A handful of Gonzaga hoopers from both the men’s and women’s side can be found in Spokane.
Make that three Wooden Award candidates coming from both the men’s and women’s programs on Gonzaga’s campus. That’s Mark Few’s lead guard Ryan Nembhard and his counterpart forward/center Graham Ike. Plus, forward Yvonne Ejim puts on for Lisa Fortier’s squad each and every night. All three embody what it takes to be a Zag at this highest level.
Ike and Nembhard on @WoodenAward Preseason Watch List
Press Release: https://t.co/0LrMr7Fton pic.twitter.com/xbPyLNB85Y— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) November 7, 2024
All eyes on @_vonnyyy_
She has officially been named to the Wooden Award Watch List. pic.twitter.com/HIlYMEixvc
— Gonzaga Women’s Basketball (@ZagWBB) November 7, 2024
Gonzaga’s men side made a statement on college basketball’s opening night through the 101-63 win over the #8 Baylor Bears at the packed Spokane Arena. With Few and his currently #6 Zags, Nembhard controlled the floor with his game-high 11 assists to just only 2 turnover. As for Ike (Nembhard’s favorite big man option this season), he finished with 15 points on 6-12 FG and a tied team-high 8 rebounds in the monumental victory.
As for the Lady Zags, they took care of business back at the McCarthey Athletic Center with the 82-69 win over Big Sky’s Montana and were once again led by the double-double machine, Ejim. She was a beast down on the low block with her game-high 10 boards for the Zags to go along with 17 points on 7-11 FG, 2-2 3PT. This is all coming off Yvonne’s memorable trip to the Paris Olympics as she represented her home country of Canada. The opportunity to see the world’s best at play was eye-opening and will help her approach to the game today in the States.
One name coming out of the transfer portal this offseason for Few’s roster that you must keep an eye on is the flamethrower guard, Khalif Battle. Despite not even being listed on the men’s Wooden Award watch list, DraftKings still currently has the Arkansas transfer at the 12th best odds to win the coveted honor at +3500. He finished with 12 points on an efficient 4-8 3PT during the statement over Scott Drew’s Baylor program.
Not many college basketball programs in the country can say that they have that type of background on both sides like Few and Fortier do with Gonzaga. A heavy chunk of the most educated minds with the talented play to back it up live in Spokane.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho