Sep. 14—Gonzaga released its women's basketball nonconference schedule Monday for the 2026-27 season, and it shapes up as possibly the most challenging out-of-conference slate the Zags have had under coach Lisa Fortier.
Fortier begins her 13th season with a nonconference schedule that features six teams that finished in the top 100 of the NET last season with four teams earning NCAA Tournament berths.
Gonzaga's three most attractive nonconference dates are road games — at Stanford (Nov. 15), at Arizona State (Dec. 6) and a men's/women's multi-event doubleheader vs. Michigan State (Dec. 19), the Acrisure Challenge, in Palm Desert, California.
Eight of 15 nonconference games are at McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga was going to have a 16th nonconference game — the maximum allowed with 16 conference games — but a third opponent in the North Shore Classic in Hawaii — Gonzaga's holiday tournament this year — pulled out last minute.
Whether Gonzaga lands a one-off additional nonconference game remains to be seen.

#state #schedule

Sep. 10—The opening week of the season was rough for the upper divisions of the Greater Spokane League as the 4A and 3A teams went a combined 3-7 in Week 1. Both No. 1 seeds to the postseason in 2025 — Gonzaga Prep and Cheney — suffered multiple-touchdown losses, and Week 2 won't get any easier for them.
But that's the beauty/danger of the league opening up its schedule to nonleague games early in the season. It allows teams with postseason aspirations to play tougher opponents to bulk up their schedules — but it also means the risk of psyche-busting early-season losses.
In the grand scheme of things, nothing that happened last Friday has any impact on which teams might reach the postseason. But no one wants to start the season 0-2, either.
Let's go around the league and take a closer look at the matchups for Week 2.
All games nonleague and Friday at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

#season #postseason #opening #nonleague

SEATTLE — Demond Williams Jr. threw for 268 yards and a touchdown, and No. 17 Washington survived offensive struggles for a 24-10 victory over Washington State in a season-opening Apple Cup on Sunday.
Williams also scored on a 5-yard keeper in the 118th meeting of the two teams, who were once both part of the Pac-12. Washington won last year's meeting 59-24 in Pullman.
Transfer Caden Pinnick made his debut as quarterback for the Cougars, throwing for 142 yards and scoring on an 11-yard keeper in the fourth quarter.
Washington State was one of the remaining members of the Pac-12 left after realignment broke apart the conference ahead of the 2024 season. The Cougars and Oregon State helped re-build the conference, which now includes Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State, along with non-football member Gonzaga.
The Huskies, meanwhile, bolted the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Washington went 9-4 last season with a 38-10 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl.

#williams #keeper

Sep. 2—Fans will have the opportunity to see Gonzaga no fewer than five times at McCarthey Athletic Center this season during the team's nonconference schedule.
Gonzaga's fifth known home nonconference game will take place on either Nov. 10 or 11 against Incarnate Word, according to Rocco Miller of Bracketeer.com. A tipoff time and television details for the Incarnate Word matchup, as well as Gonzaga's four other home nonleague games, will be announced at a later date.
The Zags are squeezing the Incarnate Word game into the schedule between the Nov. 7 home opener against New Mexico State and a Nov. 14 matchup against LSU and first-year coach at Numerica Veterans Arena.
It will be only the second meeting between Gonzaga and Incarnate Word, which lost 103-68 at the Kennel during the 2017-18 season. Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell Jr. scored a combined 35 points off Gonzaga's bench, with Josh Perkins adding 16 more points for the home team.
Incarnate Word is losing its top six scorers, including three players who averaged double digits, from last year's team that finished 12-19 overall and ninth in the Southland Conference with a record of 7-15.

