Gonzaga’s Graham Ike misses Seattle U game with ankle soreness, listed as day to day
SEATTLE – Gonzaga’s starting frontcourt took another injury hit that could leave the ninth-ranked Bulldogs shorthanded for the foreseeable future.
Graham Ike, who landed awkwardly near the end of Thursday’s blowout win at Washington State, missed Saturday’s game against Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena with right ankle soreness.
A school official said Ike, Gonzaga’s scoring leader this season, is day to day. Ike still traveled to Seattle with the Zags and was wearing a boot on his right foot when he arrived on the court for pregame warmups.
The injury leaves Gonzaga without multiple frontcourt starters and two players who’d been in the mix for All-American honors, both averaging 17.8 points leading into this week’s WCC road swing at Washington State and Seattle.
Junior forward Braden Huff suffered a left knee injury during practice earlier this week and is expected to be sidelined four to eight weeks, the school confirmed before Thursday’s game at WSU.
Ike matched his season high, playing 36 minutes and scoring 23 points in an 86-65 win over the Cougars. The senior forward appeared to land awkwardly while contesting a shot late in the second half. Ike was limping slightly when he finally exited the game with 1 minute, 41 seconds remaining. Gonzaga was leading by 22 points when Ike checked out.
Without Ike or Huff available, the Zags used their 10th starting lineup of the season in Saturday’s game against the Redhawks. In place of Ike and Huff, sophomore center Ismaila Diagne made his first start of the season, alongside Braeden Smith, Adam Miller, Emmanuel Innocenti and Jalen Warley. Diagne was averaging 1.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game entering Saturday’s game and held up against a bigger Seattle U frontcourt, finishing with three points but eight rebounds and one blocked shot.
Parker Jefferson, who intended to redshirt for Gonzaga, dressed for the first time this season and went through pregame warmups in Seattle. A school official said the Texas native was available in Saturday’s game, but Jefferson didn’t get on the court in Gonzaga’s win.
Ike was averaging 18.1 ppg and 8.8 rpg after recording his 11th double-double of the season at WSU. The Colorado native earned his third West Coast Conference honor last Monday, just a handful of days after scoring a Gonzaga-high 34 points against Santa Clara.