A Grip on Sports: With Tuesday’s announcements, the Gonzaga men’s program once again shows it’s willing to do things differently

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Hear me out. Let’s say Gonzaga men’s basketball is done adding rotation pieces for next season. Has decided not to dip into the portal pool for stars. Will finish building its roster through players with high potential, not big paydays. If that’s the case, the Zags will still be just fine.

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• As every high-end college basketball franchise from Tallahassee to Tucson has filled up Insta or X with announcements of this high-level transfer or that one, Mark Few’s program waited until late Tuesday, the final hours of the final day players could put their names in the NCAA transfer portal, to blast out a couple of revelations.

Graham Ike and Braden Huff would be back in Spokane next season.

And, in the course of a few minutes, the Bulldogs’ future was that much brighter.

How bright? Here are the top eight players Gonzaga should – a bit more on that in a moment – have on their roster when practice officially begins in the fall:

Ike and Huff, the end-of-season twin tandem that transformed the Zags’ lineup their final three games;

Wing Emmanuel Innocenti and post Ismaila Diagne, two defensive-first youngsters who had revelational moments last season;

Point guard Braeden Smith, combo guard Jalen Warley and forward Steele Venters, all of whom have experienced success elsewhere but either chose to redshirt last season or, in Venters’ case, dealt with a season-ending injury;

And, finally, incoming freshman Davis Fogle, a three-level scorer and four-star recruit who grew up on the other side of the mountains.

Three bigs. Four wings, one of whom (Warley) can play the point as needed, in the 6-foot-7 range. A point guard who features a Ryan Nembhard-like game.

Sounds like an eight-man rotation the Zags can live with. If everything breaks right – or nothing at all breaks in the way of injuries.

The best part? All but Fogle have worked in the Volker Center for at least a year. And understand exactly what Gonzaga is trying to accomplish each possession on both sides of the court. The learning curve is pretty flat.

• There are still openings, of course, on Gonzaga’s roster. Nothing is stopping the coaching staff from welcoming a player or two. It’s to be expected between now and the end of the school year. There just doesn’t seem to be the extreme pressure there is, say, at Baylor.

But there are no guarantees today’s roster will be tomorrow’s. The way modern college athletics works, there is nothing precluding anyone from leaving if they change their mind. There is no rule an athlete has to enter the portal to transfer. Actually, there are no enforceable rules concerning player movement anymore.

Remember Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas? In January, he left the Badgers for Miami. Enrolled with the Canes. Signed a new NIL agreement. Went through spring practice. Will probably start.

Never entered the portal.

It’s not a fantasy. It’s a reality. Or a nightmare, if you are the school left behind.

• Schools are fighting back. Well, that’s not exactly correct. Their NIL collectives are fighting back. Tuesday, Arkansas encouraged its payroll arm to sue freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava for breach of his NIL contract.

Iamaleava’s older brother, Nico, left Tennessee for UCLA. Broke a long-term contract. Reportedly signed a new one with the Bruins. Madden decided to do the same.

Will the school’s collective win? Will it hurt Arkansas’ recruiting for all sports? Will basketball coach John Calipari skedaddle if it does? All may be answered with a “yes,” which is part of the problem. Schools are afraid of the fallout if contracts are enforced, so most administrations just grumble publicly and move on. Behind the scenes? Vitriol, profanities, anger.

• Hey, here’s some happier news. The Spokane Chiefs battled through their usual penchant for penalties, two overtimes and the Victoria Royals on Tuesday night in the Arena. Won 5-4 to close out the Western Hockey League Western Conference semifinals in six games.

The reward? Their first conference finals since 2019. And it won’t be against their regular-season nemesis Everett. The Silvertips were knocked from the playoffs on home ice last night by Portland, a team that finished 28 points behind in the final standings.  

The teams will meet Friday in the Arena to begin the seven-game series.

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WSU: With all that went on this NBA season, does former Wazzu star Klay Thompson regret staying with Dallas in the last offseason? … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner looks at the NFL draft, which starts Thursday, and the conference’s legacy schools. … Washington doesn’t just want its defensive backs to be good. It wants them to be great and defines that by forcing turnovers. … An offensive lineman transferred from USC to Oregon in search of better coaching. Ouch. … Shedeur Sanders’ draft position is about his talent more than his father’s personality. … Colorado lost a couple players to the portal. So did Arizona. … The Wildcats also added a player. … Utah reportedly has lost its best receiver. … UCLA coach DeShaun Foster felt the Bruins couldn’t pass up the chance to add Nico Iamaleava. … San Diego State has eight players in the portal. … Colorado State is about to play its spring game. … In basketball news, the Oregon State men added a transfer yesterday. It would have cost the Beavers millions to keep last year’s roster intact. … USC added a player and lost one. … Here is a novel suggestion for Arizona’s staff. … Boise State had some highlights last season. … Utah State added four players from the portal Tuesday. … The Oregon State women have improved their outside shooting. … Finally, the entire college volleyball season was upended in some way by what happened with San Jose State, its roster and the political rhetoric behind the Spartans’ having a transgender player on their roster. But there is a personal cost to such things for everyone, a cost that is finally being examined as those involved speak up. … The debate is not stopping either.

Gonzaga: Of course we linked Theo Lawson’s story on the Ike and Huff announcements above. And here too. Theo covers all the nuts and bolts of the roster makeup. … Theo also has another story in the S-R this morning. Ben Gregg, who seemingly exhausted his eligibility, entered his name in the portal yesterday. Why? Just in case the NCAA revamps its rules and he ends up with another year. How could that be? This story explains it. … The baseball team fell at third-ranked Oregon State again yesterday.

EWU: Eastern alum Colin Cowherd talked with ESPN before deciding to stay put with Fox. Hey, even sports’ talking heads seem to have a transfer portal of some sort. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Weber State made a change on its women’s basketball coaching staff. … Portland State added a player from the portal. … Montana State’s men added a player from Central Washington University. … UC Davis is about to end spring football practice.

Preps: Dave and Cheryl Nichols combined on this roundup of Tuesday’s action.

Chiefs: We linked Dave’s coverage of last night’s series-clinching win above. We link it again here.

Indians: Dave began his day at Avista Stadium. Spokane hosted a rare midweek day game and, with a couple thousand school kids in attendance, routed visiting Eugene 17-5.

Kraken: Seattle’s front-office revamp was officially announced Tuesday in a press conference. The reasons behind it, the people involved, we have all that. At least conjecture. But any certainty how it will work out is not part of today’s report.

Sounders: A forward has seized his opportunity.

Mariners: Doesn’t matter where Alex Bregman plays. What city, what position, what spot in the batting order. Bregman is going to torture the M’s. Case in point, his performance as a Red Sox on Tuesday in their 8-3 victory over visiting Seattle. … Dylan Moore learned he was the American League player of the week in the most-modern way possible. By text from a former teammate. … I found this story about the Angels’ travel schedule interesting.

Seahawks: Could the Hawks trade their first-round pick? Or will they focus on one player? One position?

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• I wish everyone would quit using the term “Wild West” in conjuction with the current state of college athletics these days. I’m not sure Dodge City or Tombstone was this wild. Until later …