#nonconference

Aug. 31—Gonzaga basketball fans will get their first look at this year's team on Oct. 3.
The Bulldogs announced their annual Kraziness in the Kennel showcase will take place on the first Saturday of October at 2 p.m.
The event will feature plenty of new faces after a tumultuous offseason starting point guard Mario Saint-Supery return to Spain and multiple incoming transfers.
The Zags will have player introductions followed by a scrimmage and other events. Expected to make their first appearance in a Gonzaga uniform will be underclassmen transfers Massamba Diop and Isiah Harwell; 5-in-5 transfers Javon Bennnett, Chauncey Wiggins and Xaivian Lee; international transfers Izan Almansa and Nathan De Sousa; and freshmen Luca Foster, Sam Funches and Juwan Ekanga Ehawa.
Note

#kraziness #october #saint

Former Florida basketball guard Xaivian Lee is on the move.
After spending the summer with the Cleveland Cavaliers on an Exhibit 10 deal, Lee is back in the college ranks after committing to Gonzaga on Aug. 26. In five league games with the Cavaliers in Las Vegas, Lee averaged 6.4 points and 2.4 ******* ists.
Lee is one of the members of the Class of 2022 fighting to gain a final year of eligibility after the NCAA passed its new five-for-five rule but would not instate it for his class.
The guard secured a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in California, which allowed him to join Gonzaga. Lee was one of 73 plaintiffs who were granted the TRO, but the NCAA could win an appeal.
In his lone season with Florida, Lee averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 ******* ists, and 3.7 rebounds per game, helping the Gators win the SEC regular-season ******* le. Prior to joining UF, he played at Princeton for three years.

#guard #points

While this isn't a direct replacement for now-North Carolina Tar Heels ******* istant coach Jorge Sanza, this addition to the Gonzaga Bulldogs staff with Seattle U Redhawks ******* istant coach Bryce Douglas is an exciting one that can pay off through his ability to scout, develop talent, and ******* yze opponents.
Douglas was with the Seattle U program for three seasons from 2023-26. He has had a myriad of stops in his career in both the college basketball and professional scene.
San Diego Toreros graduate ******* istant/video coordinator (2009-2011)
Whitman College ******* istant coach (2011-13)
Duke Blue Devils ******* istant video coordinator (2014-15; won the national championship)

#north #carolina

Now Valencia Basket's Mario Saint-Supery of Spain in the EuroLeague and LSU Tigers' Donovan Dent didn't want to be a part of the Gonzaga Bulldogs with the larger paycheck calling. Florida Gators' Xaivian Lee does, who has a natural fit with the program's style of running a half-court offense and utilizing the pick-and-roll heavily.
The point guard transfer committed to the Zags after receiving a fifth year of college eligibility and the ability to enter the transfer portal through a temporary restraining order in the state of California granted on Aug. 18. This move has been rumored for a couple of weeks now.
He's currently eligible, but the NCAA continues to appeal all the Class of 2022 athletes' statuses in what has been the craziest offseason full of nonsense and time-wasting lawsuits. Nothing is for certain in this time of age.
Despite him competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League this past July, Lee is still eligible to return to college basketball since he didn't officially sign an Exhibit 10 contract.
NEWS: Florida transfer guard Xaivian Lee has committed to Gonzaga, his agency GSLSportsGroup tells On3.

The 6-4 senior averaged 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.2 **** ists per game this past season. Lee played NBA Summer League with the Cavs.https://t.co/2T7nsHPuAg https://t.co/3Qy04vBEC1 pic.twitter.com/fKJis4aYtt

#Florida #summer #league #guard

The Slipper Still Fits sat down with the former leader of the Gonzaga Bulldogs from 1997-99, the man who helped orchestrate the name of this website through that magical 1999 Elite Eight run.
Dan Monson is now the head coach of the Eastern Washington Eagles. The 2026-27 group in nearby Cheney, Washington, plays a stacked non-conference slate on the road at the Stanford Cardinals, Oregon Ducks, Oregon State Beavers, Utah Utes, UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Loyola Marymount Lions, and Wyoming Cowboys. Plus, a neutral-site game with the Washington State Cougars in the Spokane Arena for the 509 Classic on Dec. 22. It feels like Monson was taking a page right out of Gonzaga's playbook to schedule heavily in the first half of the season.
He spoke about his recent trip to Springfield, Massachusetts, for Mark Few's Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction, leaving Spokane, Washington, for the Minnesota Golden Gophers job, the current messy state of the NCAA, and learning from his dad, the late great Don Monson, in the Tri Cities.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X a_cravalho

