Kyle Wiltjer will return to Gonzaga for senior season
Kyle Wiltjer has decided to return for his senior season at Gonzaga, according to a GU source.
The 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward had been considering the possibility of declaring for the NBA Draft but he’s informed coaches and teammates he’ll be back with the Zags. The early-entry deadline is Sunday.
Wiltjer, Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis formed one of the nation’s best frontcourts last season. Karnowski and Sabonis have indicated they are returning and the Zags also will have 7-foot sophomore Ryan Edwards, who is coming off a redshirt season.
Wiltjer led Gonzaga in scoring at 16.8 points and was second in rebounding at 6.2 per game. He was named second-team NABC All-American and third team AP All-American. The Portland native figures to one of the favorites for player of the year honors next season.
Wiltjer, a transfer from the University of Kentucky who sat out the 2014 season, poured in 45 points against Pacific, third on Gonzaga’s single-game scoring list. He led the Zags in scoring in 18 games, including four of the last five. Wiltjer made 54 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 46.6 percent of 3-pointers, and 79 percent from the free-throw line.
Shortly after the 2015 season ended, the Zags were ranked in the top 10 of several way-too-early 2016 polls with the presumption that their frontcourt players would return. Gonzaga must replace starting guards Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr., and wing Byron Wesley, but they have promising youngsters in Josh Perkins, Silas Melson and Bryan Alberts as well as rising seniors Kyle Dranginis and Eric McClellan.
The Zags are among the finalists for a couple of prominent transfers. Gonzaga is expected to conduct an in-home visit Wednesday with former Drexel standout Damion Lee, a 6-foot-6 wing who ranked among the national scoring leaders at 21.4 points per game.
Lee, who is also considering Arizona, Marquette, Maryland and Louisville, is on course to graduate in June and would be eligible immediately.