‘It doesn’t accidentally happen.’ Mark Few’s Hall of Fame nomination puts Gonzaga coach in ‘rarefied air’

It’s a line of questioning Mike Roth got frequently during a 24-year tenure as Gonzaga’s athletic director. Probably more times than he can count.

Colleagues at other schools with similar profiles, hoping to replicate Gonzaga’s formula, would reach out for tips, pointers, pieces of advice, anything that could help get them on the right track.

“My phone used to ring all the time, I’m sure (current AD) Chris (Standiford’s) still rings with people wanting to know, you know, ‘How are you doing it? How are we getting done? What’s the secret sauce?’ ” Roth said.

The recipe? Fairly simple.

Recreating it? Not quite as straightforward.

“Well, you know, hire Mark Few as your head coach,” Roth said. “He made me look a lot smarter than I am.”

Few, now in his 26th year at Gonzaga, the recipient of multiple Naismith Coach of the Year honors and 14 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year selections, recently became a first-time nominee for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, joining a class of candidates that includes Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird, Dwight Howard, Doc Rivers, Maya Moore and one other college coach, Billy Donovan, a two-time national champion at Florida.

Gonzaga submitted paperwork to nominate Few, who recently became eligible for the Hall of Fame, and the university worked with the Naismith Basketball Foundation during its run-up to playing UConn on Dec. 14 in the Naismith Hall of Fame Game at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“In my mind, he’s already in the Hall of Fame,” said Standiford, who replaced Roth as Gonzaga’s AD in 2021 after spending 28 years at the school in other capacities, including assistant AD. “His accomplishments speak for themselves, it’s just a matter of time before they’re recognized.

“For me, his contributions to the game are already well documented and chronicled and already acknowledged too, right, in many ways. So to me, I actually I didn’t expect it to get as much – I didn’t I didn’t expect to see it celebrated in the way that it was in terms of a nomination.”

Few has Gonzaga ranked 14th nationally and on track to qualify for its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Zags will likely have an opportunity to reach the program’s 10th consecutive Sweet 16 in March, extending the longest such streak in the country.

“Being nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is something I never thought was in the realm of possibility, but I am incredibly humbled and honored,” Few said in a school release. “It’s just a great testament to be surrounded by unbelievable people my whole career. I thank all the great players that have allowed us the privilege to coach them. I’m grateful for our tremendously talented, hard-working coaches, and an administration that has worked so well with us.

“Most importantly, I’d like to thank my family that has been supportive of everything throughout all these years. This honor would not be possible without all these great people, as it’s something we’ve accomplished together.”

Finalists from the group of candidates will be announced on Feb. 14, in conjunction with NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. The Hall of Fame Class of 2025 will then be revealed during a national television broadcast at the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio on April 5.

Few can join a list of active men’s college coaches – many of them close friends of the Gonzaga coach – who’ve been inducted to the Hall of Fame, including Kansas’ Bill Self, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Arkansas’ John Calipari and Rick Pitino of St. John’s.

“I think that his contributions to the game have been so profound,” Standiford said, “and what he’s been able to do, you know, not just for the game of basketball, but certainly for Gonzaga University through basketball, and just set him in a in a place that is very rarefied air.”

Along with his run of success in the NCAA Tournament, Few is also the nation’s active leader in career winning percentage (83.2) and boasts an all-time record of 726-146.

“It’s epic. It’s epic, man,” senior guard Nolan Hickman said of Few’s nomination. “What he’s been preaching, he’s a good dude, man, and everything he preaches, it’s portrayed to everybody in the public and the accolades speak for itself. He’s been in it for a long time and all props to him.”

“It’s only right,” senior forward Graham Ike added.

Roth, who elevated Few to his current position in 1999 when predecessor Dan Monson accepted a job at Minnesota, said the accolades Gonzaga and its coach have collected since then would’ve been “mind blowing” 25 years ago.

“It doesn’t just accidentally happen,” Roth said. “If it was easy, we would be seeing a lot of schools like Gonzaga doing it. They all want to.”