Who steps up for Gonzaga following significant knee injury to Braden Huff?

Huff is projected to miss 4-8 weeks with a left knee injury suffered in practice

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8). | Photo by Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs will have their depth tested the rest of conference play, and potentially beyond, following a report on Thursday that star forward Braden Huff will miss 4-8 weeks with a left knee injury suffered during practice.

The Zags are hoping to have Huff back before the end of the season - with the WCC Tournament championship slated for March 10, about 7.5 weeks from the timing of Huff's injury announcement.

The redshirt junior is the lone Gonzaga player to start all 18 games this season, stepping into a starting role after two years serving as Graham Ike's backup. Huff has maintained his highly efficient scoring even in an increased role, leading the team with 17.8 points per game while shooting a league best 66.2% from the field.

Huff's level of production will be difficult for Gonzaga to replace, and will likely require some creativity from Mark Few and his coaching staff.

The immediate beneficiary of playing time for Gonzaga will be redshirt senior Jalen Warley, who currently plays 20.1 minutes per game off the bench as a versatile wing defender, playmaker, and strong rebounder.

Warley stands just 6'6 but regularly plays a non-traditional power forward role for the Zags, thanks to his length and proclivity to grab offensive boards. However, he's not much of a scorer, averaging 6.3 points on just 4.6 field goal attempts per game, which ranks seventh on the team.

While Warley's increased presence makes Gonzaga an even tougher team defensively, it significantly hurts the team's offensive firepower, which has long been predicated on dynamic two-big lineups.

Joining Warley in what is expected to be a bigger role off the bench is Tyon Grant-Foster, Gonzaga's third leading scorer at 11.7 points per game. The 6'7 wing is more comfortable away from the rim, giving him room to operate as a downhill driver or as a jump shooter, but he could be asked to fill Huff's role in certain situations - at least while Gonzaga works to adjust the offense in Huff's absence.

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster (7). | Photo by Myk Crawford

If Grant-Foster does end up playing more minutes at the four, don't be surprised to see true freshman Davis Fogle off the bench more often on the wing. Fogle has excelled as a scorer this season, averaging 6.1 points in just 8.0 minutes a contest, although he has not played much outside of late-game blowouts. Still, the scoring acumen and relentless effort on both ends of the floor could result in the 6'7 wing on the floor more while the team looks for someone, anyone, who can put the ball in the hoop to replace Huff's near 18 points per night.

Lastly, Gonzaga will need more size on the floor in certain matchups - particularly against Saint Mary's - and that is where sophomore Ismaila Diagne will come in.

Diagne stands 7'0 but has played sparingly this year, appearing in 13 of the team's 18 games and playing just seven minutes per night. The big man showed flashes of excellence - including a masterful showing last year against Santa Clara, where he scored nine points on 4-4 shooting in 18 minutes - and will be on the floor more while Huff is out to give Gonzaga much-needed size, rebounding, and rim protection in Huff's absence.

The big man from Senegal has been developing mostly behind the scenes in his two years in Spokane, and now it is time to see if coach Few and the staff's long -standing reputation for developing big man talent has paid off yet for Diagne, who becomes arguably the biggest x-factor on this roster for the foreseeable future.