Grad transfer Geno Crandall schedules Gonzaga visit

North Dakota grad transfer Geno Crandall will be visiting Gonzaga the final weekend of June, Jon Rothstein reported. Crandall averaged 16.6 points per game for the Fighting Hawks last season.

If the name sounds familiar, that is because Crandall helped lead North Dakota to an almost catastrophic upset of Gonzaga last December. The Zags squeaked out an 89-83 overtime win, but Crandall made his mark in Spokane, scoring 28 points and garnering five assists.

Crandall has been an efficient scorer throughout his high school career, averaging double-digit points every season. Last season, he increased his outside shooting clip to the tune of 41.7 percent. His one area for improvement his entire career has been his propensity for turnovers, but if he came to Gonzaga, he would most likely play more off the ball while Perkins manned the point.

Landing Crandall would be huge for the Zags. Gonzaga has room for scholarships, and is a consistent preseason top-five team, which many national pundits are pegging for a Final Four, at worst, performance next season. The one area the Zags could use some improvement is in true help for Josh Perkins, which Crandall could provide.

The big question, however, is how he would fit into the lineup as a graduate transfer. Generally speaking, players who arrive for one year of service tend to prefer starting roles, and it isn’t quite clear the Zags could offer that. Theoretically, the lineup of Killian Tillie, Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura, Zach Norvell, and Perkins doesn’t have any holes in it. If Crandall were to arrive at Gonzaga, it would either require him to start over Norvell, or him to be comfortable of playing the sixth man role.