If we were setting up a mock bracket for which college basketball coach had the most interesting summer, Gonzaga’s Mark Few would be a No. 1 seed.
The highlight came on Aug. 15, when Few, 63, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was joined in Springfield, Mass., by his wife and children, his extended family and childhood pals from Creswell, Ore., and most every other friend he has made in basketball over the last 40 years. “It was heavy in a good way. Just one of the most incredibly powerful moments in my life,” Few told Hoops HQ. “What warms my heart more than anything was that it was a statement of the acceptance of Gonzaga and the story of Gonzaga. It took a giant village to build this thing and keep it rolling, and for people to take notice at the highest levels of our sport is the coolest thing ever.”
Few also spent considerable time over the summer — and the last several years — working to get Congress to pass legislation to bring order to college sports. He and Arkansas coach John Calipari have been the most heavily involved amongst their peers in all the conversations around the sport and in the U.S. Capitol. “Me and him have spent a thousand hours talking about this, no exaggeration,” Few said. “We both talk about leaving this sport in a better place than when we took it.”
Few was particularly useful in enlisting the help of one of his home state senators, Maria Cantwell of Washington. As the Democrats’ ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Cantwell has worked with the committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to bring together all the stakeholders in college sports, as well as members of their respective parties, to craft the Protect College Sports Act and move it through the Senate. For Few, the entire exercise has been one long, fascinating civics lesson. All those efforts paid off on Sept. 28 when the Senate passed the PCSA by a 77-22 vote. “It was cool getting with all those people to try to get something done,” Few said. “People love college sports. They want to see it work.”
As if all of that weren’t eventful enough, on July 1 Gonzaga officially left the West Coast Conference and became a member of the Pac-12. The Pac-12 was decimated by realignment beginning four years ago, but it has reconstituted itself by adding Gonzaga, San Diego State and Boise State, among others. Gonzaga tried for many years to move into a power conference, most notably in 2023 when it had substantial conversations with the Big 12. The Pac-12 is not as formidable as its previous incarnation, but the move heralds a new chapter for Few’s program.
“It’ll be a refreshing challenge,” he said. “Since I’ve been here we’ve been going to the same venues and the same gyms. Now we’ll play some other teams in some really difficult venues, not just because of the crowd size but also the altitude. The depth of the league will be different than what we’ve experienced.”
Few, however, brushed aside the suggestion that this move somehow validates Gonzaga as a high-major program. “If you haven’t affirmed us yet, you must have your head six feet deep in the sand,” he said. “It’s a different challenge, but we’ve done what we always do, which is schedule very aggressively in the preseason.”
To be sure, Few’s summer wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. The program was jolted on July 13 when its starting point guard, 6-foot-3 sophomore Mario Saint-Supery, revealed that he had agreed to a $15 million contract with the Spanish Euroleague club Valencia. Saint-Supery had practiced with the team that morning, and then broke the news during a lake outing later that afternoon. “We were totally blindsided,” Few said. “I was standing in my yard when my assistant called to tell me. I was like, are you kidding me? Just a total shock. That stuff doesn’t usually happen at Gonzaga.”
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Few met with Saint-Supery the following morning. “I was disappointed,” he said. “We’re very proud of our culture here and the way we handle things. You can talk about how much you love these guys and all that, but actions speak louder than words, man. The beauty of it is I knew we’d be fine. We’ve moved on and made some really nice moves in the offseason and feel really good about that position.”
Few’s efforts to rebuild his roster were hampered by the NCAA’s decision in May to tighten restrictions on international recruiting. Few had already negotiated deals with two international players, but the new guidance rendered them ineligible. Both players appealed to the NCAA for a waiver. French guard Nathan De Sousa won his appeal last month, but the case of 6-foot-10 Spanish forward Izan Almansas is still pending.
Saint-Supery’s surprise departure spurred Few to sign three players whose eligibility depends on legal challenges to the NCAA’s five-in-five rule: Xaivian Lee, a 6-foot-4 guard who transferred from Florida; Javon Bennett, a 5-foot-10 guard from Dayton; and Chauncey Wiggins, a 6-foot-11 forward from Florida State. Lee is currently eligible thanks to a temporary restraining order issued by a court in California. A hearing on the NCAA’s request for a stay on that decision is scheduled for Oct. 20. Bennett and Wiggins were likewise initially granted injunctions, but those decisions have since been stayed, so at the moment they are ineligible pending appeals.
Signing those players was a risk, but given the circumstances, Few said, “We didn’t have a choice.” He also disagrees with the criticism that it is inconsistent for him to work to get the PCSA through Congress while signing players who are suing the NCAA. “To me, that strengthens the argument for the bill, because that way once you enact a rule it will be able to hold up,” he said. “The three guys I have are wonderful guys. They’ve only been in school four years and they’re asking for a fifth, which is what everybody before them got and everybody after them is getting. I can kind of see where they’re coming from on this. If all these guys are able to get cleared, I think we’ll be very, very good.”
Few also landed two likely starters the old-fashioned way, through the transfer portal. The first is Massamba Diop, a 7-foot-1 sophomore center who averaged 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds at Arizona State. “We’re still looking for a little more toughness around the rim from him, but he’ll do what Gonzaga bigs do, which is score,” Few said. The other is Isaiah Harwell, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard who transferred from Houston. Harwell was a four-star prospect out of high school but played limited minutes last season behind Kingston Flemings. “I wish all my players played one year for Kelvin Sampson,” Few said, in a nod to Harwell’s toughness.
Gonzaga’s most prominent returnee is Braden Huff, the 6-foot-10 senior forward who was lost for the season in early January when he dislocated his left kneecap in practice. If Huff is healthy, he will compete for All-America honors. Few is also bullish on 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Davis Fogle, who averaged 8.6 points in 16.7 minutes off the bench as a freshman and was an important factor in steadying the ship after Huff went out. “We talked about maybe redshirting him at the start of the year, but he was just coming on like gangbusters in practice so we really couldn’t,” Few said. “He’s worked incredibly hard in the offseason. His body’s better, he’s grown, he’s highly, highly competitive. Every aspect of his game has gotten better. He’ll be one of the breakout stars in college basketball.”
Few turns 64 in December, and while many coaches of his generation are opting for retirement (most recently Oregon coach Dana Altman), there is no indication that Few is ready to follow them out the door. He is looking forward to many more interesting summers, particularly in 2028 when he will serve as an assistant coach under Erik Spoelstra for the U.S. Olympic team. Few performed the same role for Steve Kerr on the gold medal-winning team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Few may be nearing the end of his career, but he’s a Hall of Famer now, and very much on top of his game. If everything falls into place for his team, his winter could be even more enjoyable than his summer. “As long as I keep enjoying it and feel like I’m helping Gonzaga be the best they can be, I’ll keep doing it,” he said. “I still think this is where I’m supposed to be.”
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