Two of the highest-profile backcourt players left in the portal have listed Gonzaga among their final three destinations. Desmond Claude, the 6’5” guard who most recently led USC in scoring after two years at Xavier, has narrowed his list to Alabama, Washington, and the Zags. Tyon Grant-Foster, a 6’7” wing and one of the most compelling comeback stories in college basketball, has done the same—though in his case, it’s Arizona State and Washington who round out the trio.

There’s no question the Zags are operating at a financial disadvantage here. Programs like Alabama and ASU have both the NIL infrastructure and the donor base to put together deals that aren’t even part of the conversation in Spokane. But Gonzaga isn’t consistently in contention for high-profile transfer additions because of what it can offer up front. It’s in it because of what comes after. Because what’s on the table here isn’t an easy package or a guaranteed stage to showcase one’s NBA potential—it’s a system. One with a track record that spans decades, a staff that knows how to shape pros, and a culture that produces the kind of player NBA front offices hold onto long term.

Either of these guys would reshape the backcourt entirely in 2025-2026. Claude brings size, balance, and tempo control. Grant-Foster brings chaos, length, and defensive intensity that doesn’t let up. Neither is a clean fit, especially with the murkiness on the wing and the recent commitment of ASU’s Adam Miller, presumptive inheritor of the spot vacated by 3-year starter Nolan Hickman. Neither would slot in quietly, but the ceiling shifts with either one in the building.

The backcourt logjam is very real at Gonzaga going into the 2025-2026 season. Steele Venters returns as a dead-eye shooter with size. Jalen Warley brings defensive upside and system experience after half a season redshirting. Emmanuel Innocenti earned his minutes on the defensive end last year and was also probably a much more efficient offensive player than he ever got credit for. Davis Fogle is still a question mark, but an undeniably talented one. Nothing is locked, and the roles remain ill-defined. This is the situation Desmond Claude would walk into.

After two years at Xavier, where he steadily climbed from bench piece to centerpiece, Desmond Claude transferred to USC and immediately became the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.8 per game on 48.2 percent shooting while logging 32.5 minutes a night. He dropped 31 against Illinois, 28 against Rutgers on 12 of 15 free throws, 25 points and 11 assists against Washington, and 10-for-12 from the line in a win over Iowa. He put up 19 points against Gonzaga in a preseason exhibition matchup and made it look easy.

The long-range shot remains a work in progress—30.7 percent this season—but the mechanics are solid, and he’s confident pulling up in the midrange or getting downhill. He’s physical, poised, and he’s more comfortable playing through contact than most high-usage guards who rely on rhythm to find their confidence.

He played off-ball at USC and could replicate that role at Gonzaga, sliding in at the two alongside a more traditional ball-handler like Braeden Smith. This would mirror what Nolan Hickman provided down the stretch last season, but doing so would also potentially shift Adam Miller up a spot to the three, and that introduces defensive problems. Miller offers a very reliable deep ball, but at 6’3”, he could be a defensive liability against longer, rangier wings if he’s moved away from his long-held role at the 2.

There’s a different slot Claude could fill, also, one left open by Khalif Battle, who offered a similar blend of size, aggression, and shot creation. But Battle’s deep ball spaced the floor and made teams pay for sagging on the perimeter, and Claude doesn’t do that consistently. And while he gets to the line, he doesn’t do it with Battle’s volume or consistency.

And then there’s Mario Saint-Supery. The Spanish combo guard was, for weeks, an assumed Zag. Then… radio silence. Amidst all this, Claude canceled a scheduled visit to Alabama, and while there’s no confirmation of a link, the timing, the silence, and Gonzaga’s track record of releasing commitment news in batches all suggest something’s moving behind the scenes. Alabama, ASU, and UW might offer a big payout, but if Gonzaga’s still in it, it’s because Claude’s thinking beyond this year. Other schools might offer the bag, but Gonzaga offers the blueprint.

It’s a complicated situation for a veteran scorer to step into. But Claude’s never played like a guy who needs space cleared for him—he adjusts, adapts, and makes himself indispensable. That’s what Gonzaga wants. If the goal is growth, competition, and a career, this is where it starts.

