January 19, 2023 • 60 mins
Drew and Noah recap the BYU & Portland games before being joined by Gonzaga Head Coach, Mark Few.Drew, Noah & Coach Few hit on just about it all starting with this year's '22-'23 Gonzaga team, the differences from the beginning of the season to now, their biggest achilles heel and what will help them the rest of the year.Other topics include:- Few's convos with NBA GM's about Drew- Coach Few's disdain for phones & technology- Coach Few's grind as a young coach / challenges he faced- Putting guys in the NBA- Memories of Damontis Sabonis- How the Zags utilize analytics- Changes in the Zag's system- Chet Holmgren's work ethic- Coach Few's thoughts & feelings on NIL& so much more!
Hosts: Drew Timme & Noah Buono
Guest: Mark Few
Producer: Noah Buono
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
The following is a presentation of the College Athletes Network,
pop coach curR and and just sharing ideas in there.
I mean that was probably the best thing we did
over the last two summers was just being able to
you know, breakdown practice and breakdown way you thinking. What's up? Everybody?
(00:33):
Welcome in the episode of Leven and the Give Me
Timmy Podcast. I'm your host Street Timmy here with my
co host SnO Al Bono and we're on the I
Heart Radio College Athletes Network or you know whatever. You
listen to your podcast. No, what's up? Man? What up?
My boy? As always before we start, thank you everyone
who's support and please make sure you subscribe to the
show so you don't miss any new show releases. Also,
(00:54):
please make sure you follow the podcast page on Instagram
and Twitter at Give Me Timmy Pod. We put video highlights, up,
show updates, all that good stuff. True big one in
stored a man. We got Mark you coming up just
a little bit man, that's crazy, but head hunchhaw Man's
gonna be a good one. Head honcho. So I know
our dedicated listeners subscribers have been asking when he'd come on. Um,
(01:15):
finally we're able to schedule it and get him on.
So that's coming up in just a couple of minutes.
But first, as always, let's recap a couple of games
from last week. Drew b y U crazy game. Nineteen points,
twelve rebounds, four assists, shot fifty from the field, and
obviously the highlight of the game was Julian Strawther's pull
up three at the end. But like, damn, you guys
really didn't look like you were gonna win that thing
(01:36):
and then pulled it out. I ain't gonna lie. They're
sad for not winning that game. Oh my god, Bro,
it's salty as funck man, Like we should not have
won that game, like just their execution down the stretch,
and I mean we saw I saw this TikTok a
(01:56):
video Rominson like back up on the game this and
then he missed the the three and it was like, damn, bro, Like,
but I mean should, Like we've been in should We've
been in a lot of close games and conference especially
this year, and I mean we just battle, and I
(02:17):
mean we were I think we were down ten with
like four and a half minutes left or five or
something like that. Like that's pretty hard to come back
from especially what kind of the way the game was,
and even just you know, like seeing the fans starting
to line up against the wall, like getting ready to
storm the court. Oh, they're ready to blitz you. Motherfucker's
they were coming. It really is just one of those
(02:38):
devastating losses for them, Like you could see just the
energy be sucked out of all of them when the
buzzer rang and they didn't even get a shot off
in the last possession. Yeah, I mean, it made me happy.
I'd love to see it, But I mean, to be honest,
they they sold like we did everything we were supposed
to do. That at the market for a buck fifth,
That's what I'm saying, everything we're supposed to do, But
(03:01):
that shouldn't have happened. Also if like you know, just
like I remember one play they broke the press and
there was like forty seconds left in George drove Ton
and I we were don Tomas Garding when I was
already in the paint on my man, and he drove
into both of us, and it's like, why why are
you going to shoot a contested layup over Ton and
(03:22):
I like, you definitely should just milk as much clock
as you can because at the end of the day,
the clock's friend was our friend, it wasn't theirs. And
he did that and we got the ball and then
we were able to score really quick and then obviously
pressed and trapped. But yeah, I mean that's a that's
a that's some a rail killer right there. I mean,
obviously for us, it was huge. It's a big win.
(03:43):
We needed it. We didn't have that. We didn't start
off the best. They hadn't shot well, and they shot
really well that game, especially being at home, so I
was I was a big one for sure. You guys
offense kind of just stalled late in the second half
and then just you know, by the grace of God,
Hunter Hunter Salas and uh Nolan Hickman hit the two
corner threes. Owen's first I think shot of the game,
(04:06):
like made shot. I think it was three dude. It
was just crazy timing and then you know they turned
the ball over. Like you know, obviously the biggest player
was Julian shot, but you were like loosely twisting that
screen and Jackson Robinson after smoking that, uh, like he
just he went under both ways like you were on
the left side and he was playing underneath and then
(04:28):
you twisted back the other way and he still came under.
And yeah, and Julian said in the postgame, like so
I just shot it, like I worked on and I
mean how to play. We had to play ready to go,
like coach gave us the play call, where like bet
we've ben to run this play and Julian has the
ball and I'm like, I'm just gonna set a drag
like obviously the play is broken, like we just gotta go.
And he went under and I was like, we're reset
(04:50):
this and he he went under it again. I'm like,
no way, And I mean, Julian shot all the time,
and like I don't care who you are, you you
go under on any good shooter. The odds of them
making it go up just exponentially in it was just
such a cash fall and it was just like it
was a great read by him, and I mean takes
balls too, because he wasn't having his best shooting night.
(05:12):
And like you said, you guys did have a play
call that you were gonna run, but in that moment,
it's like you just go with your instincts, and he
went with his instincts and he cashed out regardless of
I think he was like one of seven from three
or two of eight, two of seven from three at
the time when he shot it, so it wasn't like
his best night. But man hit the dagger. So you
go Saturday at home against Portland, you went by thirty.
(05:33):
You only played twenty one minutes, eighteen points, only had
one rebound, which I thought was interesting. But you again
only played twenty one minutes. So I mean, dude, you
can look at the film and literally, I swear Julian
and Malachi would run in front of me and just
like I'd be boxing someone out. So I'm kind of
waiting for the ball, you know, to come in within
my catch radius or I don't wait, have to jump,
(05:55):
and those two fuckers just sprint in and take it
from me. I was like, I was like, good rebounders
of the guards. But yeah, now I feel bad for you,
but like they took him, I wrote I wrote down
in my notes to to remind myself that you you
enjoying have that little rebounding competition you're at. You're at
seven point eight, he's at seven point three. That game, definitely, yeah,
(06:15):
that was a big That was a big swing for
that but yeah, man, it was nice to finally take
care of a team and you know, kind of beat
the breaks off a team like we're supposed to. I mean,
I've been playing like thirty seven minutes the past couple
of games, and like that's cool and all. But like
you love, you love to get a nice little twenty
burger and there every now and then, that's nice. You
(06:36):
deserve a couple of nights on the bench this year
where you're you're just kicking it, hanging out watching like
you know, the other guys in your team that worked
just as hard. It's just they play a little bit.
Get some experience. You get to hang out on the
bench and be the cheerleader ever in the will Caps.
Get some breathers, you know. Yeah man, Um, So this
week you guys got loyal the merrymount up next and
Pacific on Saturday. UM lm U has that guard Cam Shelton.
(07:00):
He's averaging eighteen six and four UM so obviously containing him. Well,
we'll talk a lot more about those games, um on
next week's pod once they are concluded. And I know,
I know we've all been waiting for it. We're gonna
shut up now. We're gonna go to a quick break.
When we come back, we're gonna be joined by the
man in charge, the leader of the agg's head coach,
(07:21):
Mark Few. That's coming up right when we come back,
and we're back on a Gimme Timmy podcast. This is
episode of Leven. I'm Noah Bono. He's Drew Timmy and
we're joined by head coach Mark Few. We we're messing around. Man,
there's the big technology guy. Hey. Yeah, Well, the nobody
told me it was a zoom or as a phone
(07:41):
call or you know, communication on the Timmy podcast is uh.
I didn't want to blow your phone up. Coaches, come on,
it mirrors Drew's communication on the floor. Let's put it
that way. I'm a great communicator on the floor. Come on, now,
can you make a basket ball screen coverage? It's hit
(08:06):
or miss, it's hit or miss. Yeah, alright, alright to
do this. I know Drew said, you've you've been You've
been wondering when when you were going to get your
guest appearance. So very excited. You also tell you um
I again, I'm I'm waiving my n I L fee
and all this and my appearance fee um in lieu
(08:27):
of maximum effort on ball screen coverage, defensive training, back spreading,
back in transition defense, establishing a good shadow, and not
playing dead behind the post. That's all I'm asking for here,
No appearance fees or anything or anything. It's a simple fee,
and um, you know I I agree to those terms.
(08:50):
So I think it's a fair I think it's a
fair arrangement that we've had. The Union has no complaints.
The Union also wanted to let the viewers know how
how nice you've been lately in practices and everything you've been. Um,
you've been top to your coach. Yesterday I got split
on a ball screen and instead of yelling at me
and giving me that just death stare, you know, you
(09:11):
just said next play and I was made my heart happy.
So I wanted to shout you out to the viewers. Numb.
I don't know, I don't know what they understand that you.
I deemed him and it's very true. He's been the
Union wrap here for the past two years. So he's
the guy that always alerts me like, wait, it's getting
a little long here in practice, or you ever gonna
(09:35):
have a day off this week? This film session never
gonna end, He's just a union wrap the s started
by Simick Karnowski in two thousand seventeen. What an intro,
What a way to start it off? Coach. When you
heard that Drew was getting a podcast back in September,
what's what's your first thought? I was like, it's gonna
(09:56):
be really really really good listening, good television. But I
cringed with O way, the the language and the opics.
I gotta admit I was a little bit. Uh, I
was worried. Were you worried for programs like Gonzaga's program
(10:17):
concerns or like Drew's Drew's well being? Like what was
Crew's just Drew's image and well being first, and then
you know any collateral damage that I'd have to comment on.
