Can the San Francisco Dons Return to the NCAA Tournament?
Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen has assembled a stout lineup headlined by Tyrone Riley and Ryan Beasley. Can the Dons elevate the WCC to a two-bid status in the 2025-2026 season?
The San Francisco Dons have won 20+ games four seasons in a row and in eight out of the last nine years. However, they’ve reached the NCAA Tournament just one during that stretch as a 10-seed that ran into a tough Murray State squad. The Dons were a part of a three-bid WCC that season in 2022, but with Gonzaga leaving next year for the PAC-12 we are entering what might be one last chance for the WCC to reach a three-bid status.
Chris Gerlufsen has done an incredible job after taking over for now National Champion Todd Golden. As he has improved throughout each of the three seasons that he has been head coach, he has now assembled one of his best rosters yet. Returning three key players with additional support from last season’s 25-10 team, coupled with strong incoming transfers and freshman, the Dons appear poised to be fighting at the top of the WCC once again.
We are going to do something a little bit different here for the first time. I was able to connect with head coach Chris Gerlufsen and guard Ryan Beasley thanks to video coordinator Jack Rydquist, where I asked a series of questions to view how the Dons themselves are setting their expectations for this season and how the roster developed. We’ll be incorporating their quotes throughout this review, so let’s dive in!
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Roster Turnover
The Dons have lost the following players:
Marcus Williams (Ineligible)
15.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals
Carlton Linguard Jr. (Ineligible)
8.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Robby Beasley III (Ineligible)
1.9 points, 1 rebounds
Malik Thomas (Senior) - Virginia
19.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals
Jason Rivera-Torres (Junior) - Monmouth
2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds
James O’Donnell (Sophomore) - Portland
2.1 points, 2.6 rebounds
Karl Poom (Sophomore) - Northern Arizona
0.4 points, 0.8 rebounds
Marcus Williams ended his three year career at San Francisco after spending his first two seasons at Wyoming and Texas A&M. What a run it was as he finished his junior year averaging just 7.8 points per game while coming off the bench, to becoming one of the best guards among the non-power conferences. Williams will be sorely missed on this roster next season.
Linguard Jr. played a key role for the Dons as he was a 7’0 center that had a strong ability to shoot. He drained 30.3% of his three point shots on 4.1 attempts per game, while starting in all 35 games. He wasn’t drafted, but he did sign overseas where he is now playing on Donar Groningen in the Netherlands. I’ll be curious to see if he can work his way to the G-League over the next season or two professionally.
Robby Beasley III had quite a journey in his career. He spent his first two seasons at Montana where he started in 32 games his sophomore season and averaged 11.8 points per game. He transferred to UC Davis, seeing a slight reduction in production, and then to San Francisco where he averaged just 10 and 12 minutes per game over the last two seasons.
Malik Thomas is obviously a huge loss. He emerged as one of the best players in the country during his time at San Francisco. He originally entered the NBA Draft to test the waters, but ultimately returned to college for this season season to join forces at Virginia where he most likely secured quite the NIL package. I watched him recently during Virginia’s exhibition game with Vanderbilt, and Thomas looks like he hasn’t missed a beat with the Cavaliers.
As for the remaining three, each were just role players in the rotation. Rivera-Torres transferred in from Vanderbilt as a sophomore and still has potential in my opinion. He’s committed to Monmouth where he’ll surely be given an opportunity to shine in an expanded role. James O’Donnell is just a freshman, but in what opportunities he had at USF, he impressed. Watch for him to transfer down similarly to Rivera-Torres. Poom was another foreign prospect for the Dons that was going to be a long-term development player. After appearing in just 10 games, he is heading to Northern Arizona.
Returning Players
San Francisco has the following players returning this season:
Ndewedo Newbury (Senior)
8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 blocks
Saba Gigiberia (Senior)
1.7 points, 1.8 rebounds
Isa Silva (Senior)
DNP
Ryan Beasley (Junior)
9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1 steal
Junjie Wang (Junior)
6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds
Veniamin Abosi (Sophomore)
2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds
Tyrone Riley (Sophomore)
9.6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.2 steals
Elliott: You were able to retain several key players including Tyrone Riley,
Ryan Beasley, and Ndewedo Newbury from last season’s roster. What has
it been like trying to both retain players and actively recruit in new
additions?
Chris Gerlufsen: In my opinion, the retention piece doesn’t get talked about enough. Having a handful of experienced, battle-tested guys in the program who know me and understand our system is invaluable. We have intentionally tried to stay old, while also adding high school players in each recruiting cycle that we view as difference makers.
