Transfer forward Michael Ajayi lone Gonzaga player testing NBA Draft waters

The official list of NBA draft early entrants was released Tuesday and it contained no surprises for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

As expected, Michael Ajayi, the Pepperdine transfer who committed to Gonzaga in March, is the only Zag among nearly 200 early entrants. He declared for the draft in early April while retaining the right to return to college.

Forward Graham Ike, who had a big junior season with a team-leading 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, and point guard Ryan Nembhard, who averaged 12.6 points and set a program single-season record with 243 assists, were considered possibilities to test the NBA draft waters, although neither have been prominent in mock drafts.

Other possibilities included guard Nolan Hickman, who averaged a career-best 14.0 points and hit a team-high 41.3% of his 3-point attempts as a junior, and junior forward Ben Gregg, who cracked the starting lineup in January and was a key contributor as GU reached the Sweet 16.

Wing Steele Venters went through the draft process last summer before returning to school. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in November days before Gonzaga’s season opener against Yale. The former Eastern Washington standout, a projected starter prior to the injury, and appears to be on track for the 2024-25 season.

Anton Watson entered the draft a year ago before opting to return for his fifth season. Julian Strawther, eventually selected late in the first round by Denver, and Malachi Smith, who played in the NBA G League, opted to stay in last year’s draft.

While the potential of players leaving early for the NBA is no longer a concern for GU, college basketball’s transfer portal deadline looms Wednesday, which could attract some bigger names to explore options at programs with deep name, image and likeness (NIL) pockets.

There is an exception for coaching changes, which gives players 30 days to enter the portal from the date their coaches departed.

The NCAA recently approved a measure that eliminated an exception for graduate transfers. They are now required to follow the same deadline (Wednesday) as other transfers.

Freshman forward Pavle Stosic, who played just 46 minutes in 14 appearances last season, and walk-on wing Colby Brooks, who played 40 minutes in 14 games, are the only Gonzaga players in the transfer portal thus far.

If that remains the case through Wednesday, Gonzaga’s roster should look similar to last season with four returning starters (Ike, Hickman, Nembhard and Gregg), two top reserves (Braden Huff and Dusty Stromer) and Venters returning from injury.

College programs typically experience considerable roster turnover every year in transfer portal and NIL era.

More than 1,900 players entered the portal since the window opened March 18.

Watson, a first-team All-West Coast Conference forward, is the biggest departure. Ajayi is the biggest addition at this point, provided he withdraws from the draft by the May 29 deadline.

“If they (NBA executives) want me to go back for another year of school, correct stuff and work on things, whatever they say, I’ll work on my game and do a year at Gonzaga,” Ajayi told The Spokesman-Review about three weeks ago.

Gonzaga has three open scholarships.