‘Opportunity for growth.’ Graham Ike takes valuable lessons from temporary move to Gonzaga’s bench, emotional swings

It might take another college basketball player four years to undergo the range of experiences and emotional swings Graham Ike packaged into Gonzaga’s past four games.

The chronological recap begins Jan. 16 against Oregon State when Ike, as part of a 26-point outing, hit a dramatic game-tying 3-pointer with four seconds left in regulation at Gill Coliseum, only to foul out in overtime and watch Gonzaga fade down the stretch of a 97-89 loss.

Approximately 48 hours later, Ike’s offensive contributions helped Gonzaga keep up with red-hot Santa Clara, but the forward’s emotions boiled over in the second half, resulting in successive flagrant and technical fouls that prompted Gonzaga coach Mark Few to park his senior on the bench for the final three minutes of a 103-99 loss at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Ike was notified he’d open Gonzaga’s next game on the bench, relinquishing his spot to sophomore Braden Huff. The senior forward and All-American candidate didn’t push back, scoring 14 points in 16 minutes, totaling four assists and three rebounds and giving Huff words of encouragement at every turn as the Zags cruised past Portland for a 105-62 win at the Chiles Center.

Which takes us to fourth and final hashmark on the timeline: Tuesday’s revenge game against Oregon State at the Kennel – Ike’s return to the starting lineup and an opportunity for Gonzaga and its All-WCC forward to send the message they failed to deliver two weeks earlier in Corvallis.

Gonzaga didn’t take any chances, pounding the ball inside to its most reliable and efficient scorer. The Zags took control and continued to pad their lead while Ike worked on growing his point total on nearly every possession for one five-minute stretch span in the game.

Ike finished with 22 points, second on the team to guard Khalif Battle, and had 13 of the team’s 17 points, including seven straight, during a stretch that started at the 18-minute, 57-second mark and ended at the 13:56 mark.

There was no drama on Gonzaga’s end, or Ike’s, as the Bulldogs rolled to one of their most decisive wins of the season, beating Oregon State 98-60.

“It was just an opportunity for growth, but I’m appreciative of that, and me and (Few) had our words, and honestly we just grow from it,” Ike said Tuesday night, reflecting on an eventful two-week stretch while making his first comments since prior to the team’s overtime loss at Oregon State. “Braden handled it well, the team handled it well, I thought I handled it well. I’m grateful to be back in the starting lineup and I do not take that for granted.”

Now averaging 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds for Gonzaga, Ike turned in one of his most efficient performances of the season, finishing 10 of 12 from the field and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

“Just taking what the defense gave me, honestly,” Ike said. “Just playing in the flow of the game, not forcing things, and I appreciate my teammates for finding me.”

Ike’s scoring average is a shade higher than the 16.5 ppg he finished with last season. Not unlike his junior season, the forward continues to be a dominant force in WCC play, averaging 19.0 ppg in conference games. Ike ranks first in the WCC in overall field-goal percentage (60.3%) and second in conference games (63.1%), sitting just below teammate Ben Gregg (67.1%).

On Tuesday, Ike was also part of GU’s defensive effort to contain OSU’s frontcourt, limiting 6-foot-9 Parsa Fallah and 7-foot Matthew Marsh to two combined points on 1-of-6 shooting from the floor after they had 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field in the first meeting between the teams.

GU was conservative with Ike’s minutes once it built a comfortable lead. With a battle against first-place Saint Mary’s and all-conference center Mitchell Saxen on the horizon. Ike played 20 minutes and didn’t re-enter after checking out with five minutes to play .