NCAA Tournament Portland preview: Talking Zags, Broncos, Tigers and lots of local connections

Gonzaga players Julian Strawther (left) and Rasir Bolton at Wednesday press conference.

As your emissary, a report from Wednesday’s media sessions at Moda Center prior to Thursday’s full session of first-round games in the NCAA Tournament …

 • There is little question Gonzaga is the favorite to emerge as the national champion. The Zags are the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight season, having lost to Baylor 86-70 in the title game in 2021. The team that was knocking on the door a year ago appears ready to kick it down this year.

But Mark Few — whose Zags play host to No. 16 seed Georgia State Thursday at 1:15 p.m. — asks for perspective. Gonzaga is making its 23rd straight appearance at the Big Dance. During that time, the Zags have made the Sweet Sixteen 11 times, the Elite Eight five times, the Final Four twice. They are one of two teams to win an opening-round game in each of the last 12 seasons. The Bulldogs (their actual nickname) have been a one seed in four of the last five tournaments. I could continue the superlatives for a few more sentences. So even if the Zags don’t win it all this year …

“To be the No. 1 seed is something we cherish,” says Few, the Creswell native and Oregon grad who is in his 23rd year as Gonzaga’s head coach. “It show you’re the best out of everybody for 4 1/2 months. You really earned this.

“This thing we start (Thursday) is just a three-week crap shoot. You have to be really good, but you have to be lucky, too. Those are two different entities. We’re at the point now where, whether we have won a championship or not, we want to win this thing as bad as anybody. But we also really cherish the accomplishments that we had not only this year but in years past.”

• Three players off Gonzaga’s 2021 team left for the NBA — forward Corey Kispert (Wizards) and guards Jalen Suggs (Magic) and Joel Ayayi (G-League).

“Corey and Joel were great players, but also the heart and soul of our program,” Few says. “And to lose a flying comet of a player in Jalen was a lot. We have a lot of new faces. Great thing about (this year’s players) was how easily they assimilated together different aspects of the game for the good of the team.'

• Gonzaga is loaded with talent, including 6-10 junior center Drew Timme (I’m calling him a center, though the Bulldogs list nobody on their roster as a center. Not cool anymore, evidently) and 6-5 senior guard Andrew Nembhard. But the player easily getting the most attention is 7-foot, 195-pound freshman Chet Holmgren out of Minneapolis, who averages 14.2 points, a team-high 10.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots, the latter matching the WCC season record and ranking fourth in the country. Holmgren is a new-age player, shooting .610 from the field, .412 from 3-point range and .753 at the foul line. Several services have Holmgren — rated by ESPN as the No. 1 high school player in the country last year —  going first in their 2022 mock NBA draft.

“I know him from the highlight clips and the YouTube videos I’d seen before he got here, but seeing a talent like that in-person is definitely different,” senior guard Rasir Bolton says. “The little things he does — how easily he blocks shots, the way he throws outlet passes, rebounds — is a different experience.”

As impressive as he is on offense, Chester’s calling card might be on defense.

“There are so many things he does to impact the game that no one in the country can do,” sophomore guard Julian Strawther says. “He is very disruptive. You can’t go in the paint and put up shots like you normally do. It’s annoying to have somebody come over and beat you off the glass when you thought you had an open layup.”

Asked the most memorable play Holmgren has made this season, Few takes the question another way.

“Chet does a lot of eye-popping things, and then he does some real head-scratching things,” the veteran coach says. “Best thing about Chet, he is so coachable, and such a hard worker. I’ll walk out (on the court) on the morning of a game and he has already got a full sweat going, working on something, whether it’s basketball skills or in the weight room or watching film. He is incredibly driven, and he has a plan. That may be boring, but it’s what a coach likes to hear.”

Boise State players Emmanuel Akot (left) and Abu Kigab at Wednesday press conference.

• Much of the discussion in Wednesday press conferences centered on the local angle with both Gonzaga and Boise State, the two Northwest teams among the eight fighting for a pair of spots in the Round of 16.

Few, the son of a Presbyterian pastor, still has parents and a brother living in Creswell, “and sisters spread around Oregon.”

“It’s great to be able to come to Portland,” says Few, 59. “We have some great memories here. Myself being an Oregonian and players from Oregon — it’s special to them; it’s special to me. Heck, I grew up two hours from here. It was the biggest thing in the world to be able to come up to Portland maybe one or two days a year, whether it was for a state tournament or something. And you were just in awe of (Memorial) Coliseum.

“It was awesome to be able to grow up in a small town. I wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Brian Michaelson, a star guard at Portland’s Jesuit High, scored 57 points in four years as a reserve under Few at Gonzaga from 2001-05. Michaelson, 40, is now in his ninth season as an assistant coach and 14th in the program. Talking in glowing terms about him Wednesday, Few seemed to be pumping Michaelson up for a future head coaching position.

“B-Mike is the true Zag, because he is so understated and so humble,” Few said. “He has had just an enormous impact on our program, as much as anybody has over the years. He is an unbelievable relationship developer and ferocious recruiter.

“People don’t understand how many great players we’ve had who have been probably influenced the most by B-Mike in the recruiting process. He has an analytical feel that has helped me over the years, because I was not the greatest analytics guy at the start of this whole movement, and probably still am in the lower percentile. He’s great at game-planning and scouting and excellent at player development.”

Few has done a fine job mining talent from Oregon and Southwest Washington through the years, with such stalwarts as Richie Frahm and Matt Santangelo (1996-2000), Dan Dickau (2000-02), Blake Stepp (2000-04), Derek Raivio (2003-07), Kyle Wiltjer (2014-16) and Nigel Williams-Goss (2015-17).

“We’ve had wonderful connections down here,” Few says.

This year’s roster includes four players from Oregon and Southwest Washington — 6-3 senior Matthew Lang from Jesuit, 6-5 senior Will Graves (son of UO women’s coach Kelly Graves) from Eugene, 6-10 Ben Gregg from Clackamas and 6-9 Kaden Perry from Battle Ground, Wash. Lang, who has scored 40 points in his career, was recently awarded a scholarship after being a walk-on for three seasons.

“Matt is another true Zag who gives you everything he’s got in practice,” Few says. He’s a very good player who could easily play in other programs throughout the country. He has really developed over his time with us. He’s a handful in practice. He was torching us pretty good yesterday. It’s awesome to be able to reward a kid like that.”

Gregg, the 2021 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at Clackamas, graduated early from high school and joined Gonzaga at midseason last year. He totaled 17 points and 18 rebounds in 18 spot appearances. This season, Gregg has played in 16 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per game in what is his true freshman season.

“Ben was smart and organized enough to come (to Gonzaga) early, but he had a real adjustment last year,” Few says. “He jumps on a team that was rolling — the No. 1 team in the country, and here’s a high school kid coming in halfway through. He did a nice job dealing with all that, and I know it was hard.

“He is behind some really good players, but he has a bright future. He has done a great job. He has battled through some tough injuries — a pretty severe ankle sprain has limited him the last month or so. “At Gonzaga, if you stick with the plan and hang in there, good things happen. There are so many guys on our rosters through the years who can attest to that. I definitely put Ben in that category.”

• If Gonzaga and Boise State win Thursday, Saturday’s second round will feature coaches who were on the same staff for 12 years. Bronco head coach Leon Rice was an assistant to Few at Gonzaga from 1999-2010. Further down the line, should each team get to the championship game, Few could square off with Arizona and first-year coach Tommy Lloyd, who was a member of Few’s Gonzaga staff for 21 seasons (2001-21).

“We talk pretty much every day, or close to it,” Few says of both Rice and Lloyd. “They’re like family. Our families grew up together and our kids were raised together. It’s pretty special. It’s a crazy profession. We’ve so blessed to be at Gonzaga. The way we run our program is we let our kids run wildly around the arena while we’re practicing, which is fine by me. It’s been fun to see kids grow up together like that.”

• Thursday’s 10:45 a.m. matinee game matches teams that faced each other in the NIT quarterfinals, Memphis beating Boise State 59-56. This season, the Broncos are the No. 8 seed, the Grizzlies No. 9.

Boise State (27-7) has set a record for season victories and won its first Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament titles. Now the Broncos, 0-7 in previous NCAA Tournament appearances, go after another first.

“Our job is the same,” says Rice, in his 12th season as Boise State’s head coach. “That’s the magic of the way these guys have approached it this year. They’ve wanted to win every game the same way, and they’ve competed the same way. It’s business as usual with these guys.

“We don’t expect a Bob Beamon effort. We just need to do our jobs. We have to play really good and they know that, but that’s no different than what we had to do to win the Mountain West championship game or any other.”

• One of the keys to Boise State’s success has been the leadership and play of Abu Kigab, a 6-7 senior forward who leads the team in scoring (14.7) and is second in rebounds (5.8) and was named MVP of the Mountain West tournament. After playing sparingly during two seasons at Oregon (2017-19), Kigab has been a three-year starter for the Broncos.

I asked Kigab the difference in the two programs, and what it’s been like playing in Boise. He ignored the first part of the question and focused on the second.

“Boise State has been unbelievable for me,” Kigab said. “I love the family atmosphere that I experienced right away. Coach Rice did a tremendous job of helping me fit in. I’m so grateful and thankful for everyone who helped me throughout the journey. It’s been an amazing experience.

“I could sit here all day and talk about it, but I have to give a shoutout to my Boise guys. They’ve really helped me out.”

Kigab is a native of St. Catharine’s, Ontario.

“The very first thing you hear about Abu is he was a huge part of the first Canadian team to beat the U.S. in international competition,” Rice says. “He was the competitor who brought that whole thing together. He is a winner, a high-character kid who cares about his teammates, cares about the right stuff. He is our most vocal leader, the one who brings energy to the room.”

Kigab was named to the All-MWC second team, “but we all know he should have been a first-teamer,” says Emmanuel Akot, Boise State’s 6-8 senior point guard who is also Canadian.

“Abu embodies what Boise is,” Akon says. “He’s a great teammate, a great leader. He’s always so vocal. He has a great understanding of the game, and he lets us know things we can do better on the court. He holds us accountable, and on top of that, he’s ultra-competitive and a really good player.”

Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway, who says he watched video of six Boise State games, came away impressed.

“The plays he makes, playing the passing lanes, the drives, the energy, the timely plays, the offensive rebounds, the athleticism, his speed. … he’s a force to be reckoned with,” Hardaway says. “I appreciate guys who leave it all on the floor, and that’s what he does.”

Asked how he felt about Hardaway’s comments, Kigab smiled.

“Feels good, but I can’t get too caught up in it,” he said. “We have a game to play tomorrow.”

• Another Boise State transfer with Oregon connections is senior guard Marcus Shaver, who has played the last two seasons for the Broncos after starting two seasons for the University of Portland. The 6-2 senior, also voted All-MWC second team, is their No. 2 scorer (13.6). He is shooting .361 from 3-point range, though he has slumped in March, making only 3 of 17 attempts the last five games.

• Memphis’ best player is a man-child, 6-11, 250-pound freshman center Jalen Duren, rated by Rivals last year as the top high schooler in the country. Duren has averaged a team-high in scoring (12.2), rebounds (8.1) and blocked shots (2.2) despite playing an average of 25 minutes per contest.

“An amazing talent,” says teammate Deandre Williams, a 6-9 senior. “He’s really locked in on winning, on making history. I like his mentality. Every time he steps onto the floor, he’s ready to play. He motivates all his teammates.”

“The biggest growth from Jalen has been mental,” says Alex Lomax, a 6-foot senior. “He is learning the game of basketball, he is learning the physicality of the game, and he is approaching everything the right way.

“He is a humble beast. Just to see the work he has put in every day is showing. He is doing everything the right way. The work he’s putting in every day is showing. And he has a lot more to show. We haven’t seen the best version yet. I feel like it’s time now.”

Duren sounded poised and humble through most of Wednesday’s questioning by reporters. But when one mentioned that Boise State center Mladen Armus is nearly 24 years old, Duren suppressed a smile.

“I’ve been dealing with it all year,” said the 18-year-old Tiger. “It’s nothing new to me. I don’t look at no age. I don’t look at no size. To me, it’s basketball. I’ve got confidence in myself. I know what I bring to the table. I know what teammates bring to the table. No matter the age, size, whatever, we’re going to come out and do our thing.”

• It’s easy to forget that before knee injuries curtailed his career, Hardaway was one of the great players in the NBA in the late 1990s — a four-time All-Star for the Orlando Magic by the time he was 26, Shaquille O’Neal’s running mate. Nike featured “Lil Penny” TV commercials voiced by Chris Rock. Hardaway had his own signature shoe line.

“Nike was so instrumental in my career,” Hardaway reminisced. “I’ve always loved coming to Portland, going to Nike meetings and playing against the Trail Blazers. It’s a long flight to get out here, but once I get here, the beauty of the city is unreal.”

Or at least it used to be.

I chatted with Hardaway for a moment before he took the podium to address the media. I asked what it had been like having Hall of Famer Larry Brown on his coaching staff.

“Man, it’s been great,” Hardaway said. “He has so much wisdom. He’s been through it all. He has won this thing (with Kansas in 1988). He’s been in every scenario in a game that you can imagine. Who better to have on your bench beside you?”

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