Gonzaga’s incoming freshman class is highlighted by Spanish guard Mario Saint-Supery, a 19-year-old with professional experience who many feel could end up playing in the NBA in the not-too-distant future.
Then there’s Davis Fogle, a four-star wing who ranked No. 31 nationally in the 2025 class and who has been on Gonzaga’s radar since he began his high school career in Anacortes, WA.
The third freshman is Parker Jefferson, a 6’9 big man who previously committed to Minnesota before decommitting and ultimately joining Gonzaga in early May. Jefferson, who comes in at No. 211 in the composite class rankings, may not have the same pedigree as Saint-Supery or Fogle, but Gonzaga’s track record of developing big men speaks for itself.
The Waxahachie, TX native sat down with Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI to talk about his decision to come to Gonzaga, his first summer in Spokane, what he believes his role will be this season, learning from Graham Ike and Braden Huff, and more.
(Watch the full interview at the bottom of this story)
“It just goes to show that things can happen really quick. Stuff can change. Much love to the coach there that was at Minnesota, Ben Johnson. That’s my guy to this day, still talking to him. But yeah, once it happened, I just kind of decided it wouldn’t be best for me to stay there. And I want to say it was a week or two into me being decommitted, I get a call from coach B. Mike, Brian Michaelson, probably about an hour-long call. Just really getting to know me, not really much about basketball, questions back from when I was in middle school to now. Just from that first call, I knew he was serious and that he wasn’t wasting his time and I wasn’t wasting mine either. So I think from the jump, I kind of knew that this was the spot where I was really considering and wanted to go.”
“From watching them in March Madness since I was a kid, it’s always been a program that I’ve been looking at and obviously blessed to be here. Their success and how they use their bigs is special. We do a lot of things that I’ve never seen a program do, so they really develop you and they’re going to give you the ball. So that’s part of it. And you don’t really see that much in today’s college game, and they love to do it.”
Former Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
“Drew’s my guy. My older Nigerian brother played with him, AAU ball for Drive Nation. So I was around him when I was probably in third or fourth grade. Got to see him up close in person, started talking to him and right when I started getting recruited (by Gonzaga), we were texting back and forth. Just me asking questions about how B Mike is and how the school is. The day before I committed, we talked about it and that was that. So definitely seeing him have his success here and kind of pave his own way, it was special. And it’s something that brought me here.”
“Ever since recruiting started up in eighth grade, everybody was telling me, ‘Why don’t you go to Gonzaga?’ I feel like it’s the perfect spot for you. And in the moment, you’re not thinking about it, you’re like ‘yeah okay, this and that,’ but as I started getting later on and closer to deciding what school I wanted to go to, just hearing that all the time was like, “okay, why are they saying this?” and I looked into it. I’m like “maybe I am a Gonzaga guy.” I think I just really fit the mold here. That’s one thing they do well here is finding guys who don’t have an ego. I think this summer everybody’s kind of fit in. Since the first day, I knew that we had a special group. And I think what’s special about here is the personalities are as elite as the talent.”
Gonzaga students during the 2024 Kraziness in the Kennel, the annual preseason showcase held at the McCarthey Athletic Center. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
“Winning is a big thing that you see about Gonzaga. I didn’t know much about it, so I’m thinking the school’s gotta be crazy. It’s a private school, smaller community but the support is special. It’s not a 5-10 million people city, you’re getting people in Spokane selling out the arena every game. So I think it just goes to show that even though this doesn’t seem like a big destination, what they’ve done here has made it somewhere that’s special and that fans want to come out and watch, and they make it a great environment.”
“I was at home the first week. I didn’t think it got this hot. Coming from Texas, I thought it was going to cool off a bit. You get the best of both worlds. It’s beautiful nature out here, and you also have the city vibe right here downtown. I got to go out to the lake with the guys in Coeur d’Alene a lot. It’s a great spot. You kind of get everything you need and it’s not too much, not overwhelming. It’s the perfect spot for me.”
Gonzaga men’s basketball team. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
“Just in the first week I was here, I felt like I had a better bond with this team than I’ve had with any other team. There’s no egos. You’re never feeling anxious to come work out with these guys. Energy’s high, coaches are very supportive, but they’re gonna get on you. That’s what comes with it. I think JP said it best, you can’t really tell what Zag culture is you just gotta wear it on your sleeve. So I think that’s kind of what it is. Once you get in and you start getting that routine of what the culture is you’re expected to bring that every day. And that’s just what’s special around here.”
“Can’t ask for two better guys to learn from huh? They’re great guys. Graham and Braden Huff have been instrumental to me, just kind of keeping that in my head, giving me tips, pointers, more off the court. They told me in the first week, “all right you can hoop.” So off the court it’s just more of how you carry yourself, how we do things around here, how you can be better in the community. I think they’re just great examples. Seeing them live in action every day is special. I think just getting to learn from those guys on and off the court, whether it’s about life, a post move, this, or that, I feel like I can call those guys any day and they’ll be there for me.”
“As a freshman you come in and kind of get blown away. But it was really something after that first week or two of feeling like “Alright I don’t know what I’m doing”. It started getting more comfortable, and going against guys like Graham and Braden Huff, those are two of the best bigs in the nation. So you can only get better every day going against them. So that’s the mindset I took into it. Whether I get my butt busted or whether I score on them, I just try to keep that mindset of improving every day and trying to look after what those guys are doing and emulate that.”
Gonzaga assistant Brian Michaelson (left) and head coach Mark Few (right). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
“We don’t really talk much about it. Obviously the season is coming up so I think we’ll start having conversations. But right now I’m more at the power four spot, probably backing up Braden. But coach B. Mike has seen Drew Timme, Braden Huff, and Graham Ike flashes in me. So I think that’s kind of what I’m set to do. Getting to see those guys for Graham’s last year, getting to see fully what it takes to be a guy like that and learn from those guys. I think that’s what I’m going to need because that’s what it’s heading towards.”
“Just trying to be more vocal on the court. As a freshman you come in kind of quiet. I think I need to be more vocal still to this day, trying to get better on defense for sure. Learning ball screen coverage is just talking, defense is more about communication and effort. So that’s the things I’ve been working on. Offensively, I feel like it’s kind of starting to come naturally, but there are still things that we’re tweaking and working on.”
“Most definitely. That was one of the main things I was looking forward to getting out of that experience. It’s just getting ready for college, seeing the school options that I had as well. I knew I was going to be away from home, so i had a great opportunity with coach Jason Crow out there at Inglewood, and it was a great experience. That’s definitely something that I needed for sure. Going out there and growing up and kind of realizing that this is what it’s going to be in college, so why not go ahead and get a head start now?”
“I think the special thing about us is that we’re still the same Zag culture, but we still want to be a different team. TK, our strength coach, we do this class called Zag 101 in the summer, and he went off on the board and checked off everything a team has done, and everything was checked off except the national championship. So we want to be that team that can be different. If we get to the Final Four it’s still a great thing, but it’s already been checked off. We want to be the one team that’s still looking at that national championship with no check next to it, and we want to be the team to do that. So I think that just takes every day. That’s the approach we’re taking, is just trying to be your best self. And as a group we’re going to come together and be special. I think we have a different mindset. A lot of guys are just really, really dedicated, and it’s special to see.”
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