WCC Media Day notebook: Coaches weigh in on pros, cons of Gonzaga’s impending departure from league

LAS VEGAS – Gonzaga’s impending move to the Pac-12 Conference could be viewed one of two ways from the group of West Coast Conference teams it’s leaving behind.

The Zags’ departure could create opportunities and open up NCAA Tournament bids that generally haven’t existed since the Spokane school rose to prominence in the late 1990s, claiming 22 automatic bids during that span while making 26 consecutive trips to March Madness.

On the other hand, the WCC isn’t guaranteed to be a two-bid league once the Zags leave. Saint Mary’s isn’t going anywhere and the national exposure generated as a direct result of GU’s success over the last three decades could fade quickly when the program officially moves on in 2026-27.

In the grand scheme of things, is GU’s move a net negative or net positive for others in the WCC?

“I guess you choose how you want to look at it,” San Francisco coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “For me as a competitor, I’m sad to see them go and I love having the opportunity to play them. I think we’ve been competitive in most of our games with them and I think our players enjoy the challenge of going against them.”

The Dons, probably more than anyone else in the league in recent years, have been on the cusp of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, making the 68-team field in Todd Golden’s final season at the helm before coming up short the past three seasons despite averaging 22.6 wins during those campaigns.

USF has lost 33 consecutive games to Gonzaga dating back to 2012, but the Dons have led at halftime in a few of the recent matchups and squandered their best chance to snap out of the streak in 2023, losing 77-75 on Rasir Bolton’s game-winning runner.

Gonzaga’s departure eliminates two or three “Quad 1” games from USF’s schedule every year – opportunities that could help the Dons earn an at-large NCAA bid – but also removes a major roadblock in the WCC Tournament. The Zags have won semifinal games against the Dons each of the last four seasons. Without GU in the WCC bracket, teams like USF should have a more favorable path to the league’s automatic bid.

“Conversely, it does open up the window for someone else in the league to kind of assert themselves and move into a different position,” Gerlufsen said. “That’s one we would love to assume, but there’s a lot of work and things that go into doing that. But for me as a whole, I’m going to be sad to not have the opportunity to compete against them.”

Gonzaga’s only lost multiple games to two WCC programs the past two seasons: Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara. Beating the Zags can be worth its weight in gold from a resume standpoint, but the Broncos haven’t been able to capitalize, slipping off the NCAA bubble even after upset wins over Mark Few’s program at both the Leavey Center and McCarthey Athletic Center.

On balance, Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek thinks the Zags have been overwhelmingly positive for the WCC and is sad to see them go.

“I can only speak for myself, I think they were good for the WCC and helped elevate basketball in this conference,” Sendek said. “I think they helped everyone else to be better in some way. So for me, I think the WCC is stronger with Gonzaga than without it. Once again, there’s another change. That’s a whole other bucket of change. What isn’t changing when we discuss college basketball and college sports?”

Unless they’re willing to travel to Spokane for a one-off nonleague game at the Kennel, most teams in the WCC won’t see the Zags again after next season.

Saint Mary’s could be one exception.

Randy Bennett, who delivered multiple regular-season wins against Gonzaga last season, and has led the Gaels to consecutive outright WCC regular-season titles, reiterated Thursday he’d like to see the rivalry series resume even after the Zags leave the conference.

“It should happen, so it might happen,” said Bennett, who indicated he’d be open to a home-and-home or neutral-neutral series with Gonzaga. “We should keep playing.”

Support for Grant-Foster

Both Gonzaga players in attendance at Media Day expectedly offered vocal support for transfer Tyon Grant-Foster, whose eligibility remains in limbo after Thursday’s injunction hearing at Spokane County Superior Court was delayed by a notice of removal motion filed by the NCAA.

“It’s devastating, especially with the news that’s going on today,” Gonzaga forward Graham Ike said. “I talked to him last night, I saw him in the elevator late last night and that’s when he’d told me. I gave him a big hug and told him, just know that we’re with you. We’ve got his back and whatever he needs from us, we can be there to support. As much as we can control, team events, as much as we can get his mind off of this court case as much as possible.”

Grant-Foster’s former coach at Grand Canyon, Bryce Drew, appeared at the Mountain West’s Media Day event, which was held just hours earlier inside an adjacent ballroom at Las Vegas’ Resorts World.

“I’m all for him getting another year playing. We’ve been cheering for him to get it since day one,” Drew said. “Hopefully we’ll see him in a Zags uniform real quick.”

WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson has been too busy to keep up with the particulars in Grant-Foster’s eligibility case, but also expressed hope that the Gonzaga player is cleared to play.

“I haven’t been in the loop … I’m just all about student-athletes getting the opportunity,” Jackson said. “Here’s a young man who’s had some pretty unusual circumstances involving his health that compromised his ability to play in eligible years. Again, I hope he gets that opportunity but other people see it differently and we’ll just wait and see how it unfolds.”

G-League quandary

Santa Clara’s latest roster addition was a popular talking point during Thursday’s event.

Thierry Darlan, a 6-foot-8 guard, became the first former G League player to join a college program when he signed with the Broncos on Sept. 23. Originally from the Central African Republic, Darlan was cleared by the NCAA to join Santa Clara’s program and will have two years of eligibility at the school.

The move not only raised concerns and questions in the college basketball community, but potentially triggered a movement at the amateur level. Less than a month later, Louisville added former G League player London Johnson, a former teammate of Darlan’s at G League Ignite, to its 2025-26 roster.

“There was a window opened that allowed us to ask the question to the NCAA,” Sendek said. “What does this case look like? Would he have any college eligibility? And sure enough, as things continued to change and evolve, the NCAA gave him two years of eligibility.”

Critics include Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, who sounded off earlier in the week, calling it “ridiculous” and “embarrassing” that the NCAA would allow former G Leaguers to play in college.

Darlan averaged more than 11 points and six rebounds in 29 games last season for the Delaware Blue Coats. He played for G League Ignite in 2023-24.

Bennett characterized the G League-to-college trend as “nuts” and indicated it won’t be something he plans to pursue at Saint Mary’s.

“Nah, nah,” Bennett said. “I’m going to fight for guys coming out of high school. You’re dealing with an age issue here. These guys are 18 years old, maybe 19 coming out as a freshman and they’re playing against 23, 24-year-olds.”