But you know, hey, we've you know, we've I shouldn't
(10:38):
say survived, we've thrived and uh you know, uh Drew's
personality and and uh um just his persona and all
that with with very little uh uh you know, fallout
for three and a half, three and three quarter years.
(10:58):
So I gotta make barrier in his paycheck, am I right? Yes? Yes,
And I don't mind making berries life hard. So yeah,
that's our s I d he's got a kind of
he's like the press secretary of the White House. Yeah, um, coach. So,
I think something that's interesting for Gonzaga fans that we
have listening to start off with is just like, like
(11:20):
you said, it's been three and a half years that
Drew has been a part of the program. Obviously you've
known him longer since you recruited him back in high school,
but just coaching him, I think a nice way to
start the show off with you is just like what
it's been like, the hard parts, the easy parts, and
then overall just the evolution that you've seen from him.
You know, over these last three and a half years. Truthfully,
there hasn't really been a whole lot of hard parts.
(11:42):
I mean, he's he's been awesome. I mean, and I'm
not here to kiss his rear ind on his podcast
or whatever, but he really has been awesome. And he
looked at what he's accomplished here at Gonzaga and what
we've accomplished why he's been here at Gonzaga. Um uh
(12:03):
and still yet to accomplish, you know, I hope. So,
I mean, he's on part of I truly believe it's
being one of the greatest players in college basketball, not
just here at gun Saggot was just you know, I
not as up on the statistics of it. They become
dizzeying after a while. But all his wins um the
(12:26):
fact that he's been arguably I don't know that he's
been first team All American all these years, but he's
been right there. Um and as his numbers continue to
climb with points and rebounds. But I mean, I would
just start with the winds and the accomplishments and the
like I said before, you know, when we finally moved
off that number one ranking. I mean I literally think
(12:47):
he was ranked number one longer in his career than
he wasn't, you know, weeks in his career, which is insane.
I mean, that's an insane Yeah, you know, accomplished. You
mentioned the winning though, like I feel like from an
outside perspective and only know and for a little bit
of time, like the winning is the main thing that
kind of gets overlooked when like people talk about Drew
(13:08):
Timmy like, oh, his game don't translate to the NBA,
like YadA, YadA, YadA, but they never emphasize it like
he really is, you know, he he compliments winning at
Gonzaga at a high level, no question, and not just
a Gonzaga I mean he does it on the highest
level of college basketball, and and I I think he'll
(13:29):
he'll do the same thing at the next level. You know,
everybody's just trying to plug him in on something, and
I just keep telling all the head coaches and gms
and I'm buddies with like, Look, I mean, the kids
a winner. He's gonna figure it out. He'll be fine.
Just get him, get him there. He's super super competitive,
and his feel for the game and way score so
easy will trump any anything that you know, any deficiencies
(13:54):
that you guys might find in a workout and all
this other stuff. Appreciate the nice words coach, really warms
the soul. But kind of just moving on anyway, back
to the showing on ball screens and hustle back and transition.
That's the payment, that's the payment. But kind of shifting
gears a little bit. Uh. Obviously, this year's team hasn't had,
(14:16):
you know, start that you know we would have thought
we had. I think it's been a great start, but
I guess not one that we've been accustomed to in
our time together, so just kind of being the like,
you know, the boss and the head guy, Like, how
has it been adjusting? Which is how much change we've
had from our roster from this past year and the
success to this year, and kind of how the learning
curve has been a little different for this group. Yeah,
(14:39):
you know, it's interesting, uh, Drew, I mean I would say,
you know, I think we all felt like a man
like we got to apologize for the start, but like
in reality, like, first of all those expectations were we're
accomplished and set by you and all the players before
you and our staff and all that we did, all
(14:59):
that work to establish those expectations right over the last
couple years, and so yeah, I mean I think it
was just somewhat normal and human for us too. I
mean it was impossible to to continue to to hit it,
you know, of our games winning, especially when we're changing
(15:20):
out everything we changed out. And Uh. The cool thing
that that I would say right now that I think
you would agree with this is just how much better
we are now than we were in November. You know.
When that's that's what college basketball is, right, It's about
improving and if you're that's why you got into coaching, man,
(15:41):
was to try to teach and to try to help
guys reach their full potential. I mean, I know other
people think it's more about the whatever, the accolades and
all that, and it certainly wasn't for me. I was
just a little, you know dude from a high school
in Oregon that that I just wanted to be involved
in athletics. Man, I just wanted to and loved coach
(16:03):
because it fed my crazy ass competitive you know nature.
And so what I see is, you know, us on
a kind of a growth plane, which is which is
is really really cool. You think back to uh, you
know Corey and uh Joel and and uh Jalen's squad
(16:24):
and and uh, I mean we were good day one.
I mean the first game we smacked Kansas pretty good
down in Florida. Yeah, that was more almost just about
maintaining we were at such a high level. This one's
been fun because I mean we were kind of a
mess early and you know, we're a lot better now. Coach,
(16:44):
what's made you? What made you a mess early on
that now you know you've seen the improvement a little
bit more experienced. Me and Drew talked a lot about
in the beginning of the show, you know, first five episodes,
how it was going to be a big progression towards
this time of the year, and then come post season place,
So what was it like early on with no Chet,
no Corey, no Jalen, no and or them hard, all
these guys leaving to now what what is it now again?
(17:08):
And my opinion, First of all, I mean, and it's
changed drafting. We were turning the ball over at the
highest rate we've ever turned it over here. I mean,
we posted some twenty two's I think three's. The other
night in a high possession game, a really really high
possession game against Portland's turned the ball over four times.
(17:30):
And I mean our offense, primarily because it Drew is
so efficient that if we don't turn it over, we're
gonna you know, get buckets or get to the free
throw line or something. So literally, just shopping that thing
down has been, my opinion, the biggest factor. And then
I would just say, just you know, us, just you know,
(17:52):
as a staff and as the players and as a
team just figuring out rolls. You know, right, we're trying
to I think people recognize the same names coming back,
but they had to change their roles. You know, Andrew
did so much for us last year. Chat was such
an entity that you know, these guys were in different rules.
(18:13):
Anton played a different rule. Rosier, we you know he
he had a nice little gig last year with Andrew
Hamlin every day and you can find threes. Now we
need more out of him, Julian, same deal. I mean
it was nice when Andrew and Spoon feed all the
up and now we need more out of those guys.
So I think I probably just kind of say those
two factors, Yeah, getting them on board and up to speed,
(18:36):
like accustomed to a new role that they're not maybe
as used to. But like you mentioned the turnovers, is
defense another thing? Like what would you say, are a
couple of those other things that you know heading into
the postseason, like can really solidify postseason success, Like you know,
as far as us moving forward or pat based remember
or whatever, you have no moving forward from from this
point on. Now that guys are establishing, you know, roles
(18:59):
better than they were early on. Yeah, I mean I
think continuing not to lose sight of just the turnovers
and all that, you know, and uh, keeping those at
a minimum because that just seems to be a really
really big statistic for this particular team. And then are
are you know what we've really been trying to hammer
on h lately is you know, just driving our d
(19:19):
E R down those points per possession on the defensive end,
it's kind of been climbing ever so slightly and those
things that you know, obviously you're not gonna be perfect
and guys are gonna get you know, hit shots and
and nke buckets and the other guys a cross from
your well coached and all that, but there's we can
shrink some things down. A lot of them have been
(19:40):
just communication wise. We have a team that just outside
of Drew, you know, um doesn't talk. They don't like that.
They're very they don't talk at uh you know, a
team meal. What's they don't why not? What's their deal? Man?
(20:04):
It's it's an epidemic. We had this discussion. We had
a recruit on this weekend. We were talking with the
parents and stuff like, can you imagine like the thirty
forty years from now when people come back and look
at this, uh time, or let's just say and I
don't believe in this crap. Let's say aliens came down
or whatever and just saw us as humans. I mean
(20:25):
just and then just like somebody was saying, we pet
our phones. You know, I've this, And I told him,
like we were in San Francisco a week ago or
ten days ago or whenever that was, and I was
out for a walk pre game or whatever. Three times
three times dudes almost ran into me because they were
(20:45):
just on their phones as you're walking. And I'm just like,
what are we doing? Man? You didn't push them away
or give him the bird on your walk by No, no, no,
I'm just saying, so back to this communication deal. I mean,
there's no question that that's a huge part of this.
And and you know, and all we're trying to do
(21:07):
is you know, call out switches, call out ball screens,
call out our coverages, and and it has been far
and away the biggest challenge for the staff, uh with
this group. That and just kind of general body language,
kind of energy related. Do you think there's a direct
correlation from the cell phone usage off the court to
(21:30):
the lack of communication on the corret like you actually
think that there's like a true correlation. He's a big
believer in that. Do you do you not no, No,
I actually do to Like my last year, last my
fifth year, last year, I I that's all I was
thinking about. I was like, you know, you end practice
in the first thing all of my teammates did was
(21:51):
you know, you under your locker and you're on your
phone for fifteen minutes and before even untire shoes. So
I'm like, I, look, you have a little bit of
an old soul where I feel I lean more towards
what you're thinking. But I'm just curious, Like if you
think it's a direct correlation on the court, I think
thousand percent, I really do. And I think back, like listen,
coaching a Gonzaga is like the greatest gig in the
(22:12):
world because you get awesome guys like him and a
bunch of other guys that, like you wouldn't even realize.
Some of the conversations post practice in the locker room
might be some of the most memorable things I've ever
had in my coaching career. Just literally. We had this
kid name on Hill nun Yez. He still comes around.
