Pair of former Gonzaga stars among best college basketball performers of past 15 years

Two of the best individual seasons of the last 15 years were players from Mark Few's team

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have succeeded consistently over the past quarter-century due to the strength of their overall roster, not just because of one individual player.

But that doesn't mean the program hasn't had some incredible, jaw-dropping single-season performances. From Adam Morrison to Kelly Olynyk to Drew Timme, Gonzaga seems to always have one of the most recognizable and talented players in college basketball on the floor - a trend that continues in 2025-26 with Graham Ike already getting All-American buzz.

Two of those great single-season performances stand out above the rest.

A recent post from Evan Miyakawa used his Bayesian Performance Rating model to create a list of the 30 greatest individual seasons in all of college basketball over the past 15 years — two of which belonged to Gonzaga stars.

BPR is a measure of a player's overall value on the court on a per 100 possession basis, combining offensive BPR and defensive BPR into one number to reveal total value.

First up for Gonzaga is the great Chet Holmgren, who spent one year in Spokane in the 2021-22 campaign. That year is ranked No. 10 on Evan's model, just behind the 2023-24 season from UConn big man Donovan Clingan and the 2009-10 season from Duke forward and current head coach Jon Scheyer.

Oct 21, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) gestures after scoring against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Paycom Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Holmgren was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2021 class, and he looked every bit the part in a tremendous freshman season with the Zags. The 7'0 big man averaged 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. He shot an absurd 73.7% on two pointers, as well as 39% from deep, and could seemingly do it all on the court. He was good for one highlight-reel, grab a rebound, dribble the length of the court, cross somebody up, and dunk, per game.

It's no surprise that the season he had and the impact he made on both ends of the floor would end up as one of the best in recent history. Next up is a name fewer casual fans would expect, but one that won't surprise anyone who watched in 2018-19: Brandon Clarke.

Clarke is No. 20 on Evan's list, ahead of Evan Turner at Ohio State in 2009-10, Jared Butler at Baylor in 2020-21, and Lonzo Ball at UCLA in 2016-17, to name a few. Like Holmgren, Clarke was an absolute force on both sides of the floor. After transferring from San Jose State and redshirting in 2017-18, Clarke immediately went to work for Gonzaga, averaging 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals in 28.1 minutes per game, with some of the most efficient scoring numbers in the country. His 68.7% mark from the field led the NCAA, and his career mark of 63.9% is 19th all-time.

Mar 17, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Clarke was an absolute force for Gonzaga, and a key reason that team went to the Elite Eight before a heartbreaking loss to Texas Tech.

Zach Edey in 2023-24 and Cooper Flagg in 2024-25 are tops on the list, with Delon Wright - who was on the Utah team Gonzaga knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in 2016 - is on this list at No. 3 for his 2014-15 campaign.

Other familiar Gonzaga opponents include Draymond Green in 2017-18 at Michigan State (No. 17), and Mikal Bridges at Villanova, also in 2017-18 (No. 30).