Gonzaga Potential Starting Lineups

With the wonderful news of Geno Crandall being eligible for (most likely) the first game of the season against Idaho State on November 6th, Mark Few now has some big decisions to make. Who is going to be in the starting lineup? Well, the possibilities are boundless for Coach Few as he has a lot of firepower with which to play and move around. Here is a list of just some of the possible starting lineups:

1. Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell, Brandon Clarke, Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie (Key Bench Players): Geno Crandall, Corey Kispert, Filip Petrusev

Now that I look at this lineup and I realize it’s SCARY huge with a lot of different options at scoring. This specific lineup has got to be considered to have the biggest and best frontcourt in the nation. I also think this is the most balanced starting lineup while Geno Crandall would be the leader right off the bench. Geno could quickly sub in for Perkins or Norvell if they started to have early struggles in a game.

2. Josh Perkins, Geno Crandall, Zach Norvell, Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie (Key Bench Players): Brandon Clarke, Corey Kispert, Filip Petrusev

This lineup would shoot the lights out of any building they played in. It would be a guard heavy lineup and wouldn’t be ideal to play if we were going against a taller/bigger team like Duke for instance (Tre Jones, RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Marques Bolden). If you didn’t notice what I was getting at there, that’s a possible matchup in the Maui Invitational championship game. Anyways, Clarke would be the first scorer/defender off the bench but would still play heavy minutes while subbing in for Norvell, Hachimura, and Tillie.

3. Josh Perkins, Zach Norvell, Corey Kispert, Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie (Key Bench Players): Geno Crandall, Brandon Clarke, Filip Petrusev

This lineup idea goes to fellow writer for TSSF, Steven Karr (@SKarrG0). He made a really good point about having Geno Crandall (UND graduate transfer) and Brandon Clarke (SJSU regular transfer) coming off the bench together which is just a completely frightening thought for any opponent. If you remember earlier on in last season, Kispert did get some starts but had a minor ankle injury and had to sit out a couple of games before moving to the bench. Kispert would be more of an off-ball defender and passer on the offensive side because why would he need to score when you got the deep-threat leftie, the Japanese version of Antetokounmpo, and the Big Frenchmen who can stretch to the three point-line? This might just be my new favorite possible starting lineup.

Of course, you don’t want to forget about the incoming freshmen Filip Petrusev (I like to call him the next Zach Collins) who will be a significant forward/center coming off the bench for the Zags. If you don’t know his story, make sure to read the next article about him done by non-other than Keith Ybanez (@slipperyky) which will be coming out September 25th.

Be sure to let me know what you think the starting lineup for the Zags this season should be in the comment section below.

*Arden Cravalho is a senior at Gonzaga University... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho