DAVE BOLING

Chet Holmgren followed in Jalen Suggs’ footsteps in April 2021, committing to Gonzaga weeks after his former high school teammate sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game with one of the most iconic shots in college basketball history.

Former Gonzaga Athletic Director Mike Roth has been named the recipient of the 2022 Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) announced Wednesday.

Gonzaga will be well represented at the NBA Draft Combine next week in Chicago. Four of the five Zags to declare for the draft have accepted invitations to combine, scheduled for May 18-22. Junior forward Drew Timme, freshman forward Chet Holmgren, senior guard Andrew Nembhard and sophomore wing Julian Strawther are among 76 prospects headed to the Chicago.

Dusty Stromer knows how to make a favorable first impression. He was a skinny 6-foot-3 freshman when Notre Dame High basketball coach Matt Sargeant first met Stromer, who recently became the first commitment in Gonzaga’s 2023 recruiting class.

After more than a month of suspense, Gonzaga finally made some noise in the transfer portal last Sunday by adding 7-foot LSU center Efton Reid – a former five-star prospect who figures to help the Bulldogs’ frontcourt regardless of whether All-American forward Drew Timme turns pro or returns to school for his senior season.

Former longtime Gonzaga assistants Leon Rice and Tommy Lloyd are part of the coaching staff for USA Basketball’s team that will compete in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship this summer.

Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar is down to two schools – Gonzaga and Kansas – if he decides to return to college basketball next season, according to On3.

Sharp-shooting guard Dusty Stromer on Sunday became the first commitment in Gonzaga’s 2023 recruiting class, roughly an hour after the Zags landed LSU transfer center Efton Reid for the upcoming season.

With potentially both of its starting frontcourt players splitting for the NBA, Gonzaga made a splash addition via the transfer portal on Sunday, grabbing a commitment from an SEC transfer who was once considered the nation’s third-rated high school center.

Any suspense surrounding Utah Valley transfer Fardaws Aimaq’s future destination was long gone by the time of his official announcement Friday, at least from Gonzaga’s perspective. Aimaq had the Zags in his top five when he narrowed his list two weeks ago, but the talented center told 247 High School Hoops on Thursday afternoon he was down to Washington, Texas Tech and Texas.

Months after Kevin Pangos signed a 2½-year contract with CSKA Moscow only to have his plans altered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the former Gonzaga guard is on the move again.