REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - When Mike Krzyzewski of Duke goes after an elite U.S. high school talent he knows he's battling Kentucky's John Calipari for that guy. And Calipari knows he competing against Coach K and a few other top, top schools for other high level players. But Gonzaga University aren’t facing competition from other colleges for many of their recruits, but instead professional clubs around the world.

Tommy Lloyd is considered the international guru at Gonzaga, as the Zags assistant coach has been responsible for building a steady flow of international players coming to Spokane, Washington. 

Lloyd initially in 2002 was challenged by Zags head coach Mark Few to find a way to bring in good players to Spokane - not exactly a hotbed for basketball talent. After spending two seasons playing low level basketball in Germany and Australia, Lloyd figured international players might be that way. 

Gonzaga initially had locked up Mario Kasun as their first big international. But the Croatian center was declared ineligible by the NCAA and he never played for the Zags.

He (Kasun) opened the door and made us think we can go over and get really, really talented players. We just have to invest time and effort and energy in doing it. It opened our minds and eyes. - Lloyd

The Zags eventually landed their first big fish in French big man Ronny Turiaf, who became a huge fan favourite with Gonzaga. 

Lloyd and Co. invested more time looking at international players who would probably commit to higher level schools if they were American high schoolers. 

"We had to recruit above our level," Lloyd said. 

We knew we had to think outside the box. We had to fish in waters that weren’t over-populated with other fishermen. We really put time and effort into Europe and made it a Plan A. - Lloyd

Other international players followed - Germans Elias Harris and Mathis Monninghof; JP Batista of Brazil, Mathis Keita of France, Guy Landry Edi of Cote d’Ivoire and Abdullahi Kuso of Nigeria. Spokane’s proximity to the Canadian border in northwestern United States also helped the Zags get a steady flow of Canadians including Kelly Olynyk, Kevin Pangos and Robert Sacre. 

The success of those players allowed Gonzaga to go after another level of international player - which can be seen in the current pair of internationals recruited to the Zags.

Przemek Karnowski was facing a major decision around 2012 as to where he would develop his basketball future. The Polish big man had already played at the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship, 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship and 2011 FIBA European U18 All-Star Game at EuroBasket 2011 - all before he had even turned 18 years of age. 

He was also named as an All-Star in the Polish PLK league in 2012 - at 18 years - for his strong showing with top flight Siarka Jezioro Tarnobrzeg. But instead of becoming a professional basketball player, Karnowski decided to attend Gonzaga. 

The other current Zag international recruited by Lloyd out of Europe is Domantas Sabonis, who had been earning minutes in the Euroleague with Unicaja Malaga before he picked Gonzaga. Sabonis easily could have gone to almost any major club in Europe with his talent and pedigree, but Lloyd convinced him that the Zags were the right fit.

"We're looking for top five players in their generation in Europe. And we're not recruiting against colleges but against professional clubs," Lloyd said. 

"We recruit Europe with a little bit different mentality. For us, we're not afraid of going over there and finding our best players."

Lloyd explained that college does have some advantages over a professional club.

We can offer the kid an educational component along with the development. The kid is still a free agent. If he decides to leave and sign with a club, I can’t call FIBA to have them block it. - Lloyd

"The shortened NCAA season, which ends in March, gives the players time to work on their bodies, which is important when you’re 18 to 22 years old. And often they have 24 hour access to the gym, something that’s not the case with European clubs," Lloyd said.

Armed with all that, Lloyd went out into the world basketball market and locked up three more high level players. 

Killian Tillie was the MVP at 2014 U16 European Championship for France and named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2015 Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals at the Euroleague Final Four with INSEP. 

The 1998-born Frenchman was a hotly-recruited player - both from U.S. colleges and European clubs. His 2015 INSEP teammates Stephane Gombauld and Jonathan Jeanne, for example, both have already joined ProA clubs ASVEL and Le Mans respectively. 

But Tillie chose Gonzaga. 

The Zags were also the choice of Danish 18-year-old center Jacob Larsen, who was the MVP of the 2013 U16 European Championship Division B and has moved to Danish Ligaen side SISU Copenhagen this season. 

The third recruit is Japanese Golden Boy Rui Hachimura, who is the biggest hopeful in the country looking ahead to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The 17-year-old showcased himself at the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic and Lloyd got him to sign on the dotted line. 

"He's not taking the easy way out. For him, it would be easy to sign a pro contract with a Japanese team. But he’s dead set on coming to the U.S. and getting as good as he can get," Lloyd said of Hachimura. 

Lloyd admitted that if everything works out with this trio of players as they expect, the program won’t go after any more international players until 2018. Until then, he and the Zags coaching staff can recover from their battles with professional clubs.

David Hein 

FIBA 

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