If Claude’s path to the portal has been straightforward, Grant-Foster’s has been a labyrinth. Originally in the high school class of 2018, he arrived at Kansas as the top-ranked JUCO player in the country, a raw and electric slasher with real upside. But that run was short. After transferring to DePaul, he suffered cardiac arrest and underwent multiple heart surgeries. For a long time, it wasn’t clear if he’d ever play again. When he did, it was at Grand Canyon—and he was brilliant.

Grant-Foster led GCU to back-to-back NCAA tournament bids. He was named WAC Player of the Year in 2024 and followed it with another all-league campaign this past season. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and posted defensive metrics that placed him among the most disruptive wings in the conference. In one game, he shot 1-for-13 from the field and still scored 12 points thanks to ten made free throws. There’s a pattern here—bad shooting nights don’t take him out of games. He fights through them.

That being said, Grant-Foster endured a lot of bad shooting nights last season. At 6’7” and 220 pounds, he’s not a floor spacer—23.2 percent from deep this season—but he’s hard to keep off the glass and harder to keep out of the paint. He’s relentless, and while the game around him is built on spacing, he still forces mismatches with effort, angles, and strength. With the loss of Michael Ajayi, the Zags could sorely use a guy like Grant Foster, who offers defensive intensity, reliable rebounding, length, athleticism, and hustle.

He was a featured scorer at GCU, but at Gonzaga, minutes on the wing are earned, not assigned, and role clarity isn’t a given—it’s something that reveals itself through accountability.

For some players, that’s an enticement. For others, it sounds a lot like, “you’re not going to play as much as you might want to.” For a player like Grant-Foster, whose edge comes from having something to prove every time he steps on the floor, it might be exactly the kind of friction that produces results.

Twelve active NBA players. 575 combined games played. Gonzaga doesn’t just get guys there—it teaches them how to stay. By way of reference, Alabama currently has 8 dudes in the NBA, 270 total games played between them. UW has 6 guys, 235 games played. And ASU has 3 guys on current NBA rosters, 164 games played. The fact that a mid-major in eastern Washington has produced this volume of NBA talent is frankly absurd, and for guys interested in a professional career, it’s a no-brainer where they should go if the offer’s on the table.

Kelly Olynyk, eleven years, seven teams. Zach Collins, now in year seven. Brandon Clarke, six years deep in Memphis. Rui Hachimura, rotation minutes and playoff starts on multiple contenders. Corey Kispert is getting big minutes in Washington. Andrew Nembhard and Chet Holmgren are potentially playing their way into the NBA Finals. Julian Strawther is showing his worth in Utah. Drew Timme, who started in the G-League, now with a two-year deal in Brooklyn. Jalen Suggs is revealing himself as one of the best defenders in the league. Domantas Sabonis, a bona fide superstar. This kind of growth and staying power is baked into the development program offered by Gonzaga. And it’s not available anywhere else in the country, plain and simple.

These are players who arrived in the league ready to adjust and battle-tested in their ability to take direction and adapt. Gonzaga offers a path towards a long professional career, not a job. If that’s the goal for Claude and/or Grant-Foster, there’s simply no better system to enter.

Gonzaga’s 2025-2026 roster is already built to win. Huff and Ike offer balance and skill up front; Braeden Smith brings ample experience at the point; there are deep threats in Venters, Miller, and Davis Fogle; there are defensive specialists in Innocenti and Warley. But a commitment from either Claude or Grant Foster takes a crowded backcourt and makes it even more volatile—in the best possible way.

It’s the same challenge Mark Few faced coaching the U.S. Men’s Olympic team: how do you take absurdly talented dudes that don’t obviously mesh alongside one another and build a group that functions as a team despite positional overlap and uncertainty in new roles? Gonzaga has built some of its best teams on that exact kind of tension.

Thanks to the transfer portal, there’s no shortage of drama or intrigue in the college basketball offseason, but the commitment of Desmond Claude and/or Tyon Grant-Foster would do more than generate headlines, it would mark the beginning of the next chapter in Gonzaga basketball. In a system that rewards adaptability and demands buy-in, Gonzaga could offer more than a chance to play the best basketball of their college careers. It offers a tangible step toward real professional basketball longevity.