Chet Holmgren Commits to Gonzaga
Chet Holmgren, the consensus number one player in the 2021 recruiting class, committed to play his college basketball at Gonzaga on Monday, Apr. 19. The 7’0” big man out of Minneapolis, Minnesota picked Gonzaga over schools such as Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgetown and playing in the NBA G-League.
(John Autey / Pioneer Press)
He is the highest-rated recruit to pick Gonzaga and he is a former high school teammate with Jalen Suggs, who just declared for the NBA draft after his freshman year at Gonzaga. During his senior season, Holmgren averaged 20.6 points, 12.6 rebounds, 5.2 blocks and 4.5 assists per game, and shot a ridiculous 80 percent from the field. Holmgren is an extremely unique player. At 7’0” he can handle the ball and shoot in like a guard but it also very mobile and should be a great rim protector.
He will be a huge matchup problem as he moves farther along in his basketball career. He is truly a unique player who will provide an immediate impact for Gonzaga, a team that was one game away from having a perfect season in 2021.
For as great as Holmgren is, he only weighs 190 pounds; he will need to get stronger and show that he can handle the physicality at the next level. On offense, you can truly play Holmgren at any position on the court where on defense, Holmgren will be able to guard 4’s and 5’s. It’s going to be interesting to see how Gonzaga uses Holmgren on defense. Expect them to put him on a 4 man so he can hang around and make plays from the weak side. It will be interesting to see how Holmgren is used along with Drew Timme. Holmgren has guard skills and Timme will be the best low post scorer in the country next year. A few years ago, Gonzaga had Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis. They ran a bunch of sets where they either looked for a Wiltjer jumper or Sabonis on the inside. I think you could see Gonzaga's attack similarly with Holmgren taking Wilder's role and Timme taking the role of Sabonis.
Holmgren, along with Duke commit Paolo Banchero, are already the early favorites to go number one in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The Zags had a great season in 2021. Again, they were one win away from being the first team since 1976 Indiana to finish a season undefeated. Gonzaga will lose key players such as Suggs, Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert but other starters Timme and Andrew Nembhard are expected to return to school.
With Holmgren, Gonzaga has the number two recruiting class in the nation, according to 247 sports. Joining Holmgren is Hunter Salis, the number six player in the country who is a combo guard from Omaha, Nebraska. Kaden Perry, the 53rd ranked player in the country, who is a center from Battle Ground, Washington and Fanbo Zeng, who was originally supposed to be a member in the 2022 class but reclassified to 2021. Zeng is a forward from China who is the 72nd ranked player in the class. With one scholarship left to use, Source Sliperstillfits breaks down how Gonzaga’s roster looks so far for the 2021-2022 season.
With Gonzaga’s current roster construction, you can expect them to be active in the transfer portal to look for a guard or a wing. But regardless, you should expect the Zags to be very good again in 2022.
