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With the start of the 2018-19 season right around the corner, Gonzaga has picked up the heat on their recruitment of two priority targets of the class of 2019: Center Drew Timme and guard Boogie Ellis.
Boogie Ellis, a five-star point guard out of San Diego, California, will be coming to Spokane on Oct. 12-14. Ellis is ranked as the No. 25 player in the class of 2019, according to 247 Sports.
The 6-foot-2 PG has set visits as well with San Diego St. (Sept. 7-9th), GA Tech official (Sept. 14-16th), Oregon official (Sept. 21-23rd), Arizona official (Oct. 5-7th), Gonzaga official (Oct. 12-14th), he tells me. @MBbucsbball. https://t.co/W1jrYb3xFH
— Samad H. (@CoachHines28) August 27, 2018
Ellis trimmed his list to eight schools in early August. The Zags are up against the now-normal stiff competition of the west coast, including the Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, and Arizona Wildcats. Oklahoma, San Diego State, Memphis, and Georgia Tech are the other schools in the mix.
Meanwhile, Timme continues his semi-untraditional approach to recruiting for a prospect of his stature. Timme is a four-star center out of Texas and is ranked as the No. 44 player by 247 Sports. He hasn’t scheduled his official visits quite yet, and rather, has everyone dropping by to see him in his house.
2019 four-star Drew Timme sets in-home visits, he tells Stockrisers. Gonzaga, Illinois, Louisville, among the six. https://t.co/NFwrzLWnYE
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) August 28, 2018
Timme trimmed his list of schools to ten in early August, and the Zags are left fighting against Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Purdue, Louisville, Arizona, Illinois, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oklahoma.
Gonzaga has two remaining scholarship openings for the start of the 2019 season, presuming the roster stays 100 percent intact. The odds, however, of Rui Hachimura and Killian Tillie, who both flirted with an early exit to the NBA this past season, staying around is less certain. Presuming both are gone, that leaves a front court of Brandon Clarke, Filip Petrusev, and Jacob Larsen. Timme would be able to garner immediate minutes as a freshman.
After this season, Josh Perkins will finally graduate, and that leaves plenty of room for Ellis to be an immediate contributor as a full-time point guard. The Zags have Joel Ayayi, who operates better as a two guard, and incoming freshman Greg Foster Jr as their only legitimate ball handler options. The minutes are there for Ellis to make an impact in the 2019 season, and help be a mentor for Dominick Harris when he arrives in 2020.
Gonzaga’s current class of 2019, consisting of Anton Watson and Brock Ravet, is looking better and better with each passing day. The addition of either Timme and Ellis would probably secure the class of 2019 as one of the best in school history. Just one of the two players wouldn’t be too shabby either.