Washington-Gonzaga basketball rivalry takes on new meaning with Nigel Williams-Goss’ transfer

The Washington Huskies will head to Spokane to renew their longstanding rivalry against Gonzaga on Wednesday.

Though the two teams first played against each other way back in 1910, the Huskies haven’t faced off against the Zags in Spokane since Gonzaga’s 97-77 victory over Washington in 2006.

Sweetening the rivalry even more, the Huskies will match up for the first time against former Washington star Nigel Williams-Goss. The junior guard transferred to Gonzaga from Washington in 2015, and was vocal in his criticism of Lorenzo Romar’s program.

“It’s one thing, I feel like, to lose, but it’s another thing when you’re not doing everything in your power, or your capability, as far as preparation in trying to win,” Williams-Goss was quoted as saying in the book “Glory Hounds” as he discussed why he transferred. “I just felt there were a lot of stones left unturned before games.”

The 19th-ranked player in ESPN’s 2013 recruiting class and a McDonald’s All-American, Williams-Goss averaged an impressive 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists in his freshman year at Washington. In his second and final season for Washington, Williams-Goss improved across the board, tallying 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds per game.

Williams-Goss sat out the 2015-16 season after transferring to Gonzaga. In his first season with the Zags, Williams-Goss is putting up similar stats to his Washington days, averaging 13 points, five assists and five rebounds for 8-0 Gonzaga. For Williams-Goss, Gonzaga does just about everything that Washington did not.

“Like the amount of film they watch, just the preparation that goes into being successful,” he said. “Again, like some of the issues I had leaving the UW, they were kind of on top of everything I was kind of looking for. Their whole thing was about developing and winning, those two things exclusively.”

Romar mostly agreed with his former player’s criticism, and also admitted that Williams-Goss came to Washington during a tough time for the program.

“Totally understand what he’s saying,” he said. “Those two years, especially the second year, were probably as dysfunctional as we’ve been since we’ve been here. If you want to take that time and decide if Washington was the best place to be, it probably wasn’t.”

Romar and the Huskies are struggling to find their footing this season. Despite stellar play from freshman sensation Markelle Fultz, Washington is off to a mediocre 4-3 start, including a season-opening loss to Yale.

Wednesday’s matchup will be the first of the four-year series agreed upon by both teams in August 2014. The site of the respective games will alternate season by season.