hickman	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Wasatch Academy (UT)	Seattle, WA

Head coach

Mark Few (Oregon)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: May 15, 2021

Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)
Mark Few	Head Coach	23rd	Oregon (1987)
Brian Michaelson	Assistant Coach	9th	Gonzaga (2005)
Roger Powell Jr.	Assistant Coach	3rd	Illinois (2005)
Stephen Gentry	Assistant Coach	1st	Gonzaga (2006)
Jorge Sanz	Director of Basketball Operations	4th	Florida Atlantic (2011)
Evan Manning	Graduate Assistant	2nd	Kansas (2016)
Vacant	Video Coordinator
Josh Therrien	Athletic Trainer	6th	Washington State (2007)
Travis Knight	Strength & Conditioning Coach	16th	Gonzaga (2000)

Schedule and results

Gonzaga will play Louisville, Oklahoma State, or Providence in the Empire Classic semifinal game. The Zags' will most likely play two campus site games prior to the Empire Classic.^[11] The Empire Classic was going to be played at Madison Square Garden, but was changed to the Prudential Center.^[12] Gonzaga will play a "highly ranked" power five team in Seattle on December 4, 2021.^[13]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 12/13, 2021*		McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
November 18, 2021*	vs. TBD Empire Classic semifinal	Prudential Center Newark, NJ
November 19, 2021*	vs. TBD Empire Classic championship/third place game	Prudential Center Newark, NJ
November 26, 2021*	vs. Duke	T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV
December 4, 2021*	vs. TBD	Climate Pledge Arena Seattle, WA
December 18, 2021*	vs. Texas Tech	Phoenix Suns Arena Phoenix, AZ
TBA*	at Texas	Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX
WCC Regular Season
	BYU Rivalry	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at BYU Rivalry	Marriott Center Provo, UT
	Loyola Marymount	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Loyola Marymount	Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
	Pacific	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Pacific	Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA
	Pepperdine	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Pepperdine	Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA
	Portland	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Portland	Chiles Center Portland, OR
	Saint Mary's Rivalry	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Saint Mary's Rivalry	University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA
	San Diego	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at San Diego	Jenny Craig Pavilion San Diego, CA
	San Francisco	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at San Francisco	The Sobrato Center San Francisco, CA
	Santa Clara	McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA
	at Santa Clara	Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA
WCC Tournament
	vs.	Orleans Arena Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source^[14]

Rankings

References

^ "Arizona Names Tommy Lloyd as Men's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). Arizona Wildcats. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
^ "Arizona hires three staffers with Gonzaga ties to work under Tommy Lloyd". SB Nation. April 28, 2021.
^ "Former Gonzaga Bulldogs player Stephen Gentry hired as assistant basketball coach". ESPN. May 24, 2021.
^ "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ "Crean adds Gonzaga point guard Aaron Cook". Rivals.com. May 24, 2021.
^ "Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi declares for NBA draft". ESPN. April 9, 2021.
^ "Pavel Zakharov Transferring From Gonzaga". SB Nation. April 9, 2021.
^ "Arizona Basketball adds Zaga transfer, Oumar Ballo". FanSided. April 20, 2021.
^ "Jalen Suggs Declares for NBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. April 19, 2021.
^ "Gonzaga adds Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton to men's hoops team". ESPN. April 30, 2021.
^ "2021-22 Men's College Basketball Exempt Multi-Team Events". bloggingthebracket.com. SB Nation. April 23, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^ Goodman, Jeff (May 22, 2021). "Source: Teams have been informed by Gazelle Group the venue for 2K Classic — slated to be at Madison Square Garden — expected to move to Newark's Prudential Center". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
^ Goodman, Jeff (May 23, 2021). "Gonzaga will play a highly ranked, Power 5 team in Seattle at the new Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 4". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
^ "gozags.com :: Gonzaga Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball". gozags.com.

[1] "Arizona Names Tommy Lloyd as Men's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). Arizona Wildcats. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.

[2] "Arizona hires three staffers with Gonzaga ties to work under Tommy Lloyd". SB Nation. April 28, 2021.

[3] "Former Gonzaga Bulldogs player Stephen Gentry hired as assistant basketball coach". ESPN. May 24, 2021.

[4] "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.

[5] "Crean adds Gonzaga point guard Aaron Cook". Rivals.com. May 24, 2021.

[6] "Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi declares for NBA draft". ESPN. April 9, 2021.

[7] "Pavel Zakharov Transferring From Gonzaga". SB Nation. April 9, 2021.

[8] "Arizona Basketball adds Zaga transfer, Oumar Ballo". FanSided. April 20, 2021.

[9] "Jalen Suggs Declares for NBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. April 19, 2021.

[10] "Gonzaga adds Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton to men's hoops team". ESPN. April 30, 2021.

[11] "2021-22 Men's College Basketball Exempt Multi-Team Events". bloggingthebracket.com. SB Nation. April 23, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[12] Goodman, Jeff (May 22, 2021). "Source: Teams have been informed by Gazelle Group the venue for 2K Classic — slated to be at Madison Square Garden — expected to move to Newark's Prudential Center". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 22, 2021.

[13] Goodman, Jeff (May 23, 2021). "Gonzaga will play a highly ranked, Power 5 team in Seattle at the new Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 4". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 23, 2021.

[14] "gozags.com :: Gonzaga Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball". gozags.com.

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v t e Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	Russell Gymnasium (1907–1958) Spokane Coliseum (1958–1965, 1979–1980) Charlotte Y. Martin Centre (1965–2004) McCarthey Athletic Center (2004–present) Spokane Arena (alternate, 1995–present)
Rivalries	BYU Idaho (dormant) Saint Mary's Washington Washington State
Culture & lore	Spike the Bulldog "Go, Gonzaga!"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics