After being put on the ballot for the first time, the leader of the Zags is one step closer to etching his name in history in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Gonzaga’s Mark Few is one of the greatest coaches that the sport of basketball has ever seen. One of the smartest dealing with X’s and O’s as well. He put a small, private Jesuit university in little-known Spokane on the map and has changed the landscape of college basketball when it comes to non-conference scheduling, recruiting and dealing with the transfer portal.
Coach of the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team, a Class of 2025 Finalist, Coach Mark Few. #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/rtBU4xjXbh
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 14, 2025
He ranks as the winningest active NCAA Division I coach by a winning percentage at 83.1 percent with an overall record of 736-150. The legend has also coached over 28 former Zags and counting to have played in the NBA.
Since taking over the head coaching reins for the Zags way back in 1999, Few has had accomplishment after accomplishment. Here are a few, no pun intended:
- 43-24 NCAA Tournament record/45-5 WCC Tournament record
- 22x regular season WCC titles (share included)
- 19x WCC Tournament titles
- 14x WCC Coach of the Year awards
- 2x Naismith Coach of the Year awards
- 2x National Championship finalists
- 6x Elite Eight appearances
- 14x Sweet 16 appearances
- 25 straight NCAA Tournament appearances
- 1x Olympic Gold medalist
“One of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, Few has led Gonzaga to two NCAA national championship game appearances (2017, ‘21) and 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths through 2024. He is the winningest active coach by percentage and has won at least 20 games in all 25 seasons with the Bulldogs. Few, who is the second fastest to 700 wins in NCAA Division I history, was named the Naismith Coach of the Year twice (2017, ‘21) and has won at least a share of 22 WCC regular-season titles and 19 WCC tournament championships. He has coached 22 All-Americans at Gonzaga and captured a gold medal as an assistant coach in the 2024 Paris Olympics.” – Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Gonzaga head coach Mark Few
Few’s work with the rotation and defensive adjustments lately have been some of the best coaching moves seen from his long career. The run towards another Sweet Sixteen appearance and beyond is in the back of the mind of many Gonzaga fans but first, the second matchup with the Saint Mary’s Gaels and a Bay Area road trip are on the horizon.
The 17 finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025 include Few, the 2008 US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, Carmelo Anthony, Danny Crawford, Billy Donovan, Dwight Howard, Marques Johnson, Jerry Welsh, Buck Williams, Jennifer Azzi, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, Molly Bolin, Dušan Ivković, Micky Arison, and Tal Brody.
The 2025 class will be announced in San Antonio on April 5th at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho