Who Steps Up For Gonzaga Following Significant Knee Injury To Braden Huff?

The Gonzaga Bulldogs will person their extent tested nan remainder of convention play, and perchance beyond, pursuing a report connected Thursday that prima guardant Braden Huff will miss 4-8 weeks pinch a near knee wounded suffered during practice.

The Zags are hoping to person Huff backmost earlier nan extremity of nan play - pinch nan WCC Tournament title slated for March 10, astir 7.5 weeks from nan timing of Huff's wounded announcement.

The redshirt inferior is nan lone Gonzaga subordinate to commencement each 18 games this season, stepping into a starting domiciled aft 2 years serving arsenic Graham Ike's backup. Huff has maintained his highly businesslike scoring moreover successful an accrued role, starring nan squad pinch 17.8 points per crippled while shooting a convention champion 66.2% from nan field.

Huff's level of accumulation will beryllium difficult for Gonzaga to replace, and will apt require immoderate productivity from Mark Few and his coaching staff.

The contiguous beneficiary of playing clip for Gonzaga will beryllium redshirt elder Jalen Warley, who presently plays 20.1 minutes per crippled disconnected nan chair arsenic a versatile helping defender, playmaker, and beardown rebounder.

Warley stands conscionable 6'6 but regularly plays a non-traditional powerfulness guardant domiciled for nan Zags, acknowledgment to his magnitude and proclivity to drawback violative boards. However, he's not overmuch of a scorer, averaging 6.3 points connected conscionable 4.6 section extremity attempts per game, which ranks seventh connected nan team.

While Warley's accrued beingness makes Gonzaga an moreover tougher squad defensively, it importantly hurts nan team's violative firepower, which has agelong been predicated connected move two-big lineups.

Joining Warley successful what is expected to beryllium a bigger domiciled disconnected nan chair is Tyon Grant-Foster, Gonzaga's 3rd starring scorer astatine 11.7 points per game. The 6'7 helping is much comfortable distant from nan rim, giving him room to run arsenic a downhill driver aliases arsenic a jump shooter, but he could beryllium asked to capable Huff's domiciled successful definite situations - astatine slightest while Gonzaga useful to set nan discourtesy successful Huff's absence.

If Grant-Foster does extremity up playing much minutes astatine nan four, don't beryllium amazed to spot existent freshman Davis Fogle disconnected nan chair much often connected nan wing. Fogle has excelled arsenic a scorer this season, averaging 6.1 points successful conscionable 8.0 minutes a contest, though he has not played overmuch extracurricular of late-game blowouts. Still, nan scoring acumen and relentless effort connected some ends of nan level could consequence successful nan 6'7 helping connected nan level much while nan squad looks for someone, anyone, who tin put nan shot successful nan hoop to switch Huff's adjacent 18 points per night.

Lastly, Gonzaga will request much size connected nan level successful definite matchups - peculiarly against Saint Mary's - and that is wherever sophomore Ismaila Diagne will travel in.

Diagne stands 7'0 but has played sparingly this year, appearing successful 13 of nan team's 18 games and playing conscionable 7 minutes per night. The large man showed flashes of excellence - including a masterful showing past twelvemonth against Santa Clara, wherever he scored 9 points connected 4-4 shooting successful 18 minutes - and will beryllium connected nan level much while Huff is retired to springiness Gonzaga much-needed size, rebounding, and rim protection successful Huff's absence.

The large man from Senegal has been processing mostly down nan scenes successful his 2 years successful Spokane, and now it is clip to spot if coach Few and nan staff's agelong -standing estimation for processing large man talent has paid disconnected yet for Diagne, who becomes arguably nan biggest x-factor connected this roster for nan foreseeable future.

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