Mark Few
Encyclopedia
Mark Few is an American
college basketball
coach, currently the head coach at Gonzaga University
. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines throughout a period that has seen the Bulldogs rise from mid-major
obscurity to regular participants in the NCAA tournament.
of a Presbyterian pastor
, Few was a star point guard
at Creswell High School, graduating in 1981. He originally attended Linfield College
, hoping to play basketball and baseball
, but he was troubled by the aftereffects of a dislocated shoulder he suffered while playing football
as a senior at Creswell. He then transferred to the University of Oregon
, hoping to play baseball there, but the Ducks
had dropped their varsity baseball program by the time he arrived in Eugene
. He graduated from Oregon with a B.S.
in physical education
in 1987.
, joining the Gonzaga staff as a graduate assistant in 1989. He had some familiarity with the program, as he had befriended Dan Monson
, then a Gonzaga assistant and later the head coach, during his time working the Oregon basketball camps. The following year, he was promoted to a full-time assistant.
In April 1999, Few was promoted to associate head coach, making him the designated successor to Monson, who had just finished his second year as Gonzaga head coach. This was immediately following the season in which Gonzaga became the nation's basketball darlings, making a run through the NCAA tournament
, defeating Minnesota
, Stanford
, and Florida
, to advance to the Elite Eight. In the West Regional finals Gonzaga lost to eventual national champions UConn
by five points. When Monson left in July to take the open head coaching job at Minnesota, Mark Few was elevated to the Bulldogs' top job.
of Butler
surpassed it. The program's success has continued as Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament in every one of Few's twelve seasons.
Few was named the West Coast Conference
Coach of the Year for six consecutive seasons (2001 through 2006).
The 2006–07 season may well have been one of his better coaching jobs, as the team faced what could be called a "perfect storm":
The Zags ended the regular season at 21–10, their first season with double digits in losses since 1997–98, which was also the last season to date in which they failed to make the NCAA tournament. It had generally been thought that Gonzaga would have to win the WCC tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. However, Gonzaga would go on to win the conference tournament, notably beating a Santa Clara
team in the final that had earlier handed the Zags their first home-court loss in nearly four years. They would go out in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Indiana
.
With Few as head coach, the Gonzaga program produced its first two first-team All-Americans in Dan Dickau
and Morrison, plus future NBA players in Blake Stepp
, Austin Daye
and Ronny Turiaf
. In 2005, Few signed a contract extension that intends to keep him at Gonzaga through 2015.
He and his wife Marcy, married by his father in 1994, have three sons and one daughter. They have organized a charity golf tournament under the Coaches vs. Cancer umbrella; since the tournament began in 2002, it has raised over $
1 million for the American Cancer Society
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach, currently the head coach at Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines throughout a period that has seen the Bulldogs rise from mid-major
Mid-major
Mid-major is a term used in American Division I college sports, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the major six conferences...
obscurity to regular participants in the NCAA tournament.
Early life and education
The sonPreacher's kid
Preacher's kid is a term to refer to a child of a preacher, pastor, deacon, vicar, lay leader, minister or other similar church leader...
of a Presbyterian pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, Few was a star point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
at Creswell High School, graduating in 1981. He originally attended Linfield College
Linfield College
Linfield College is an American private institution of higher learning located in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. As a four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college with a campus in Portland, Oregon, it also has an adult degree program located in eight communities throughout the...
, hoping to play basketball and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, but he was troubled by the aftereffects of a dislocated shoulder he suffered while playing football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
as a senior at Creswell. He then transferred to the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, hoping to play baseball there, but the Ducks
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and Track and Field...
had dropped their varsity baseball program by the time he arrived in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
. He graduated from Oregon with a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
in 1987.
Assistant coach
Few entered the coaching profession even before receiving his degree, serving as an unpaid part-time assistant at his alma mater of Creswell High School starting in 1983, and advancing to a paid position from 1986 to 1988. During this time, he also worked at Oregon's summer basketball camps. After a season as an assistant at another Oregon school, Sheldon High School in Eugene, he moved to Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, joining the Gonzaga staff as a graduate assistant in 1989. He had some familiarity with the program, as he had befriended Dan Monson
Dan Monson
Daniel Lloyd Monson is an American college basketball coach. He was hired as the head coach of the Long Beach State 49ers on April 7, 2007. Previously he was head coach at the University of Minnesota for over seven seasons, from July 24, 1999, to November 30, 2006...
