How will Gonzaga replace Mario Saint-Supery? Examining five avenues Mark Few’s coaching staff could pursue
For the past two months, Gonzaga’s basketball team has been navigating offseason workouts with one scholarship point guard on its roster.
It turns out even that was a luxury.
The team’s depth at arguably the most important position in Mark Few’s offense went from bleak to nonexistent last week when then-returning starter Mario Saint-Supery accepted a lucrative, four-year offer from Spanish ACB club Valencia.
Saint-Supery’s departure would’ve been a discouraging development for the Zags regardless of when it happened, but the point guard did Few and his coaching staff no favors with his timing.
The options to replace Saint-Supery are limited in mid-July, but there are still avenues for the Zags to locate another starting-level point guard – and potentially even upgrade from the one that just left them – four months out from the season opener against Purdue in Las Vegas.
On a scale from most realistic to least realistic, we examine five possible scenarios and players GU could explore in the coming weeks and months to fill Saint-Supery’s void and return to the top 10 of preseason polls that punished the Zags after the point guard’s departure.
Already at home
Nathan De Sousa, Cholet Basket, 6-3, 191
Help was on the way for Gonzaga at point guard even before Saint-Supery left.
Roughly three weeks ago, the Zags picked up a commitment from De Sousa, a 23-year-old French-born player who has extensive experience playing in France’s top professional league, Betclic Elite, and spent last season in the starting backcourt at Cholet Basket next to Gerald Ayayi, the brother of former GU guard Joel Ayayi.
It’s expected that De Sousa will be in Spokane next season, but he’s still waiting on NCAA clearance, which is why neither the guard or Gonzaga have publicly acknowledged his commitment at this point.
De Sousa was expected to play in Gonzaga’s rotation behind Saint-Supery, or potentially alongside him in the starting lineup if the Zags wanted more ball-handling on the floor but depending on how things shake out with other players Gonzaga is pursuing, De Sousa could be the team’s starting point guard by the time he arrives in Spokane.
The veteran is a reliable ball-handler with strong passing instincts and improved his 3-point shooting last year, connecting at 36.1% after making just 18.8% the year prior.
The 5-in-5 option
Donovan Dent, UCLA, 6-2, 185
On Friday night, Gonzaga’s coaching staff learned its starting point guard was returning to Spain. By Monday night, Dent had revealed to a TV station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he was interested in returning for another season of college basketball, months after the former UCLA and New Mexico guard indicated he would retire from the game to coach youth basketball and lead camps in Albuquerque.
It’s too early to know if those two developments are connected, but Dent would nonetheless be a major pickup for Gonzaga, and possibly the only player on this list who’d upgrade the team’s talent at point guard.
It would, however, require the 22-year-old to secure a fifth year of eligibility after playing in 139 games at New Mexico (2022-25) and UCLA (2025-26). Dent’s chances appear promising after an Ohio judge granted a preliminary injunction to a group of players looking to gain another year of eligibility through the NCAA’s new “5 in 5” rule, allowing athletes to play five seasons over five years.
Dent was widely considered to be the top player available in the transfer portal last offseason before the Riverside, California, native committed to UCLA. The point guard had a rocky season shooting the ball, making just 25.4% of his 3’s, but Dent still averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists for a Bruins team that made the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.
A former Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, Dent is a high-IQ, low-turnover point guard who could help the Zags in a big way next season, potentially moving them back into the Final Four conversation. It’s also worth noting he had 12 points and 10 assists in an 82-72 loss to Gonzaga on Dec. 13.
High-risk, high-reward
LJ Cason, Michigan, 6-2, 195
The transfer portal is currently closed to college basketball players, with just one exception. When Dusty May left Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks, members of the Wolverines’ roster had 15 days to enter the portal after the program tabbed assistant Mike Boynton to become its new coach.
Most Michigan players have announced they’ll be staying in Ann Arbor, but Cason revealed Monday night he was planning to move, adding a national championship-winning point guard to the transfer portal in the middle of the offseason.
There’s just one caveat. Cason tore his ACL toward the end of the Big Ten season and underwent surgery in April. The guard was expecting to redshirt before the NCAA passed its 5 in 5 rule, but a mid- to late-season return could be possible for Cason if his rehab goes according to plan.
That obviously doesn’t help Gonzaga in the short term, but Cason could potentially help the Bulldogs by the time they’re playing meaningful postseason games and give them a quality starter in 2027-28. Cason scored just two points in Michigan’s 101-61 romp of Gonzaga last November, but the freshman had six rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
Gonzaga hasn’t been mentioned in connection to Cason yet and Miami has already emerged as a candidate to land the transfer guard from Lakeland, Florida, according to On3.com.
Still looking
Tijan Saine Jr., Weber State, 5-10, 175
The Zags won’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to filling their vacancy in the backcourt. They won’t find much in the transfer portal this late in the game, but Saine, an Everett native who played at an all-conference level last season at Weber State, still hasn’t landed at a school months after announcing his intentions to transfer.
Saine Jr. played at Mariner High School in Everett then spent three seasons at Division II Western Washington, where he redshirted in 2022-23 before averaging 13.7 points over the next two years. He moved on to Weber State last season, starting in all 32 games he played in while averaging 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Notably, Saine Jr averaged 21.8 ppg in the team’s final 15 games, closing the year with a 27-point effort against Eastern Washington at the Big Sky Tournament.
An All-Big Sky Conference First Team selection, Saine Jr. connected on 45.4% of his shots from the field and was serviceable from the 3-point line, making 34.7% of his attempts. He also shot 89.6% from the free throw line on 6.0 attempts per game.
Saine Jr. is undersized at 5-10 and adjusting to the level of play needed to thrive at Gonzaga could be a challenge, but he’s improved every season he’s been in college and put constant foul pressure on Big Sky opponents last season, getting to the free -throw line at least 10 times in six different games.
The reclass option
Dooney Johnson, Milwaukee Juneau High School, 6-5, 185
We have Johnson at the bottom of our list for a reason. The four-star class of 2027 prospect who committed to the Zags last fall told The Spokesman-Review last week at Nike EYBL in Las Vegas he hadn’t considered joining Gonzaga’s roster a year early. Torre Johnson, Dooney’s father and the head coach at Milwaukee Juneau, echoed those sentiments in a separate interview.
Both conversations took place before Saint-Supery shocked Gonzaga’s coaching staff with his decision to leave for Valencia.
It doesn’t mean Johnson would reconsider reclassifying – or should – but the circumstances look significantly different than they did even a week ago and it’s something that, at minimum, could warrant a conversation between members of Gonzaga’s staff and the point guard’s family.
Accelerating Johnson’s career could hinder the development he’d get by playing his senior season at Milwaukee Juneau, but he’s already advanced for his age and looked comfortable playing against elite competition the last two weeks at the EYBL event in Las Vegas and this week at Peach Jam in Augusta, Georgia.