Gonzaga may be known to some as ‘Guard University’, but make no mistake, this program’s success — especially recently — has been on the backs of the big men down low.
Mark Few is arguably the best coach in college basketball at developing talent and garnering production from his bigs, with a high-usage role and plenty of paint touches awaiting any post player who Few and the staff believe fits the system, regardless of how under the radar they may be to everyone else.
Drew Timme wasn’t even a top 50 recruit in the 2019 class when Gonzaga brought him in. Braden Huff wasn’t even in the top 90. And no one saw Kelly Olynyk, or Przemek Karnowski, or Filip Petrusev developing into the players they became in Spokane. But if you have good footwork and soft touch around the rim, you just might be a ‘Gonzaga guy’, something the program’s newest big man, Parker Jefferson, knows all about…