Chauncey Wiggins, Explained: Why Gonzaga Is Betting on Him to Fix Three Years of Bad Shooting

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 11: Florida State Seminoles forward Chauncey Wiggins (7) during the ACC Men's basketball tournament between the California Golden Bears and the Florida State Seminoles on March 11, 2026 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Gonzaga has spent three straight offseasons trying to buy its way out of a shooting problem, and three straight offseasons the fix hasn’t held. Adam Miller arrived off a career-best 42.9% season at Arizona State and shot 30.2% from outside in his one year in Spokane. Before that, Steele Venters was supposed to be “the guy,” but he lost two straight seasons to injury, then played 15 minutes a night, shot it fine but couldn’t stay on the floor due to his defensive limitations. Khalif Battle carried stretches of games by himself and then went ice cold in others, cold enough over one four-game run in February 2025 to shoot 2 for 17. Even Ben Gregg, who made 37.7% as a junior, somehow cratered to 27.1% as a senior. None of that is one guy’s fault. It’s been a three-year slide, and it’s getting worse, not better. Gonzaga shot 35.4% from three in 2024-25, the worst mark of Mark Few’s 26 years at the time. And then the Bulldogs broke that record for worse the very next season, hitting 33.3% and finishing 212th nationally in 2025-26.

Florida State graduate transfer Chauncey Wiggins is the answer Gonzaga is banking on. He’s 6-foot-10, but he plays like a wing more than a traditional forward, and last season, 60% of his shots came from behind the arc, where he made 38.7% of them on a very high volume. What nobody knows yet is what role he’ll actually end up playing for the Zags: full-time starter carrying real shot volume? A complementary piece deployed the way matchups dictate? Or something in between.

Who is Chauncey Wiggins?

Wiggins hails from Grayson, Georgia, a suburb about 30 miles east of Atlanta, where he played his high school ball. He was a 3-star, top-150-nationally prospect in the 2022 class, ranked as the No. 25 power forward in the country and the No. 4 player in the state of Georgia by 247Sports. He chose Clemson over Georgia, Maryland, NC State and South Florida, and committed early, in September 2021. He spent his first three seasons with the Tigers, where, despite his size and skill set, he never became more than a complementary piece off the bench, playing fewer than 20 minutes per night and averaging around 35% from outside.

Clemson Freshman Chauncey Wiggins is a future prospect to look out for. The 6’10 Forward is a good shooter who’s shooting 46% from three,he’s also a versatile defender.And he also has shot creation potential. He’s gonna have a bigger role next season so he’s someone to watch for pic.twitter.com/Jp7BfTDD01

— KJ (@KJScouting) February 20, 2023

Then he transferred to Florida State for his senior year, and the role changed completely. He started 30 of his 32 games, played almost 28 minutes a night, and posted career highs across the board: 13.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 47.9 percent shooting overall, 38.7% from three on 5.8 attempts a game.

The Dallas Mavericks have a pre-draft workout scheduled with senior Chauncey Wiggins. He’s a 6’10 forward from Florida State projected to be a late 2nd rounder or undrafted free agent. • 13.3 PPG • 3.9 RPG • 0.9 APG • 47.9 FG% • 38.7 3P% • 85.1 FT% pic.twitter.com/lGvsTcWL4U

— All Things Mavs | Jimmy C Hoops (@All_Things_Mavs) June 1, 2026

After his four years of competitive eligibility wrapped up, Wiggins entered the transfer portal in April 2026, betting on the courts to grant him an additional year of play. The bet paid off. In early August, a Georgia judge granted him and more than a dozen other plaintiffs a preliminary injunction for a fifth year, part of a wave of similar rulings moving through courts in different states. He committed to Gonzaga days later.

NEWS: Florida State transfer Chauncey Wiggins has committed to Gonzaga, per @JoeTipton Wiggins was granted a fifth year of eligibility in an injunction earlier this week pic.twitter.com/xqahKWvdJ1

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) August 7, 2026

Where Wiggins Fits In

Whatever else this roster figures out, it’s going to be enormous. The wings alone run 6-6 to 6-10: Isiah Harwell and Luca Foster at 6-6, Davis Fogle at 6-7, Wiggins topping out at 6-10. The frontcourt is even bigger, some combination of Braden Huff and Parker Jefferson at 6-10, Izan Almansa (if he’s cleared to play) also at 6-10, Sam Funches at 6-11, and Massamba Diop at 7-0.

But whether Wiggins gets the starting nod is far from settled. If he does, it almost certainly means Fogle slides over to the two-spot for his sophomore season and runs the backcourt alongside Dayton transfer point guard Javon Bennett and/or international import Nathan DeSousa out of France, giving Gonzaga size and shooting at every non-big spot on the floor. That’s an appealing problem to have. If he doesn’t start, he’s either the first or second man off the bench spelling Fogle or Harwell at the wing. In some instances, Wiggins could also be used in short bursts as a small-ball stretch four, spacing the floor from the perimeter to give Diop or Huff space to go to work one-on-one against a defense stupid enough not to double-team them in the low post. That second scenario is probably rare for obvious reasons.

As he showed at FUS, he’s comfortable putting the ball on the floor against mismatches, working inside to score over a defender with no business guarding him. That’s a very valuable secondary tool for the Zags if a possession breaks down or the wrong body ends up guarding him, not just a guy standing in the corner but a dude who can use his height and length to get clean looks over smaller opponents.

The Problem

The part that hasn’t gotten enough attention amid all the excitement of his commitment, though: his defense has a real, specific problem, even if it do...

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →