Just yesterday I started hearing whispers about this being a possibility. Now today it's confirmed. Ryan Spangler, who has been homesick all season, has been granted a release from the basketball program at Gonzaga. It's expected he'll be heading for a school in Oklahoma, or much closer to the state than Gonzaga.
This is shocking news because the last Gonzaga fans heard Spangler's name was due to his solid 4 point 8 rebound performance in the Zags blow out of West Virginia during the NCAA tournament. Spangler developed over the season into the team's most effective rebounder. He lead the team in offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.
In a statement made about the decision Spangler said “I’ve made a lot of great friends this year at Gonzaga and love it here. But I want to see my family more, and I want my family to see me play more." He also stated that the move has nothing to do with the minutes he's been getting.
Spangler was averaging 6.6 minutes per game. Most of which came in mop up time like the 32 point Senior Night win against Longwood when his first career double-double was recorded. Those minutes were in jeopardy as the Zags were set to have a big man log jam next season. Kelly Olynyk is coming back after redshirting what should have been his junior year. Sam Dower will likely be moving from crazy good 6th man to starter. Elias Harris looking to have a monster senior campaign. On top of Spangler and those three returning big men the Zags were recruiting Polish prospect Przemysław Karnowski.
Gonzaga has been the victim of offseason attrition the past few seasons, to the point where it's almost expected that we'll be losing some quality bench players/future starters between seasons. Mathis Keita, who made 4 starts and played 216 minutes as a freshman but only in 16 total games last season, has already announced he will be transferring. Unfortunately I would not be surprised if there is at least one more transfer before next season tips off.
What is so worrisome about this transfer fever is that the Polish prospect I mentioned above is the only recruit the Zags have a solid chance of landing at this point. That could be a positive however, as the recruiting staff now has no choice but to pull out all the stops with their recruiting.
Ryan Spangler will be missed. He showed a lot of promise and would have by his junior and senior seasons played a massive role for Gonzaga. Unfortunately that wasn't meant to be. Currently he is courting only the University of Oklahoma. I hope he is able to land there and play immediately (though he will have to miss next season no matter where he ends up). If he can't swing a deal with the Sooners, hopefully he can somewhere in the Sooner State. Maybe Oklahoma State... the Zags play them in Stillwater sometime in the upcoming season. It would be nice for him to have a reunion with his old team mates before watching his new team get obliterated. Anyways, in all seriousness, I wish Spangler the best of luck. Once a Zag, always a Zag.
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