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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — What looked to be a rebuilding year for Gonzaga ended instead in the Zags' fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.
Now comes the inevitable offseason of drama for fans as several underclassmen consider going pro and Gonzaga explores options for moving to another league.
Coach Mark Few, who was named West Coast Conference coach of the year for the 12th time, can look to next season knowing he'll have players to build with again.
Freshman guard Zach Norvell Jr., who scored 57 point in three NCAA Tournament games, said he plans to return.
"I'm back, I'm back," Norvell said after Gonzaga lost 75-60 to Florida State in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
Also expected back are Josh Perkins, Corey Kispert, Jeremy Jones and Jacob Larsen. Few also always has a well-stocked bench of new players each season, and has made excellent use of graduate transfers to restock his team.
Among the departing players are leading scorer Johnathan Williams and starting guard Silas Melson, who are graduating.
Forward Killian Tillie is among those considering his options. The junior from France was the team's second-leading scorer this season and he had a spectacular WCC tournament, scoring 72 points in three games and sinking 13 of 14 from 3-point range. But he had to sit out the Florida State game with a hip injury.
Tillie warmed up, but informed Few afterward that he could not play.
"It's kind of your worst nightmare as a coach," Few said.
Tillie said he didn't know yet whether he'd be coming back. "I'll think about it with my family," he said.
Also weighing his future is sophomore forward Rui Hachimura. Hachimura, who is a sensation in Japan as one of the few U.S. college players from that country, scored 12.9 points per game during conference play and excited scouts with his athletic moves.
"I don't know yet," said Hachimura. "I haven't talked about it yet."
The other big offseason question for Gonzaga will be which league it will call home in the future.
School officials have acknowledged that they are exploring other options, including the Mountain West Conference, in search of tougher competition. The Zags were 17-1 in WCC play this year, and have dominated the league for two decades, claiming 17 regular-season titles in Few's 19 seasons as head coach. They won 16 of their final 17 games this season and finished 32-5.
Melson took time after Thursday's loss to reflect on the accomplishments of a team that was thought to be in a rebuilding year after losing in the national title game in 2017.
"We didn't end up how we wanted to, but that doesn't define anything about our season," said Melson, who was a four-time WCC champion and reached at least the Sweet 16 in all four of his seasons.
"It's an honor to even be in the locker room with a lot of these guys," Melson said. "I'm not going to let this loss define any of us."
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