#gonzaga #oregon #still #fits

With the continuous disaster that the NCAA created and put on itself, some more bad news on the Gonzaga Bulldogs'front.
According to court documents from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, all Class of 2022 athletes from the state of Colorado ruling, except for those who have their own temporary restraining order or injunction until further state court order, are now ineligible after the NCAA stay was granted in the Ohio case.
That includes Gonzaga point guard Javon Bennett with the injunction now pending. He can attempt to join an existing state lawsuit or file a separate lawsuit, but there's no guarantee a judge will allow that.
The Zags technically have four open roster spots with all this fifth-year college eligibility nonsense going on in college athletics. They still await the outcome for point guard Nathan De Sousa of France's Cholet Basket and power forward/center Izan Almansa of Spain's Real Madrid.
To make the day even worse, Gonzaga is out of the lead guard Donovan Dent sweepstakes. The UCLA Bruins transfer guard will be joining coach Will Wade and the LSU Tigers, he told On3. After announcing his retirement from basketball in May and then unretiring in July, everyone thought Dent was headed to Spokane, Washington, once Mario Saint-Supery left the program for Spain's Valencia Basket of the EuroLeague.

#gonzaga

Aug. 21—Gonzaga hasn't released its final nonconference schedule, but anyone willing to do some digging can probably discover a few of the missing pieces.
For example, a quick internet search of Montana State's schedule would've led someone to the third known home game of Gonzaga's 2026-27 nonleague slate.
According to Montana State's athletics website, the Bobcats are scheduled to visit Gonzaga on Nov. 17, one week before Mark Few's program takes on the 16-team Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
A tipoff time and television broadcast details will be announced at a later date.
SB Nation's Gonzaga website, Slipper Still Fits, identified the matchup with Montana State hours after The Spokesman-Review discovered another home game against NAIA Eastern Oregon, thanks to an updated schedule on the Mountaineers' site.

#bobcats

Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies are reportedly interested in a newly eligible player.
South Alabama guard Chaze Harris, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year, has heard from Washington, SMU, and Seton Hall in the transfer portal after being granted an injunction to become eligible for the 2026-27 season, according to a report from 247Sports' Dushawn London.
Harris' injunction stems from similar cases around the country, granting fourth-year seniors who have recently graduated the opportunity to return to school in the wake of the NCAA's change to a 5-in-5 eligibility model that gave class of 2023 athletes and later the ability to play five years of competition. A similar injunction recently allowed Washington football defensive lineman Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei to return to the Huskies shortly after the beginning of fall practice.
What makes Washington's reported interest more confusing than all of the legalese, however, is that the Huskies' roster is full. Sprinkle's team has 15 players as of right now: Wesley Yates III, Nikola Dzepina, Mady Traore, Lathan Sommerville, Jasir Rencher, Rutgers transfer Harun Zrno, Davidson transfer Parker Friedrichsen, Gonzaga transfer Steele Venters, San Francisco transfer Ryan Beasley, Texas Tech transfer LeJuan Watts, Australian Tristan Devers, Croatian Boris Tišma, Brazilian Wini Braga Silva, freshman Lattimore Ford, and walk-on Brandon Roy Jr.
The Huskies added a 16th player - Dzepina - last season, but were only able to do so because Traore suffered a season-ending injury before the first game. In order to add Harris, a similar situation would need to occur. One possibility is that Rencher will be held out of games this season as he recovers from heart surgery - although he has been participating in summer workouts, there is no clarity on whether he has been cleared for game action. Another is that one of Washington's other players has suffered an as-yet unreported injury serious enough that the Huskies want a former conference player of the year to step in and give the Huskies a boost.

#huskies #harris #season #dzepina

The 6-7, 215-pound wing, Iowa Hawkeyes wing Tavion Banks, received an extra year of college eligibility through the state of Colorado's injunction against the NCAA. After the eligibility ruling, Banks told 247 Sports that the Gonzaga Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, and Oklahoma Sooners are his four choices for his last college basketball campaign. A return to Iowa City, Iowa, is not being considered.
Banks averaged 10.2 points on 52.0 field goal percentage/44.2 three-point percentage/79.2 free throw percentage, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 37 games played, including 35 starts, for Iowa this past season.
Before joining the Hawkeyes, the Kansas City, Missouri, native began his career on the junior college level at Northwest Florida State College for his first two seasons. Banks then transferred to the Drake Bulldogs under coach Ben McCollum in 2024-25 and followed him to Iowa in 2025-26.
Gonzaga has one of their 15 roster spots available at the moment, but is also awaiting the NCAA to grant approval of 6-3 point guard Nathan De Sousa from France's Cholet Basket and 6-10 power forward/center Izan Almansa from Spain's Real Madrid.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X a_cravalho

