He’s Kennel kin
For 16 years as a Gonzaga assistant coach, Bill Grier wondered how it would feel to be the head coach of the opposing team, first in the old Kennel and later at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which opened in 2004.
Today, he’ll go from wondering about it to experiencing it as he guides San Diego (8-10, 1-0 WCC) into a 1 p.m. showdown with Gonzaga (13-4, 2-0).
“It’s just going to be hard to go in there as an opponent after spending 16 years on the side that won a lot of games,” said Grier, USD’s first-year head coach. “It’ll be a little bit emotional because I care for those kids, helped recruit some of them and coached them. And you throw in the (coaching) staff, which I’m very close with and people around the university that I got to know in my 16 years. It’s just odd. It’ll probably feel weird until about a minute into the game.”
Grier’s ties run deep. As young assistants at Gonzaga under Dan Fitzgerald, Grier and Mark Few rented rooms in fellow assistant Dan Monson’s house. Their families often vacation together in the off-season. Grier has known Bulldogs assistant Leon Rice for nearly 20 years. Ray Giacoletti, who replaced Grier on Gonzaga’s staff, and his wife, Kim, are godparents of Grier’s daughter, Giselle.
Asked what he did with his Gonzaga gear after taking the San Diego job, Grier’s answer wasn’t surprising. “I gave a lot of the stuff that was still in packages to Ray – we’re pretty much the same size,” he said.
Grier and Few, Gonzaga’s head coach the last nine years, stay in touch regularly and have talked a couple of times this week.
“Leading into it, it’s awful strange,” Few said, “but once the game starts, it’s just another game.”
Grier downplayed any advantage he might have from knowing Gonzaga’s program inside and out.
“I’m actually a little guarded about giving our guys too much information and get them thinking instead of playing,” he said. “They run so much stuff. Because they’re so talented offensively, you have to pick your poison. Not just us, I think everybody in the conference is going to have that problem.”
The Toreros pose problems for Gonzaga, as well. Center Gyno Pomare is one of the WCC’s best low-post players and earlier this season joined the school’s 1,000-career point club. Point guard Brandon Johnson, All-WCC honorable mention last season, had consecutive 27-point games against Kentucky and Marshall. He’s been battling a deep thigh contusion for a couple of weeks and Grier said Johnson “isn’t quite 100 percent yet.”
The Toreros have been inconsistent, but their win at Kentucky showed they can play at a high level.
Regarding the challenge Gonzaga’s lineup presents, Grier joked, “Which five? Their starting five or their next five? They’re pretty deep. They seem to be hitting their stride. Josh (Heytvelt) is playing better and looks more comfortable and Steven (Gray) has a chance to be a very good guard. It’ll be difficult challenge for us to handle them.”