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Gonzaga had just finished a 51-point exhibition victory over Wayne State when Josh Heytvelt noticed a familiar face in the McCarthey Athletic Center crowd.

“I saw my doctor,” Heytvelt said. “I just yelled at him, ‘It works!’ I had a big smile on my face – to not have any pain after the game.”

It had been awhile. It didn’t happen much last year, when a preseason stress reaction turned into a full-blown stress fracture. He returned after surgery, but he only had a one- or two-week window where he felt fine.

“And then my (right) ankle started killing me again,” he said. “I think we were too scared to get an X-ray throughout the second half of the season so we waited until the end. And then it was broken again and I had to get another surgery, so it’s been a long process to get healthy.”

Healthy, it would seem, in more ways than one. On the court, the talented senior forward is bouncier and more mobile than last season but not quite back to his banner days as a sophomore, head coach Mark Few said.

When Heytvelt arrived at Gonzaga from Clarkston High five years ago, associate head coach Leon Rice had a fake degree made with Heytvelt’s name on it “so every time he came into my office he had to look at it.” Heytvelt earned his degree in four years and is taking graduate school classes.

By all accounts, Heytvelt has worked harder to forge tighter bonds with his teammates, including one who described him as more calm, relaxed and confident than a year ago. And now the 6-foot-11, 260-pound Heytvelt appears poised for a big senior season, health willing.

“It’s my last go-around,” he said. “My last time being around my friends, my last time I can for sure play organized basketball. I have to come out and prove myself to myself, my team, the country and the school, just to have a chance to move on with basketball.”

To reach this smoother path Heytvelt has traveled a bumpy road. Of Gonzaga’s 100 games the last three seasons, he has played in just 61 because of injury and suspension. After redshirting in 2005, he was slowed by ankle issues throughout the 2006 preseason. He had a pair of promising games at the Maui Invitational before breaking his left ankle against Connecticut in the title game. He had surgery and returned for the final six weeks of the season.

Heytvelt was healthy for his best season – not coincidentally – in 2007. He averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds, outplayed North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough at Madison Square Garden and erupted for 27 points and 22 boards against Pepperdine. But he essentially put himself on the bench for the final six weeks of the season with his highly publicized arrest for possession of psychedelic mushrooms. After meeting stipulations of his suspension, Heytvelt was reinstated to the team to begin the 2008 season.

He missed the first 11 games after having his right ankle surgically repaired. He was often vilified over the latter half of the season as his production dropped and he was removed from the starting lineup. He fielded pointed questions that usually went something like, “What’s wrong?” or, “Are you healthy?”

What the public didn’t know was that Heytvelt’s ankle was throbbing again. He was limited to 20 minutes per game but managed to average 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds.

“I couldn’t say anything, I had to try to keep it under wraps,” he said. “It’s definitely not an excuse. You still have to play and try to help your team as much as you can.”

“It takes a lot of heart to do that every night when you’re in a lot of pain,” said senior guard Jeremy Pargo.

Heytvelt said he would take ibuprofen before games and at half.

“I tried to go as hard as I could,” he said. “I was just hoping it would stay underneath me the rest of the season. If it got any worse, I probably wouldn’t have been able to play.”

Simply put, it’s been an interesting five years for Heytvelt and the Bulldogs.

“Rough,” said Heytvelt, laughing loud enough to draw glances from teammates nearby. “There was the broken ankle, the arrest, the other broken ankle, the broken ankle again.”

He was laughing even louder, but then he turned serious. “But the guys I got to be here with and the friendships I’ve made with some of those guys was really a good experience. I got to play with guys like J.P. (Batista) and ‘Pendo’ (David Pendergraft). It was exciting to play with Adam (Morrison) and Derek (Raivio). Those experiences were fun and I’ll cherish those until I’m dead.”

Heytvelt leaned on Rice and Pendergraft during the hardest days of his suspension.

“Coach Rice did a lot for me and Pendo, I’ve known him since I was in fifth, sixth grade,” Heytvelt said. “He’s just a good guy. He doesn’t judge or do any of that. He’ll sit there and listen to you and if he feels like he needs to tell you something he’ll tell you.”

Heytvelt’s evolution has been a source of pride, Rice said.

“Sometimes people lose sight because he’s so big and strong, but when they first get here they really are kids,” Rice said. “And we’re seeing a transformation into an adult with him.”

Heytvelt undoubtedly will be a key component if Gonzaga, ranked 10th in the Associated Press preseason poll, is to fulfill lofty expectations. Not many teams have a fifth-year center with his combination of size, athleticism and experience.

“It’s a little different perspective (being a senior). You hope things are going to be on track. I never felt that way the last few years,” he said. “I think we should have a good year. It’s just exciting to be out here, just knowing it’s a good group of guys to play with.

“I’m banking on being healthy. That’s something I haven’t been able to bank on yet, but hopefully I can do it this year.”