ESPN’s Sean Farnham helps Gonzaga kick off season with Kraziness at the Kennel

Country pop singer Morgan Wallen blasted out over the speakers as Mark Few was surrounded by former players Robert Sacre, Matt Santangelo and Dan Dickau inside Gonzaga’s locker room.

The man introducing Few was ESPN’s Sean Farnham, a surprise emcee for Saturday afternoon’s Kraziness in the Kennel at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Farnham turned and sprinted out of the locker room and down the tunnel, reminiscent of Wallen’s famous concert entrances when he breaks through onto the stage and jets down the stage.

That was Farnham’s idea after seeing Wallen in concert in August.

“If we’re doing this whole walkout, I’m going to sell it,” Farnham said. “If we’re going to do it, you have to be invested. And everything that I did tonight was full investment of 100% because if not, then people get complacent, and you lose the energy.”

A tease on the Gonzaga men’s basketball X account on Friday night made it known that Farnham was in Spokane, but his duties weren’t known.

Barrett Henderson, GU’s assistant athletic director/communications, reached out to Farnham about attending about 1½ months ago.

Farnham has shown up at similar events for Kentucky, Duke and Kansas.

Even though he always calls Spokane his second home, it was Farnham’s relationship with Henderson that made Kraziness a successful event.

Farnham called Henderson one of the best media relations directors in the country, saying his care for the players, staff and university makes him different.

Emceeing Kraziness took Farnham away from his family in California, which meant he missed his daughter’s soccer game and his son’s first tackle football game.

“I’m here because this is a relationship that’s been built over many, many years of me coming up here and calling 150-plus games,” Farnham said. “But you know, I also did it because I respect (Henderson) so much.”

The ESPN commentator has three goals in mind when he attends preseason scrimmages.

“One, first and foremost, it should be the party that the season is kicking off and it’s finally here,” he said. “Two, it should be about the players and their introduction and that they feel the love, hopefully permeating through the student body and the fans that are in the building. And then three, it’s about the students and making sure they understand how important they are.”

The excitement was palpable as the Bulldogs put on a show for the crowd, with the White team defeating the Navy team 36-34.

Emmanuel Innocenti’s 3-pointer, off a Breaden Smith assist, gave White the win with 8 seconds remaining.

Innocenti, a transfer from Tarleton State, wasn’t afraid to shoot in his first action in a Bulldogs uniform after averaging 6.6 points a game in 2023. He was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference defensive and freshman teams last season.

Few is unsure what Innocenti’s role will be as he finds his footing in Spokane this year.

“He’s an incredible on-ball defender, a bigger wing, which we didn’t have in the past,” Few said. “I think we talked about when he came in here, possible redshirting, but he’s been playing so good, it’ll be interesting to see if we could end up doing that.”

Few said Innocenti has shot 3-pointers well in practice, and his defensive and physical presence gives the Zags a different look.

Ben Gregg was active, as expected, scoring the first basket of the game and leading White with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor.

Dusty Stromer, playing for Navy, led all scorers with 11 points, including two 3-pointers.

Senior Michael Ajayi, a Pepperdine transfer, finished with nine points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of play.

Ajayi’s performance reminded some of former Zag Anton Watson.

“He’s different than Anton,” Few said of Ajayi. “Anton just had such an incredible feel for the game. Mike’s just trying to learn that part of it, but he might be as good a rebounder as we’ve had in quite a while.”

Ajayi is able to fight through contact and known for his level of tenacity .

The Bulldogs are almost three weeks away from their first game against someone not in GU jerseys. They’ll travel to Palm Desert, California, for a charity matchup against USC on Oct. 26.

The regular season tips off Nov. 4 against the visiting Baylor Bears at the Arena.

3-point competition

The 3-point competition pitted Stromer, Braden Huff, Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman in a two-round contest.

Stromer started and came out firing, posting 16 points as he heated up from the top of the key.

Huff, up next, never found his stroke and his 11 points weren’t enough to make the championship round.

Battle, a transfer in his introductory performance, was a bucket away from advancing. His final shot was just wide from the corner, and he finished with 15 points.

The final shooter, Hickman, seemed comfortable in the building in which he has played 45 games. His 16 points were the first-round high.

In the championship round, after Stromer scored 17, Hickman said he was going to have 20 points. But his 14 points gave the title to Stromer.

“It’ll take me a couple of weeks to let him live that down, but it was a lot of fun,” Stromer said.

The sophomore Stromer said he has high expectations for the season and expects to lean into his strength as a guard unafraid to drive the lane.

Stromer’s parents were in the front row to witness the win.

Radio note

For the first time since 2001, Gonzaga men’s basketball will play on a different radio station – two to be exact.

On Friday, the university announced that GU would be make a switch this basketball season.

iHeartMedia’s stations, KQNT AM-590 and KFOO FM-96.1, will simulcast the pregame and postgame shows as well as coaches shows.

“The move of our network’s flagship radio station to 590 KQNT is a huge win for our fans in Spokane,” Chris Standiford, Gonzaga’s director of athletics, said in a news release. “The powerful signals of 590 KNQT and 96.1 for men’s basketball and Hooptown 101.5 for women’s basketball will give Gonzaga fans a crystal clear broadcast of all the Zag coverage.”

This decision also gives the games a worldwide reach as SiriusXM and The Varsity Network app will stream all games.

Returning for play-by-play in his 23rd year is “The Voice of the Zags,” Tom Hudson, who will be joined again by Adam Morrison.

The Bulldogs’ broadcast has been on KGA AM-1510 and KEYF FM-101.1 for more than 20 years, so the switch will be a change for Hudson .

Hudson said he’s excited to have the games be available nationwide through satellite and the internet, as well as the large reach of the radio stations.

Specifics on how the broadcast itself will change – if at all – have not been confirmed.