In their fashionable red/blue warm-up suits, it was redshirt junior guard Braeden Smith, senior guard Adam Miller, senior guard Steele Venters, junior forward Braden Huff, and senior Graham Ike getting
the starting nod pregame.
Very early on during the first half, the well-talked-about double point guard lineup of Smith and Spanish freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery (all of his 12 points came in the second half, going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc) was thrown out by coach Mark Few. That is a duo that will be seen quite often in the backcourt throughout 2025-26.
Smith, a Colgate Raiders transfer, had his team running and gunning up the floor, something that should be expected from the Zags’ quick-paced offense. The lead guard had 15 points on a shooting clip of 4-for-6 from the field, 2-for-4 on three-pointers, and 6-for-8 at the free throw line, adding in a tied for team-high four assists (Huff chipped in four as well).
Florida State Seminoles and Virginia Cavaliers senior transfer Jalen Warley did it all for the Zags, concluding with a near double-double at nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Venters has been eager to get back on the court, not playing since the 2023 NIT with the Eastern Washington Eagles, and looked like his old self, just a beautiful sight to see. Hopefully, his personal shooting percentage can bring up Gonzaga’s 35.4 three-point shooting percentage from 2024-25, which was the worst in the Few era.
In just his second time playing in front of a McCarthey Athletic Crowd, freshman Davis Fogle had the most surprising, yet most impressive performance of the afternoon after finishing with a game-high 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field. He had three strong flushes at the rim and executed that pretty mid-range jumper of his on multiple possessions.
The minutes out on the wing position will be tough to deal with all the weapons available. Junior Emmanuel Innocenti also wasn’t available, nursing a hip injury that he suffered towards the end of the Blue-White scrimmage at Kraziness in the Kennel a couple of weeks ago.
The Zags as a whole did struggle from the charity stripe, only completing 57.1 percent on 24-for-42. Remember to take results from an exhibition like this (especially against an NAIA program) with a grain of salt; the same goes for the final practice test before the start of the non-conference against the D-II Western Oregon Wolves on Monday, October 27th at 6 p.m. PT on KHQ.
Grand Canyon transfer Tyon-Grant Foster, who just yesterday heard that his appeal for an extra year of eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA, was seen on the Gonzaga sidelines. His practice waiver, which was granted by the NCAA over two weeks ago, no longer applies as he awaits the results of his preliminary injunction on Thursday.
Few spoke on the confusing matter postgame with the media.
“I have a lot of respect for and have been a big proponent of the NCAA and they have a tough gig, but they are wrong on this one.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few
In recruiting news out of the 2026 class, four-star wing Luca Foster from Link Academy in Missouri was in the house on his official visit against Northwest. The “We Want Luca” chants broke out from the Kennel Club, and everyone knows how that helped out with 2026 four-star center Sam Funches’ decision to join Zag Nation during his official visit to Kraziness in the Kennel.
Foster’s other eight finalists are the Villanova Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, Michigan Wolverines, Georgetown Hoyas, Ohio State Buckeyes, Virginia Cavaliers, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Oregon Ducks.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho
