The offseason for every major sport is often a time for reflection, examining legacies, comparing players, and making lists. Lots and lots of lists.
The folks at Field of 68 created plenty of discussion on social media with their ranking of the top-25 men’s college basketball players from the past decade – a list that was bound to cause controversy as it is nearly impossible to find consensus in such an undertaking.
Despite the Gonzaga Bulldogs appearing in two national championships and seven sweet 16’s in the past decade, they only had one player represented among the top-25: Drew Timme, who came in at No. 13 overall.
While there are a handful of players who could have merited inclusion for the Zags – including Pryzemek Karnowski, Rui Hachimura, Nigel Williams-Goss, and Josh Perkins – perhaps the most notable omission was big man Brandon Clarke.
After two years at San Jose State, and one year sitting out due to transfer rules, Clarke played for Gonzaga during the 2018-19 season and flat out dominated. His surface level numbers – 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 1.9 assists with a 68.7% field goal rate – are excellent, but the Slipper Still Fits laid out just how valuable Clarke was in his lone season on the court in Spokane.
Williamson consistently overshadowed Clarke’s outstanding season at GU, but statistically there was little difference between the two – and the one head-to-head matchup between them resulted in an epic Gonzaga victory over Feast Week in 2018.
Clarke responded to the list on Twitter with a reminder to himself and some love for the Gonzaga community:
“Told myself to never look at these lists because I already know,” Clarke wrote. “As long as my Zag family remembers.”
Clarke was not only under-appreciated while at Gonzaga, he fell to No. 21 in the NBA draft mostly because of concerns about his wingspan, concerns which look silly now as he’s carved out an excellent career so far with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Host – Locked on Zags Podcast
Writer – Ducks Wire