He's here in the off season. Drew knows him and
(22:36):
without punch the clock, they'd come in. He David Stockton
and uh Um Oh god, who else was uh in
on that? Uh And and one or two other players
would get in these huge arguments about Jordan's and Lebron
(22:56):
and it was just every day it was just comedy,
or they'd bring up another topic and it was just
like the debate team, and it was so interesting to
hear their takes on on everything. And all they do
is they'd argue for forty five minutes before they'd even
get in the showers or change or whatever, and it
was just classic. They don't do that anymore. I do
get I do get yelled at to put clothes on,
(23:18):
though I like to walk around in my underwear after practice. Yeah,
I said, I do get yelled at every now and
then because I like to just roam around the locker
room my underwear and stuff and just talk to everyone.
And you always tell me, like, get to your lockers.
So maybe that's why maybe you feel allowed some more
freedom with closed apartment. You know, you think that would
change on court communication, Drew, I don't, maybe, coach the
(23:42):
I was gonna save this topic for segment too, but
since you brought it up, we might as well just
hit it now. Like the dynamic of like this phone thing,
this new wave of players, this new generation, like you've
had to adapt probably to some certain certain level. Like
how how would you say if at all you have adapted,
like to kind of meet you know, you know, to
bond better with these kids and like still coach them
(24:03):
at the you know, the level you coach at. I mean,
I think you just try. I hope I've been more
patient with some things. I mean, I try to. Again,
do you want to kind of keep your core values
and kind of draw the line right there and then
like you know, I don't, like I think ten years ago,
I wouldn't. I'd be a mass if I saw him
on their phones when I walked in there, you know,
(24:25):
an hour before the game or whatever. And you know now,
I'm like whatever, just as long as you're ready to
go when you know off and all that things like that,
you know, and also you know, uh, you know, before
a film session or things like that. I would like
to though. I got this from a buddy of mine,
(24:46):
another coach at another uh eye level school that they
they'll do uh team dinners and stuff and have all
the kids, all the players, staff, everybody throw their phone
in a little bag. I think that, I mean, I
think we're gonna start looking at that dad moving forward again.
Just there's come on, I thought you were on my am,
(25:08):
but I know how Drew feels. That's here. But here's why.
And I'm not even at these team dinners. These are
the ones you know on the road. I think they're
gonna really miss these times. These times, these times are
we're running out of them, man, I mean they don't.
That's the one thing that I tried to impart on
all these guys these games. He's you know, playing in
(25:28):
the kennel that this. You know, we go three or
sixty five days a year, and everybody wants to do
all these individual workouts and it's like, dudes, it is
about being the best on game night, not so and
you have to cherish these deals. They're so you know,
we have thirty five, but the best thirty seven games
all year. But yet you know, these these guys are
(25:50):
working out three fifty three and sixty days a year,
and it's like, I mean, there's only thirty five of
these things. And and so I think these team meals,
like especially for something like Drew's careers, I mean, you know,
these are some good times where everybody's together and maybe
where you just like, can we have an hour where
just to put their phone away and like we'll give
(26:11):
them right back to you at it turn into a
spoken without the phone. It really does comes off like
like a little drug thing. It's like take this drug
away from Mr. Here's your drug back, like an hour.
Like it's kind of sad. I agree with you, Coach.
I hate I know the young people that are like
or listening to be like what is this guy? No,
(26:32):
I'm twenty four, but I agree with Coach few. I
mean they kind of just get in the way of
like people, the social dynamic and like you're saying, like
there there's not as many Jordan and Lebron debates during
the meal or post practice, like because you know, dudes
are snapchat and girls after practice, you know what I mean,
Like it's just a different world. It's okay, um, and
(26:52):
you know, you know what. I don't want to born
you too much, but after raising four kids, now what
we always found when we you know, kick them off
the video games or kick them off the TV or
whatever or no, my god, just throw a fit and
then an hour later, like they'd be building a fort
or something. They'd be having the greatest day ever playing
doing something outside, you know, tackle football or something, and
(27:16):
they're laughing and they're all, you know why, they're playing
video games. They're all salty and surly. So I kind
of think we will have the same effect. But these guys, Yeah,
I guess we'll wait and see. Yeah, all right, we
gotta take our last break here, but don't go anywhere.
When we come back, We're gonna get you the coach
if you start as a coach, how the Zags utilize analytics,
(27:36):
the NBA guys, that coach view has had, what's changed
over the years, and coaches systems, time with USA Basketball
and so much more. All coming up right when we
come back. All right, we're back on episode of leven
to give Me Timmy podcast with You're Timmy myself Noah
Buono here with Gonzaga head coach Mark Few coach. Um,
I want to start off this segment just a quick
question about your coaching career. You know, you've been a
(27:58):
Gonzaga your whole life, but you were a g A
at Gonzaga, you know early on is how you got
your startup? Like, what what do you think during your
early years was your biggest breakthrough in coaching. That was
a catalyst in helping you climb the coaching ladder and
obviously eventually, you know, becoming the head coach at NSIRE
for the last twenty five plus years. Uh you know,
(28:19):
I mean I did I think when I first came
up here from the high school ranks down in Oregon.
I literally my first two years here I got a
fifteen hundred dollar stipend all year, so I go for bucks.
I was lucky. Dan Munson was at that time you
had two full time assistance and a guy that they
(28:41):
called part time, and now I was the part time guy,
so you weren't on salary or anything or no benefits.
And then I was able to uh take graduate classes.
So but at Gonzaga in Oregon, three graduate classes you
had to teach one, uh class. So I taught flag football,
(29:04):
I taught uh tennis, I taught hoops, I taught I
think there was a weight training in there or whatever,
and uh I had a blast doing that, and uh
it was somewhat illegal. I can probably met thirty five
years later. But I had this deal, like here's a deal. Okay,
(29:25):
just show up the class. We're just gonna play games.
And nobody writes a bad Uh. You know that thing
you do at the end of course evaluation, you know,
you get to fill out they're supposed to be like, hey,
it's sealed and it goes right to the dean or whatever.
I said, I'm reading all of those, so, uh, you're
all getting as I gave an aid to everybody in
(29:47):
every class. Uh, but I said, you better give me
a good review, and so that that, you know, kind
of starting with that, and you're working like a hundred
hour weeks or hundred twenty hours, just grinding. And that's
back we had VCRs. You had to stack them all
together to make films, like put seven of them on top,
and you just that was my job, was doing a
(30:07):
lot of that stuff. And it just, I mean it
tested your love a basketball. I mean it really really did.
And you certainly weren't doing it for money, and you
certainly weren't doing it for accolades because we were so
bad back then. But man, it really challenged how much
you love the game and you love doing the coaching
thing and then just being around the guys and being
(30:28):
around the staff and trying to solve stuff. Man, do
you want to be my teacher because I could use it.
I could use a quick and easy a. I'd say,
you can teach me some flag football side and my
deal because you you know you that was the other thing.
I was quarterback and flag football, so I had to
quarterback and they all had to kind of run around
and do all that. Were you as big of a
(30:49):
tennis guy, knowing how much you like pickle ball now?
Back then? I mean I play a little. I could
play a little bit back then. Yeah, it's mostly just
letting them hit instead of listening to people talk. All
the other classes. As people are talking, you know, you
gotta get them out. Yeah, gotta get him out and
get him moving. But we ate, Um no, back to
the I mean there were times. It's funny Dan months
(31:10):
and I talked about that. When we were both assistants.
We worked for a really uh uh a great guy,
great storyteller, just great persona named Dan Fitzgerald. Um it
was a head coach, but man, he challenged us and
especially in preparation and scouting and all that, and holy smokes,
there were days back then when Dan and I would
(31:33):
look at each other and just go, man, let's just
go sell insurance or something. Why are we doing It's hard?
And we were we weren't we were we were below
the middle of the road back then. You know what
makes you stick it out? Though? In that time you're like,
you know, I'd rather just keep eating ship and then
sorry excuse my language, but you know, and then go
(31:54):
and like hopefully it pays off, which obviously your investment
paid off. But like at the time, you know, how
do you stick it out? I think you just kind
of of the you know, athletics and stuff. I mean,
and you you love being involved in athletics, you love coaching,
you love and back to like you didn't get into
(32:14):
it to get rich. I got into it just so
I could stay involved, you know. I played all three
sports in high school. Loved him and tried to play
a little, tried to play a little baseball and basketball,
and right started college and then got all banged up,
and then I just wanted to do something to keep
me involved in athletics, you know, And so coaching was
(32:36):
at and so I think that's it. You know, when
you find something you really love doing and you feel
like you're I don't know, halfway decent at it, then
you just try to stick with it. Um. I'd say
being a Hall of Famer makes you more than halfway
decent at it. A future Hall of Famer, you don't
got to be humble on the on the top. I
(33:00):
don't know about any of that. I mean, I just
when you start, it's it's humbling now when you walk
in here, especially when you walk into our practice facility
and you see those guys up on the wall that
we've had here. I mean, I don't think I think
we should probably start every week of practice looking at
those guys, you know, and just man, it's been awesome
to just be around those guys to coach them and
(33:24):
uh or even up here in the coach's offices, we
have every team picture and I love just stopping out
there and just remembering some of our walk ons and
remembering some of those nine ten guys that were just
I mean, they were cold in some cases, held our
team together, you know when we hit some rough patches. Um,
(33:44):
just stuff like that. Yeah, speaking of those NBA guys,
what was it like when as a head coach your
first player went to the NBA. Then, Also what it's
like now when you just put so many people in
the NBA, and especially now with the one and Done's
like just kind of how has that been as a
coach just seeing that and just being a part of that. Yeah. Um,
that first run we made in Richie from actually I
(34:10):
was able to make a roster and he wasn't drafted
or anything, but he was able to make a roster.
