Kraziness in the Kennel: What to watch for in Gonzaga’s annual exhibition showcase

Each October, students and some lucky onlookers fill the McCarthy Athletic Center for their first chance to see this year’s Gonzaga Bulldogs in action. The Kraziness in the Kennel exhibition offers an exciting glimpse of the players’ individual skills and culminates in a brief scrimmage between Team Navy and Team White. It’s a thrilling first glimpse for fans and sportswriters who have patiently waited for months for any modicum of actual Gonzaga Bulldogs action. The scrimmage especially offers fans an opportunity to wildly speculate about what we can expect from the rest of the year.

It’s important to remember that many of the stats that come out of Kraziness in the Kennel are often just plain bizarre. For instance, one might expect Braden Huff, who scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting last year, to be the Zags’ leading scorer this season. Similarly, Luka Krajnovich—last year’s skills challenge winner who also put up 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting during the scrimmage—might have ended up splittnig minutes with Ryan Nembhard at point guard. Or maybe Jun Seok Yeo, who recorded 6 rebounds and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, might join the rotation in big minutes off the bench. However, none of these expectations really panned out as the scrimmage suggested they might. It’s all fun and speculation at best.

Below, you’ll find two lists to help fans prepare for this year’s Kraziness in the Kennel. One highlights key aspects of this year’s team to watch out for during the scrimmage, while the other offers my reckless hopes and baseless predictions for the night.

Take each with a generous shaker of salt.

What to watch for during the Kraziness in the Kennel scrimmage:

Outside Shooting: The Zags need a reliable outside scoring strategy to advance past the Sweet 16 this year. Key contributors will include Battle, Hickman, Gregg, and Nembhard. If these four can shoot 35-45% combined from beyond the arc, fans may breathe easier. Bear in mind, however, that this stat could also be totally bunk. Last year’s Team Navy which featured Steele Venters, Dusty Stromer, Ryan Nembhard, and Braden Huff went 3-of-17 from outside by the time the final whistle blew. Yikes, indeed.

Michael Ajayi’s Role: Few players in the history of Gonzaga basketball have been asked to do as many different things as Anton Watson. He is impossible to replace, especially by someone in their first year with The Program. While Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi will definitely see minutes on the wing or in the low post, he likely won’t be asked to play the hybrid ³⁄₄ point-forward position Anton often was. Much of this year’s bench rotations will hinge on how Ajayi and Gregg divvy up responsibilities at the small and power forward positions so it’ll be worth monitoring where each player winds up.

Rim Protection: If Ismail Diagne looks like he can provide legitimate rim protection, there’s a good chance we could see less of Graham Ike and Braden Huff this year. The scrimmage provides a very small sample size, but the Zags badly need someone who can block shots and absorb contact down low. Diagne is a true 7-footer who has hopefully been challenging the existing front-court in practice, so if Ike or Huff’s footwork or spacing in the low post looks improved, he may be the one to thank.

Perimeter Defense: The Zags are loaded this year offensively, but defense remains a question mark. Having lost one of the best defenders in college basketball, the Zags will need to adapt and find some stopping power quickly. Watching how (or if) our guards focus on jumping passing lanes, rotating through defensive assignments (with minimal confusion), and/or boxing out for rebounds could provide some insight on what to expect from the Gonzaga defense this year.

High Hopes and Hot Takes

Dusty Stromer Wins the 3-Point Contest – When Dusty can get clean looks off in rhythm, he might be the best pure shooter on the team. Coming into his sophomore season, Dusty’s game needs to be all about confidence, and It starts with Kraziness in the Kennel. I predict it comes down to Stromer and Hickman in a tie-breaking shootout. Maximum drama.

Ryan Nembhard wins the skills challenge – Nembhard is precisely the type of competitor to take last year’s skills challenge loss to Luka Krajnovich deeply personally. That’s why I love him. My prediction is that it will come down to him and Nolan Hickman in the final round, but that Nembhard will have the edge in the passing accuracy challenge. Nembhard is known for dropping dimes, and I don’t think he had reached his full potential when he was knocked out of contention last year.

Hickman Goes 80% from deep in the scrimmage – Combined, the two teams put up 30 three-point attempts in last year’s scrimmage—a truly ridiculous number for a team like GU. Certainly, 30 three-pointers is never in Few’s game plan, but it made for good entertainment. Nolan is statistically the best shooter on the roster (though Khalif Battle may challenge that this season), and I don’t think it’s far-fetched to imagine him coming out of the gate red hot.

Khalif Battle leads all scorers at 20+ (15+ from the Field / 5+ in Free Throws) – This game will be loose, expectations for sharing the ball will be pretty low, and both teams will be focused on getting buckets more than stops. This is how Arkansas looked all of last year, and no one on their roster was better at it than Khalif Battle. This is precisely the type of game where Battle shines. He can absolutely go 50% from the field and rack up some free throws along the way. After Batttle I predict Ike and Huff to have big nights. After last year’s less-than-stellar 3-pt barrage, Coach Few may have tightened the reins a bit on his scoring expectations.

Jun Seok Yeo: leading rebounder – He did it last year, and I think lightning may strike twice. Jun doesn’t seem to know the meaning of half-speed. Based on his relentless hustle and physicality alone I really thought he would get more minutes than he ended up with last year. I hope he can match that physicality and hustle with the skill and patience necessary to make that a reality this year. Granted, a lot of his boards came as a result of reckless 3-pt shooting from teammates, I still think he’ll be able to body up and crash the glass.

Kingston Flemings signs a letter of intent on the spot – The number-1 ranked point guard in the class of 2025 will be in attendance at Kraziness in the Kennel this year. It’s been a powerful recruiting tool in the past and maybe the Kennel can work it’s magic once again. I won’t try to defend this take; I’m just putting it into the universe.

Final Prediction: Navy 51 / White 50 – The game ends on a buzzer-beater 3 by Joe Few. Again, my hope is always going to be for maximum bizarre drama.

College basketball’s real tip-off is just on the horizon. I, for one, cannot wait.

If there’s anything I missed or that you’re particularly looking forward to related to Kraziness in the Kennel, please put it in the comments!