, then a Gonzaga assistant and later the head coach, during his time working the Oregon basketball camps. The following year, he was promoted to a full-time assistant.
In April 1999, Few was promoted to associate head coach, making him the designated successor to Monson, who had just finished his second year as Gonzaga head coach. This was immediately following the season in which Gonzaga became the nation's basketball darlings, making a run through the NCAA tournament
1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....
, defeating Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers have played in the Big Ten since the conference began sponsoring basketball in 1905...
, Stanford
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
, and Florida
Florida Gators basketball
The Florida Gators have two Gator basketball programs:*Men's*Women's...
, to advance to the Elite Eight. In the West Regional finals Gonzaga lost to eventual national champions UConn
Connecticut Huskies
The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut in the United States. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference for all sports except Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Ice...
by five points. When Monson left in July to take the open head coaching job at Minnesota, Mark Few was elevated to the Bulldogs' top job.
Head coach
After Gonzaga's 1999 success and Monson's departure, many observers thought that the Zags would be a one-year wonder and go back to their previous obscurity. Mark Few immediately proved them wrong, leading them into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in his first two years heading the program. This made him one of only two coaches to lead his team to Sweet Sixteen berths in his first two years as a head coach since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The following year (2001–02), Few set an all-time record for NCAA Division I men's coaches by collecting 81 wins in his first three years as a head coach. The record stood until 2010 when Brad StevensBrad Stevens
Brad Stevens is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at Butler University. He grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, where he starred on the Zionsville Community High School basketball team, setting four school records...
of Butler
Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
The Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League, of which it has been a member since 1979...
surpassed it. The program's success has continued as Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament in every one of Few's twelve seasons.
Few was named the West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
Coach of the Year for six consecutive seasons (2001 through 2006).
The 2006–07 season may well have been one of his better coaching jobs, as the team faced what could be called a "perfect storm":
- Adam MorrisonAdam MorrisonAdam John Morrison is an American basketball player who is currently free agent after being released from KK Crvena zvezda....
, a first-team All-America in 2005-06, chose to leave Gonzaga for the NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
with a year of eligibility left. - The Zags played an especially brutal nonconference schedule, with no fewer than nine opponents that would make the NCAA tournament2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball TournamentThe 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 NCAA schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2006–07 basketball season...
. - The team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder in 2006–07, Josh HeytveltJosh Heytvelt-College:The 6 foot 11 inch forward came to the Bulldogs in 2004 after a high school career in Clarkston, Washington that saw him named the state's Class 3A Player of the Year for three consecutive years. He sat out the 2004-05 season as a redshirt...
, was suspended after being arrested on drug charges in February 2007, and did not play again during the season.
The Zags ended the regular season at 21–10, their first season with double digits in losses since 1997–98, which was also the last season to date in which they failed to make the NCAA tournament. It had generally been thought that Gonzaga would have to win the WCC tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. However, Gonzaga would go on to win the conference tournament, notably beating a Santa Clara
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
team in the final that had earlier handed the Zags their first home-court loss in nearly four years. They would go out in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
.
With Few as head coach, the Gonzaga program produced its first two first-team All-Americans in Dan Dickau
Dan Dickau
Daniel David "Dan" Dickau is an American professional basketball player.-Early life and college:Born in Portland, Oregon, Dickau graduated from Prairie High School in Brush Prairie, Washington. He played for the University of Washington Huskies prior to transferring to, and becoming a standout...
and Morrison, plus future NBA players in Blake Stepp
Blake Stepp
Blake Roy Stepp is a retired American professional basketball player.Stepp attended South Eugene High School in Eugene. He graduated from Gonzaga University and was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004 NBA Draft. He appeared in a handful of 2004–05 pre-season games with the Wolves,...
, Austin Daye
Austin Daye
Austin Darren Daye is an American professional basketball player from Irvine, California who currently plays for BC Khimki Moscow in Russia. He was drafted 15th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association , and is still under contract with the...
and Ronny Turiaf
Ronny Turiaf
Ronny Turiaf is a French professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the NBA. Turiaf has been a member of the French national basketball team....
. In 2005, Few signed a contract extension that intends to keep him at Gonzaga through 2015.
He and his wife Marcy, married by his father in 1994, have three sons and one daughter. They have organized a charity golf tournament under the Coaches vs. Cancer umbrella; since the tournament began in 2002, it has raised over $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million for the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
.