Mark Few has developed and sent professional basketball players all over the world during his 27-year tenure in Spokane as head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
While most of the attention is on Gonzaga’s numerous successful NBA players – including All-Stars Domantas Sabonis and Chet Holmgren, plus key role players like Rui Hachimura, Jalen Suggs, and Andrew Nembhard – the Zags create quite a few stars internationally as well.
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Forward Ben Gregg recently re-signed with SIG Strasbourg in France after a successful rookie season, and now another former Zag has a new contract in Europe.
Rasir Bolton, who played two years at Gonzaga from 2021-2023, signed a contract with Rio Breogan in Spain’s Liga Endesa – among the top basketball leagues on the planet. Breogan, which went 15-19 last year and finished 11th out of 18 teams in Liga Endesa, becomes Bolton’s fifth team and fifth different country in the last five seasons.
Steady rise for Rasir
Bolton spent last season playing for Napoli in the LBA – the top basketball league in Italy. The 6’5 guard averaged 13.9 points and 4.2 assists in 27 games played, finishing second on the team in both points and assists per game.
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Prior to that, Bolton played in the ABA with Spartak, a Serbian club, where he averaged 13.4 points in 28 games while shooting 35.3% from beyond the arc. And before that, he spent his rookie season in Belgium with Antwerp, scoring a career-high 17.6 points in 29 games while shooting an excellent 37.3% from three.
It’s been a steady rise for the New Jersey native, who is set to join his highest level of professional basketball in Liga Endesa in 2026-27.
Bolton’s college career
Mar 19, 2023; Denver, CO, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Rasir Bolton (45) | USA TODAY Sports
Bolton was well-travelled in college as well, going from Penn State in 2018-19 to Iowa State for two seasons before playing his final two years in Spokane with the Zags.
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The sharpshooter was a key piece for two great Gonzaga teams, starting all 69 games he played with the Zags and averaging 10.6 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 50.9% on twos and a blistering 42.5% from three.
On Gonzaga’s dominant 2021-22 team, which featured Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme, Julian Strawther, and Andrew Nembhard, it was Bolton’s reliable outside shooting and tough on-ball defense that glued that extremely talented starting lineup together.
He dropped 18 points on 5-8 shooting to help down Saint Mary’s in the 2018 WCC Tournament championship, and scored 17 points on 6-9 shooting in GU’s hard-fought 82-78 win over Memphis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, constantly showing up in key moments on arguably the most talented roster coach Few has ever had.
Many great Zags, former and current, have played in Liga Endesa, including Izan Almansa for Real Madrid, Mario Saint-Supery and Killian Tillie for Malaga, and Massamba Diop and Kevin Pangos for Gran Canaria – among others. Now it’s Bolton’s turn to make a legacy in Spain.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Former Gonzaga guard Rasir Bolton lands with one of Europe’s top basketball leagues.
