Jalen Warley aiming to play 'jack of all trades' role for Gonzaga

Warley said Gonzaga wants him to be able to play one through four

Jalen Warley (fourth from left) lines up alongside Gonzaga players before tipoff. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have once again assembled a roster that has a blend of versatility, experience, and upside top to bottom.

With 19-year-old guard Mario Saint-Supery back in Spokane after Spain's early exit at EuroBasket, the last remaining puzzle piece for the Zags is Grand Canyon transfer Tyon Grant-Foster, who is awaiting a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible for the 2025-26 season.

Whether Grant-Foster gets eligibility or not will have big ramifications on the role and playing time for another wing transfer, Jalen Warley, who is set to debut with Gonzaga this year after transferring from Virginia and redshirting last season.

Fortunately for Gonzaga, Warley's versatility gives coach Few plenty of options on how to deploy him on a regular basis — something the 6'7 senior spoke about with Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI:

"I really want to be a jack of all trades, someone who can do a lot of different things," Warley said. "I want to be able to guard a lot of different positions on defense, but I also want to play a lot of different roles on offense."

Dec 2, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Jalen Warley (1), now with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Warley also discussed what coach Few and the staff have been emphasizing with him this past year, which includes being able to play nearly every position on the floor.

"Being able to play one through four has been a message that we've talked about," Warley continued. "The more I can do, the better I can play off my teammates, the more successful we're going to be. Just continuing to build and finding ways to improve on what I'm already good at, but also really attack my weaknesses and take advantage of that redshirt year and this offseason to do that."

Gonzaga's thinnest position depth-wise is power forward following the departures of both Ben Gregg and Michael Ajayi. Gregg graduated and signed his first pro contract with Sig Strasbourg in France, while Ajayi hit the transfer portal and landed at Butler in the Big East.

Braden Huff is projected to jump into the starting lineup alongside Graham Ike, leaving sophomore Ismaila Diagne as the only backup big man who has been in this system — and he played a grand total of 66 minutes last year. Gonzaga does have incoming freshman Parker Jefferson — a 6'10 big man from Inglewood — but outside of that, the team is very thin in the frontcourt.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (left) and head coach Mark Few (right). | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Warley spent the first three seasons of his career at Florida State, operating as a playmaking forward who racked up more assists (275) than rebounds (237) in 96 games. However, Gonzaga could look to play four-guard lineups to help spell Ike and Huff up front, and Warley's age, length, and functional strength will play at the four in Gonzaga's system — particularly against smaller WCC competition.

Warley is also likely to play some backup point guard behind Colgate transfer Braeden Smith, especially early in the season, while Saint-Supery continues to learn the ropes of Gonzaga's offense and college basketball after spending most of the offseason overseas.

Versatility has always been a hallmark of Gonzaga rosters, but Warley's ability to play point guard through power forward is unique even for the Zags and is a huge x-factor for this team's hopes of getting back to the Final Four in 2026.

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