Guards
Ryan Beasley (5’11)
Beasley is coming off a strong sophomore season where he averaged nine points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 44.3% overall and 29.9% from beyond the arc. He featured a 112.5 offensive rating, an 18.1% assist rate, and a 57.1% 2pt percentage. Beasley is an impact slashing guard and key contributor to facilitating the offense. Over the last month and a half of the season, he was starting to turn it on. From January 25th and on, he averaged 12.6 points, 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and one steal per game. He’ll be looking to build off this momentum and coming into this season with that same drive.
When I asked Ryan what the number one reason he returned to San Francisco was, he said:
Ryan: I have not done what I have wanted to do as a Don yet. I am from the Bay Area, and I take wearing SF across my chest personally. I feel I owe the city a bit more and have left a lot on the table, so I decided to run it back.
Coming off a strong sophomore campaign, what is your focus point of
development this season?
Ryan: My main focus was to be in the best physical shape possible. Over the past two years I have been banged up and missed multiple games. This offseason I attacked the weight room in order to be available all season. On the court, just being the best version of myself. As the lead guard I have to be an extension of CG, which means being more vocal and leading by example every day.
Tyrone Riley IV (6’6)
Tyrone Riley was one of the most impactful freshman outside of the power conference ranks last year, and he’s poised to take another massive leap forward in his sophomore season. He averaged 9.6 points, six rebounds, one assist, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 50.2% overall and 32.2% from beyond the arc. He finished the season with the following metrics:
119.8 offensive rating (244th)
56.5% effective field goal percentage (227th)
16.9% defensive rebounding percentage (479th)
35.9 free throw rate (495th)
61.3% 2pt percentage (176th)
All of this to say…Tyrone Riley is very good. Earlier this year, our scouting contributor
put together an excellent scouting report on Riley that highlights why he is on a clear path to the NBA.
Veniamin Abosi (6’6)
Abosi is coming off a nice debut as a freshman last season. He averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds across 30 games while shooting 38.5% overall and 23.1% from beyond the arc. He also finished with a 15.2% defensive rebounding percentage, a 2.6% blocking percentage, and a 48.7% 2pt shooting percentage. While his playing time was inconsistent, he often took advantage of the opportunities. In two games in the NIT, he averaged five points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and one block per game. Abosi should be inline for some growth opportunities this season in playing time and development.
Isa Silva (6’4)
Silva spent his first two seasons at Stanford before transferring to Long Beach State where he appeared in 36 games and started 14. Last season, he transferred into San Francisco, but he ultimately redshirted. In that last season at Long Beach State, he averaged 2.4 points, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 34% overall and 25% from beyond the arc. The season prior at Stanford, he averaged 3.2 points and 1.2 assists. He’ll most likely take on a rotational role in the secondary.
Forwards
Ndewedo Newbury (6’7)
Newbury is a huge returning piece for the Dons. He averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game last season while shooting 46.2% overall and 36% from beyond the arc. He unfortunately appeared in just 11 games due to injuries, so he’ll be looking to help his Dons returning to the NCAA Tournament in his last season of eligibility. Looking at his last full season, he finished the 2023-2024 season with a 115.8 offensive rating, a 62.4% effective field goal percentage, and a 5.2% blocking percentage. If he can replicate those figures, he’ll directly impact the Dons’ ceiling this season.
Junjie Wang (6’9)
Junjie Wang took a huge step forward in his sophomore season. He finished the season averaging 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 40.8% overall and 29.9% from beyond the arc across 33 games. He finished with a 102.5 offensive rating, an 8% offensive rebounding percentage, a 10.7% defensive rebounding percentage, and a 57.7% 2pt shooting percentage. Similar to Abasi and Beasley, Wang finished the season strong. Over his last four games, including the NIT, he averaged 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. If he can become more efficient with his shooting, Wang could launch his potential through the ceiling.
Centers
Saba Gigiberia (7’2)
After missing the 2023-2024 season, Saba Gigiberia took a step back with his role last season. In his junior season, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds while starting in 12 of his 31 appearances. Last year, he averaged just 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds while appearing in 23 games. His best game last year came against Oregon State where he finished with ten points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. His underlying metrics are solid, as he finished with a 118.7 offensive rating, a 22.7% offensive rebounding percentage, and a 26.9% defensive rebounding percentage. Looking at the roster, he’ll most likely be in position for a similar role this season.
