‘Dudes have battle scars.’ Competition at Gonzaga practices reminiscent of 2016-17 team

Mark Few isn’t usually one to dial back the competition and physical nature at Gonzaga practices, but at least once this past month things escalated and Few felt it was necessary to intervene.

“Practices have been so competitive and we’ve been able to split the group and go at it with different lineups and see that,” junior wing Julian Strawther said last week at West Coast Conference Media Day in Las Vegas. “Dudes have battle scars. Ra (Rasir Bolton) is coming back from a black eye. We’ve really been going at it in practice, but it’s only making us better.

“It was to the point, the other day coach told us, ‘Chill out a little bit, man, you guys are getting hurt too much.’ ”

Gonzaga’s competitive, physically charged practices have been a talking point in the weeks leading up to the 2022-23 season and perhaps early confirmation the Bulldogs’ depth is as strong as it appears on paper.

“It’s going to be competitive when the talent is so good,” transfer guard Malachi Smith said on Saturday following Kraziness in the Kennel. “You’re not going to talk trash to someone that’s nowhere near your talent level or anything. But it’s all just competitive where we’re just pushing each other to get better and that’s just what competition is.”

At a recent practice, Bolton was locked in on a defensive assignment when he caught an elbow to the eye, causing the area to swell up. The black eye healed before the senior guard had to spend five hours taking photographs, acting in video promos and answering interview questions at media day.

“Pressing up, getting a little chippy,” Bolton said of the incident. “It was fun. I was still out there, finished practice.”

Drew Timme and Anton Watson have a well-documented relationship that dates back four years when both signed with Gonzaga as part of the 2019 recruiting class, but the roommates clashed while playing on opposite teams during 5-on-5 work last Wednesday, prompting Few to separate the two longest-tenured players on his roster.

“Coach had to pull ‘Ton’ and I away from each other yesterday,” Timme said. “Then the other day Efton (Reid) and I were going at it, just really aggressive. Kind of like the guards. It’s just fun. We’re competing.

“It’s awesome because we’re able to compete and have to get pulled away, but at the same time we’re so close. I think that’s just a testament to how the relationships we have, but also the desire and passion we have to win and perform at the highest level, and I think that’s a great combo and I think it’s something that’s making all of us better.”

With Dominick Harris cleared for full-contact practice this week, GU essentially has five guards challenging for two or three starting positions, depending on whether Few deploys a smaller or bigger unit to open games. There was more certainty last year with Andrew Nembhard all but locked in as GU’s starting point guard entering the season and Bolton the top choice at shooting guard, with three years of experience on freshmen Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis.

Nembhard’s gone, Bolton’s back, Hickman and Sallis have a year of experience under their belt, Harris is healthy and Smith is in the fold after being named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2021-22.

“I would say it’s special knowing we have so many guards and guys coming in every day competing hard just to get playing time,” Bolton said. “I think on the back end of that we’re all friends and we’re all family, so at the end of the day whoever’s out there and getting the job done, that’s what’s best for the team. I think we’ll all be happy and go for that.”

Even on his worst outings last season, Timme could score 15-20 points with relative ease, but the outcome is less predictable when he’s off his game in practice, matched up against teammates who’d start for many of the teams on Gonzaga’s schedule.

“It makes it fun to come into practice every day just knowing that if I don’t step up to the plate and give it my all, I may get my butt kicked today,” Timme said. “So I think that’s a pretty cool, special thing we have going on right now.”

In that vein, Few has noticed parallels between this team and another one that entered the season with national title aspirations.

“When we do go 5-on-5 in practice, it’s physical and it’s intense and that’s been good,” Few said. “It almost reminds me of that 2017 (team), our practices back then.”