It is looking more and more likely that Przemek Karnowski will be fully healthy in time for the start of the season, as Jon Rothstein reported he will be cleared for full practice this week.

Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski (back) will be fully cleared for the start of practice this week, Mark Few told @CBSSports. Huge news for Zags. — Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 26, 2016

The importance of that tweet cannot be stressed enough. Karnowski, a man that stands at 7’ tall and weighs more than most of us combined, had major back surgery last year. There was no guarantee he would even dribble a ball again.

There is still a lot of work for Karnowski to do in order to get ready for the season. Big guys take a lot of abuse down low, and bigger guys tend to take even more. The Zags have a lot of incoming talent that will hopefully be able to manage as the season progressed, Karnowski’s leadership and guidance will be such a boon to the development of the other young big men.

Most importantly, Karnowski’s hulking body in the post makes it incredibly difficult for opponents to make easy progressions into the lane. He doesn’t traditionally block a lot of shots, but he gets in the way and creates a lot of off-balance shots.

The Zags had a lot of questions this offseason. There are a lot of new faces, from a lot of different countries. There are a lot of new transfers. There are a lot of quality players on this team that will be searching for minutes. The health of Przemek was one of the biggest question marks of all, and for the time being it looks like it is getting answered in the most positive manner possible.