‘There’s a reason he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame’: Mark Few’s coaching job ranks with best of his 25 years at Gonzaga

Gonzaga coach Mark Few walked the finest of fine lines.

He had a struggling team at a program that seldom struggled in his 25 seasons. Returning players were acclimating to bigger roles. Transfers were trying to learn new teammates on the fly. Freshmen were tossed in and out of the fire.

A rugged nonconference schedule took its toll and unexpected West Coast Conference stumbles did the same. Players and the team were panned on social media. Article after article noted Gonzaga’s streak of never missing an NCAA Tournament under Few was in serious jeopardy.

That was just a month and a half ago.

“The interesting thing was coach (Few) told them that we’ve been here before, we’ve been behind in the conference race, we’ve been fighting for our NCAA Tournament lives,” assistant coach Brian Michaelson said. “At first, I don’t think the guys knew quite what to think until they heard more about it, heard specific examples.”

There were several to choose from, including the 2016 team’s streak-preserving WCC Tournament title, the roller coaster 2010 and 2012 seasons, the 11-loss 2007 squad and the 2011 Zags suffering a pair of three-game losing streaks, one in conference.

Those were relatable to the current crew and slowly the message sunk in that the Zags had time to change the trajectory of their season. But how? That’s when Few walked the tightrope.

“Hearing those messages really resonated with the guys and coach Few just found an unbelievable balance this year of pushing the guys and making this team better, because we did have to get a lot better. We had a lot more room for improvement than some of our recent teams,” Michaelson said. “But he also did a really good job of keeping them confident, and that’s a fine line, because when you’re on guys and telling them how much better they need to get, if you step too far you’re going to kill a team. If you do that, it’s over. The job he did of finding that balance was really good.

“There’s a reason he’s going to be in the hall of fame. He’s done it all.”

It’s not a stretch to rate the job he’s doing with the current Zags, who face top-seeded Purdue in the Sweet 16 on Friday, at or near the top of his 25-year tenure as a head coach.

Gonzaga dropped four of eight, blowing a four-point lead in the final minute of a road loss to Santa Clara, to drop to 11-5, and fell out of the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2016.

The Zags’ turnaround was emphatic, winning 16 of their last 18, including huge road victories over Kentucky and Saint Mary’s, to leave the bubble behind and snag a No. 5 seed.

Ranking his coaching jobs isn’t high on Few’s priorities with the biggest game of the season approaching, but he did take a moment on Selection Sunday to reflect on what the Zags have pulled off after the turbulent first two months.

“It just makes you think introspectively, to really appreciate everything and this group because they were under a ton of scrutiny,” Few said. “They didn’t have anything to do with those previous teams, they were their own team and had to embark on their own journey. Those other teams were so good and so incredible – that’s tough to always have to live up to that.

“They figured it out, man, I give them credit. They listened all year, they were coachable all year, they hung with it. If you told me at the end of the year, we have to go on the road to beat the two best teams in the league (San Francisco and Saint Mary’s) and go to Kentucky, we’ve never had to do that. Now we’re back to where we’re comfortable being.”

The players dished the credit back to Few and his staff.

“Coach Few’s been so great instilling confidence in me throughout the season, regardless of what’s going on, in the starting lineup, not in the starting lineup, playing well, not playing well,” said freshman wing Dusty Stromer, who lost his starting job in January and became a key contributor off the bench.

Point guard Ryan Nembhard had several rough nonconference games early on. When he found his stride, the offense took off. He handed out 12 assists against Kansas – the most in GU’s 71 NCAA Tournament games by one over older brother Andrew – while also breaking the program record for single-season assists.

“Coach Few is everything for us,” Nembhard said. “He’s our leader, keeps us motivated, such a great coach. He’s probably one of the main reasons I came here. I just knew I was going to get coached by a hall of fame coach that knows how to win through up-and-down seasons.”

Few has won big with or without NBA-level talent, but many of his recent teams have been well-represented on NBA rosters. In the past eight drafts, Gonzaga has had five lottery picks, three more first-rounders and a trio of second-round selections.

At least one Zag has heard his name called in the first round six of the past eight years.

Gonzaga fifth-year senior Anton Watson is probably the team’s top NBA prospect, but he doesn’t appear on mock drafts. He’ll likely get an opportunity to make a roster via free agency and the NBA Summer League.

“I think it’s really Anton right now with his versatility and ability to defend,” ESPN college basketball analyst Sean Farnham said. “That makes him attractive, but it’s different than what we’ve seen in the past, it really is.

“Normally, this time of year, you’re asking me about lottery picks and the program has had it. This year, it’s just different.”

Farnham said some Zags, including Stromer, could develop into NBA prospects.

“I still think there’s a lot of (scouts) that come in and look at the Zags,” he said. “People are in such a hurry to rush guys out the door in college and if you say this guy isn’t ready now but he could be in a couple years, they’re like, ‘A couple of years?’ But that’s the reality for most players in college basketball.”

The NBA draft and draft workouts are the last thing on the minds of the Zags, whose run to a ninth consecutive Sweet 16 has been one of the sweetest for Few and the players.

“He’s done a good job of keeping us believing,” Watson said of Few. “He just keeps us together, working hard in practice and keeps us focused.”

“The coaches stayed with us,” junior forward Ben Gregg added. “They didn’t give up on us. They kept being positive. We had some rough film sessions that weren’t fun, weren’t easy, but we had to take them like grown men because life isn’t going to be easy after basketball.

“That’s what he always preaches to us, so we have to be able to deal with that type of stuff. That’s what we did all year.”