Roster Additions
The Dons have added the following players:
Aidan Braccia (Junior) - Belmont
1.5 points (2 games)
Vukasin Masic (Senior) - Portland
10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists
Guillermo Diaz Graham (Senior) - Pittsburgh
6.2 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Mookie Cook (Junior) - Oregon
1.1 points, 0.5 rebounds (24 games, 4.3 minutes/per)
David Fuchs (Junior) - Rhode Island
7.4 points, 7.5 rebounds
Legend Smiley (Freshman)
Sean Blakely Drummond (Freshman)
Weilun Zhao (Freshman)
Before we dive into who the Dons have added to their roster, I asked head coach Chris Gerlufsen, how do you feel you addressed your needs to take another leap forward this year?
Chris: I feel like we retained the right guys and identified positive additions both through the portal and the high school ranks that increased our overall talent level. Credit to our staff for identifying players who fit us stylistically. I think we have the chance to have great positional size and skill across the board.
Guards
Vukasin Masic (6’5)
Vukasin Masic has bounced around several non-power conference schools as he started out at Hofstra, then Maine, and he spent his last two seasons at Portland. He took a huge step forward for the Pilots as he averaged 10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 41.7% overall and 36.2% from deep last year. He finished the season with a 25% assist rate which was 192nd in college basketball, versus just a 14.8% turnover rate. Offensively, he’s solid as he achieved a career high offensive rating at 107.3 per KenPom. His 35.5% three-point shooting percentage was 23rd in the WCC last year and he caught fire in the last third of the season. Over the last eight games of the season, he averaged 15.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. During that stretch, he helped the Pilots go 4-4 with wins over Oregon State and Loyola Marymount. The 6’5 guard will plug into the Dons rotation nicely as a secondary ball handler at the two that can serve as a true combo-guard.
Aidan Braccia (6’1)
Aidan Braccia appeared in just ten games in two seasons for Belmont, in which only two came last season. The 6’1 incoming junior is from Atherton, California, so he most likely wanted to come a bit closer to home than Nashville, Tennessee. He’ll most likely be playing a similar role to what he filled at Belmont.
Weilun Zhao (6’0)
Zhao is a highly regarded prospect coming out of China. He played on Overtime Elite’s Cold Hearts team where he averaged 14 points, 2.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.2 steals across 15 games. He shot 47.6% overall and 41% from beyond the arc. He is just a ridiculous play maker. He finished with a 2.5 assist to turnover ratio, racking up some crazy stat lines including ten assists and just one turnover against YNG Dreamerz. He’s been training with Jeremy Lin in preparation for college basketball, and there is no doubt that Zhao has NBA potential. In my opinion, he could be one of the highest impact freshman in the WCC this season.
Sean Blakely Drummond (6’4)
Sean Blakely Drummond was a late addition to the Dons’ roster out of Palo Alton, California. As a freshman, he committed at the end of April, so it seems as if he was a late bloomer. Per 247 Sports, he was also receiving interest from California, Mississippi State, San Diego, and Washington State where his brother Dio is playing this season. He’s a 6’4 guard, but he has an impressive ability to slash to the basket. There isn’t much footage of him available, nor a ton of history on him. He did appear in a few games for Rolling Loud of the Overtime Elite league where he averaged two points, two rebounds, and one assist in the 2023-2024 season. He’ll most likely be a redshirt candidate this season.
Fun fact for any tech history buffs reading this, his dad is David Drummond, former Senior VP and Chief Legal Officer of Google.
Legend Smiley (6’5)
Smiley was a three-star recruit coming out of Branson, Missouri. He was listed as the 229th best recruit per 247 Sports in this season’s class. The 6’5 guard is highly athletic and an incredible shooter. He can slash to the paint and fight through contact, he can create offense for himself off the dribble, and he can serve as a combo guard to help facilitate offense. Smiley should be a huge developmental prospect for San Francisco over the next couple of seasons.
Smiley held offers from USC, St. John’s, Weber State, Washington, and Seattle.
Forwards
Mookie Cook (6’6)
Cook as spent his first two seasons with Oregon where he appeared in five games as a freshman and 24 games last year. He averaged 1.1 points and 0.5 rebounds in 4.3 minutes per game while shooting 58.8% overall and 44.4% from beyond the arc. He hardly played, but his metrics were strong as he finished with a 137.5 offensive rating, a 5.2% blocking percentage, and a 70.6% effective field goal percentage. He is still a raw talent, however, by transferring down out of the power conference ranks, he should be able to start to find his footing within the WCC. He is a former four-star recruit as he ranked 40th in the country in the class of 2023, so keep your eyes on him to see how he develops this season with the Dons.
