Tag Archives: Nigel Williams-Goss

Gonzaga Bulldogs: Zags Land Coveted Transfer Johnathan Williams III, Improve National Title Aspirations

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After bolstering adding transfers/impact players Kyle Wiltjer and Byron Wesley to a team that would eventually make the Elite Eight, Gonzaga coach Mark Few is at it again. Johnathan Williams III, Missouri’s leading scorer (11.9 points per game) and rebounder (7.1 boards per game) last season, has decided to transfer to GU.

(Insert embedded Instagram thing of Williams decision here).

He’ll have to sit next season out per NCAA transfer rules, but will be eligible for the 2016/2017 season where he will give Gonzaga a legitimate chance at a national title. Joining him in ‘16/’17 will be fellow coveted transfer Nigel Williams-Goss (who joined from Washington) and talented point guard Josh Perkins. Williams will likely be joined in the frontcourt by Domantas Sabonis (assuming he sticks around), center Ryan Edwards and talented recruit Zach Collins. Collins is already listed by ESPN as a top-60 recruit, and his stock will only rise from here. He may well enter Gonzaga as a five-star recruit when all is said and done.

In addition to Williams III, Perkins, Williams-Goss, Sabonis, Collins and Edwards, GU will return Silas Melson and Bryan Alberts, both with an added year of experience under their belts.

Last season’s Elite Eight team was widely regarded as one of, if not the most talented team in Gonzaga history. This group may surpass them and take GU to the Final Four and a national championship.

Nigel Williams-Goss Transfer: Guard Picks Gonzaga

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The big news, per ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, is that highly-touted transfer Nigel Williams-Goss is transferring to Gonzaga to finish out his college eligibility. The guard will have two years of eligibility left, but will have to sit out next season under transfer rules.

The guard was considering transferring to a host of different schools, including proven winners Michigan State and Georgetown, as well as UNLV, Arkansas and Texas.

When eligible, Williams-Goss will give the Zags a dynamic backcourt with Josh Perkins, who can do stuff like this.

GU was facing the prospect of a future without Kyle Wiltjer and Przemek Karnowski, but with Williams-Goss, Perkins and Domantas Sabonis in Spokane, the Zags have a nucleus that can compete nationally for years to come.

If nothing else, Williams-Goss will spice up a rivalry that has gone cold as of late. Surely UW and the schools fans won’t be happy seeing their best player depart for arguably the Huskies’ biggest instate hardwood rival.

It will be interesting to see just how much Williams-Goss progresses in Spokane. Another former Husky, Dan Dickau, transferred to GU after two years at UW (where he was a complimentary player) and became an All-American, 20 point-per-game scorer and NBA first-round draft pick. The Zags’ latest transfer comes in with more experience and better stats than Dickau. He was a two-year starter and put up 15.6 points per game, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per contest.

Given the Zags ability to drastically improve players who redshirt a year (see Kyle Wiltjer and Kelly Olynyk), it will be exciting to see just how much Williams-Goss improves. Gonzaga has been called GU, not just Gonzaga University, but “Guard University”. Dating back to John Stockton and including recent greats like Kevin Pangos and Matt Bouldin, the Zags have always turned out great guards. Williams-Goss seems like the next one of those guards.