Gonzaga assistant coach Rjay Barsh: 'There's a lot of elite players out there that don't fit us'

Barsh spoke about what he looks for on the recruiting trail

Gonzaga's Rjay Barsh enters his third season as an assistant on Mark Few’s staff. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Over the past 25 years, not many programs have recruited as successfully as Gonzaga. Despite landing relatively few 5-star recruits, Mark Few and his coaching staff have found diamonds in the rough time and time again — some right here in the states and others from all over the world.

Few and the staff are able to do this by relentlessly searching for players who they believe embody Gonzaga's identity both on and off the floor, rather than getting too focused on how many points they scored, or how high they can jump, or many other more measurable facets.

Gonzaga assistant coach Rjay Barsh, who is entering his third season in Spokane with the Zags, spoke about what he looks for on the recruiting trail that doesn't necessarily show up on the stat sheets or video highlights.

"How they celebrate their teammates when they make a big play," Barsh said to Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. "But then how their teammates celebrate them when they make a big play. You can tell real quick if a really good player is selfish or if a really good player fits the team concept."

Gonzaga guard Michael Ajayi (left), assistant coach Rjay Barsh (middle) and guard Nolan Hickman (right). | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga has managed to turn relatively unheralded recruits into high-level starters, All-Americans, and successful NBA players by identifying key traits that they know will make them coachable and successful in this system, both on and off the court.

Barsh admits there are quite a few talented players out there that most programs would salivate over, but they just don't fit what Gonzaga is looking for. Few's willingness to be picky, especially when it would be easy to go after the highest-rated players without question, has helped this program maintain a family atmosphere and a strong culture of winning for the last quarter-century.

"There's a lot of elite players out there that don't fit us," Barsh continued. "And then there's elite players out there that fit us like a glove. Those things are not in the stat sheet."

Gonzaga Bulldogs assistant coach Rjay Barsh. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga has cast a wide net in pursuit of talent in the 2026 recruiting class, with five players planning to take official visits over the next four months: 4-star forward Ethan Harris (Aug. 29) 4-star combo guard JRob Croy (Sep. 12), 4-star forward Herly Brutus and 4-star center Sam Funches (Oct. 3) and 5-star forward Cameron Holmes (Nov. 7).

5-star wing Tyran Stokes, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, as well as 5-star forward Baba Oladotun and 4-star point guard Ikenna Alozie, have indicated they plan to visit Gonzaga as well, although dates for those visits remain unconfirmed.

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