Life After Gonzaga: Overseas Edition – Part 1

There’s a long list of programs that produce NBA players. Gonzaga produces professionals. For every lottery pick or first-round success story, there are two or three former Zags still logging minutes in places that don’t get national attention: Italy, Lithuania, Turkey, Germany, Japan. The names might not dominate headlines, but they keep showing up on rosters year after year.

This is the first entry in a series tracking the post-Gonzaga careers of former Zags still playing professionally overseas. After 25 years of consistent success, the alumni list has grown long and varied. Some are mainstays in top European leagues. Others have taken less conventional routes. By way of example, Jeremy Pargo and Ira Brown, who last played for Gonzaga in 2009, are still getting real professional minutes out there. Their longevity speaks to a broader pattern: Gonzaga players find ways to extend their careers, often in places most fans never think to look.

Here are a few of those dudes.

Joel Ayayi – JL Bourg-en-Bresse (France, LNB Élite)

I fancy Joel Ayayi, I always have. The dude will go down as perhaps the most versatile off-ball guard the program has ever seen ,and he was a vital part in the 2021 team’s run up to the National Championship. Now back home in France and back in rhythm, Joel Ayayi just wrapped up his best professional season since leaving Gonzaga. In his first year with JL Bourg-en-Bresse, Ayayi averaged 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 41.4% from deep. He led the team in rebounding and ranked second in assists, helping Bourg finish 5th in the French top division with an 18–12 record. His standout performances included a pair of double-doubles—16 and 10 vs. Stade Rochelais, and 15 and 10 vs. Limoges.

This marks Ayayi’s second straight season in LNB Élite after spending 2023–24 with Nanterre 92. Prior to returning to France, he played two years in the G-League with the Capital City Go-Go and Osceola Magic, bouncing between two-way contracts and the fringes of the NBA.

One of the most complete guards in Gonzaga history, Ayayi started on the 2021 national title game squad and left Spokane averaging 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.7 steals as a junior. Known for his elite rebounding instincts, perimeter defense, and quiet knack for being exactly where the Zags needed him, he’s now carving out a steady, impactful career back on home soil.

Rasir Bolton – Spartak Subotica (Serbia, KLS / ABA League)

After lighting up the Belgian BNXT League last year, Rasir Bolton has taken his scoring punch to Serbia, where he’s averaging 13.4 points, 3 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game for Spartak Subotica, a gritty squad competing in both the Serbian KLS and the regional ABA League. He’s hitting 45% from the field and 35.3% from deep, operating as a primary scoring option and occasional lead guard.

Spartak finished the 2024–25 ABA League season at 14–12, good for seventh place, and took part in the Basketball Champions League qualifying rounds earlier in the year. The team also made history by dropping 110 points in a single ABA League game—a new club record. Bolton’s steady production and scoring versatility were central to that offensive surge.

Last season, he led Windrose Giants (Antwerp) in scoring at 17.6 points per game, quickly emerging as one of the BNXT League’s most dynamic offensive weapons. The move to Serbia brought a jump in physicality and tempo, but Bolton has continued to evolve, sharpening his shot selection and control in the half court.

In his second and final year at Gonzaga, Bolton averaged 10.1 points, 2.5 assists, and shot 38.8% from three, starting all 35 games and providing steady leadership in the backcourt. His most iconic moment came at USF, where he scored 11 of his 21 points in the final five minutes, then sealed a 77–75 win with a game-winning putback—and got screamed at by the now-infamous Green Shirt Guy. That image still lives rent-free in Zag fan memory.

Geno Crandall – EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany, Basketball Bundesliga)

28 points. 13 assists. That was the line Geno Crandall dropped on the Rostock Seawolves earlier this season—one of several standout performances that have defined his second year with EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Crandall is averaging 13.5 points and a blistering 7.5 assists per game, quarterbacking one of the Bundesliga’s most fluid offenses. His shooting numbers are down (39.4% FG, 29.4% 3PT), but his vision and pace have never looked better, and his overall efficiency remains among the best in the league.

Now 28 and deep into his European journey, Crandall has already been named MVP of the British Basketball League twice, led the Leicester Riders to championships, and logged seasons in the Czech Republic, Israel, and now Germany. He’s carved out a niche as a roaming floor general—cool under pressure, dangerous in transition, and always one step ahead with the ball in his hands.

