Mark Few discusses playing time battle between Braeden Smith and Mario Saint-Supery

The Gonzaga Bulldogs enter the 2025-26 season with an elite frontcourt tandem in Graham Ike and Braden Huff, but uncertainty nearly everywhere else on the roster.

The eligibility of wing Tyon Grant-Foster remains up in the air, while the rest of the backcourt is made up almost entirely of players who have yet to suit up in a Zag uniform, including freshman Mario Saint-Supery and redshirt transfers Jalen Warley (Virginia) and Braeden Smith (Colgate).

Smith has long been considered the favorite to start at point guard for coach Mark Few this season, having spent all of last year learning from Ryan Nembhard while on the sideline. However, in a recent interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS, Few indicated Saint-Supery may have a bigger role on the ball than originally anticipated.

"I think Mario is really gonna push Braeden," Few told Rothstein on the Inside College Basketball podcast. "I see both of them handling the point guard duties, if not equally, then sharing it enough where we will get great point guard play this year."

Gonzaga heavily pursued Saint-Supery, a 6'3 guard from Malaga, Spain, although they weren't able to secure a commitment until late June. The 19-year-old was only on campus for a few weeks, however, before he was selected as an injury replacement to join the Spanish National Team at EuroBasket. He played very well in the tournament as one of the youngest players, averaging 8.4 points with a solid 14-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery (17). | Photo by Mercedes Smith

Still, the time Saint-Supery spent away from Gonzaga — combined with Smith's year of experience learning the system — gave the veteran guard a leg up on the point guard position battle. Coach Few said back in July that Saint-Supery is capable of playing both on and off the ball, and it seemed likely he would have a hybrid role as a freshman this upcoming season.

Ultimately, that is still likely the case, although Few seems more than willing to let Saint-Supery compete to play significant minutes at point guard right away this season. The upside for the Spanish guard is sky-high, and if he has been demonstrating an advanced understanding of Gonzaga's system already in practice, it makes total sense to give him the reins sooner rather than later.

Gonzaga will have two chances to test Saint-Supery out at point guard before the season begins officially: first on Sunday, Oct. 19, in an exhibition game against NAIA opponent Northwest University, and again on Oct. 27 against Division II Western Oregon.

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