2026-27 Gonzaga Player Profiles: Javon Bennett
As we continue through our preview series of player profiles, we also got our first glimpse of Gonzaga basketball this season in their exhibition match yesterday against Arkansas. Before we get too deep into panic mode or overhype, I always take it with a grain of salt, it being a scrimmage and considering the fact that we had no Davis Fogle. So, moving forward, I may reference players' performances, but I am still looking at what I believe to be the full picture. With all that said, we have Javon Bennett.
Okay, let's first get to know who Javon is. He's another 5-year man who has had one hell of a summer, going from first gaining eligibility, to losing it, to now getting it back. His case is very different from some, as he never went into the draft process and instead entered the transfer portal seeking a 5th year from the jump. A pure scoring guard for Dayton, he has the type of shot that can get hot quick. Though his size could be a problem at times, as he is only 5'10, he did score 22 points shooting 6–11 from 3 against 9th-ranked BYU last year. So, he has proven he can play against Power 4 big boys. He is not a traditional PG, as he looks for his shot first, averaging 15.8 ppg to only 2.9 apg in his 4th season. So, what does that mean for his year ahead as a Zag?
Well, let me start with his scrimmage performance, which overall was very uninspiring, to be frank. He didn't find his shot and looked a step slow on defense at times. Still, he did have a couple of nice moves to the hoop and finished among the trees once. I am not going to write off his chances to help us because of yesterday, he apparently wasn't sure if he was going to play, and he has also been limited in practice due to being banged up. With all that said, though, I do think he has an important role on this team, but what might that be?
I think of Bennett as very similar to Braden Smith last year, a great option off the bench and kind of a "depends on the day" situation for how much he plays. Some nights, he may light it up and make it hard for us not to play him over Nathan De Sousa; other nights, like yesterday, he could find himself riding pine most of the evening. To me, him deciding to come here and then sticking with it after De Sousa and Xaivian Lee committed means he, for one, wants to play in the NCAA tourney (always a big dream for ballers), and hopes he can develop his game and use Gonzaga's pro connections to secure a spot overseas or even in the G League next year. Of course, we all know things can change on a dime, and if we lose Lee's eligibility, all of a sudden it's just him and De Sousa, too.
With his season projections, I am banking on Lee keeping his eligibility. With that happening and De Sousa's ability to create and shoot as well, Bennett may be fighting for 12–15 minutes a night. Even if he only gets, say, 10, he has the ability to make a big impact in the scoring column, which is why I have him averaging 6 ppg even with a potentially lower minute count. Either way, for Gonzaga as a whole, it will be nice to have options at a spot that has been very low in depth over the past few seasons, with our starters needing to play nearly the full 40 every game. With Lee, De Sousa, and Bennett, we can now hopefully create a three-headed monster to be a threat and get our scorers the ball.
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Previous Player Profiles:
Nathan De Sousa: https://www.barstoolbreakdown.com/post/2026-27-gonzaga-player-profiles-nathan-de-sousa
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