David Fuchs (6’9)
David Fuchs spent his first two collegiate seasons with the Rhode Island Rams and the results were nearly identical. Last year, he averaged 7.4 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 58.7% overall and 29.4% from deep on just 17 attempts. The 6’9 forward was a menace on the glass as he’s averaged 2.1 offensive rebounds per game on his career so far. His 12% offensive rebounding percentage was 106th in the country, and his 26.8% defensive rebounding percentage was 17th. Offensively, he’s a beast in the paint. He finished shooting 63.8% overall which was 94th in the nation and that jumped to 68.3% in Atlantic 10 play which was 3rd best in the conference. I’d love to see him take a step forward on the defensive end by altering shots, however, his rebounding and ability to finish in the paint are going to make a crucial duo of skill sets for the Dons this season.
Centers
Guillermo Diaz Graham (7’0)
Guillermo spent his first three seasons with Pittsburg, turning himself into a starter by his junior season. He averaged 6.2 points, five rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season while shooting 42.3% overall and 31.6% from beyond the arc. For a 7’0 center, he is a strong three-point shooter considering he took 3.6 on average per game. He’ll almost completely replace the role that Carlton Linguard previously played on the Dons. He finished the season with a 116.1 offensive rating, a 9.8% offensive rating, a 3.6% blocking percentage, and a strong 67.3% shooting percentage from inside the arc. He is a blast to watch because he moves like a guard. He’s highly athletic, he can slash and slam home dunks, he can pop outside shots on catch-and-shoot opportunities, and he has a strong basketball IQ. He’s going to be huge for the Dons this year.
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Expectations
The San Francisco Dons’ roster has a strong combination of both returning talent and impactful new additions to make a run in the WCC. Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen has a plethora of options to piece together a winning combination for the starting lineup. Let’s take a look at what could be the opening day lineup:
Ryan Beasley
Tyrone Riley IV
Ndewedo Newbury/Bukasin Masic
Ndewedo Newbury/David Fuchs/Junjie Wang
Guillermo Diaz Graham
There are four locks in my opinion with Ryan Beasley, Tyrone Riley, Ndewedo Newbury, and Guillermo Diaz Graham. The last spot is a toss up between a number of players that could easily fit in depending on how Gerlufsen wants to slide players around. For example, if he wants to slide Newbury in as a true wing and bring in Masic off the bench, then David Fuchs or Junjie Wang could slide into the power forward position. If he wants to move Newbury to the power forward spot and run smaller while still having Guillermo lock down the paint, then you could let Masic start with the others.
Looking at the bench, they’ll have some combination of Mookie Cook, Junjie Wang, David Fuchs, Vukasin Masic, and Veniamin Abosi. Among the freshman, don’t be surprised to see Weilun Zhao helping back up Beasley at point guard some this season as well. With the exception of Zhao given that Ryan Beasley is returning, any of these players could slide into the starting rotation. Rounding out the bench, you’ll have Isa Silva, Saba Gigiberia, Legend Smiley, and Sean Blakely Drummond if neither of the latter two redshirt their freshman season.
My largest concern is the lack of depth at the point guard position. You have Beasley and Zhao, but after that you are going to be relying on players that are more combo-guards or traditional shooting guards. It’ll become a committee with someone like Masic providing extra ball-handling support and players like Newbury to help facilitate ball movement. I’m not too overly concerned, but it’s something worth watching.
As we wrap up let’s take a look at what head coach Chris Gerlfusen and guard Ryan Beasley are thinking heading into the season:
Elliott: You’ve taken a step forward in each season at the helm of San
Francisco. What is your number one goal this year?
Chris: Our main goal is to continue the upward trajectory and momentum of the program. We have gotten progressively better each year and have established a clear objective of competing every day.
Elliott: With Gonzaga entering their final season in the WCC, do you foresee
the potential that we see another three-bid conference this year
Chris: That is always the goal! I was fortunate enough to be a part of a three-bid WCC the last time it happened. I know we specifically have made a concerted effort to increase our strength of schedule metrics, as have a number of other teams in the league. I expect our conference to be extremely competitive and as tough as ever this year.
When I asked Ryan Beasley what has it been like working with others and building chemistry throughout roster turnover this season?
Ryan: It has been amazing. We have a great group of people. It is fun to compete with one another in practice when we have an amazing bond off the court. Our team has a lot of talent and has been putting in work since June. I am just excited to lace them up against another color jersey.
Overall, this a strong roster that could easily help bring the WCC to a three-bid league status. They have a number of key players returning with Tyrone Riley and Ryan Beasley leading the guard play, Ndewedo Newbury coming in for a final season, and many more. The Dons have intriguing additions from the transfer portal and a couple of freshman that can be excellent long term prospects. KenPom has them at 84th entering the season and Torvik has them at 59th. You’ll want to follow the Dons closely this season.
I'm very excited to see this team. It definitely feels like they could give us a 3 bid WCC again!