SPRINGFIELD, Mass. \u2014 Mark Few’s Hall of Fame r\u00e9sum\u00e9 speaks for itself.<\/p>\n
But according to one of college basketball’s most respected coaches, Few’s legacy goes far beyond what he has accomplished on the court.<\/p>\n
Former Villanova head coach Jay Wright spoke with SWX Sports Director Austin Getz on the red carpet ahead of Few’s induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, praising Few for his success, loyalty to Gonzaga and lasting impact on the college basketball community.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark’s one of the most respected coaches in our game by fans and media, by players, but most importantly, in the coaching world, we all really look up to Mark,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Wright, who coached Villanova from 2001 until 2022, led the Wildcats to six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances in 21 seasons. He also guided Villanova to two national championships.<\/p>\n
Throughout his own coaching career, Wright developed a close relationship with Few and said his respect for the Gonzaga coach comes from much more than his success.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot just for his success on the court, but how he runs his program, his loyalty to his school, and his loyalty to our profession,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Few has spent more than three decades at Gonzaga, first joining the program as a graduate assistant in 1989 before eventually taking over as head coach in 1999.<\/p>\n
Since then, Few has transformed the Bulldogs into one of the most consistent programs in college basketball.<\/p>\n
Under Few, Gonzaga has made 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, reached two national championship games and become a perennial national contender.<\/p>\n
Despite the program’s success, Few has remained at Gonzaga while opportunities elsewhere \u2014 including reported interest from the NBA \u2014 have followed him throughout his career.<\/p>\n
Wright said he and Few often discussed those rumors while both were coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s funny, I can say it now that I’m out of coaching,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWhen all those rumors are going on, he and I were always talking to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Wright, Few’s decision to remain at Gonzaga is a reflection of what motivates him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he loves the college game,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI think he loves having an impact on young guys’ lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
That impact was on full display in Springfield, with former Gonzaga players and coaches traveling to Massachusetts to celebrate Few’s induction.<\/p>\n
Wright said the presence of so many people from Few’s coaching career is a testament to the relationships he has built along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that by the players that are here to support him and all the former coaches that are here to support him,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Wright believes Few’s connection to the college game \u2014 and Gonzaga in particular \u2014 is a major reason he has remained in Spokane for so long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he knows college, and Gonzaga, is the best place to do it,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
For a coach who has spent nearly three decades leading the same program, Wright believes that loyalty is an important part of Few’s legacy.<\/p>\n
And as Few prepares to officially take his place among basketball’s all-time greats, his peers are making it clear that his Hall of Fame career isn’t defined solely by wins and championships.<\/p>\n
For Wright, it’s also about the people Few has influenced along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPRINGFIELD, Mass. \u2014 Mark Few’s Hall of Fame r\u00e9sum\u00e9 speaks for itself. But according to one of college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,217,10128,4251,231,772,1544,10125,10127,66,10126,10129],"class_list":["post-811957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-local-sports-news","tag-local-sports","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaab","tag-spokane","tag-spokane-sports","tag-sports","tag-sports-spokane","tag-wasington"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117096528312147156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}