mark few, final four

Few don’t recognize Few at Final Four

ATLANTA – Mark Few remembers the days when he could breeze through the hotel lobby during the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ convention without having to break stride.

Eight years into his tenure at Gonzaga, those days are over.

Friday afternoon it took Few more than 30 minutes to make it the 100 feet through the lobby to the taxis waiting out front of the downtown Atlanta Hilton, home of this year’s convention.

“I try to avoid it if I can,” Few said of the foray through the mass of coaches who crowd the lobby during Final Four weekend.

Few wore a blue and green polo with nary a GU logo on it in hopes of getting through unseen, but he admits it’s hard to stay anonymous when you regularly lead your team to the NCAAs.

He stopped to chat with old friends and take handshakes from young assistants hoping to make an impression.

“It’s a great way to get to know the other coaches, make contacts and hear what’s going on,” he said.

Few knew better, however, than to come to the convention with a vacancy on his staff. That’s why he acted quickly to replace assistant Bill Grier (with Ray Giacoletti), who left on Monday to become the head coach at San Diego.

“I didn’t want to have 300 guys coming up to me,” he said with a laugh.

As for the rumor mill that fires up at every convention, Few didn’t want to talk about it, even when jokingly asked how many times he’s heard his name mentioned for other jobs.

“I don’t do the job thing,” he said. “I already have one.”

Associated Press