Take 22 with Anton Watson

Ten days after Gonzaga's season-ending loss to UConn in the Elite Eight, Anton recaps the Bulldogs' run at the NCAA Tournament, reflects on the highs and lows of the 2022-23 season and talks about his personal growth in his fourth year with Mark Few's program.

Anton discusses returning to Gonzaga for a fifth season versus declaring for the NBA Draft, outlining who he'll consult to make that decision in the coming weeks. With three GU teammates in the NCAA transfer portal, Anton weighs in on an ever-changing basketball environment and previews next year's Bulldogs team, offering his insight on three younger players who could step into larger roles in 2023-24.

As third-seeded Gonzaga prepares for the program's 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, we discuss Selection Sunday, the Bulldogs' matchup with Grand Canyon and how Anton's third experience at March Madness differs from his first.

Anton's former Gonzaga Prep teammate, Liam Lloyd, discusses his first season playing at Northern Arizona and talks about making a run to the championship game with the ninth-seeded Lumberjacks at the recent Big Sky Tournament. Lloyd also reflects on his two years playing at Grand Canyon, sizes up Friday's Gonzaga-GCU first-round NCAA matchup in Denver and talks about his father Tommy's successful two-year tenure as the coach at Arizona.

Two days removed from his fourth WCC Tournament championship, Anton Watson talks about beating San Francisco and Saint Mary’s in Las Vegas, why Gonzaga was motivated by being the tournament’s No. 2 seed and earning a spot on the all-tournament team alongside Drew Timme and Julian Strawther.

Gonzaga guard Malachi Smith hops on to talk about his five-year college basketball odyssey and stops at Wright State, Chattanooga and Gonzaga. Smith discusses his upbringing and being raised in a military household by a single mother. Both players talk about how patience has helped them at different points of their college basketball career and Smith shares his excitement for the upcoming NCAA Tournament after falling short of a first-round upset against Illinois last season.

Gonzaga's West Coast Conference slate is complete after a 77-68 win over Saint Mary's 77-68 that gave the Bulldogs a share of the regular season title. Anton reflects on an eventful weekend in Spokane, talks about his poster dunk on Gaels forward Mitchell Saxen, previews the upcoming WCC Tournament and speaks about his pending decison – return to Gonzaga for a fifth season or turn pro?

Assistant coach Roger Powell joins this week's podcast to discuss his upbringing in Chicago, his national championship appearance as an Illinois player in 2005 and his professional career in the NBA and overseas. Powell reflects on his four years at Gonzaga under head coach Mark Few and discusses Anton's growth since joining the program in 2019-20.

In our closing segment, Anton tackles a series of Twitter questions submitted by Gonzaga fans.

Anton takes listeners inside Gonzaga's road wins at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine and previews an eventful weekend ahead that includes a home game against San Diego on Thursday, a visit from ESPN's award-winning College GameDay show on Saturday morning and Saturday evening's game against No. 15 Saint Mary's to potentially decide the regular season WCC title.

Gonzaga senior and All-American forward Drew Timme joins the podcast to discuss a variety of topics including NIL, his longstanding friendship with Anton and how he's grown to love Spokane, including notorius burrito joint Atilano's. The guys get a surprise from a former teammate later in the episode and take on 10 questions about their teammates in the catch-and-shoot segment.

Gonzaga forward Anton Watson and Spokesman-Review reporter Theo Lawson recap a comfortable win against San Francisco, a come-from-behind victory against BYU two days later and talk briefly about the Super Bowl LVII. They also discuss Gonzaga's upcoming games in Southern California against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.

Later in the episode, Watson is joined by father Deon Sr. and older brother Deon Jr. Both discuss their athletic careers at the University of Idaho and how new name, image and likeness would've impacted their time as college athletes. Deon Sr. discusses how Anton would've fared on the court in the late 1980s/early 1990s and the Gonzaga junior talks about how his dad would've held up in today's game. At the end, Anton and Deon Jr. take part in our rendition of the "siblings challenge."

Gonzaga forward Anton Watson and Spokesman-Review reporter Theo Lawson reflect on how the Bullogs won at home against Santa Clara and where things went awry in a road loss to Saint Mary's. Watson talks about Gonzaga's steadily improving defense, the Bulldogs' season to this point and Drew Timme's place in the school record books.

Watson also discusses his North Idaho roots, when basketball came into the picture, his foray into other sports such as baseball and cross country and how an interaction with former Gonzaga center Austin Daye helped him become a fan of the Bulldogs from a young age. Watson recalls his undefeated junior season at Gonzaga Prep, playing AAU basketball for John Stockton and why he committed to Gonzaga as a high school sophomore.