#ncaa

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team returned six players from last season's squad that finished 16-17 overall.
This left the Huskies with nine spots on the roster to fill, which it did via a trio of international signings: forward Wini Braga (Brazil), forward Boris Tisma (Croatia) and guard Tristan Devers (Australia); transfer portal additions: guard Harun Zrno (Rutgers), guard Ryan Beasley (San Francisco), forward LeJuan Watts (Texas Tech), forward Steele Venters (Gonzaga), guard Parker Friedrichsen (Davidson) and Class of 2026 commit, small forward Lattimore Ford.
Even with Washington's roster at full capacity, that hasn't prevented the team from looking at other players currently available.
According to a post on "X" from 247Sports recruiting ****** yst Dushawn London, 2025-26 Sun Belt Player of the Year and former South Alabama guard Chaze Harris has hear from the Huskies, Seton Hall and Southern Methodist (SMU).
Harris graduated and ran out of eligibility last season, but entered the transfer portal and was granted a fifth year of eligibility after receiving an injunction in court against the NCAA.

#guard

Aug. 17—The Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame has released its latest class.
Legendary coaches Ken Pelo and Pat Tyson, Gonzaga and Mead High School basketball star Jeff Brown, distance running great Rick Riley and NCAA champion wrestler Jared Lawrence will be honored in an Oct. 21 ceremony at Numerica Veterans Arena, along with Scroll of Honor inductees Bill Stanley and Bob Tobiason.
Tickets for the 4 p.m. event, sponsored by Spokane Sports, can be purchased online at https://ticketswestinw.eve...
Brown was Spokane's first Washington Player of the Year after scoring a record 127 points for Mead in the 1989 State AAA tournament. He was the 1994 Player of the Year at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to their first WCC ****** le and the school's first postseason appearance.
Lawrence went 133-0 in his Sandpoint wrestling career with four state championships and earning the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

#gonzaga

On Aug. 15 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Gonzaga Bulldogs alum and 6-2, 220-pound guard Jeremy Pargo was named the BIG3's Most Valuable Player. The 2007-08 West Coast Conference Player of the Year is also a three-time all-star with the 3-on-3 league founded by rapper Ice Cube.
At 40 years old, Pargo has still got it. The captain hit a game-winning three-pointer to beat the Chicago Triplets, 50-47, and send the Boston Ball Hogs to their first-ever ***** le game against the Dallas Power next Saturday, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m. PT on CBS/BET. He finished with 14 points, four rebounds, and four ***** ists in the semifinal victory over the Triplets.
This summer with the Ball Hogs, the Chicago, Illinois native led the BIG3 in total points (180), ***** ists (35), three-pointers made (20), and four-pointers made (seven, a single-season record).
Most recently, Pargo competed with Grindavik of the Urvalsdeild Karla in Iceland. He won the Icelandic League championship and was named the Most Valuable Player there as well, scoring 48 points on 10-of-16 three-pointers in the championship-clinching game over Tindastoll.
During his 17-year professional basketball career, Pargo has played in countries like Israel, Russia, China, Italy, Lebanon, and Spain, to go along with three seasons in the NBA.

#four #Chicago

Aug. 16—SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen years before Gonzaga transformed into an undisputed college basketball power, the small Jesuit university in Spokane made a brief flicker on the national stage with a standout point guard from a high school just down the street.
Gonzaga Prep's John Stockton captured WCAC Player of the Year in 1984, earned all-conference honors in consecutive seasons and was selected 16th overall by the Utah Jazz in the 1984 NBA draft. Chances are you know the rest of the story.
Stockton's Naismith Hall of Fame induction call came in 2009, six years after the NBA's all-time ****** ists leader wrapped up a distinguished, record-setting career with the Utah Jazz and 25 years removed from his final game in a Zag uniform.
But would the point guard ever have company in Springfield, Massachusetts? The odds of another Gonzaga induction always seemed low. Lightning usually doesn't strike twice for a midmajor school in a small-market city like Spokane, but Stockton was always willing to make room if somebody else ever came along.
"It's unbelievable and special. What are the chances?" Stockton said Friday, 24 hours before Gonzaga coach Mark Few officially joined him in the pantheon of college and professional basketball as a newly enshrined Hall of Famer. "You look back 30, maybe 40 years ago and you would've never thought any of this could happen. So it's pretty exciting for all of us."