And then Dan Dicko was our first, you know, outside
of stocks way back when, our first first round draft pick,
and so that was a that was a big moment,
uh for the program. And then you know, we had
we had some other second rounders in there, and then
(34:31):
we really started hitting our stride, you know when we
obviously Adam was he was up for first pick of
the draft and and then he got into the Lintic
years and then Domas Sabonis and uh, which I mean,
how how good is doma spin man? He double doubles,
(34:52):
he's at he's probably gonna start in the All Star
Game too, and he should. Yeah, I mean I just
think back to watching him in practice every day. He
was just a machine gene and he was just so
competitive and uh, just so tough. And then he'd get
done with practice and he'd go to team meal and
(35:14):
then literally he would come back half an hour an
hour later, and he would do his own individual work
by his own with one of the coaches and then
and it was interesting. He would always he would just
he was smart enough to just like pick one thing
that day. You know, I am gonna work on my
you know, he's left hand off, so I'm gonna work
on my right hand or somewhere, I'm gonna work on
my three point shot. I'm gonna work. You just do
(35:36):
that and he do it hard for thirty forty minutes
and then he was done. He did that every stinking day.
I mean after practice, you think about it, after he
kind of cooled down and all that, and I just
that drive and that competitive fire that you'd have. The
other funny great story about Domus is, uh, God, every
(35:57):
time you pull him out of a game, he'd come
walking over the bench and he'd just be, I assumed,
swearing like a champ and away just cut and loose
or whatever. And he was just so I just stayed
away from every time we pulled him out. You know,
might had like three two fouls in the first five
minutes or whatever tim you know, and he's just then
once he'd sit down, you go down and talk to him,
(36:19):
and he was fine. It was like he was totally normal,
but he was just so intense in the moment that
you know, and that you just had to give him
that little then Tommy go down and talk to him.
Got two fouls in the first half. I know, I'm
getting pull That's that does make me a little mad.
I might cuss a little bit too on my way
(36:40):
to the bench. That's it's not a good feeling. It's
not just you, it's anybody I know. But it's just
like getting two fouls. I switched probably five six years. Guy,
I I don't mind putting guys back in with two now.
You know. It's interesting like people say, well, why don't
you play guys with two fouls? Like it's not a
lot of times it's not that you don't trust Drew
(37:03):
you or you don't trust Domeless. It's like I don't
trust those officials that are out there right now, you know.
And I don't mean trust is a bad word. I
don't know if they're gonna dang you for some tiki
tak one, I don't know. I don't know if there's
just you're just gonna be around the ball and they
call your third on you, you know, and and uh,
well the worst is if he's driving to the basket
(37:25):
and someone takes a charge on him and there's like
a controvert and then his third comes on that. That
that's what I always think of. That that would does suck? Yeah,
or a ball screen, you know. I mean, there's so
many of these. You can call every one of them
by the letter of the law. But like, so it's
it's more, there's a it's it's there's more to it
than just you know, why don't you play guys with two?
(37:48):
You know? I have a follow up about, um, the
NBA players that you've coached. Um, when you're recruiting now,
like you're obviously looking for a specific level of player,
whether it's international or it's you know, in the States,
but um, you know, having coached over twenty I think
twenty four players you've coached, I've touched the NBA at
some point, Like or when you're recruiting these guys, are
(38:11):
you looking at dudes that you personally think you know,
your staff personally thinks like this is a guy that
not only is gonna help Gonzaga, but like probably gonna play,
probably gonna play in the NBA. Like you know, I know,
you guys just had Zoom Diallo on campus, Like I've
scouted him my first season scouting this summer, and I
look at him and I'm like, what that guy looks like?
You know, they play in the NBA. But I'm curious
(38:32):
from your perspective on just like you know, how you
guys recruit people, um from that lens. Yeah, good question.
I don't think like I'm we look like, okay, why
would you know we're gonna just try to get guys
that are gonna be one and duns or two and
duns or whatever. But I do I do in order
to play here anymore, you need to be a guy
(38:55):
that we think after you spend one too three four
years here that you're gonna playing the NBA. I mean,
that's the level that this program is at and it
needs to be at. And so yeah, you kind of
project them as such that way, you know, And just yeah,
I mean I think I look at all those guys
(39:17):
and say, here's how I think your career is gonna go.
And by the way, let me cite you this guy
and this guy and this guy who have done it
before you. So we're not just you know, this isn't
a dream or we're not just making this up. I mean,
these dudes before you have kind of done this, so
we we I've been doing this long enough. We think
(39:38):
you can do the same. Yeah. So I mean kind
of speaking of how you have to recruit guys that
you think can playing in the league, how would you
say that you've had to change as a coach over
the years, which is how much change has happened over
your career as a coach. I mean, to be honest
with you, Drew, I don't I don't know if I've
had change like that way with in regards to the
(40:01):
NBA stuff that I think you know this have and
been through it and all that. My biggest thing with
the NBA and guys going to the NBA and all
that is just as as long as everybody is listening
to the real voices out there and not getting caught
up in all the Yeah. I didn't mean NBA. I
meant more of just like you as a coach in college,
(40:23):
not with like NBA guys. Just you're coaching your style
over the years, Like how it's changed. Man, It's totally changed.
I remember when I first started we were running flex
and we were really I mean, it was like a
set offense, you know, we had all these reds and that,
and then I kind of switched us into motion, you know,
and and and we did that, and then we shifted
(40:44):
to and we probably played zone back then, and and
really soft man demn are are. Our defense was not great,
you know. Back then it was mostly our offense that
we were surviving on um and then we when Roni
Turreyoff got here, we almost went exclusively to high low ah.
(41:10):
And then about after that we got in and then
when when Morrison came here, we were back to you know,
running him off screens and getting him and things and
him and Ravio and but also throwing high low to
JP uh. And then then we kind of shifted into
our ball screen mode around that, you know, coinciding with
(41:33):
Kelly Olynok and Elias Harris and those guys were just terrific, uh,
you know, but that we could play through him, I
think we kind of figured out we could. I think
we were before everybody quite frankly on this kind of
initiating offense with our bigs like we do with Drew
Um and Kelly was phenomenal at it and then it
just kind of rolled after that. Domus was phenomenal at it.
(41:56):
Ah and then but then to be out quite honest,
like in seventeen, the year we played Caroline in the
National Championship game, that was just m We had bigs
that you could just pound the ball inside to, I mean, Karnowski,
Zack Collins, j three. The Gonzaga big thing has been
a staple for you. Has that been purposeful? Um? Like
(42:17):
you said at the forefront of you know, getting the
offense through the big man, like, was that purposeful? And
it kind of just was natural because of the players
you had. Yeah, I mean, I think we do the
best at adapting to what we have. And we we
had exceptional bigs, and we had biggs that we you know,
knew we could put the ball in their hands and
(42:37):
then and they're gonna make great decisions and it makes
it kind of hard to guard. Um. It's funny though,
when we that first ten fifteen years, we used to
call it guard you up here, you know, because we
had Dan dick Ow and Blake step and even before them,
Matt's at TAngelo and he's these guards, you know, and
(43:01):
and uh Adam Morrison and then it kind of switched.
I mean, now if you really look, you know, I
mean Ruey and and BC and Domis and Drew and
Jet and but you know we've also had Andrew and
Jalen and Corey and all that. So right, um, coach,
(43:21):
I've heard you say something about John Jobs. John Jacobs
when he was in the program, he brought along the
analytical piece UM, and I think it would be interesting
for you to just explain to you know, listeners, how
you guys utilize UM the analytics piece. Have you know?
I heard you say you guys drill it home now
you make players aware of it. Like, can you just
talk about, you know, the addition of that dynamic to
(43:43):
your team, how it's helped you guys. Yeah, and that
that know, was when that coincided with when we really
started drilling down on our defense, and that was when
we John was great at and as an interpreter for
like a dinosaurs or guy who doesn't understand any of
(44:05):
this stuff. So he was a good li aison and
he David communicated it in the proper mechanism that I
could like, Okay, I'll listen to that. You know, I
ain't gonna listen to that, but I'll listen to that. So, um,
you know, at that time, we were still playing some
zone and he would we would always share like, okay, look,
(44:27):
these guys are you know, I know we want to
play all man, but like, these guys are showing analytically
that they're just awful against zone, so we gotta mix
some zone in or these guys have shown analytically against
this particular ball screen coverage that they can't they're not
nearly as good as if you do this. And so
(44:49):
we started, you know, applying that almost primarily, um, pretty
much primarily exclusively on the defensive end. You know, I
think we've always felt great and are the numbers match
what we're doing offensively? So I don't get two into
(45:10):
you know, analyzing what we're doing offensively. Yeah, it's always
scary after a game on the white board and it's
your defensive accountability for forty up there, and uh, you
never want to be in the top four. Because it's
the first time he gets a look at it, and
so everyone's just sitting in there waiting for him to
come for the post game film and he walks in,
(45:30):
takes his quick look at the board and if you're
in that top four, man you are, you are shipping
bricks and in your chair. Let me tell you, is
that a rough film day for those top four guys?
Explaining what defensive accountability is tho, Yeah, defensive accountability is
kind of I think it's kind of like a g
you made stat a little bit just from the fact
that like if you know, if you play good defense
(45:52):
and you can test and the guy makes a shot,
it does not count for you. But I don't know
if you don't do the right ball screen coverage, you
don't communicate a switch, you don't execute a choke down,
you don't block out, and your man's scores you can
go ahead and tell you those points up to your accountability.
So it's a lot of easy ways to get get
points out. It's your name real quick and uh, I
(46:14):
would say in my past, I've been pretty pretty keen
at just getting somehow make working my way up to
the top of the list. But I've been doing better
this year. I've been staying in the bottom half, which
has been pretty good. So the less points the better. Yeah,
the more points, it's it's bad and it's per forty.
So they can get jacked up really quick. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
(46:36):
but it's all based on like like Drew said, like
if if you get through the screen and you challenge
the guy's shot, the guy hits a tough shot. I mean,
there's nothing they we don't ding you. But yeah, we're
supposed to be switching and you don't switch, and the
guy hits a three, that's that's three on you. You know, Yeah,
that's fair. That's a fair coach, No on no one.
