A Grip on Sports: There was a time when the basketball programs at Gonzaga and Washington State actually interacted

A GRIP ON SPORTS • More than a decade ago, when both Gonzaga and Washington State were NCAA-caliber teams, there came a time when they shared a weekend in an L.A.-area hotel. Fun memories.

•••••••

• The Marriott in Marina Del Rey isn’t easy to get to, tucked away as it is near the beach off Lincoln Blvd., just south of Santa Monica. But it is close to LAX and to Loyola Marymount and UCLA, which made it a fine place for the Zags and Cougars to stay for their Southern California weekends.

Back then, the schedules were a little more rigid, and occasionally the two schools’ basketball teams would share a weekend in the same West Coast community. But this was the only place where they shared a hotel, at least in our experience.

It made for some interesting connections in the lobby. And not just among the players, who were bound to know each other and not just from their college experiences – the schools actually played each other often back in the day. There were some shared high school and summer AAU links as well. Which meant the coaches, especially the assistant coaches, had covered a lot of the same ground over the years.

That weekend we ran into Tommy Lloyd and Ben Johnson, Gonzaga and WSU assistants, respectively, at the time sitting in the grill, drinking a morning beverage and talking about someone they had seen overseas. And there was a short encounter between Mark Few and Tony Bennett that was, as always, cordial.

Fans of both teams came and went as well, though on basketball road trips GU followers always outnumber WSU’s, as the Cougars are mostly family members while the Bulldogs have always seemed to attract more of the Spokane moneyed crowd. (By the way, there were, at the time, a few folks we saw following Washington State’s football team on the road and Gonzaga’s basketball team, which always seemed interesting to us.)

But the time spent actually at the Marriott wasn’t as plentiful as one might think. The Zags’ trip to Loyola Marymount only took a few minutes, sure, but the one to Malibu – which GU took last night and resulted in an 86-66 victory – can be long, depending on the (usually awful) traffic on Pacific Coast Highway.

For the Cougars, the UCLA trip was the quick, easy one but the one to USC, down the Santa Monica Freeway? It could be a parking lot.

There was one year when the Cougars were set to play the Trojans on a Thursday night. The set out early in the morning to have their shoot-around and walk-through at the new Galen Center and didn’t get out of the South Bay. After sitting on an accident-stalled freeway for more than a few minutes, Bennett had the driver turn the bus around. Washington State held its walk-through in the Marriott parking lot, using a trashcan as a stand-in for the basket.

It was funny watching the team managers scramble to find chalk to draw a key and a 3-point line. Heck, the whole experience was one we’re sure the players never forgot. Then again, it wasn’t the first or probably the last time they did it, as Bennett wasn’t adverse about using a city park or a ballroom for the pregame strategy session.

This week the Cougars are in Los Angeles for two key games. The Zags, of course, were there last night. These days Gonzaga is more likely to fly in on the day of a single game and fly home after, using its ability to access private planes to save time away from campus. Alas, such interactions probably don’t happen anymore.

It’s just another reason some of us are glad we don’t have to make that type of travel anymore.

•••

Gonzaga: The Waves are entrenched in last place in the West Coast Conference. However, they came into last night’s game with a .500 record at home. And gave the Zags a better test than most – read: bookmakers – anticipated. Theo Lawson and Tyler Tjomsland made the trip and took care of the game story and photo gallery, respectively. … Theo also has the difference makers. … The folks in the office put together the recap with highlights. … The women are home tonight, hosting always tough Saint Mary’s. Jim Allen has this preview. … Back to the men. Dave Gavitt, who is almost synonymous with the NCAA tourney, visited Spokane last week and spoke with Jim Meehan while he was here. … This power ranking won’t broach any Gonzaga slander. … Around the WCC, this could the season Saint Mary’s and USF makes some noise in the NCAA tournament. … There was also another historic part of BYU’s latest starting lineup. … Portland’s women are having another good season.

WSU: As we mentioned above, the Cougars face USC and UCLA this weekend. Both are ranked and both offer Washington State its best chance for a signature upset down the stretch. Colton Clark has this preview. Up first is No. 13 UCLA, which has struggled lately. The Bruins are not happy with the way their schedule has been rebuilt, following their COVID-19 cancellations. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, Washington has the same tough weekend ahead. … Can USC show any consistency? … Slumping Oregon State has the toughest assignment tonight. The Beavers face Arizona and point guard Kerr Kriisa in Tucson. … Arizona State will welcome the Oregon schools this weekend as well. … Utah has at least one shining star. … Colorado has some momentum it wants to keep. … Jeff Metcalfe has a women’s power ranking in the Mercury News. … Arizona State had to forfeit last night against California, as the Sun Devils couldn’t get to Berkeley for a makeup game. … Oregon State went through a tough stretch and came out better. … Oregon bounced back with a win over UCLA. … In football news, it was hard for Washington to hang on to its players when the staff changed. … UCLA may be losing a key defensive player. … The introductions around the Colorado staff continues. … Caleb Williams is going to make a lot of money while at USC.

EWU: We’ve known Steele Venters since he was a freshman in high school. He always had the potential to be a potent scorer. And in his third year at Eastern Washington, that potential is now reality. Dan Thompson has this story on the wing from Ellensburg, who had to make a choice last spring whether to stay in Cheney. The Eagles host first-place Montana State tonight. … Around the Big Sky, Montana State trusts one of its reserves in a big way. … Montana will face the Idaho schools this weekend.

Preps: Madison McCord has a preview of the upcoming gymnastic districts. … Dave Nichols supplies a roundup of the action from last night.

Shock: There were (and are) some issues between Spokane the Public Facilities District concerning the use of the Arena for the 2022 season. The contract between the two was only just finalized Tuesday and the PFD is still waiting for the Shock to show its ability to pay its required deposit. That should be available soon according to Shock owner Sam Adams. Justin Reed has all the details in this story.

Seahawks: New defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt has a vision for the Hawk defense. It includes aggressiveness, blitzing and fewer defensive linemen dropping into coverage.

Mariners: The bullpen has the potential to be really good again. … Kyle Lewis is in the spotlight as the M’s player with the best chance for a turnaround.

Sounders: Who says MLS teams are in financial straits? Seattle certainly isn’t, if the amount of money it is spending on a new headquarters facility is any indication. … The Sounders return to CONCACAF play this week.

•••       

• Twitter reminded me yesterday was my anniversary on the crazy social media site. It happened 13 years ago. It seems longer. My first tweet: “Just saw ‘Fanboys.’ Greatest movie ever. Better than ‘Citizen Kane.’ This will go down in time as the best Star Wars movie as well. And Jay Baruchel is going to be a breakout star.” No, just kidding. It was probably about WSU basketball. And the Cougars’ upcoming trip to Los Angeles. Until later …