Gonzaga freshman suffers apparent ankle injury during EuroBasket exhibition game

The guard is part of the Spanish senior men's national basketball team

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery | Photo courtesy of Gonzaga University Athletics

Gonzaga freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery exited Spain's exhibition game against France on Saturday with an apparent right ankle injury. The severity of his injury is unknown at this time.

Spain was up 20-10 late in the first quarter when Saint-Supery - who hit a corner three a few possessions previously - came off a screen and drove toward the basket. The 19-year-old guard elevated and tossed a lob to the roll man at the rim, before landing awkwardly and grabbing at his right foot. He was ultimately helped off the floor by his teammates and was not seen putting any weight on the injured foot.

Gonzaga's first game of the 2025-26 season is over 2.5 months away, but an injury - even if Saint-Supery is fully healthy by November - could cost the freshman very valuable opportunities to develop on-court chemistry with his teammates. Saint-Supery has already had very little interaction with his new teammates and coaches in Spokane after not officially joining the team until late June and leaving to start training camp with Spain less than a month later.

The 6'4 guard is part of the Spanish senior men's national basketball team competing at the 2025 EuroBasket this month. The competition begins August 27 and runs through September 14. Saturday's matchup against France was a tune-up before the main event, which begins for Spain on Thursday, August 28, against Georgia and continues with matchups against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Aug. 30, Cyprus on Aug. 31, Italy on September 2, and Greece on September 4.

Saint-Supery committed to Gonzaga after months of pursuit by Mark Few and the staff. The 19-year-old is a pass-first point guard who coach Few believes can play both on and off the ball in GU's offense, and who is projected to fill a big role in 2025-26 alongside redshirt sophomore Braeden Smith and senior transfer Adam Miller. Saint-Supery fills coach Few's goal of having two ball-handling guards playing alongside each other, like the program had in 2016-17 with Nigel Williams-Goss and Josh Perkins and again in 2020-21 with Jalen Suggs and Andrew Nembhard - Gonzaga's two national championship appearances.

Mario 🇪🇸🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/VdAWlgY1Jm

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) July 1, 2025

Gonzaga is also without another key piece of next year's roster, prized transfer portal addition Tyon Grant-Foster, who is awaiting a waiver from the NCAA to grant him eligibility for the 2025-26 season.

An extended absence for Saint-Supery could jeopardize his readiness for the upcoming season, which puts more pressure on Gonzaga's returners in the backcourt. Smith is expected to start at point guard, while Miller likely starts at shooting guard.

If Saint-Supery misses any time, redshirt senior Jalen Warley and junior Emmanuel Innocenti will shoulder a bigger load, while incoming freshman Davis Fogle and Eastern Washington transfer Steele Venters - who has missed the past two seasons with injuries - could be called upon more often as well.

This story is continuing to develop.

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