Kyle Wiltjer's return ensures Gonzaga's elite frontcourt stays intact

One of this past season's elite frontcourts will return intact next year.

Kyle Wiltjer made that certain Monday when he joined fellow Gonzaga big men Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis in deciding to remain in school.

Whereas Sabonis revealed his decision soon after Gonzaga's Elite Eight loss to Duke and Karnowski made his plans known last week, Wiltjer's process dragged out the longest most likely because of his age. The skilled 6-foot-9 forward already has spent two years at Kentucky and two at Gonzaga and will turn 23 years old before the start of next season, young by real-life standards but not for a NBA prospect.

What surely kept Wiltjer from making the leap is the uncertainty over whether he would have been drafted. Concerns about whether he has the strength, quickness or athleticism to guard either NBA small forwards or power forwards have diminished his NBA stock despite his multifaceted offensive game.

Wiltjer made tremendous strides on offense while sitting out a year after transferring from Kentucky, working with the training staff at Gonzaga to remodel his body and reinvent his game.

No longer was he content to float to the perimeter and shoot a steady diet of catch-and-shoot threes. He became tougher to guard because he learned to exploit mismatches, backing down smaller defenders in the low post or forcing lumbering opposing big men to try to stay with him on the perimeter.

The result was a brilliant junior season in which Wiltjer averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, shot 46.6 percent from behind the arc and earned second-team All-American honors. His versatile game meshed perfectly with Karnowski and Sabonis, the former a massive back-to-the-basket scorer and the latter an athletic forward comfortable at the rim and on the offensive glass.

The return of that trio is the biggest reason Gonzaga will probably begin the season in the top 15 in the polls despite the graduation of its entire starting backcourt.

Promising redshirt freshman Josh Perkins will likely inherit the starting point guard job from Kevin Pangos and Kyle Dranginis, Silas Melson and Eric McClellan should each receive increased playing time at wing. The Zags are also in hot pursuit of a handful of transfers including former Drexel guard Damion Lee, who scored 21 points per game last season for the Dragons and would be a potential starter at wing for the Zags next season.   

Regardless of who plays guard for Gonzaga, its strength will be its frontcourt.

Wiltjer, Karnowski and Sabonis nearly carried the Zags to their first Final Four this spring. They'll all be back to try to finish the job next year.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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