Mark Few’s Olympic experience: Snoop Dogg, watching Nadal vs. Djokovic and Kevin Durant’s offensive brilliance

About the Globe Trotter series: The Spokesman-Review is connecting periodically with Gonzaga coach Mark Few to highlight his on- and off-court experience as a Team USA assistant coach at the Summer Olympics.

Not much happening in Mark Few’s world other than fist-bumps with Snoop Dogg, helping Team USA’s preparations and revisiting Gonzaga’s win over Kevin Durant and Texas and the Zags’ loss to Stephen Curry and Davidson.

Oh, and time spent as a fan watching tennis titans Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at famed Roland Garros and men’s and women’s 3x3 hoops.

Monday night’s agenda includes an event at Team USA House and possibly beach volleyball at a scenic venue in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Few’s priority is assisting the U.S. basketball team, but he’s also trying to take in as much as he can in Paris when time permits, similar to the team’s previous stops in London and Abu Dhabi for exhibition contests.

“The USA House is where all the U.S. athletes can go,” Few said. “It’s a huge, beautiful old building that’s like the Forum in Rome. I think Snoop might show up and perform. I got to see Djokovic and Nadal, but it sounds like a few days later was even better (when Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 7-6 in the singles final).”

No matter how many events Few squeezes into his schedule, he has no chance of catching Snoop, who has seemingly been everywhere for his gig as a roving correspondent with NBC. Snoop hopped on Team USA’s bus – “They gave me a two-game contract,” he cracked – and then joined the team on a train ride to Lille, site of group phase games.

“The coaches were in the first three seats and all of a sudden he popped on the bus,” Few said. “He gave us all a (fist) pound and said, ‘Hey coach.’ He moved to the back and played some music with the guys and some of them were singing with him.”

The U.S. dominated Group C with wins over Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico by an average of 21.3 points. The Americans, who face Brazil in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, have shown steady improvement on both sides of the ball after some uneven play while going undefeated in five exhibitions.

“Some really good stretches defensively. We were much better, not only effort -wise, but with our connectivity,” Few said. “Offense got out and threw the ball ahead, less (isolation) ball. The ball was moving and when we’re doing that, we’re pretty good.”

Kevin Durant, sidelined for the exhibitions with a calf injury, averaged 19.3 minutes, 16 points and drained 63.6% from the field, including 71.4% (10 of 14) on 3-pointers, in three Group C victories.

“The team just has so much more confidence when they see him out there,” Few said. “I think they’ve seen what he was going through while waiting to play. He really works at his craft. He is unique and gifted. Nobody is able to shoot and get to their spots so quickly like he does and he’s nearly 7-feet tall.

“It’s just incredible to rebound for him, pretty cool. No wasted motion, time and he gets his shot off so fast.”

Few’s 2006-07 Bulldogs downed Texas 87-77 in Phoenix during Durant’s lone collegiate season. Durant scored 29 points, but GU had too much with Derek Raivio’s 27 points, Jeremy Pargo’s 18 points and six assists and Josh Heytvelt’s double-double (13 points, 12 boards).

“We talked about that,” Few said. “I couldn’t remember who was on that team and he started rattling off the names of guys on my team, Raivio, Heytvelt.”

Curry poured in eight 3s and 40 points in Davidson’s memorable 82-76 win over the Zags in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. GU hasn’t lost an NCAA Tournament opener since – a span of 15 years. Curry is playing in the Olympics for the first time after helping Golden State capture four NBA titles.

“We’ve talked several times over the years,” Few said. “This time it has only come up briefly. I’ve been telling him we were the ones that launched his career.”

Derrick White ranks 11th out of 12 players in scoring (4.7), but he’s made big plays at both ends of the court. Some questioned the selection of White to replace Kawhi Leonard on the roster, but he’s been a key contributor in the Americans’ deep rotation.

“You’re not looking for the next All-Star at that point, you’re looking for somebody we really needed,” Few said. “Terrific defender, great feel for the game. He’s kind of a FIBA guard, he can shoot, defend, he’s tough and he really knows how to play.”

The U.S. needs three wins to claim its eighth gold medal in nine tries since NBA players made their Olympic debut on the 1992 Dream Team. Nothing will come easy with the top eight teams remaining.

Defending FIBA World Cup champion Germany and Canada, with 10 NBA players and arguably the second-best roster in the tournament, went undefeated in the group phase. Germany won by an average of 15.7 points while Canada’s margin was 6.7.

Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, and Australia, which gave the U.S. fits in an exhibition game last month, are potential semifinal foes. In the other bracket, Canada tangles with France’s Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert while Germany faces two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece.

“We shared with the guys that only the next game is guaranteed, nothing else,” Few said. “We had a good practice (Monday) and were dialed in, but these teams are good, connected, tough and they have a lot of NBA guys. It’s going to be a battle.”