(46:58):
I think it would be right on par with our
staff here. I mean I love the I The analytics
part of it is like you know, like because you're
saying with the phones and then obviously this analytic thing
you'll hear like a lot of younger coaches in college
basketball and even the NBA really grasp it's really like
(47:19):
just it takes over. And you always hear in the
media like, oh, like what about the eye test, like
you know how you probably what's your balance eye test
analytics of you know, balancing the two. I mean I
lean much much more to the eye test, you know,
and feel um like, I like so much of the
(47:39):
NBA they do they love to do drop coverage, right
and they just say, well, we just wanted to get
tough too, and they'll sit there and watch Chris Paul
or somebody shoot pull ups on that drop coverage over
and over again. I mean, he's gonna make you, gonna
make it. I mean, I'm sorry, like I ain't gonna
sit and watch this. I mean we're gonna draft him.
We're gonna do something because that might work for those
(48:00):
other teams that ain't working on him, you know. And
and uh so I I I think that's one thing
probably that we do a pretty good at gonzagas we
adapt our coverages and and Drew will tell you, um
uh and I started this and probably fifteen I think
(48:20):
we'll we'll have a plan A, and a lot of
times Plan A doesn't turn out or not a lot
of times I'd say there, you know, whatevert seventy or something.
But when it doesn't, we have Plan B, you know,
and sometimes we even have planned C. And we'll go
over those and and the guys understand plan as this
will ask me, what's Plan A. Planny is this? But
(48:42):
if that doesn't work, plan B is this? And so
you go into this thing thinking like maybe you can
do some sort of coverage on this player or this
team and they start schooling you. Then, I mean you
got to get out of it. And uh, you know,
I think back to that Alabama game. I mean we
were doing something then we just said I just said
(49:02):
screw this, let's just start happened, Brandon Miller. Yeah, still
almost didn't work. Yeah, I hear you. At least it
worked the last two or three. Yeah, you talked about
USA basketball. Just how much does that help you as
a coaches, being around other great coaches and NBA players,
(49:22):
And how much of that are you able just to
kind of bring back and give to us just because
those the two games are just so different. Yeah, I
mean it's been huge. It has been huge all the
way back to my first uh stint. I mean I
always remember it was myself, Billy Donovan and shock A Smart,
uh and we were we got chipped down to this
(49:42):
little little tiny town out in the middle of Brazil,
uh uh somewhere and uh gosh, we had Jeremy Grant
and Marcus Smart and uh all kind of guys on
that team and and uh but I it was it
was great to just sit and you know, watch somebody else,
(50:03):
like the one thing you don't to do when your
head coach. A lot is get to watch somebody else
coach or be part of that or you know, we're
just so busy caught up with all our stuff that
I mean when you're practicing and then games and stuff.
And I remember at that time Billy was pressing a
lot so with Shaka and we didn't we weren't pressing
at all, and it was it was really interesting to
see that, you know. And then consequently they were interested
(50:27):
in what Gonzaga was doing. And then there's just this
total sharing of ideas and concepts and and then that
now then you know, as it morphed into being a
head coach of the PanAm team and then then being um,
you know, kind of a back assistant on on the
you know, the latest Olympic run and now to be
(50:50):
able to be on this staff for this next Olympic run.
But being like in all the meetings the last two
or three years with coach Pop, coach Kerr and and
just sharing ideas in there. I mean, that was probably
the best thing we did over the last two summers,
was just being able to you know, break down practice
and breakdown way you thinking. Pop is so good about
(51:11):
including everybody, you know, and asking opinions and then and
then kind of kind of like what I like to
do with my staff, kind of in a Socratic forum,
arguing and have them arguing for their way. You know,
even if he, like, even if Pop felt like he
agreed with you, he'd make you argue for it, you know,
and challenge it a little bit. And uh, I mean
(51:33):
I kind of do the same thing with my staff. Yeah.
But speaking in the USA, there was a clip of
you running sprints because I think the coaches lost something
versus the players, and I must say I was not
impressed with your effort. Coach. I thought you had a
lot more to give than what you showed. Is that
the one where Steve and I were in last place
by long ways and kind of a long long way
(51:56):
you work out every day, that was a deal where
the I think the coaches jumped in or Pop said
something and Steve right at the other end, and so
we we did get a late jump. Uh, But yeah,
I don't we didn't give it a great effort. So
sometimes the joints are a little slow to warm up. Um,
(52:20):
all right, we gotta wrap it up sooner, Coach, I
want to ask just two more quick ones. If you
had any players you've coached that you think, would you
know while you're coaching him, you're like, damn that guy,
would you know? He'd be a hell of a coach.
Anybody that comes to mind? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got
a bunch of him. Yeah. Yeah, we actually have one
on staff right now, but or I mean not on staff.
(52:41):
He's finishing up his degree. He's been hurt, he still
wants to, you know, get back to playing in the NBA.
And Zach Norvelle, I think he's gonna be I think
he's got a future just because he's he's he's positive,
and he's upbeat, and he he brings great energy and
he's got a good feel and yet I think he's
a good communicator. But we've had tons of them, you know.
(53:04):
It's just I think a lot of them see our
lifestyle and how many hours and all that, and they're like,
ain't doing that? Yeah, I would love to do it
without the recruiting. That's my kind of thing. But you
can't not do that. That's the biggest part of it.
Almost so I think recruiting, I would I would want
(53:25):
to do it, no, But obviously Drew would be terrific
at it um Chet would be terrific. Chester would be
a good one. You know. Uh, Andrew's brilliant. But Andrew
would not put up with the recruiting, not at all.
Not what makes you say check coach. He had something
(53:47):
about like just on the court while he picked up
on things faster. He's a quick learner, but he's also
a willing learner. I mean, the dude just is I mean,
he was down here and I know he's doing the
same thing at Oak City. He's down at your facility
twenty hours a day. I mean you got to literally
kick him out of here every day. And he's just working.
(54:08):
He's watching film, he's he's in the weight room, he's
doing individual work, he's doing all this. But he's all
he's very inquisitive and he was never you know, and
I think if you're inquisitive, I mean that's kind of
I mean, way back when at a way, way, way,
way way lesser level, that's how I l was, was like, well,
why are we running this play? You know? And well
because of this, this, this and this, you know, and
(54:30):
why are we doing this? Because this is how you
attack an ond front zone. And uh, I think he's
got a lot of that. Uh you know, yeah, Um, well,
I think we're gonna cover the n I L or
anything that you want to hit on the nis wax
on what do you got, coach. I think that in
(54:55):
I l UH is a really good thing and something
that um, we probably needed to address a long time
going the n c A. But the way the combination
of that and the transfer portal is, I mean, I
hope we can get it back on the tracks right now,
but it's an absolute disaster right now. So that's where
(55:17):
I totally disagree with Jake because again he I love
Jay and he's a really good friend. Um, but he's
not He's not on the ground right now. He's viewing
it from thirty thousand feet And I mean, I I
just think it's a mess right now because it's unregulated
(55:38):
and agents are involved, and in many cases it's not
you know, I think everybody thought it was such a
great idea that the athletes should get advice. It's fine
if they're getting advice from the really good agents that
are handling all the pro guys, but there's a whole
mix of youngsters that would love to get into the
(55:58):
game in the agency game that are handling a lot
of people and promising a lot of things and saying
a lot of things. And I mean, as we just
witnessed down here, I guess with this Florida situation football thing,
these things aren't coming to fruition like they're all this stuff,
and so it's kind of you know, all of it's
(56:21):
kind of mixed together. And we we definitely need some
sort us humans need some sort of regulation. Uh, when
we're on earth here, you know, I can't have ever good.
We've got to regulate the phones. We gotta regulate n
I l that right, Well, you do you think it should?
I mean when he's here's the other thing that's fascinating
(56:44):
about some of these guys. And I am a total capitalist,
as Drew can attest to, I am a big capitalist.
I don't want regulation a lot in my life. I
mean I would. But here here's the thing. If we
if you want true capitalism like they're talking about, then
you also can't sit here and talk about, you know,
sharing all your money with all the other programs that
(57:06):
don't make any money, right, I mean, and that and
so on one side they're talking socialism, but then on
the other side, they're talking capitalism, and it's just like, now,
wait a second here, okay, for instance, here again zag
and men's basketball is the only program that even comes
close to making any money, you know, So yeah, I
mean it's it's fine, this dude should get a lot
(57:28):
of money in N I L and all that. But
when you start saying, well you gotta give all had
this to that and this to that and this to
that and this to that, it's just like WHOA. And
I think you're you're seeing some of the A d
s and some of the conference commissioners kind of saying
WHOA on on that front. You know, if we're gonna
do this N I L thing, then we better back
off this socialism thing. Were you referencing j Billis his
(57:55):
comments on our show or just conversations that you've had
with him this. I've had conversations with Jay, but I've
also and he's great and and I totally totally respect
his take on this, but again, uh, you know, when
you're boots on the ground and and hearing you know,
fortunately again saga, we don't have this. When you hear
(58:16):
these teams that these kids come in at the end
of the year, I'll go in the transfer portal and
go to get see what they're worth is at some
other school or somebody's making them off or somewhere else,
and then they come back to the original school and say, hey,
I'm gonna need this to stay. I don't know how
that could be good for college athletics or anything. I
(58:38):
mean that, that's just a little bit disgusting in my opinion,
So show, I'd love to hear your guy's opinions on that.
I would reference it. My wife as a listener of
your you all's podcasts, I am not I was, Uh,
she was playing at one at home, I think, or
(59:00):
maybe in the car when we were riding together, and
I happen to be listening to that part when you're
talking to j about it, and it was fascinating, it
was thank you, it was really really good. We gotta
get you. We gotta turn you into a regular listener.
Maybe when you get away from Drew once and for all,
you'll you'll tune in. I think he here's a lot
of my podcast takes in the locker room and everything.
It has absolutely nothing to about Drew. In fact, I
(59:21):
would listen to Drew seven because I enjoy the heck
out of it and it has everything to do is
Drew can attest to my total of lack of uh
understanding how to even get a podcast on my phone.
