Former Wyoming Star Graham Ike Commits to Gonzaga
LARAMIE -- Graham Ike had plenty of options this offseason.
Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas and Indiana showed interest in the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward. So did the likes of Tennessee, Mountain West foe San Diego State and his home-state team, Colorado. There were others, too.
Lots and lots of others.
Early Friday morning, like most college athletes do, Ike announced via social media that his next landing spot is Gonzaga.
Will he be the same guy that netted nearly 20 points a night along with double-digit rebounds while leading Wyoming to the NCAA Tournament during the 2021-22 season? Time will tell.
Ike has three years of eligibility remaining after taking a medical redshirt last season.
That was possible thanks to a right foot injury that sidelined him for the entirety of what would be his final campaign in Laramie.
It was supposed to be a special one, too.
Ike was named the Mountain West Player of the Year during preseason voting. He was coming off a breakout freshman season that saw him score 25 or more points in a game nine times. He reached double figures in all but one game. The Aurora, Colo., product was named the Lute Olson National Player of the Week by CollegeInsider.com after scoring 28 and 25 in back-to-back victories over Utah State and San Jose State.
The Cowboys were picked to finish second in the league behind SDSU and even received a number of first-place votes after their surprise run to the First Four game in Dayton a year prior.
Hunter Maldonado was back. So was a host of other critical pieces like Xavier DuSell, Jeremiah Oden, Brendan Wenzel and many others. Snagging three PAC-12 transfers during the offseason -- Jake Kyman (UCLA), Max Agbonkpolo (USC) and Ethan Anderson (USC) -- only ratcheted up expectations on the high plains.
By now, you know that didn't happen.
Wyoming would finish the season 9-21 overall and soon after the final buzzer in Las Vegas, six players entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. The California trio left the program in early February.
WHERE ARE THE OTHER GUYS?
* F - Jeremiah Oden - Signed with DePaul
* G - Xavier DuSell - Signed with Fresno State
* F - Nate Barnhart - Signed with South Dakota State
* G - Ethan Anderson - Signed with Pepperdine
* G - Noah Reynolds - Signed with Wisconsin (Announced decommitment Thursday)
* F - Max Agbonkpolo - TBD
* G - Jake Kyman - TBD
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* Wyoming's Nathanial Talich enters NCAA Transfer Portal