His one year at Gonzaga in 2018–19 flew under the radar, but Crandall became increasingly essential down the stretch—averaging over 20 minutes per game in the final month of the regular season while providing steady defense and facilitating for a loaded roster. His role shrank to 9.3 minutes per game during the NCAA tournament as Mark Few tightened the rotation, but Crandall’s ability to adapt and contribute within a veteran group was never in question.

Filip Petrusev – Crvena Zvezda (Serbia, ABA League / EuroLeague, on loan from Olympiacos)

From Serbia to Spokane to Philly and back again, Filip Petrusev has bounced between Europe and the U.S. over the last five years—and now, in his return to Crvena zvezda, he’s putting together one of the most efficient seasons of his professional career. On loan from Olympiacos, Petrusev is averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting a scorching 59% from the field, leading the team in either points, rebounds, or both in nearly every game he plays. Crvena zvezda is currently 26–9 in ABA League play, sitting fourth in the standings, with Petrusev anchoring the frontcourt during a season marked by roster injuries and EuroLeague attrition.

This year’s production is part of a longer climb. After dominating the Adriatic League in 2020–21 and earning MVP honors with Mega Basket, Petrusev signed with Anadolu Efes, then returned to Crvena zvezda before a short-lived NBA stint in 2023. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, appeared briefly for them, then was moved to Sacramento, where he was waived within a month. By late November, he had signed a three-year deal with Olympiacos, only to be loaned back to Belgrade in October 2024 when Olympiacos’ bigs returned from injury. He has made it plain, however, that his primary directive for the time being is a return to the NBA.

At Gonzaga, Petrusev’s sophomore year in 2019–20 was dominant: he averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds, shot 56.5% from the field, and earned honors as WCC Player of the Year, Wooden Award All-American, and a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalist. He led the league in field goal percentage, drew nearly 8 fouls per 40 minutes, and ranked among the national leaders in both free throw attempts and efficiency. He dropped 31 points at Santa Clara, snagged 15 rebounds against Oregon and Arizona, and recorded eight double-doubles on the season. As a freshman, he earned WCC All-Freshman honors, then lit up the FIBA U19 World Cup with averages of 19.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 66.2% shooting, leading the tournament in efficiency.

Steady, fundamentally sound, and extremely European in both his game and demeanor, Petrusev was always the kind of big whose value showed up in margins and matchups. It’s a drag he wasn’t able to carve out a more robust pro career in the U.S., but it’s good to see him healthy, getting real minutes, and back where he started—playing winning basketball in Serbia.

Kyle Wiltjer – Reyer Venezia (Italy, Lega Basket Serie A)

Kyle Wiltjer is still out there cooking. In his second year with Reyer Venezia, the 31-year-old forward is averaging 10.0 points and 3.1 rebounds, shooting 41% from the field and 34.7% from three for a squad currently 8th in Italy’s Serie A at 16–14. He’s not the focal point, but his role is locked in: space the floor, knock down shots, keep the offense moving.

After a brief NBA stint, Wiltjer built one of the steadiest overseas careers of any recent Zag. He’s played in Greece, Spain, Turkey, China, and now Italy, putting up numbers at nearly every stop. His best run came with Türk Telekom, where he averaged 18.5 points per game in 2021. The formula’s been the same everywhere—score efficiently, stretch the defense, fit the system.

Wiltjer spent three years at Gonzaga, redshirting in 2013–14 before becoming the centerpiece of the offense for two straight seasons. He averaged 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 2014–15, dropped 45 on Pacific, and helped lead the Zags to a 35–3 season and an Elite Eight berth. His senior year brought preseason Player of the Year buzz, another All-WCC nod, and a team-high 20.4 points per game. For all the high-major transfers who’ve cycled through Spokane since, Wiltjer still stands out—polished, prolific, and wired to score.

There’s a classic Gonzaga arc: go to Italy, find yourself, come back different. Wiltjer just never came back. He’s still out there hooping—and somewhere along the way, he picked up a pointy goatee, a bunch of tattoos, and the vibe of a guy who tattoos people in the back of a Turkish barbershop. The jumper never changed. The look definitely did.