I was quite thank god for because that was quite
the show. I would I had listen to it all
(59:43):
the time if I could, but I have no way
to understand that access that I don't have the patience
to sit here and have you guys tell me um
coach you we gotta wrap it up. I know you
guys gotta get to practice. Man, this was awesome, long overdue.
Appreciate you coming on. I probably gonna have to do
around two because I got fifty more questions I gotta
throw at you sometimes, So we appreciate you, man. Thank you. Yeah. Well,
(01:00:04):
a great job guys. And and Drew. I'm so proud
of you for not f bomb and today. I made
sure before you got I said, we have to watch
our mouths today. Yeah. He gave me a notice. So
that was a little stipend for the deal that we
agreed to earlier. You know what you can miss on
a couple of ball screen coverage is uh uh forward here. Well,
(01:00:28):
thanks guys, that was fun. Thanks so much. We appreciate you.
This has been a presentation of the College Athletes Network
The following is a presentation of the College Athletes Network,
pop coach curR and and just sharing ideas in there.
I mean that was probably the best thing we did
over the last two summers was just being able to
you know, breakdown practice and breakdown way you thinking. What's up? Everybody?
(00:33):
Welcome in the episode of Leven and the Give Me
Timmy Podcast. I'm your host Street Timmy here with my
co host SnO Al Bono and we're on the I
Heart Radio College Athletes Network or you know whatever. You
listen to your podcast. No, what's up? Man? What up?
My boy? As always before we start, thank you everyone
who's support and please make sure you subscribe to the
show so you don't miss any new show releases. Also,
(00:54):
please make sure you follow the podcast page on Instagram
and Twitter at Give Me Timmy Pod. We put video highlights, up,
show updates, all that good stuff. True big one in
stored a man. We got Mark you coming up just
a little bit man, that's crazy, but head hunchhaw Man's
gonna be a good one. Head honcho. So I know
our dedicated listeners subscribers have been asking when he'd come on. Um,
(01:15):
finally we're able to schedule it and get him on.
So that's coming up in just a couple of minutes.
But first, as always, let's recap a couple of games
from last week. Drew b y U crazy game. Nineteen points,
twelve rebounds, four assists, shot fifty from the field, and
obviously the highlight of the game was Julian Strawther's pull
up three at the end. But like, damn, you guys
really didn't look like you were gonna win that thing
(01:36):
and then pulled it out. I ain't gonna lie. They're
sad for not winning that game. Oh my god, Bro,
it's salty as funck man, Like we should not have
won that game, like just their execution down the stretch,
and I mean we saw I saw this TikTok a
(01:56):
video Rominson like back up on the game this and
then he missed the the three and it was like, damn, bro, Like,
but I mean should, Like we've been in should We've
been in a lot of close games and conference especially
this year, and I mean we just battle, and I
(02:17):
mean we were I think we were down ten with
like four and a half minutes left or five or
something like that. Like that's pretty hard to come back
from especially what kind of the way the game was,
and even just you know, like seeing the fans starting
to line up against the wall, like getting ready to
storm the court. Oh, they're ready to blitz you. Motherfucker's
they were coming. It really is just one of those
(02:38):
devastating losses for them, Like you could see just the
energy be sucked out of all of them when the
buzzer rang and they didn't even get a shot off
in the last possession. Yeah, I mean, it made me happy.
I'd love to see it, But I mean, to be honest,
they they sold like we did everything we were supposed
to do. That at the market for a buck fifth,
That's what I'm saying, everything we're supposed to do, But
(03:01):
that shouldn't have happened. Also if like you know, just
like I remember one play they broke the press and
there was like forty seconds left in George drove Ton
and I we were don Tomas Garding when I was
already in the paint on my man, and he drove
into both of us, and it's like, why why are
you going to shoot a contested layup over Ton and
(03:22):
I like, you definitely should just milk as much clock
as you can because at the end of the day,
the clock's friend was our friend, it wasn't theirs. And
he did that and we got the ball and then
we were able to score really quick and then obviously
pressed and trapped. But yeah, I mean that's a that's
a that's some a rail killer right there. I mean,
obviously for us, it was huge. It's a big win.
(03:43):
We needed it. We didn't have that. We didn't start
off the best. They hadn't shot well, and they shot
really well that game, especially being at home, so I
was I was a big one for sure. You guys
offense kind of just stalled late in the second half
and then just you know, by the grace of God,
Hunter Hunter Salas and uh Nolan Hickman hit the two
corner threes. Owen's first I think shot of the game,
(04:06):
like made shot. I think it was three dude. It
was just crazy timing and then you know they turned
the ball over. Like you know, obviously the biggest player
was Julian shot, but you were like loosely twisting that
screen and Jackson Robinson after smoking that, uh, like he
just he went under both ways like you were on
the left side and he was playing underneath and then
(04:28):
you twisted back the other way and he still came under.
And yeah, and Julian said in the postgame, like so
I just shot it, like I worked on and I
mean how to play. We had to play ready to go,
like coach gave us the play call, where like bet
we've ben to run this play and Julian has the
ball and I'm like, I'm just gonna set a drag
like obviously the play is broken, like we just gotta go.
And he went under and I was like, we're reset
(04:50):
this and he he went under it again. I'm like,
no way, And I mean, Julian shot all the time,
and like I don't care who you are, you you
go under on any good shooter. The odds of them
making it go up just exponentially in it was just
such a cash fall and it was just like it
was a great read by him, and I mean takes
balls too, because he wasn't having his best shooting night.
(05:12):
And like you said, you guys did have a play
call that you were gonna run, but in that moment,
it's like you just go with your instincts, and he
went with his instincts and he cashed out regardless of
I think he was like one of seven from three
or two of eight, two of seven from three at
the time when he shot it, so it wasn't like
his best night. But man hit the dagger. So you
go Saturday at home against Portland, you went by thirty.
(05:33):
You only played twenty one minutes, eighteen points, only had
one rebound, which I thought was interesting. But you again
only played twenty one minutes. So I mean, dude, you
can look at the film and literally, I swear Julian
and Malachi would run in front of me and just
like I'd be boxing someone out. So I'm kind of
waiting for the ball, you know, to come in within
my catch radius or I don't wait, have to jump,
(05:55):
and those two fuckers just sprint in and take it
from me. I was like, I was like, good rebounders
of the guards. But yeah, now I feel bad for you,
but like they took him, I wrote I wrote down
in my notes to to remind myself that you you
enjoying have that little rebounding competition you're at. You're at
seven point eight, he's at seven point three. That game, definitely, yeah,
(06:15):
that was a big That was a big swing for
that but yeah, man, it was nice to finally take
care of a team and you know, kind of beat
the breaks off a team like we're supposed to. I mean,
I've been playing like thirty seven minutes the past couple
of games, and like that's cool and all. But like
you love, you love to get a nice little twenty
burger and there every now and then, that's nice. You
(06:36):
deserve a couple of nights on the bench this year
where you're you're just kicking it, hanging out watching like
you know, the other guys in your team that worked
just as hard. It's just they play a little bit.
Get some experience. You get to hang out on the
bench and be the cheerleader ever in the will Caps.
Get some breathers, you know. Yeah man, Um, So this
week you guys got loyal the merrymount up next and
Pacific on Saturday. UM lm U has that guard Cam Shelton.
(07:00):
He's averaging eighteen six and four UM so obviously containing him. Well,
we'll talk a lot more about those games, um on
next week's pod once they are concluded. And I know,
I know we've all been waiting for it. We're gonna
shut up now. We're gonna go to a quick break.
When we come back, we're gonna be joined by the
man in charge, the leader of the agg's head coach,
(07:21):
Mark Few. That's coming up right when we come back,
and we're back on a Gimme Timmy podcast. This is
episode of Leven. I'm Noah Bono. He's Drew Timmy and
we're joined by head coach Mark Few. We we're messing around. Man,
there's the big technology guy. Hey. Yeah, Well, the nobody
told me it was a zoom or as a phone
(07:41):
call or you know, communication on the Timmy podcast is uh.
I didn't want to blow your phone up. Coaches, come on,
it mirrors Drew's communication on the floor. Let's put it
that way. I'm a great communicator on the floor. Come on, now,
can you make a basket ball screen coverage? It's hit
(08:06):
or miss, it's hit or miss. Yeah, alright, alright to
do this. I know Drew said, you've you've been You've
been wondering when when you were going to get your
guest appearance. So very excited. You also tell you um
I again, I'm I'm waiving my n I L fee
and all this and my appearance fee um in lieu
(08:27):
of maximum effort on ball screen coverage, defensive training, back spreading,
back in transition defense, establishing a good shadow, and not
playing dead behind the post. That's all I'm asking for here,
No appearance fees or anything or anything. It's a simple fee,
and um, you know I I agree to those terms.
(08:50):
So I think it's a fair I think it's a
fair arrangement that we've had. The Union has no complaints.
The Union also wanted to let the viewers know how
how nice you've been lately in practices and everything you've been. Um,
you've been top to your coach. Yesterday I got split
on a ball screen and instead of yelling at me
and giving me that just death stare, you know, you
(09:11):
just said next play and I was made my heart happy.
So I wanted to shout you out to the viewers. Numb.
I don't know, I don't know what they understand that you.
I deemed him and it's very true. He's been the
Union wrap here for the past two years. So he's
the guy that always alerts me like, wait, it's getting
a little long here in practice, or you ever gonna
(09:35):
have a day off this week? This film session never
gonna end, He's just a union wrap the s started
by Simick Karnowski in two thousand seventeen. What an intro,
What a way to start it off? Coach. When you
heard that Drew was getting a podcast back in September,
what's what's your first thought? I was like, it's gonna
(09:56):
be really really really good listening, good television. But I
cringed with O way, the the language and the opics.