#years #spokane

Coach Mark Few put the Gonzaga Bulldogs program and the university in Spokane, Washington, on the map. An underdog who built something that was never supposed to happen at a tiny Jesuit institution in the Inland Northwest.
Forget all the wins, championships, and NBA pedigree from its alumni for a second; his presence helped the school's enrollment and finances throughout the last 27 years. Helping grow other educational disciplines, such as mine with the Department of Integrated Media, and others. This situation for both parties was a match made in heaven from the beginning.
Along with Few, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 inducted coach Doc Rivers, coach Mike D'Antoni, forward/center Amar'e Stoudemire, forward Chamique Holdsclaw, forward Candace Parker, forward Elena Delle Donne, referee Joey Crawford, and the 1996 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team. The group received their "Naismith Orange" jackets the day before at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
In attendance for Few's ceremony were, first and foremost, his family: wife Marcy Laca, sons AJ, Joe, Colt, and daughter Julia. His presenters were Hall of Famer John Stockton, Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari, and Managing Director of USA Basketball Grant Hill.
Arizona Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd, former Villanova Wildcats coach Jay Wright, sportscaster Neil Everett showed their love for Few. As well as some of his past and current staff members like **** istant coaches Brian Michaelson, RJay Barsh, Zach Norvell, Dan Monson, Bill Grier, Ray Giacoletti, Ricky Fois, and Roger Powell.

#coach

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker's WNBA careers were intertwined with so many great moments.
Now they are forever bonded, enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class Saturday night. They were joined by the 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team, Chamique Holdsclaw, NBA player Amar'e Stoudemire, longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D'Antoni, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
Delle Donne turned her speech into a love letter to the game of basketball with all the ups and downs she faced in her career. But she always kept life in perspective, thanks to her older sister Lizzie, who is blind and deaf.
"She never played in front of thousands of people, never had a standing ovation. never been interviewed after a big win. Yet I've never met anyone stronger," Delle Donne said, choking up. "Thank you all for keeping me going."
Delle Donne won MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot more than 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line.

#line

According to 247Sports' Dushawn London, Gonzaga Bulldogs commit Skylar Wicks has been granted a waiver from the NCAA for an additional season of eligibility. Surprisingly, the 6-6 Saint Francis Red Wolves hybrid wing transfer since early July will now officially suit up for the Zags for the 2026-27 season, having received the approval on Aug. 4.
Wicks, a Jersey City, New Jersey native, was named to the All-Northeast Conference Third Team this past season after averaging 17.8 points (led team) on a 41.0 field goal percentage/36.3 three-point percentage/72.5 free throw percentage in the Northeast Conference. He also chipped in 6.7 rebounds (led team), 2.8 **** ists, and 1.4 steals in 28 starts.
The 26-year-old has been all over the place throughout his collegiate career:
Missouri State Bears (2020-21)
Redshirt season (2021-22)

#team #according #dushawn

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke died in May from the effects of heroin and cocaine, authorities said Friday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said the 29-year-old basketball player's death was accidental.
Clarke was found dead inside a home near Los Angeles on May 11. A person familiar with the terms of the investigation told The **** ociated Press after the Grizzlies announced Clarke's passing that drug paraphernalia was found at the residence. The person had spoken on condition of anonymity because those details had not been released publicly.
Clarke was under contract to be with the Grizzlies through the 2026-27 season.
About six weeks before he died, Clarke was arrested in Arkansas on charges of speeding, reckless driving and possessing a controlled substance. He was with Memphis for all seven of his pro seasons after finishing his college career at Gonzaga.

