Under strange circumstances, Virginia transfer Jalen Warley embraces ‘special’ Kennel atmosphere during Gonzaga visit

Jalen Warley decided he needed a change after three seasons at Florida State, promptly entering the transfer portal after a rugged 2023-24 season with the Seminoles.

The veteran guard took a single college visit to Virginia before making a quick decision and committing to the Cavaliers on May 4.

Warley didn’t expect to be back in the transfer portal so soon, let alone at all, but plans changed last month when Virginia coach Tony Bennett threw a change-up, shocking Warley, his teammates and the rest of the college basketball world when the 55-year-old announced his retirement just two weeks before the team’s first regular-season game.

That’s the short version of how Warley, on somewhat of a whim, ended up with a baseline seat at Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday night, watching the country’s fourth-ranked team host UMass Lowell rather than suiting up for Virginia against Villanova at the Hall of Fame Series in Baltimore.

In accordance with NCAA policy, Virginia players were given a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal after Bennett’s departure on Oct. 18.

Warley, the only UVA player who’s taken advantage of that opportunity , acknowledged the peculiarity of his situation after watching the Zags dismantle the River Hawks 113-54 in front of a sellout Kennel crowd and improve to 3-0 on the season.

“It’s definitely been strange,” said Warley, who officially entered the portal on Oct. 29. “It’s been really hard. As a competitor you get ready for the season, and it’s the first time I haven’t really been able to play games since I can remember. It’s been tough. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy, watch as many games as I can. But yeah, it’s been really difficult.”

One of Warley’s first conversations after entering the portal was with R-Jay Barsh, the second-year Gonzaga assistant who spent one season on Leonard Hamilton’s staff at Florida State, overlapping with the guard in 2022-23.

A positive conversation with Barsh prompted Warley to schedule an official visit to Gonzaga. Once his trip to Gonzaga concludes, Warley will fly to Ames, Iowa, to visit Iowa State. He has one other visit planned, to Texas A&M, but hasn’t finalized a date.

“Coach Barsh reached out that first week I entered the portal and we had some good conversations about their team, what they’re looking to accomplish this year and what the roster could look like moving forward,” Warley said. “… It’s really helpful, having a familiar face in the process. He can definitely answer any questions and make the place feel like home, so he’s been pivotal in my recruitment process.”

If Barsh’s pitch to Warley convinced the transfer to visit Gonzaga, the Bulldogs made a strong case for why the guard should spend his final season of eligibility with Mark Few’s program. In a game in which they forced 25 turnovers, the Zags also crossed the century mark for the second time in three games, leading by as many as 62 points .

“I really like the pace they play at and really the success they’ve had over a long period of time is really attractive, because they’re consistent and coach Few is really good at developing guards at this level – and also for the next level as well,” Warley said.

And Warley’s review of Gonzaga’s one-of-a-kind atmosphere at the Kennel?

“Especially the student section, it felt really special. It was a lot of energy,” he said. “You could just tell the players really enjoy interacting with the fans and kind of the energy they try to feed into it. It makes sense why they’ve been so successful at a high level and why people love to come play for Gonzaga.”

Warley flew into Spokane on Thursday night and spent time Friday touring Gonzaga’s campus, checking out the athletic facilities and sitting in on a pregame shootaround.

It didn’t take long for Warley to get a sense of the strong community support Gonzaga has in Spokane while walking around town and making different campus stops.

“It seems really like they’re behind Gonzaga basketball,” he said. “They’re supportive. I feel like everywhere I was walking around, I was seeing Gonzaga logos or basketball things. I can tell they’re really passionate about their sports, it seems like great people from all the people I’ve interacted with.”

Barsh came by to check in on Warley before starting lineups were announced. Junior point guard Braeden Smith, who’s redshirting for Gonzaga this season, traded a quick handshake with the transfer guard before heading into the locker room with about 30 minutes until tipoff.

Warley hasn’t crossed paths with most of the players on Gonzaga’s roster, but he’s familiar with point guard Ryan Nembhard, whose UPlay Canada AAU team matched up with Warley’s Team Durant on the EYBL circuit.

Unlike the high school-aged recruits Gonzaga is used to hosting on visits this time of year, Warley is a 21-year-old college veteran who has 96 college appearances under his belt after starting 58 games for Florida State the past three seasons. A defensive specialist at FSU, the 6-foot-7, 199-pound guard averaged 7.5 points, 2.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals last season.

The decision to leave Virginia, which elevated associate coach Ron Sanchez to the interim coaching position after Bennett’s departure, was not necessarily a straightforward one for Warley. He spent a handful of days weighing the options before entering his name in the portal.

“It took some days, it’s a really special place in Charlottesville as well,” Warley said. “I had to really consider it because a piece of me is still there, so it was really hard. But yeah, it took me a couple days to think it over and make sure I was making the best decision for me and my family.”