If you read our blog way back in The Kennel Report days, you know that we might like writing about recruiting more than the actual games. Gonzaga's recruiting practices are not status quo, which makes following it nearly impossible. The coaching staff travels across the globe, literally, looking for prospects. No class exemplifies this fact more than the 2009 class which touts players from Minnesota, Sudan, and Germany. The 2009 class still has some questions left to answer regarding the futures of Bol Kong and Elias Harris. Kong is still battling Visa issues and Harris still has to visit the university to make sure he is sure of his decision. Other than that, the class looks pretty darn good. With that behind us we thought we would put together a list of 12 players that we would love to have join the team in Spokane...
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| Prospect | Vitals | School | Notes | Odds |
| Sam Dower | 6'9''/225 PF | Osseo HS, MN | 2009. Having an outstanding senior season averaging 31 and 12 in his past four games. | Signed with Gonzaga |
| Manny Arop | 6'5''/175 SF | NEDA, Canada | 2009. Great scorer with above average athleticism. Scored 22 and 15 in recent efforts. | Signed with Gonzaga. |
| Bol Kong | 6'7''/185 SF | Douglas/NEDA, Canada | 2009. Internet phenom who is apparently one of the best players in Canada. This piece sums up the Kong excitement. | Signed with Gonzaga but unable to enter the country at this point due to Visa issues. Hopefully resolved by May. |
| Elias Harris | 6'8''/225 SF | Speyer, Germany | 2009. Bouncy athlete who burst on the scene late. Scored 30 points in a recent game in his Euro league. Raw, but has outstanding potential. | Signed and will visit Gonzaga to make sure of his decision. |
| Aaron Bright | 5'10/175 PG | Bellevue HS, WA | 2010. Will wind up being one of the best guards in his class. Very heady guard with a knack for making plays. | I like our chances. He molds his game after Jeremy Pargo and being in-state will help. In his top three. |
| Jordin Mayes | 6'1''/170 PG | Westchester HS, CA | 2010. Outstanding player with a great basketball IQ. Mayes will get high interest from top schools. Great playmaker. | Doubtful. A recent Scout.com story said he was high on us but I don't expect him to leave California. USC or UCLA is likely for him. |
| Jamel Outler | 6'3''/173 SG | Bellaire HS, TX | 2010. Above average talent but struggles with consistency. Outler is starting to get plenty of interest. | Still a lot we don't know about Outler. I'd imagine that Mayes, Bright and Stefan are a better fit at Gonzaga. Outler may have the most upside, however. And he plans to visit Spokane first. |
| Kevin Panzer | 6'8''/185 SF | Capistrano Valley, CA | 2010. Panzer fits the mold of an Austin Daye with a big frame that touts versatility. He can shoot from all over the court and will get plenty of interest. | Very good. Panzer has visited Gonzaga on an unofficial. Expect his stock to soar soon. |
| Cole Stefan | 6'3''/188 SG | Minnetonka HS, MN | 2010. Lights out shooter that is getting a lot of mid-major interest. This is Stefan's first year playing a good deal of varsity minutes. | I think Stefan has the ability to get alot of Big Ten interest when its all said and done. He has expressed interest in taking a visit to Spokane. He's one of those guys that I can see as a Zag. |
| Guy-Marc Michel | 7'1''/240 C | North Idaho College | 2010. Extremely raw big man who is averaging about nine points and eight rebounds a game this season. He's enormous and if he commits himself, he can be very productive. | Everyone thinks Michel will be a Zag if he improves. He is basically a regular at Gonzaga games. And his inspiration is Ronny Turiaf so you have to like that. |
| Nick Johnson |
6'2''/175 SG |
Highland HS, AZ | 2011. Another guard with a good basketball IQ. A three-star prospect right now, expect Johnson to get very popular in the Pac-10 by the time he heads to college. | Like Mayes, he is another guy I would expect to be California bound. He's big on UCLA so if they offer, don't bet on Gonzaga getting him. |
| Brett Kingma | 6'2''/170 CG | Jackson HS, WA | 2011. An injury has virtually ended Kingma's season but he is an extremely gifted shooter. Kingma will be one of the best shooters in his class. | I think this one is virtually a lock. He has been to Spokane numerous times and is very high on Gonzaga. I'd be stunned if he went anywhere else. |
Honorable Mention...It hurts my heart that College of Southern Idaho's Daequon Montreal did not make the top 12 but I think with the signing of Elias Harris, that ship may have sailed. Montreal has been outstanding in his sophomroe season at CSI which is one of the most storied JUCO in the nation. I really wanted to put Josh Smith on this list but just could not bring myself to it. Smith, who is widely regarded as the best player in the 2010 class is an enormous center. Gonzaga had an in with Smith being that he is from Seattle but expect him to wind up at a North Carolina type school. Kelly Olynyk is another guy not on the list and I think he might be in a similar situation to Montreal. It's looking more and more like Austin Daye is going to remain at Gonzaga which means if Harris and Kong both wind up here, all the scholarships will be used.