‘This is really happening’: Gonzaga great Courtney Vandersloot soaks in jersey recognition ceremony

This is how the pros do it.

On Saturday afternoon, Courtney Vandersloot held a microphone instead a basketball, but she never lost the handle. Against a full-court press of lights and cheering fans at the McCarthey Athletic Center, the point guard dished out compliments and made some big points with everyone.

The occasion was her own, a jersey recognition ceremony to honor the most accomplished female player in Gonzaga history.

Years in the making, it included a highlight film, heartfelt words from GU coach Lisa Fortier and the unveiling of the No. 21 jersey that Vandersloot wore for four seasons in the same building.

A few seconds later, Vandersloot walked out to center court, as the big “21,” framed in lights, took its place alongside those of five former GU men’s greats.

As she collected her thoughts, a man shouted, “I love you, Courtney.”

Barely pausing, she answered, “I love you, too.”

A sellout throng of 6,000, who came for the game that followed, also were in the crowd to cheer for Vandersloot.

“You never know how you’re going to feel when you go out there,” Vandersloot said later. “But it felt normal, it felt like where I should be, because I spent so much time here.

“But it really hit me during the number unveiling, that, ‘Wow, this is really happening.’ ”

Fortier took the lead, telling the crowd that praise is often “handed out too easily. But she deserves every bit of praise that has comes her way.”

“She wasn’t the tallest player and not necessarily the strongest, but she’s everything that a Zag should be,” Fortier said. “It was an honor coaching Courtney.”

After taking the mic, the All-American did what she does best: make others better.

She began by speaking about her old teammates, the ones she led to four straight West Coast Conference titles and a magical run to the Elite Eight in 2011, her final season.

Then she turned pro. Barely a year removed from winning a WNBA title at Chicago, she’s heading to New York to be part of what could be a super team.

That journey, she insisted, began at Gonzaga, with former head coach Kelly Graves and his staff, which included Fortier.

“You saw something in me that no one else did,” Vandersloot said.

And to Fortier, who took over the program in 2014: “I’m so proud of where you’ve taken this program. You will always be my coach of the year.”

She also gave a shout-out to fans.

“Fans have been showing up before I came here and long after I left,” Vandersloot said. “That’s what makes this place so special.”

She expounded on those feeling during halftime of the Zags game against Portland, which GU won 63-53 to take over sole possession of first place in the WCC.

“I don’t really remember a lot of about the games,” Vandersloot said. “The memories are with my teammates in off-the-court times. Those are very dear to me.

“I think the reason I am as successful as I am today is because I chose Gonzaga, and I really believe that. It was a perfect fit.”