I gotta admit I was a little bit. Uh, I
was worried. Were you worried for programs like Gonzaga's program
(10:17):
concerns or like Drew's Drew's well being? Like what was
Crew's just Drew's image and well being first, and then
you know any collateral damage that I'd have to comment on.
But you know, hey, we've you know, we've I shouldn't
(10:38):
say survived, we've thrived and uh you know, uh Drew's
personality and and uh um just his persona and all
that with with very little uh uh you know, fallout
for three and a half, three and three quarter years.
(10:58):
So I gotta make barrier in his paycheck, am I right? Yes? Yes,
And I don't mind making berries life hard. So yeah,
that's our s I d he's got a kind of
he's like the press secretary of the White House. Yeah, um, coach. So,
I think something that's interesting for Gonzaga fans that we
have listening to start off with is just like, like
(11:20):
you said, it's been three and a half years that
Drew has been a part of the program. Obviously you've
known him longer since you recruited him back in high school,
but just coaching him, I think a nice way to
start the show off with you is just like what
it's been like, the hard parts, the easy parts, and
then overall just the evolution that you've seen from him.
You know, over these last three and a half years. Truthfully,
there hasn't really been a whole lot of hard parts.
(11:42):
I mean, he's he's been awesome. I mean, and I'm
not here to kiss his rear ind on his podcast
or whatever, but he really has been awesome. And he
looked at what he's accomplished here at Gonzaga and what
we've accomplished why he's been here at Gonzaga. Um uh
(12:03):
and still yet to accomplish, you know, I hope. So,
I mean, he's on part of I truly believe it's
being one of the greatest players in college basketball, not
just here at gun Saggot was just you know, I
not as up on the statistics of it. They become
dizzeying after a while. But all his wins um the
(12:26):
fact that he's been arguably I don't know that he's
been first team All American all these years, but he's
been right there. Um and as his numbers continue to
climb with points and rebounds. But I mean, I would
just start with the winds and the accomplishments and the
like I said before, you know, when we finally moved
off that number one ranking. I mean I literally think
(12:47):
he was ranked number one longer in his career than
he wasn't, you know, weeks in his career, which is insane.
I mean, that's an insane Yeah, you know, accomplished. You
mentioned the winning though, like I feel like from an
outside perspective and only know and for a little bit
of time, like the winning is the main thing that
kind of gets overlooked when like people talk about Drew
(13:08):
Timmy like, oh, his game don't translate to the NBA,
like YadA, YadA, YadA, but they never emphasize it like
he really is, you know, he he compliments winning at
Gonzaga at a high level, no question, and not just
a Gonzaga I mean he does it on the highest
level of college basketball, and and I I think he'll
(13:29):
he'll do the same thing at the next level. You know,
everybody's just trying to plug him in on something, and
I just keep telling all the head coaches and gms
and I'm buddies with like, Look, I mean, the kids
a winner. He's gonna figure it out. He'll be fine.
Just get him, get him there. He's super super competitive,
and his feel for the game and way score so
easy will trump any anything that you know, any deficiencies
(13:54):
that you guys might find in a workout and all
this other stuff. Appreciate the nice words coach, really warms
the soul. But kind of just moving on anyway, back
to the showing on ball screens and hustle back and transition.
That's the payment, that's the payment. But kind of shifting
gears a little bit. Uh. Obviously, this year's team hasn't had,
(14:16):
you know, start that you know we would have thought
we had. I think it's been a great start, but
I guess not one that we've been accustomed to in
our time together, so just kind of being the like,
you know, the boss and the head guy, Like, how
has it been adjusting? Which is how much change we've
had from our roster from this past year and the
success to this year, and kind of how the learning
curve has been a little different for this group. Yeah,
(14:39):
you know, it's interesting, uh, Drew, I mean I would say,
you know, I think we all felt like a man
like we got to apologize for the start, but like
in reality, like, first of all those expectations were we're
accomplished and set by you and all the players before
you and our staff and all that we did, all
(14:59):
that work to establish those expectations right over the last
couple years, and so yeah, I mean I think it
was just somewhat normal and human for us too. I
mean it was impossible to to continue to to hit it,
you know, of our games winning, especially when we're changing
(15:20):
out everything we changed out. And Uh. The cool thing
that that I would say right now that I think
you would agree with this is just how much better
we are now than we were in November. You know.
When that's that's what college basketball is, right, It's about
improving and if you're that's why you got into coaching, man,
(15:41):
was to try to teach and to try to help
guys reach their full potential. I mean, I know other
people think it's more about the whatever, the accolades and
all that, and it certainly wasn't for me. I was
just a little, you know dude from a high school
in Oregon that that I just wanted to be involved
in athletics. Man, I just wanted to and loved coach
(16:03):
because it fed my crazy ass competitive you know nature.
And so what I see is, you know, us on
a kind of a growth plane, which is which is
is really really cool. You think back to uh, you
know Corey and uh Joel and and uh Jalen's squad
(16:24):
and and uh, I mean we were good day one.
I mean the first game we smacked Kansas pretty good
down in Florida. Yeah, that was more almost just about
maintaining we were at such a high level. This one's
been fun because I mean we were kind of a
mess early and you know, we're a lot better now. Coach,
(16:44):
what's made you? What made you a mess early on
that now you know you've seen the improvement a little
bit more experienced. Me and Drew talked a lot about
in the beginning of the show, you know, first five episodes,
how it was going to be a big progression towards
this time of the year, and then come post season place,
So what was it like early on with no Chet,
no Corey, no Jalen, no and or them hard, all
these guys leaving to now what what is it now again?
(17:08):
And my opinion, First of all, I mean, and it's
changed drafting. We were turning the ball over at the
highest rate we've ever turned it over here. I mean,
we posted some twenty two's I think three's. The other
night in a high possession game, a really really high
possession game against Portland's turned the ball over four times.
(17:30):
And I mean our offense, primarily because it Drew is
so efficient that if we don't turn it over, we're
gonna you know, get buckets or get to the free
throw line or something. So literally, just shopping that thing
down has been, my opinion, the biggest factor. And then
I would just say, just you know, us, just you know,
(17:52):
as a staff and as the players and as a
team just figuring out rolls. You know, right, we're trying
to I think people recognize the same names coming back,
but they had to change their roles. You know, Andrew
did so much for us last year. Chat was such
an entity that you know, these guys were in different rules.
(18:13):
Anton played a different rule. Rosier, we you know he
he had a nice little gig last year with Andrew
Hamlin every day and you can find threes. Now we
need more out of him, Julian, same deal. I mean
it was nice when Andrew and Spoon feed all the
up and now we need more out of those guys.
So I think I probably just kind of say those
two factors, Yeah, getting them on board and up to speed,
(18:36):
like accustomed to a new role that they're not maybe
as used to. But like you mentioned the turnovers, is
defense another thing? Like what would you say, are a
couple of those other things that you know heading into
the postseason, like can really solidify postseason success, Like you know,
as far as us moving forward or pat based remember
or whatever, you have no moving forward from from this
point on. Now that guys are establishing, you know, roles
(18:59):
better than they were early on. Yeah, I mean I
think continuing not to lose sight of just the turnovers
and all that, you know, and uh, keeping those at
a minimum because that just seems to be a really
really big statistic for this particular team. And then are
are you know what we've really been trying to hammer
on h lately is you know, just driving our d
(19:19):
E R down those points per possession on the defensive end,
it's kind of been climbing ever so slightly and those
things that you know, obviously you're not gonna be perfect
and guys are gonna get you know, hit shots and
and nke buckets and the other guys a cross from
your well coached and all that, but there's we can
shrink some things down. A lot of them have been
(19:40):
just communication wise. We have a team that just outside
of Drew, you know, um doesn't talk. They don't like that.
They're very they don't talk at uh you know, a
team meal. What's they don't why not? What's their deal? Man?
(20:04):
It's it's an epidemic. We had this discussion. We had
a recruit on this weekend. We were talking with the
parents and stuff like, can you imagine like the thirty
forty years from now when people come back and look
at this, uh time, or let's just say and I
don't believe in this crap. Let's say aliens came down
or whatever and just saw us as humans. I mean
(20:25):
just and then just like somebody was saying, we pet
our phones. You know, I've this, And I told him,
like we were in San Francisco a week ago or
ten days ago or whenever that was, and I was
out for a walk pre game or whatever. Three times
three times dudes almost ran into me because they were
(20:45):
just on their phones as you're walking. And I'm just like,
what are we doing? Man? You didn't push them away
or give him the bird on your walk by No, no, no,
I'm just saying, so back to this communication deal. I mean,
there's no question that that's a huge part of this.
And and you know, and all we're trying to do
(21:07):
is you know, call out switches, call out ball screens,
call out our coverages, and and it has been far
and away the biggest challenge for the staff, uh with
this group. That and just kind of general body language,
kind of energy related. Do you think there's a direct
correlation from the cell phone usage off the court to
(21:30):
the lack of communication on the corret like you actually
think that there's like a true correlation. He's a big
believer in that. Do you do you not no, No,
I actually do to Like my last year, last my
fifth year, last year, I I that's all I was
thinking about. I was like, you know, you end practice
in the first thing all of my teammates did was
(21:51):
you know, you under your locker and you're on your
phone for fifteen minutes and before even untire shoes. So
I'm like, I, look, you have a little bit of
an old soul where I feel I lean more towards
what you're thinking. But I'm just curious, Like if you
think it's a direct correlation on the court, I think
thousand percent, I really do. And I think back, like listen,
coaching a Gonzaga is like the greatest gig in the
(22:12):
world because you get awesome guys like him and a
bunch of other guys that, like you wouldn't even realize.
Some of the conversations post practice in the locker room
might be some of the most memorable things I've ever
had in my coaching career. Just literally. We had this
kid name on Hill nun Yez. He still comes around.
