Gonzaga-San Diego key matchup: St. John’s transfer Marcellus Earlington a key addition for Toreros

Gonzaga’s next West Coast Conference opponent is led by a 6-foot-6, 240-pound bruiser who creates mismatch issues for smaller guards unable to match his strength and physicality, but also bigger forwards and centers who don’t have the agility to guard him on the perimeter or keep up with him in transition.

Knowing only those facts, you might assume the Bulldogs were preparing for another run-in with Loyola Marymount and Eli Scott.

Official height and weight measurements actually give San Diego’s Marcellus Earlington 8 pounds on LMU’s Scott, but the comparison is apt nonetheless. Both bring football physiques and linebacker mentalities to the basketball court and any opponent who crashes into a screen set by either is bound to have a rude awakening.

Only four days after the Toreros lost veteran forward Yauhen Massalski to an intraconference transfer, they added Earlington, a former St. John’s reserve who may look like he could play on San Diego’s football team because at one time he was a three-star defensive end prospect who had scholarship offers from places like Georgia, Pittsburgh and Louisville, among others.

Earlington, like Scott, is leading his team in scoring at 13.7 points per game and also defensive rebounds, at 4.9 per game. If the Zags had it their way, they wouldn’t mind if the USD guard/forward adopted Scott’s 3-point shooting percentage as well. In all likeliness, they’ll have to pay slightly more attention whenever Earlington steps behind the 3-point arc, with the transfer making 35% on 3.9 attempts per game.

The Stony Point, New York, native has scored just 27 points in USD’s past three games, but prior to that he averaged 16.6 ppg over a five-game stretch while registering double-doubles in two of those games.

If Gonzaga plays Earlington the same way it did Scott, Chet Holmgren, who was praised for his tough, physical defensive play against the LMU senior, could be the one matching up against USD’s top frontcourt player, with Anton Watson spelling Holmgren when the Bulldogs’ 7-footer is on the bench.