And here's a couple more items for your reading pleasure: Vince Grippi's column and a side bar on the charitable efforts of the Boeheims and Fews.

Read on.

Here's Vince's column:

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The names are etched in Spokane's collective memory, part of a monument to NCAA success.

Adam Morrison, Casey Calvary, Blake Stepp, Dan Dickau, Ronny Turiaf.

Big names. Big stars.

But for all the light those luminaries have helped shine on GU, there have been some lightly known heroes as well, coming from relative darkness to spark the Bulldogs' NCAA success.

Clark Kent turning into Superman for a day.

Mark Spink coming off the bench against Stanford in '99, all arms and legs and red hair entangling the Cardinal's Mark Madsen and holding the bulky All-American in check as GU moved into the Sweet Sixteen.

Alex Hernandez butting his way inside against Virginia, pumping in 15 points and helping the Zags to a one-point upset of the Cavaliers in 2001's first round.

Since then, though, Gonzaga's biggest names have consistently played the biggest roles.

Which brings us to today, when the Zags face what Mark Few calls "one of the biggest challenges we've ever had since I've been the head coach at Gonzaga."

This morning in the HSBC Arena, Gonzaga will take on the West Region's top seed, 29-4 Syracuse. There will be some 19,000 fans in attendance, about 18,000 of them wearing and rooting for the Orange.

The Zags just may need one of those out-of-nowhere heroes.

For the role can we offer Bol Kong?

The resume is slim, sure. A 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore averaging 4.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in just 12.5 minutes a game.

But there is one other number that stands out. He's made 24 of the 55 3-point shots he's attempted. That's 43.6 percent on a team that shoots 36.2 percent.

And that's a skill that will be in demand today.

"You've got to step up and make shots against," Syracuse's long, athletic, 2-3 zone, coach Mark Few insisted Saturday. "I mean, (that's) the only way you're going to beat that thing. The teams that have beat it have stepped up and made shots. We won't go away from that."

And they may turn to Kong.

Starting guard Demetri Goodson does a lot of good things – igniting the fast break, harassing the opposing point guard, running the offense – but shooting from long range isn't one of them. The sophomore has tried just 27 3-pointers this season, more than likely because he's made just four.

With Steven Gray and Matt Bouldin able to handle the ball if needed, Kong is the next logical choice.

If he's willing.

"It's just a mindset with Bol," said assistant coach Leon Rice of Kong's chance to step into the limelight. "When he's aggressive and confident, like the Wake Forest game, he can come in, go crazy and make a lot of shots."

In that 77-75 loss, Kong came off the bench and nailed all four of his 3-point attempts, helping GU stay close. It was one of six times this season he's scored in double figures, though he's never played more than 26 minutes.

Not too bad for a young man born in the Sudan, immigrated with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia when he was six, and took up basketball because, "it's an easy sport to play," Kong said. "All you need is a ball and shoes, you can play hoops anywhere. Unlike hockey, where you have to buy all the equipment."

Though he played some soccer, basketball was his favored sport.

"I was bigger than most of the kids," he said, "and more athletic than most of them, so I already had an edge."

The sport helped him make friends, whether in Calgary, where Kong's family moved before returning to Vancouver his sophomore year, or back in Vancouver. One of his friends posted a video on You Tube and it helped catch the eye of the GU staff.

 "He's like an urban legend up there," Rice said. "Once you've heard that name once, you're not going to forget it."

After a year in junior college and one spent battling visa problems, Kong has taken his relatively raw game into the NCAA tournament.

"It's been as competitive as I expected it to be," he said. "You've got a lot of good guys, lots of good players, the competition is pretty tight. I wanted to come to a pretty big-time school and coming here, that's what I got."

So can he help Gonzaga today?

Rice thinks so.

"It's just coming into this program and not really knowing how good you are or how good you could be," Rice said. "Sometimes that takes time to build that confidence. Coach Few and the whole staff have just tried to build him up and build him up. He gets tentative sometimes.

"But when he just lets it rip, he's dangerous."

Here's the side bar:  

By Vince Grippi

Staff writer

vinceg@spokesman.com; (509) 459-5436

BUFFALO, N.Y. – College basketball coaches borrow ideas from each other all the time.

Who knew their wives did as well?

Just ask Marcy Few.

When she and husband Mark were looking for a fund-raising idea for Coaches vs. Cancer, they emulated one of the best: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and his wife Juli. Thus was born the highly successful Basketball Gala.

"They're the ones who had the idea for the Basket Ball event itself for Coaches vs. Cancer and they encouraged us to do it in Spokane," Marcy Few said Saturday. "We probably would have done something as far as fundraising, but we essentially use the format of their event in Syracuse and tried to recreate it here."

But, again just like what commonly occurs on the court, the Fews put in a twist.

"The thing we did differently here is we added the golf," Marcie said.

Over the past eight years, the Fews' Coaches vs. Cancer efforts have raised around $4 million for cancer research.

Though there is no keeping up with their friends the Boeheims.

Most know about Jim Boeheim's 828 wins and 2003 national championship in 34 years at Syracuse, but few know how diligently he and his wife work in cancer fundraising.

"I don't think people realize how many days a year he gives up," for the cause, Mark Few said.

Boeheim, a prostate cancer survivor, chairs the committee overseeing the Coaches vs. Cancer movement.

The Boeheims' fund-raising results are significant as well, with their Basket Ball event – the first of its kind in 2000 – having helped raise more than $4.5 million for the central New York chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Is there a competition that rivals the one that will play out on the court today?

"Not between us, not really," Marcy said with a laugh. "I think people that work on our committee and stuff, they're more competitive. I know the person who runs the golf tournament, Jerid Keefer, he's always telling me where we stack up with Syracuse."

The basketball part of that will be decided today. But the philanthropic part, that's more of a team effort.

Over the years, the two families have attended each other's events and have, as Marcy said, "have grown from colleagues to friends."