Jalen Warley's return comes at critical time for Gonzaga ahead of March Madness

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs fought through an unusually high number of injuries this season, heading into the WCC Tournament championship game with a 29-3 record after defeating Oregon State on Monday night.

A big reason Gonzaga managed to outlast a scrappy Beavers team was the play of senior wing Jalen Warley, who returned after a two game absence stemming from the quad contusion he suffered in early February against Portland. Gonzaga sat Warley at home against the Pilots on Feb. 25 and against Saint Mary's in Moraga for the regular season finale on Feb. 28, using the 16 day break to start a new treatment plan - which seemed to have worked for the 6'7 wing.

"He actually had some treatment that finally worked this week, and he was moving around really, really well; the best it's been in probably a month, at least," coach Few said after the game on Monday. "We were encouraged by that, but he only had two practices — I think Friday and Saturday — to kind of get up and going."

Warley brought his trademark high energy and unique versatility on Monday in 23 minutes of action, scoring four points on 1-3 shooting with three rebounds, one assist, and one turnover. He stayed in the game with four fouls and even drew a charge in the final few minutes, a testament to his high basketball IQ and the trust the coaching staff has in him to make the right play.

Warley's impact has always gone beyond the box score, with Gonzaga using him as a swiss army knife on both ends of the floor. He can guard 1-5, battle on the glass, attack off the dribble, and facilitate the offense. The list of players in Gonzaga history who have served as the team's starting power forward and third string point guard - at the same time - is incredibly small, with the team relying on him to be their 'problem solver' on the floor.

"He's special, man," Graham Ike said on Monday. "The way he gets us into action, the way that he just keeps the ball moving on the offensive end is special. And then on the defensive end, he's handsy. He's everywhere. He's in his coverage as he's talking to us. He's pulling us together for huddles. We definitely missed his energy and his leadership on the floor, and I'm glad to have him back."

"He's different, man," Adam Miller added. "He's an amazing player, and he leads in ways that you guys don't even see. He's just amazing."

Warley has been vital to Gonzaga's success this season, even when he was playing through his injury. While his playing time was nearly cut in half, and his limited explosiveness hurt his rebounding and defensive numbers, he still found ways to impact winning. And his desire to keep playing through the pain was inspiring - even if the staff had to basically drag him away in the last week of the season.

"The last two games he played, he's so tough," Few continued. "He was trying to play, but, I mean, he was probably dragging his leg around at probably 30% and it wasn't Jalen. So we were just like, 'Listen, we got to just take some days off here and see if we get this thing right.'"

Gonzaga is almost certain to earn a top five seed in the NCAA Tournament - regardless of what happens on Tuesday against Santa Clara in the WCC championship - but they'll no doubt need a healthy Warley to make a deep run in March Madness.

"We'll have a little bit of a break after the [WCC championship], and hopefully we can really get some ground there to get him back, because he still doesn't have that burst or the athleticism that he's had," Few said. "But he's getting there."

Gonzaga and Santa Clara will battle it out on Tuesday night at 6:00 PM PT, with the game broadcast on ESPN.