Mark Few has a lot of work to do this offseason to rebuild the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who are down to just six total players on the roster - three who were not part of the rotation last year.
With five departures to graduation and another five in the transfer portal, Gonzaga will look to build around redshirt senior Braden Huff, rising sophomores Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supery, and redshirt freshman Parker Jefferson - along with a trio of incoming freshmen in guard Jack Kayil, wing Luca Foster, and center Sam Funches.
Among the many key needs for this team to pursue in the portal is a three point specialist, ideally someone who can play a guard spot off the ball alongside Saint-Supery and Fogle. Kayil should earn playing time right away as a 20-year-old freshman, but he's more of a downhill driver and will need some time to adjust to college basketball in the states.
Enter Tahlan Pettway, a 6'2 guard from Worcester, MA who has heard from Gonzaga after entering the transfer portal following a successful freshman season at Western Carolina.
Pettway averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 assists in his first year with the Catamounts, starting 10 out of 30 games and playing 22 minutes per night. The main reason he's on Gonzaga's radar, however, is his ability to light it up from beyond the arc. Pettway shot 39.4% from three on 4.2 attempts per game, making 50 threes on the year - which would have been first on GU's roster over Saint-Supery's 48.
Pettway also improved significantly as the year went on, scoring in double figures in 10 of his final 12 games at Western Carolina, a stretch where he averaged 13.4 points and shot 40% from three on 6.3 attempts per game. That included a career-high 24 points on 6-9 shooting from beyond the arc in a win over UNC Greensboro, 23 points on 8-12 shooting in the regular season finale against NCAA Tournament team Furman, and 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a conference tournament victory over Mercer.
The 6'2 guard has three years of eligibility remaining, and has proven himself a more than capable outside shooter who thrives off the ball - which works well alongside Saint-Supery and Fogle who will both have the ball in their hands quite a bit this upcoming season.
Pettway has also heard from a litany of other high profile programs, including Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, Providence, Pitt, and old friend Randy Bennett at Arizona State. But Gonzaga's interest here is proof they are looking to fix a glaring issue on last year's team, a group that shot just 33% from three - the worst mark in coach Few's tenure with the Zags.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Gonzaga reportedly contacts sharpshooting guard out of transfer portal .
