NCAA basketball

Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike committed to Gonzaga on the same day in April of 2023 and connected on countless occasions over the next two seasons, forming one of the most dependable point guard-big man pairings in college basketball. Nembhard and Ike as adversaries, though?

As far as athletes go, Courtney Vandersloot is not particularly superstitious. But when she stepped back onto United Center hardwood for a June 28 game against the Las Vegas Aces, the Chicago Sky guard couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety.

Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa will collect some valuable international experience before joining Gonzaga’s roster as a freshman this fall.

The strength and conditioning facility that houses Gonzaga’s men’s and women’s basketball players will be renamed to honor a former Bulldog standout and current NBA player who recently pledged a “transformative gift” in support of the men’s basketball program.

Rui Hachimura, one of the NBA’s premier catch-and-shoot forwards, has agreed to a two-year deal with the L.A. Clippers, a league source confirmed to the Athletic on Monday.

It’s a very slow time in college basketball. Mid-July has two evaluation periods, but early July is one of the slower periods for the sport.

Former Washington State football coach Jim Walden, who in 1981 led the Cougars to their first bowl appearance in 50 years, died Thursday in Coeur d’Alene, the school announced. He was 88.

Moscow, Idaho, may not have a lake or a ski resort. But it’s a nice town with a laid-back summer vibe and the University of Idaho providing social and cultural sizzle the rest of the year.

The Dallas Mavericks are bringing in a new front office and brand new coaching staff, but former Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard won't have to look for a new home as he prepares for his second season in the NBA.

Zach Collins will stay put in Chicago for at least the next two seasons after the former Gonzaga forward agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the Bulls.

The branding on the court will look different, but everything else – destination, venue, format – should be familiar for Gonzaga next spring when the Bulldogs make their debut at the Pac-12 basketball tournament.

Parker Jefferson was finishing up an offseason workout at Loyola Marymount last month when trainer Zachary Gonzales asked the Gonzaga forward to stick around for some additional work.

Jalen Warley will join Gonzaga teammates Graham Ike and Tyon Grant-Foster two weeks from at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Gonzaga could be tapping back into its French pipeline to fill one of the remaining spots in its backcourt entering the 2026-27 season.

One week after getting the green light to compete in the NBA from the league’s fitness-to-play panel, Gonzaga’s Tyon Grant-Foster has accepted a Summer League invitation from one of the NBA’s top franchises.

Gonzaga has now gone two years without a Sweet 16 appearance or NBA draft pick – droughts that probably felt inconceivable during a nine-year run when Mark Few’s program didn’t miss the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and churned out 12 total NBA selections.

Mario Saint-Supery and Izan Almansa are expected to link up next season at Gonzaga, but the future teammates could also get time on the court next week when they represent Spain in FIBA World Cup qualifying games against Denmark and Georgia.

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike was still on the board when the NBA Draft concluded, but the productive All-American forward quickly lined up an undrafted free agent deal, signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Golden State Warriors late Wednesday night.

Whole generations of Zag fans, passionate as followers can get, share a diminishing awareness of this hugely important contributor to Gonzaga basketball history. This week, however, the late Daniel John Fitzgerald is being inducted into the Hooptown USA Hall of Fame.