Retooled No. 18 Gonzaga begins its quest toward another national championship run with a limp heading into Friday's season opener against Texas Southern at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.
The Bulldogs no longer have the core members of their historic season a year ago when they reached the NCAA title game in Phoenix before losing to North Carolina.
Gone are Nigel Williams-Goss (All-American point guard and West Coast Conference player of the year), Przemek Karnowski (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation's top center), forward Zach Collins (NBA lottery pick and Gonzaga's first one-and-done player) and sharp-shooting guard Jordan Mathews.