#angeles #found

Duke basketball has announced its Dec. 8 matchup against Georgia in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
College basketball insider Jon Rothstein first reported the matchup May 29 before the Blue Devils officially announced it Tuesday, Aug. 6. The game will be part of a doubleheader that also features Alabama and Houston.
The matchup will be the sixth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Blue Devils, but the first since 1932. Georgia leads the all-time series 3-2.
The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, while the Blue Devils finished the 2025-26 season 35-3, sweeping the ACC regular-season and tournament ******* les.
The announcement marks Duke's second schedule addition in as many days after the Blue Devils revealed a Dec. 4 home game against Harvard and head coach Tommy Amaker. The Blue Devils' nonconference slate also includes Michigan State, Illinois, Washington State, UConn, Florida, Gonzaga and Texas Tech. Duke will return to Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21 to face the Red Raiders.

#blue #garden

Aug. 5—A recent court ruling in Ohio has enabled Gonzaga to fill one of its vacant backcourt spots three months before the start of the college basketball season.
Javon Bennett, a 5-foot-10 point guard who earned All-Atlantic 10 first-team honors last season at Dayton, committed to the Zags on Wednesday after securing a fifth season of eligibility three weeks ago through a preliminary injunction in Ohio.
Bennett's agent, Harrison Gaines, confirmed the player's commitment to Joe Tipton of On3.com.
A veteran guard who appeared in 136 college basketball games over four seasons at Merrimack and Dayton, Bennett was one of the 15 student-athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Ohio, claiming they should be eligible to return for a fifth season through the governing body's new age-based eligibility model, also known as the "5-for-5" rule.
With only eight players signed to financial aid agreements as of Wednesday, Gonzaga is in a position to add multiple players in the coming weeks, and desperately needed to address its depth in the backcourt after combo guard Jack Kayil kept his name in the NBA draft and starting point guard Mario Saint-Supery signed a professional contract with Valencia in early July.

#dayton #three

One of the most experienced guards in college basketball has committed to Gonzaga. Former Dayton standout Javon Bennett will seek to play out his final season of eligibility with the Bulldogs, according to a report from On3's Joe Tipton.
Bennett was one of 15 players who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in the wake of the NCAA approving an age-based eligibility model. The suit resulted in an injunction for the 15 athletes in Ohio, granting them eligibility for the 2026-27 college basketball season.
[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]
The injunction also granted the athletes the ability to transfer now outside of the NCAA's designated transfer portal window. The transfer portal window for men's basketball opened on Tuesday, April 7 and closed on Tuesday, April 21.
Javon Bennett should be a quality addition for Gonzaga. He spent his last three years suiting up for Dayton after initially starting his college career at Merrimack.

#eligibility #transfer #dayton

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has signed a five-year contract for the Jayhawks to participate in the Players Era Festival, tying one of college basketball's storied programs to one of the more innovative, forward-thinking tournaments in the sport.
The Players Era began in Las Vegas in 2024 with the idea of funneling at least $1 million toward each participating school's name, image and likeness fund. Oregon wound up beating Alabama in the finale of the eight-team competition.
The tournament expanded last year to 18 teams, when it went from an elimination-style tournament to a pool-based system where margin of victory mattered, and a four-team women's event began. The Jayhawks beat Tennessee in the third-place game of the men's event, while eventual national champion Michigan routed Gonzaga to win the championship.
Along with at least $1 million in guaranteed payouts, an additional $12 million was allocated to teams based on performance.
Now, the Jayhawks are locked into the tournament through the 2030-31 season, giving coach Bill Self's team a marquee early-season showcase while ensuring the program has a lucrative NIL stream in an era where finances matter more than ever.

#least

ESPN's Jeff Borzello has a long column up on that explores the impact of Judge Charlotte Sweeney's decision to give every member of the 2022 class a fifth year of eligibility.
First up: the NCAA will certainly appeal the decision, and might win that appeal. So it's not a done deal yet.
But for now, everyone has to react, and judging by Borzello's article, coaches have no idea how to deal with this level of uncertainty.
Getting what amounts to a second portal in August might be good for some programs – Gonzaga lost their point guard recently and needs a new one – but for the overall sport, it's terrible. Just look at this quote from a Big 12 ******* istant coach: "Every day you wake up, it's a new apocalypse in college basketball."
Guys like former NC State wing Darrion Williams, Miami's Malik Reanu, and former Tar Heels Seth Trimble, Cade Tyson, and Jalen Washington could all land on a team for next year – in August (Duke may see Washington soon: Tennessee is rumored to be the leader).

