How Parker Jefferson’s ‘immediate trust’ in Gonzaga’s redshirt plan allowed forward to develop during year off

Parker Jefferson was finishing up an offseason workout at Loyola Marymount last month when trainer Zachary Gonzales asked the Gonzaga forward to stick around for some additional work.

Gonzales, a former player development coach for the Los Angeles Lakers who now trains NBA and college players, needed an extra body to help two of his other clients in a 1-on-1 drill. Jefferson didn’t require much convincing once he realized who the other participants were.

In a twist on the conventional 1-on-1 format, Gonzales deployed Jefferson as a full-time defender, challenging the redshirt freshman forward to come up with six stops before two offensive players, who’d sub in and out of the drill, combined to make six shots. The first to six – stops or shots – would have to validate the win with a free throw.

There were no breaks with Jefferson matched up against a pair of premier college players who’d be selected in the NBA’s lottery merely a month later. BYU phenom and No. 1 overall draft pick AJ Dybantsa got the first crack at Jefferson before turning the assignment over to skilled Tennessee wing Nate Ament, who was selected No. 13 by the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night.

The final tally? Probably better than Jefferson could have expected.

Jefferson’s defense held up to win the first two games but Dybantsa and Ament claimed the next two, setting up a winner-take-all scenario in the fifth contest. Jefferson was on track to take the series after producing his sixth stop, but a missed free throw kept the competition alive, allowing the Dybantsa and Ament duo to pull out a come-from-behind victory.

“Getting a stop on them is not easy,” Jefferson said recently after returning to Spokane from a two-and-a-half-week offseason camp in Los Angeles. “The level of everything you have to do to get a stop on a guy like that is enhanced. It was definitely eye-opening for me, I love to hoop, I love stuff like that so just getting to play against a No. 1 pick and top-15 pick is just a blessing. That’s who I want to surround myself with.”

Jefferson came out of the battles with a heightened level of respect for both players but Dybantsa in particular, recognizing why the nation’s leading scorer had NBA franchises fawning over him much of the last year.

“It’s not a regular big man,” Jefferson said. “Dude is same height as you with guard skills. Definitely a good battle, guy’s a generational talent and they’re good people man. Respect the work, good to be in the gym with, good vibes.”

Since he agreed to redshirt last October, Jefferson has been plugging away behind the scenes, working to improve his game, body and comprehension of Gonzaga’s system, with hopes of contributing to a projected top 10 to 15 team in college basketball next season.

Jefferson was a late addition to Gonzaga’s 2025 recruiting class, signing with Mark Few’s program only after decommitting from Minnesota when the Golden Gophers parted ways with coach Ben Johnson. He was fully prepared for the possibility of a redshirt season, with All-American candidates Graham Ike and Braden Huff expected to start in Gonzaga’s frontcourt and 7-foot backup center Ismaila Diagne returning to the team’s bench.

“I didn’t come in with big hopes and big expectations,” Jefferson said. “Obviously I know that I thought I belonged here, that’s why I’m coming back as well. But I just had immediate trust, that’s why I came here. B-Mike (assistant Brian Michaelson) came to me after practice one day and was like, ‘I want you to redshirt.’ I said, ‘All right. If that’s what you want me to do, I trust you.’ ”

Jefferson’s defense improved in spades guarding Ike and Huff in daily practice sessions – an assignment nearly every frontcourt on Gonzaga’s schedule failed to execute last season.

“B-Huff, you’ve got to be on your toes and Graham, you have to anchor down, you’re not getting pushed under the rim,” Jefferson said, describing the varying approaches needed to contain his highly accomplished teammates. “Those were some great battles.”

Picking up tips and tricks from Ike and Huff and approaching routine practice scrimmages as if they were high-stakes conference games allowed Jefferson to stay engaged through portions of the season where it might otherwise be easy for a redshirt’s attention to drift.

“It was just trying to come in with, ‘Can we steal a game today?’ ” said Jefferson, who usually played on the scout team that helped prepare Gonzaga’s starters. “Just every day trying to make it a game day for me.”

The actual game days started to take on a different meaning for Jefferson in mid-January, when Gonzaga lost Huff to a dislocated kneecap and Ike to an ankle injury within a span of 72 hours. Jefferson hadn’t been participating in pregame warmups up to that point, but coaches asked him to dress and get loose before a Jan. 17 game at Seattle U, prepping for the worst-case scenario.

“My mom almost killed me for that,” Jefferson laughed.

The redshirt experience allowed Jefferson to learn through his mistakes in a low-pressure setting while also making gradual improvements to his body. Jefferson came to Gonzaga weighing roughly 255 pounds and said he now hovers between 243-244. Most of the credit goes to strength coach Travis Knight but Jefferson also owes an assist to Ike, who became an important resource for health and nutrition and introduced the forward to Spokane-based juice bar Wellness Tree.

“I did a juice fast for a day and thought I was going to die,” Jefferson said.

Competing for minutes in Gonzaga’s frontcourt rotation doesn’t project to be any easier this season. Huff is returning for his senior year, 7-foot Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop joined Few’s roster as one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal and experienced Real Madrid forward Izan Almansa is expected to sign with the Zags this summer, provided he can obtain an eligibility waiver from the NCAA.

Jefferson understands the challenge that awaits and says he never considered moving to another school that may have been able to guarantee him a more defined role.

“It would take a lot for me to say no, I’m not coming back,” said Jefferson, who’s mainly played the “4,” or as a power forward, in summer practices up to this point. “Especially this year when I know I put a year in already, so what would make me want to go somewhere else? Obviously there was talks here and there, schools trying to come in, but I never – I’m happy where I’m at and I knew that.”

Jefferson is one of only seven scholarship players working through summer sessions right now – a stark contrast to last year, when every player not named Tyon Grant-Foster had reported by late June. Gonzaga is still waiting on three players who’ve either signed or committed and could still add one or two more pieces to its 2026-27 roster.

Additionally, the Zags are still waiting on Huff to be cleared for full-contact practices. The productive forward was rehabbing back home in the Chicago area before returning to Spokane earlier this month.

“Still just progressing. Not back yet, but he’s getting close,” Jefferson said of Huff earlier this month. “… We need him for the season, not right now in June. Every time I see him, he’s doing better. He’s a worker, he’s going to figure it out. Obviously it’s going to be tough with the injury stuff but he’s dealt with it before, came back from it. Not a doubt in my mind he’ll be back stronger.”

Jefferson will be in Spokane until the team’s final offseason break in August, when he plans to return to Los Angeles for more workouts with his agency, PRR Sports Management. In addition to carving out a role in the rotation, Jefferson hopes to develop a voice within the Zags’ locker room, recognizing the leadership voids left by Ike and GU’s other outgoing seniors.

“We only have five returners, so obviously outside of all the other guys I want to be a good voice,” he said. “Somebody that knows what the standard is and can upkeep that. That’s definitely my No. 1 goal. Obviously I want to play. I don’t know what that looks like but that’s up to me to earn it. I’ll come off the bench, whatever.

“But I want to bring energy when I come into the game and just kind of keep the standard up, do whatever I can whether it’s hook shots, 3s, whatever. I just want to be able to be a good connector for our offense as well. That’s kind of what our position does.”