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Is Gonzaga poised for a downfall next season?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Losing the national championship game to North Carolina didn't just signal a loss of national glory for Mark Few and Gonzaga, it also pointed to an impending loss of relevancy in the national title picture heading into next season.

Gonzaga will be looking to pick up the pieces from their national title loss this offseason, but the pieces that will be left may be few and far between. With Johnathan Williams becoming the latest Bulldogs player to declare for the NBA draft, Few could potentially see his depth chart get thinner and thinner.

Williams does not appear to be drawing much interest in the lead up to this year's draft, as he is absent from most, if not all, mock drafts. He did not hire an agent - meaning that he could still return to Gonzaga if his heart desires - so Few is likely expecting to see the junior forward in uniform next season. Even with Williams' potential return, the Bulldogs are going to look very different in 2017-18.

With a great deal of Gonzaga's core departing either for the NBA draft or because of expiring eligibility, there are a large number of minutes to be had.

Name Minutes Points Rebounds Assists FG% 3P%
Nigel Williams-Goss 32.7 16.8 6 4.7 48.6 36.8
Josh Perkins 28.9 8.1 2.3 3.1 41.8 39.9
Jordan Mathews 28 10.6 3.3 1.5 40.5 39.2
Johnathan Williams 24.3 10.2 6.4 0.8 59.2 40
Silas Melson 23.8 7.2 2.4 1.5 44.7 39.1
Przemek Karnowski 23.1 12.2 5.8 1.9 58.6 0
Zach Collins 17.2 10 5.9 0.4 65.2 47.6

Nigel Williams-Goss, the Bulldogs' unquestioned leader and the catalyst that sparked the offense last season, has declared for the NBA draft along with freshman Zach Collins. Both players signed with an agent, leaving no window of hope for Few that he may have at least one of the two stars on the court in Spokane next season.

If losing the program's leading scorer and a potential star big man in the making wasn't enough, the Bulldogs also said goodbye to the eligibility of guard Jordan Mathews and center Przemek Karnowski. Mathews, like Williams-Goss, played a huge role for the Bulldogs as a transfer following three seasons at California, while Karnowski was a model of consistency under the basket, allowing Collins to raise his game under reduced pressure.

When discussions arise of who the greatest head coaches in college basketball are today, names like Krzyzewski, Williams, Calipari, Pitino, and Boeheim are thrown around, but Few has made a name for himself by consistently finding ways to build successful teams almost completely under the radar.

Next season is going to require more of the same.

Few has hit numerous times on the transfer market, with Williams-Goss and Mathews serving as prime examples, but this year's group of incoming players looks more like slim pickings than a fruitful crop. Gonzaga's 2017 recruiting class has just one member, four-star power-forward Corey Kispert, who committed last May.

Between the four, and possibly five, prominent departures, there is an approximate range of 101-125 minutes of court time that needs to be filled. That equates to about 51-63 percent of the minutes available per game. Guards Josh Perkins and Silas Melson are the leading contributors returning next season, and stand to fill the holes left by Williams-Goss and Mathews, but following that there is a significant drop off.

There are a number of tantalizing names currently on the transfer market, such as Chase Jeter, and Nick King, but it remains to be seen how big a splash Few can make, whether it be the traditional, or graduate transfer pool he jumps into.

Should fans count Gonzaga out because of this? Absolutely not. But don't go penciling them in to be a national championship contender just yet.

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