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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga well-represented with four on ESPN’s all-time top transfers list

Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke acknowledges teammate Rui Hachimura after he assisted on Clarke’s basket in a 2019 NCAA Tournament second-round win over Baylor in Salt Lake City. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review)
Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke acknowledges teammate Rui Hachimura after he assisted on Clarke’s basket in a 2019 NCAA Tournament second-round win over Baylor in Salt Lake City. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga’s rise to national prominence is the product of countless reasons, one of which is the program’s emergence as a destination for quality transfers.

Transfers have dotted GU rosters throughout its two-decades-plus streak of NCAA Tournament appearances. So it comes as little surprise that four former Zags were on ESPN’s list of the 20 greatest transfers, compiled by John Gasaway.

Brandon Clarke was No. 6, Dan Dickau No. 8, Nigel Williams-Goss No. 15 and Kyle Wiltjer No. 17.

Clarke played two seasons at San Jose State prior to transferring to Gonzaga. After sitting out one season under transfer rules at the time, the 6-foot-8 forward produced one of the most efficient seasons in NCAA history.

Clarke averaged 16.9 points while connecting on 70.5% of his attempts inside the arc in 2019. He led the Zags with 8.6 rebounds per game and shattered the school record with 117 blocks. Clarke, selected No. 21 in the first round of the NBA draft, is in his third season with Memphis.

Dickau and Williams-Goss began their careers at the University of Washington before transferring to Gonzaga.

Dickau became Gonzaga’s first AP first-team All-American in 2002 and went on to play eight NBA seasons. He averaged 20.1 points and 5.3 assists in two seasons as a Zag. The sharp-shooting guard made 188 of 404 3-point attempts (46.5%) and 281 of 325 free throws (86.5%).

Williams-Goss, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, led the 2017 Zags to a 37-2 record and the program’s first Final Four. The 6-3 guard filled the stat sheet, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals. He earned AP second-team All-American honors and was a CoSIDA Academic first-team All-American.

Wiltjer, a reserve on Kentucky’s 2012 national championship team, averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Zags as a junior and 20.4 points and 6.3 boards as a senior in 2016. He made 44.9% of his 3-point attempts at GU. The 6-10 forward, who plays for Tenerife in Spain, was AP third-team All-American in 2015.

Loyola Marymount’s Hank Geathers, who died due to a heart condition during the 1990 West Coast Conference Tournament, was No. 1 on ESPN’s list. Geathers’ teammate, Bo Kimble, was No. 11.

ESPN’s list was based on transfers who played minutes at a different four-year program before opting to transfer.