SPOKANE, Wash. – Geno Crandall, a transfer from the University of North Dakota, signed a financial aid agreement to attend Gonzaga University and will join the men’s basketball team for the 2018-19 season.
“When it came time for me to make a decision, GU seemed like the natural fit for me that had everything I was looking for in my last year of college basketball: a winning program, great coaches with a proven track record for player development, a good group of guys and an excellent culture,” Crandall said. “I’m excited to be a part of the Gonzaga family and look forward to leaving my mark by helping this team in whatever way I can to reach our goal of hanging a national championship banner in the Kennel. I’m expecting a special year in Spokane and can’t wait to get started. Go Zags!”
Crandall, a 6-4 180-pound guard, will graduate from North Dakota this summer. He will be immediately eligible to play as a graduate transfer.
“We are excited to have Geno join our program,” Head Coach Mark Few said. “We were able to see what he is capable of doing earlier this season in our game versus North Dakota. He will be a great addition.”
Crandall averaged a team-high 16.6 points and 3.6 assists per game last season. He led the Big Sky Conference with 2.1 steals per game. He earned Big Sky Second Team honors for the second straight season in 2017-18. The Minneapolis, Minn. native, reached double-figure scoring in 25 games, including the final 11, which was the best stretch of his career.
Crandall opened last season by scoring a UND Division I single-game record 41 points in a win over Troy. He scored his 1,000th-career point on a buzzer-beating three-pointer that forced overtime at Gonzaga last season. He became the fastest player in UND’s Division I history to achieve that feat (73 games).
In 2016-17, Crandall averaged 15.5 points per game, while starting all 31 games for the Fighting Hawks. He dished out 4.4 assists and made 64 steals, which ranked second in the Big Sky Conference. During his freshman season, he ranked second on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game. Crandall was third in the conference with 4.2 assists per game. He was third in the league averaging 1.9 steals per outing.
Crandall joins a Bulldog squad coming off of a Sweet 16 finish and a 32-5 overall record. Gonzaga graduated three players, Silas Melson, Johnathan Williams and Brian Pete. The Zags welcome back a talented team in 2018-19, and many media outlets have ranked GU in the Top-10 in their early preseason projections.
Information courtesy of the Gonzaga Athletic Department
