Let’s do it y’all.
Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme will be returning to Gonzaga for another season, he announced today.
Sources: Gonzaga junior Drew Timme has decided to return to school. Timme declared for the NBA Draft and went through the process. He was named conference player of the year last season and now turns pro.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 2, 2022
Last year, Timme averaged a team-high 18.4 points, grabbed 6.8 rebounds, and dished out 2.8 assists per game last season, all the while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor. As one of the better fundamental big men in college hoops last season, Timme did not meet the insanely lofty expectations placed upon him, but still kept pace pretty nicely as a consensus second-team All-American.
It was expected when Timme declared for the NBA Draft, and he demonstrated his future potential in the NBA during the Draft Combine. Although he did not rank very highly on any of the physical testing categories, he more than held his own during the scrimmages, scoring 34 points in a combined 44 minutes of play and even hitting four of five three pointers in one game.
However, we might be seeing the added benefit of NIL in college hoops right here. Timme was one of the sports most marketable players last season, a number that would no doubt increase if he returned to college for another season. Considering Timme was not landing on mock draft boards in the first round, and therefore not guaranteed a primo contract, a return to Spokane makes plenty of feasible financial sense.
It is also a big return for Gonzaga, whose frontcourt was going to be a proven Anton Watson, followed by the potential of Efton Reid, Ben Gregg, and Kaden Perry. With both Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther also returning to Gonzaga in the past two days, the Zags now boast one of the deepest lineups the team has had in years.
Let’s go Zags.