Gonzaga seniors, still processing loss, reflect on “special season”
PORTLAND – The end of the line in the NCAA Tournament comes swiftly and often cruelly, especially when a winnable game isn’t decided until the closing seconds.
And so it was for third-seeded Gonzaga, which saw its hopes of advancing to the Sweet 16 fade away when Camden Heide hit his only shot of the game with just under 15 seconds left to seal the Texas Longhorns’ 74-68 victory.
It’s particularly hard on seniors, knowing they won’t suit up again in a GU uniform or participate in another March Madness game.
“The suddenness of this tournament, no matter how many years you’ve done it, is just shocking to have to walk in the locker room and address these guys that really, truly, honestly care about each other and love each other and would do anything to get one more possession together,” Zags coach Mark Few said.
As Gonzaga players assembled in the post-game handshake line, senior center Graham Ike, after yet another strong offensive performance, was visibly upset. Roughly 25 minutes later at a press conference, Ike reflected on his growth over three standout seasons in Gonzaga’s program and offered a shoutout to his teammates.
“Just a human being in constant evolution,” Ike said. “That’s who I stepped in here as, that’s who I’m leaving as. I grew as a man. Coach (Few) built us. My teammates helped me grow. Like I said, I’m just extremely grateful that I got to experience something so grand as this.
“And to my teammates I can’t thank them enough for always having my back, the fans always having our back. Special season, special three years here that will forever be ingrained in my heart and my mind.”
Jalen Warley, part of Gonzaga’s senior class that included Tyon Grant-Foster, Adam Miller, Noah Haaland and Steele Venters – the latter went through Senior Night festivities but could have an option to pursue an additional year after suffering two season-ending injuries – said his final season lived up to his expectations.
“It was everything to me,” Warley said. “I’d make the same decision 100 times over. Yeah, just looking back on all the guys and all moments that we had on and off the court, like (Ike and Few) said, we battled a lot of adversity.
“This was my most fun year playing basketball. I feel like this is one of my most connected teams I’ve been part of, and it really means a lot to me to say I can be a Zag for life because this was everything for me.”
Ike scored 25 points, pushing his career total to 2,575 points, No. 56 on the all-time Division I scoring list.
Warley, still not 100% healthy from a thigh contusion, put together a typical stat line with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Grant-Foster chipped in seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19-plus minutes. Miller had two points in nine minutes.
“I mean 31 wins is no joke, especially the way we schedule and with especially,” Few said. “We leaned on (Ike) so hard, and he just delivered night after night after night, including tonight.
“I’m so proud of Jalen. We only had him for, I don’t know, six, seven months. As I told him, I wish we would have had him out of high school. He’s got all the Zag characteristics that all our great players have had over years, and he’s just a big-time winner and he showed that (Saturday). So that’s what is really painful and that’s why you don’t really move on from it. But as time goes by these guys will understand it was a heck of a year and a heck of a lot of fun.”