#every

Aug. 1—A landmark ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado will open the door for hundreds of college athletes to return to school this coming fall and could help Gonzaga rebuild its roster at a crucial point of the offseason.
On Friday afternoon, Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction that will give any athlete from the high school class of 2022 an additional year of college eligibility.
The ruling comes after dozens of student-athletes in multiple states filed lawsuits against the NCAA, **** erting they should be eligible to compete under the regulatory body's new "5-for-5" rule that gives players five years to play five seasons.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, who previously stated outgoing college seniors wouldn't be grandfathered in to play under "5-for-5," reacted to Friday's court ruling through a written statement.
"Without targeted intervention from Congress, college sports cannot set nationwide rules everyone can play by and without Congress, failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker said. "It is long past time leaders across college sports call for the immediate passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act. ... Today's rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it's time to pass this bill."

#college #sports #play #congress

Jul. 30—Gonzaga's home opener against New Mexico State doesn't project to be one of the most compelling games on the team's nonconference calendar, but it just became significantly more important.
The Zags are set to host one of the top guard prospects in the recruiting class of 2027, Bremerton High's Jalen Davis, when they welcome the Aggies for the Nov. 7 game at McCarthey Athletic Center.
A 6-foot-3, 165-pound combo guard, Davis is taking four other official visits before closing his recruiting tour with a stop in Spokane, according to Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports.com.
Davis doesn't have dates scheduled for visits to Stanford and Ole Miss, but plans to see both schools in September, according to 247Sports. The top-rated prospect in Washington then will visit Iowa on Oct. 3 and UCLA on Oct. 16 before making the cross-state trip to Gonzaga for his only visit in November. Davis has already taken one official visit, making the short drive to Seattle to tour Washington's campus during a home football weekend.
Each of the three major recruiting services — On3/Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN — consider Davis the top-rated prospect in Washington and one of the nation's top five combo guards. According to 247Sports, he's the third-rated combo guard in the class of 2027 and the 16th-rated player in the country.

#according #guard #combo

Michigan basketball is set to add another blueblood to its schedule.
The Wolverines are in the process of finalizing a two-year deal with Louisville, a program source with knowledge of the plans confirmed to the Free Press. The plan is to play in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena this season, with a "return" trip to be played next season in Indianapolis.
This season's game could potentially be played Dec. 5, though the teams are still finalizing the dates.
This appears to be an ACC replacement for a matchup with Duke in December. That game against the Blue Devils was nixed after being originally scheduled for New York then Miami.
It's yet another big-time name Michigan will play in a schedule that already includes an exhibition against Houston, and nonconference games against UConn (in a rematch of April's national championship game), Villanova and Marquette. That's in addition to the Wolverines' participation in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week; U-M's slate in that tourney features an opener vs. Creighton followed by a Day 2 matchup with either Miami (Florida) or TCU and a third game against Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor or Alabama.

#game #finalizing #play #matchup

Michigan basketball is set to add another blueblood to its schedule.
The Wolverines are in the process of finalizing a two-year deal with Louisville, a program source with knowledge of the plans confirmed to the Free Press. The plan is to play in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena this season, with a "return" trip to be played next season in Indianapolis.
This season's game could potentially be played Dec. 5, though the teams are still finalizing the dates.
This appears to be an ACC replacement for a matchup with Duke in December. That game against the Blue Devils was nixed after being originally scheduled for New York then Miami.
It's yet another big-time name Michigan will play in a schedule that already includes an exhibition against Houston, and nonconference games against UConn (in a rematch of April's national championship game), Villanova and Marquette. That's in addition to the Wolverines' participation in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week; U-M's slate in that tourney features an opener vs. Creighton followed by a Day 2 matchup with either Miami (Florida) or TCU and a third game against Gonzaga, Kansas State, Baylor or Alabama.

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