A handful of Gonzaga players considered professional options versus returning to the Zags following the 2019 season. So did a member of GU’s coaching staff, minus the fanfare and headlines. Riccardo Fois found himself in Phoenix – staying at the same hotel where the Zags stayed at the 2017 Final Four – to interview for the position of player development coach with the Phoenix Suns.

Fois, Gonzaga’s coordinator of analytics, was just days removed from the Zags’ season-ending loss to Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. Fois faced a decision: Return to Gonzaga, the only program nationally to reach at least the Sweet 16 level the last five seasons, or join an incoming staff trying to rebuild a 19-win NBA franchise. He picked the Suns, but it wasn’t an easy call.