Meet Gonzaga’s 2024-2025 Walk-Ons.
The Taco Shot is one of the most exciting moments in Gonzaga basketball history. For those who don’t know, the whole crowd at the Kennel receives vouchers good for free Doritos Locos Tacos (thanks to Taco Bell) if the Zags make ten three-pointers in a game. These baskets typically come from a walk-on, one of Gonzaga’s unsung heroes, and occur late in the game, after Coach Few has cleared the bench.
Walk-ons are non-scholarship athletes who were invited to try out for a non-scholarship spot on the team’s roster but were not specifically recruited by the program. In addition to providing some emergency depth on the roster, they also compete against the team’s starters and second-stringers in practice; so it benefits a team tremendously to bring in the highest caliber players possible to fill those spots.
The most well-known and adored walk-ons in recent memory were Rem Bakamus and Dustin Triano. From time to time, the two appeared on SportsCenter highlight reels for no other reason than their animated and sometimes perplexing bench-side reactions to crucial moments in games they were not (and would not) participate in. They added fun, vigor, and excitement to a game that all too frequently becomes tense and nervous. In a same vein, Zag legends Matthew Lang and Will Graves have each made numerous crucial baskets in late-game scenarios. Despite playing little minutes, a number of other GU walk-ons have also contributed significantly to the Bulldogs. It’s simple to overlook the contributions of Mike Hart, Kyle Bankhead, David Stockton, and even assistant coach Brian Michaelson all started out as walk-ons.
Gonzaga will feature five walk-ons on their roster for the upcoming season, three of them are new to the team (Joe Few and Joaquim AruzMoore are the other two, who are almost veterans by now). Even when those players are not on the court, the Gonzaga bench is always someone to keep an eye on, even though we may not see much of the new walk-ons this season. Who then are they?
Orness does not obtain an athletic scholarship from the university but instead joins the Zags as a preferred walk-on, which spares him from having to test out for the squad. The 6’5″ point guard joins the team from Poulsbo, Washington, where he now leads North Kitsap High School in scoring (1,821 points) in basketball history. As he led the Vikings to the WIAA Class 2A state semifinals, he was voted the 2024 Olympic League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. Like another fan favorite (and native Washingtonian), Corey Kispert, he is powerful, athletic, and has the ability to go from the perimeter to the rim with finesse and determination.
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