Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast: Opening night, trying to sort out GU’s deep roster and season predictions

The Gonzaga basketball team will likely juggle several lineups as it sorts through a versatile, talented roster that goes nearly a dozen deep.

Our podcast lineup appears a little more certain.

Zags Basketball Insiders Jim Meehan and Richard Fox returned for their fifth season on Monday, looking at lineup possibilities while offering up insight, concerns and predictions for the season.

Meehan, the longtime Spokesman-Review reporter, and Fox, the former GU center-turned-TV analyst, agreed that this is the most unpredictable roster the Zags have put together in years.

“They’ve got 11 guys who all can look in the mirror and think, ‘I should be playing,’” Fox said. “I’m glad I’m not one of the coaches. That’s going to be a challenging part of the story this year.”

Meehan and Fox agree that beyond Graham Ike and Braden Huff, it’s anyone’s guess. GU can go big on the perimeter with a stable of big wings, or go small and fast behind 6-foot point guard Braedon Smith. 

“I’ve got three, initially, that are either locks or close to it,” Meehan predicted. “Two of them are locks – Braden Huff, Graham Ike. That experiment came late in March last year and paid some dividends, didn’t it?

“I think Braeden Smith is a lock to start, certainly at the start of the year,” he said. “He just looks as solid as the day is long. … He just looks like he can handle the job. He’s got that mentality. He has some toughness to him. He’s like a bigger Ryan Nembhard.”

On Sunday, GU beat writer Theo Lawson also looked at several lineup options in The Spokesman-Review.

The Zags Basketball Insiders appear every Monday wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Catch Monday’s entire episode here.