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Is Gonzaga the best program on the West Coast?
Arizona is in trouble. Hasn't made a Final Four in 15 years I believe.
Oregon is trying but probably never going to be a perennial contender
UCLA can't seem to figure it out. Only Howland was successful for them these past 20 years
Who else is there? And how pathetic is this? And do we even care?
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It starts with better coaching. We'll see what replaces Miller and Alford, the PAC desperately needs those hires to be good.
In football we're seeing the same thing. Thank god for Chip.
Few is Tony Bennett with slightly better recruiting and slightly less embarrassing losses. Very good coach. Probably worthy HOF'er.
Not elite as long as he only has one F4 on his resume.
But yes they're the premier program on the West Coast.
Sark > Ty
Yes Few was upset three times in the second round as a 1-3 seed (2004, 2005, 2013) but he also reached the Sweet 16s three times as a 10 or worse seed (2000, 2001, 2016.)
Sorry man, can't get behind that. If he wins a title this year we can revisit this conversation. Otherwise his results in March have been too mediocre for one more E8 run to overcome.
Yes, prior to the last few years Gonzaga had a few chokes in the Dance. But people forget how ridiculously unlikely it was for Gonzaga to become a perennial high seed in the first place.
Gonzaga's first NIT appearance ever was 1994. First NCAA appearance ever was 1995. Their first tournament win ever was 1999 which, luckily for the Zags, Monson quickly parlayed into a big contract at Minnesota. Shades of Dan Hawkins to Colorado.
Prior to Few becoming an assistant they had only won their conference two times EVER. They won the conference four times in ten years while he was an assistant. And now 17 times in 19 years with Few in charge.
Few's success at the mid-major level is unprecedented. The closest recent comparison I can think of is Gregg Marshall at Wichita State.
Tournament record: 10-7. vs. 28-18
NCAA appearances: 7 in 11 years vs. 19 in 19.
Deepest runs: Two S16, one F4 in 11 years vs Seven S16, two E8, one runner up in 19 years (and still alive.)
Conf Champs: Five in 11 years vs. 17 in 19 years.
Overall winning pct: .747 vs. .821
In that time they've had 3 S16, two E8 and a championship game.
"Hardly ever win in March?"
#sideways
Thanks for proving my point. Shit, that's worse than I even thought.
No other mid major teams comes close to the sustained success of Gonzaga.
I get that comparables are difficult because nobody else has ever hung around at a small school this long when they had much better options like Few has, but if you're going to spend two decades at a shit school you better do more than make the tournament every year if you want to be considered a top 5 coach.
I don't think Few gaf about being considered a top 5 coach or he would have gone somewhere else long ago, but his track record in March is not that of an elite coach.
Doogs have low standards.
If he ever lost Tommy Lloyd, he'd be fucked. Few can barely complete a sentence on his own. Lloyd is the closer on these foreign recruits. Lloyd has Starbucks cups stashed all over the world.
Donny Daniels is a mother fucking closer, too. On the recruiting trail, the bruthas mamas get wet at his dulcid tones when he starts sweet talking them. Little do they know he is doing white women exclusively in Spokane. White women in Spokane love the BBC more than UODuckGirl.
Few also brings in reject coaches so they can rehabilitate and then go elsewhere. Ken Bone spent a year there as an 'unpaid' assistant. Ray Giacoletti hunkered down for a couple years after getting fired at Utah.
Few isn't elite on his own but he surrounds himself with a ridiculously good staff. Which makes him elite.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/gonzaga/1933-schedule.html
@RaceBannon was there.