“You had to win that game”: An oral history of ESPN GameDay’s first visit to Gonzaga in 2006

Gonzaga was seven years into a streak that has grown to 23 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

The McCarthey Athletic Center was 3 years old, ESPN College GameDay was in its second season and Adam Morrison mania was full throttle in Spokane and beyond.

It created the perfect confluence of factors that brought GameDay to Gonzaga’s campus for the first time on Feb. 11, 2006. Seventeen years later, GameDay returns to the Kennel on Saturday with its two-hour morning show setting the stage for another busy day of college hoops, anchored by No. 12 Gonzaga entertaining No. 15 Saint Mary’s at 7 p.m.

This will be GameDay’s third show aired from Spokane, but, like a first date or first car, there’s just something special about the first time.

It made for good TV in 2006 from the morning show – coach Mark Few and ESPN’s Jay Bilas detailing one of the Zags’ favorite plays with Stephen Gentry impersonating Morrison – to the game broadcast – which opened with announcers Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale donning fake mustaches in a nod to Morrison’s celebrated ’stache – as Gonzaga rallied for an 80-76 win over Stanford.

Setting the stage

GameDay’s announcement came seven to 10 days prior to the GU-Stanford game, former athletic director Mike Roth recalls, accompanied by hoopla that swelled leading up to Saturday’s game. Tent City took shape on Monday. In eight shows in its debut season in 2005 and three in 2006, GameDay had never been west of Kansas or Oklahoma.

Roth: “Not only was it the first College GameDay at Gonzaga, it was the first GameDay in the West and the Mountain and Pacific time zones. So not only was having GameDay on campus really cool, and still is, it’s the fact we were the first ones in this part of the country – not Arizona or UCLA or Oregon.”

Morrison: “I think it was announced in the locker room after a game or a practice. Everyone was excited. On campus, it was pretty nuts. That was (at a time) before everything was being spotlighted on the program.”

Junior forward Sean Mallon: “We knew it was a big deal coming to Spokane for the first time, but as a player you’re thinking and worrying about the game. I was neighbors with a bunch of the Kennel Club guys and they were always on top of it.”

All eyes on Morrison and Redick

The college basketball world was captivated by Morrison and Duke’s JJ Redick chasing the scoring title and national player of the year trophies. They eventually shared the NABC and Oscar Robertson PoY awards while Redick claimed AP, Wooden and Naismith honors. Morrison won the scoring title (28.1) – Redick finished at 26.8 – and posted four 40-point efforts in 18 games prior to the Stanford contest.

GameDay did a couple of segments on Morrison, one taped piece featuring Morrison and Redick playing a “Halo” video game and another on prominent mustaches in sports that showed Rollie Fingers, Al Hrabosky, Joe Namath, Dale Earnhardt, Lanny McDonald and Craig Stadler (Few’s favorite, according to the broadcast).

Senior center J.P. Batista: “That whole year was all about him and JJ Redick and who was scoring more points. Adam’s persona, the attention he got, the charisma, I think that definitely played a role in bringing GameDay.”

Roth: “As Mark (Few) used to say, traveling with ‘Mo’ was like traveling with Mick Jagger and the Stones. We had to register him under an anonymous name at hotels or his phone would start ringing. It was crazy every building we went to, fans lined up when the bus pulled up. So yes, I have to believe ‘Mo’s’ presence and aura around him that year was a factor in GameDay deciding to come here.”

Show time

Host Rece Davis and Bilas were on hand for the 2006 show and will be again Saturday. They were joined by Digger Phelps 17 years ago. They’ll be joined by Seth Greenberg and LaPhonso Ellis on Saturday.

Bilas and Few illustrated a play Gonzaga used to try to free Morrison with Batista setting a back screen, followed by a down screen for the All-American forward. Senior guards Colin Floyd and Gentry, now a GU assistant coach, filled in for Batista and Morrison. After Gentry caught a pass on the wing and didn’t shoot, Bilas instructed, “Put up the shot, man, you’re open. Morrison doesn’t pass up that shot.” Gentry obliged, and hit the 3-pointer.

Mallon: “I honestly can’t remember (if he watched the show in person or on TV). One thing I do remember is there were fake mustaches everywhere, all the students and maybe the broadcasters.”

Batista: “I just remember Stephen doing the piece with Bilas and walking through one of our plays. And he made the shot. I remember that for sure. I remember seeing the ESPN crew doing their thing.”

Roth: “One thing we did, this was (current athletic director) Chris Standiford’s idea, we took the rowing room and made it a hospitality area for the (GameDay) crew. And there was a conference room inside the rowing room and we made that a private space for Rece, Digger and Jay. They told us they’d never had a hospitality area before. We went all out trying to put our best foot forward, knowing we wanted them to come back.”

Morrison: “I think (ESPN announcers) wore the wigs and all that stuff. I thought it was funny. I didn’t catch it live, I just watched it later.”

Added pressure with everyone watching

The Zags were riding a 10-game winning streak – they eventually won 20 in a row before falling to UCLA in the Sweet 16 – and ranked fifth. Stanford (12-8) wasn’t a factor in the Pac-10 race, so the game had bigger implications for the Zags. Add in a week of hype, GameDay’s presence and a national audience watching on ESPN and Gonzaga players understood there was plenty at stake.

Morrison: “Absolutely, it was enormous pressure just because it’s a defining game for our program. You have to win that game. (Stanford) had (Dan) Grunfeld, a good player on the wing, so I was looking forward to that matchup.”

Batista: “Honestly, I don’t remember feeling pressure at all. Back in college, it was about having fun and doing your best. Adam had so much attention the whole year, he probably felt more and it actually took pressure away from me. As I went along in my pro career, I started to feel pressure, but not back in school. When you put in the time and work hard, good things happen.”

Mallon: “It’s different player to player, but for me it was trying to enjoy it and trying to block out the outside noise. Enjoy it, but at the same time focus on the game.”

Bumpy start, big finish

The game didn’t go according to plan for Gonzaga, which trailed by five at half and by five with less than 9 minutes remaining. The Zags, as they did often during that 29-4 season, won a close game with Morrison (34 points) and Batista (24) leading the way. Mallon contributed six points in an 11-3 run that gave GU the lead and Morrison scored 13 of the team’s last 14 points.

Roth (who never sat in a seat during a game in 24 years as A.D.): “I guarantee I was getting my steps in.”

Mallon: “We didn’t give them our best shot in the first half, so to be down five, that’s very doable. We knew we could play better in the second half and it was kind of a sense of getting back to being us. We had a group that tended to do that at times, maybe not be great in the first half but kind of turn it on at the end.”

Morrison: “I vaguely remember the game. Sadly enough, they’re all a blur. We played Stanford, right? They were a decent team, but it would have been a bad loss for us. We just kicked it into gear and figured it out.”

After the final buzzer

Soon after GU completed its comeback, crews began cleaning up the arena and getting the Kennel ready for upcoming practices.

Morrison: “I’m sure we had a few beers.”

Batista: “I just remember that whole day being so special, from sun up to sundown.”

Roth: “It was a crazy day, you’re starting so early. We were getting there at 5 a.m. and facilities staff was there before 3 and then you’re going all day because you have the game later. I do now that our staff slept very soundly that night.”