He's here in the off season. Drew knows him and
(22:36):
without punch the clock, they'd come in. He David Stockton
and uh Um Oh god, who else was uh in
on that? Uh And and one or two other players
would get in these huge arguments about Jordan's and Lebron
(22:56):
and it was just every day it was just comedy,
or they'd bring up another topic and it was just
like the debate team, and it was so interesting to
hear their takes on on everything. And all they do
is they'd argue for forty five minutes before they'd even
get in the showers or change or whatever, and it
was just classic. They don't do that anymore. I do
get I do get yelled at to put clothes on,
(23:18):
though I like to walk around in my underwear after practice. Yeah,
I said, I do get yelled at every now and
then because I like to just roam around the locker
room my underwear and stuff and just talk to everyone.
And you always tell me, like, get to your lockers.
So maybe that's why maybe you feel allowed some more
freedom with closed apartment. You know, you think that would
change on court communication, Drew, I don't, maybe, coach the
(23:42):
I was gonna save this topic for segment too, but
since you brought it up, we might as well just
hit it now. Like the dynamic of like this phone thing,
this new wave of players, this new generation, like you've
had to adapt probably to some certain certain level. Like
how how would you say if at all you have adapted,
like to kind of meet you know, you know, to
bond better with these kids and like still coach them
(24:03):
at the you know, the level you coach at. I mean,
I think you just try. I hope I've been more
patient with some things. I mean, I try to. Again,
do you want to kind of keep your core values
and kind of draw the line right there and then
like you know, I don't, like I think ten years ago,
I wouldn't. I'd be a mass if I saw him
on their phones when I walked in there, you know,
(24:25):
an hour before the game or whatever. And you know now,
I'm like whatever, just as long as you're ready to
go when you know off and all that things like that,
you know, and also you know, uh, you know, before
a film session or things like that. I would like
to though. I got this from a buddy of mine,
(24:46):
another coach at another uh eye level school that they
they'll do uh team dinners and stuff and have all
the kids, all the players, staff, everybody throw their phone
in a little bag. I think that, I mean, I
think we're gonna start looking at that dad moving forward again.
Just there's come on, I thought you were on my am,
(25:08):
but I know how Drew feels. That's here. But here's why.
And I'm not even at these team dinners. These are
the ones you know on the road. I think they're
gonna really miss these times. These times, these times are
we're running out of them, man, I mean they don't.
That's the one thing that I tried to impart on
all these guys these games. He's you know, playing in
(25:28):
the kennel that this. You know, we go three or
sixty five days a year, and everybody wants to do
all these individual workouts and it's like, dudes, it is
about being the best on game night, not so and
you have to cherish these deals. They're so you know,
we have thirty five, but the best thirty seven games
all year. But yet you know, these these guys are
(25:50):
working out three fifty three and sixty days a year,
and it's like, I mean, there's only thirty five of
these things. And and so I think these team meals,
like especially for something like Drew's careers, I mean, you know,
these are some good times where everybody's together and maybe
where you just like, can we have an hour where
just to put their phone away and like we'll give
(26:11):
them right back to you at it turn into a
spoken without the phone. It really does comes off like
like a little drug thing. It's like take this drug
away from Mr. Here's your drug back, like an hour.
Like it's kind of sad. I agree with you, Coach.
I hate I know the young people that are like
or listening to be like what is this guy? No,
(26:32):
I'm twenty four, but I agree with Coach few. I
mean they kind of just get in the way of
like people, the social dynamic and like you're saying, like
there there's not as many Jordan and Lebron debates during
the meal or post practice, like because you know, dudes
are snapchat and girls after practice, you know what I mean,
Like it's just a different world. It's okay, um, and
(26:52):
you know, you know what. I don't want to born
you too much, but after raising four kids, now what
we always found when we you know, kick them off
the video games or kick them off the TV or
whatever or no, my god, just throw a fit and
then an hour later, like they'd be building a fort
or something. They'd be having the greatest day ever playing
doing something outside, you know, tackle football or something, and
(27:16):
they're laughing and they're all, you know why, they're playing
video games. They're all salty and surly. So I kind
of think we will have the same effect. But these guys, Yeah,
I guess we'll wait and see. Yeah, all right, we
gotta take our last break here, but don't go anywhere.
When we come back, We're gonna get you the coach
if you start as a coach, how the Zags utilize analytics,
(27:36):
the NBA guys, that coach view has had, what's changed
over the years, and coaches systems, time with USA Basketball
and so much more. All coming up right when we
come back. All right, we're back on episode of leven
to give Me Timmy podcast with You're Timmy myself Noah
Buono here with Gonzaga head coach Mark Few coach. Um,
I want to start off this segment just a quick
question about your coaching career. You know, you've been a
(27:58):
Gonzaga your whole life, but you were a g A
at Gonzaga, you know early on is how you got
your startup? Like, what what do you think during your
early years was your biggest breakthrough in coaching. That was
a catalyst in helping you climb the coaching ladder and
obviously eventually, you know, becoming the head coach at NSIRE
for the last twenty five plus years. Uh you know,
(28:19):
I mean I did I think when I first came
up here from the high school ranks down in Oregon.
I literally my first two years here I got a
fifteen hundred dollar stipend all year, so I go for bucks.
I was lucky. Dan Munson was at that time you
had two full time assistance and a guy that they
(28:41):
called part time, and now I was the part time guy,
so you weren't on salary or anything or no benefits.
And then I was able to uh take graduate classes.
So but at Gonzaga in Oregon, three graduate classes you
had to teach one, uh class. So I taught flag football,
(29:04):
I taught uh tennis, I taught hoops, I taught I
think there was a weight training in there or whatever,
and uh I had a blast doing that, and uh
it was somewhat illegal. I can probably met thirty five
years later. But I had this deal, like here's a deal. Okay,
(29:25):
just show up the class. We're just gonna play games.
And nobody writes a bad Uh. You know that thing
you do at the end of course evaluation, you know,
you get to fill out they're supposed to be like, hey,
it's sealed and it goes right to the dean or whatever.
I said, I'm reading all of those, so, uh, you're
all getting as I gave an aid to everybody in
(29:47):
every class. Uh, but I said, you better give me
a good review, and so that that, you know, kind
of starting with that, and you're working like a hundred
hour weeks or hundred twenty hours, just grinding. And that's
back we had VCRs. You had to stack them all
together to make films, like put seven of them on top,
and you just that was my job, was doing a
(30:07):
lot of that stuff. And it just, I mean it
tested your love a basketball. I mean it really really did.
And you certainly weren't doing it for money, and you
certainly weren't doing it for accolades because we were so
bad back then. But man, it really challenged how much
you love the game and you love doing the coaching
thing and then just being around the guys and being
(30:28):
around the staff and trying to solve stuff. Man, do
you want to be my teacher because I could use it.
I could use a quick and easy a. I'd say,
you can teach me some flag football side and my
deal because you you know you that was the other thing.
I was quarterback and flag football, so I had to
quarterback and they all had to kind of run around
and do all that. Were you as big of a
(30:49):
tennis guy, knowing how much you like pickle ball now?
Back then? I mean I play a little. I could
play a little bit back then. Yeah, it's mostly just
letting them hit instead of listening to people talk. All
the other classes. As people are talking, you know, you
gotta get them out. Yeah, gotta get him out and
get him moving. But we ate, Um no, back to
the I mean there were times. It's funny Dan months
(31:10):
and I talked about that. When we were both assistants.
We worked for a really uh uh a great guy,
great storyteller, just great persona named Dan Fitzgerald. Um it
was a head coach, but man, he challenged us and
especially in preparation and scouting and all that, and holy smokes,
there were days back then when Dan and I would
(31:33):
look at each other and just go, man, let's just
go sell insurance or something. Why are we doing It's hard?
And we were we weren't we were we were below
the middle of the road back then. You know what
makes you stick it out? Though? In that time you're like,
you know, I'd rather just keep eating ship and then
sorry excuse my language, but you know, and then go
(31:54):
and like hopefully it pays off, which obviously your investment
paid off. But like at the time, you know, how
do you stick it out? I think you just kind
of of the you know, athletics and stuff. I mean,
and you you love being involved in athletics, you love coaching,
you love and back to like you didn't get into
(32:14):
it to get rich. I got into it just so
I could stay involved, you know. I played all three
sports in high school. Loved him and tried to play
a little, tried to play a little baseball and basketball,
and right started college and then got all banged up,
and then I just wanted to do something to keep
me involved in athletics, you know, And so coaching was
(32:36):
at and so I think that's it. You know, when
you find something you really love doing and you feel
like you're I don't know, halfway decent at it, then
you just try to stick with it. Um. I'd say
being a Hall of Famer makes you more than halfway
decent at it. A future Hall of Famer, you don't
got to be humble on the on the top. I
(33:00):
don't know about any of that. I mean, I just
when you start, it's it's humbling now when you walk
in here, especially when you walk into our practice facility
and you see those guys up on the wall that
we've had here. I mean, I don't think I think
we should probably start every week of practice looking at
those guys, you know, and just man, it's been awesome
to just be around those guys to coach them and
(33:24):
uh or even up here in the coach's offices, we
have every team picture and I love just stopping out
there and just remembering some of our walk ons and
remembering some of those nine ten guys that were just
I mean, they were cold in some cases, held our
team together, you know when we hit some rough patches. Um,
(33:44):
just stuff like that. Yeah, speaking of those NBA guys,
what was it like when as a head coach your
first player went to the NBA. Then, Also what it's
like now when you just put so many people in
the NBA, and especially now with the one and Done's
like just kind of how has that been as a
coach just seeing that and just being a part of that. Yeah. Um,
that first run we made in Richie from actually I
(34:10):
was able to make a roster and he wasn't drafted
or anything, but he was able to make a roster.
And then Dan Dicko was our first, you know, outside
of stocks way back when, our first first round draft pick,
and so that was a that was a big moment,
uh for the program. And then you know, we had
we had some other second rounders in there, and then
(34:31):
we really started hitting our stride, you know when we
obviously Adam was he was up for first pick of
the draft and and then he got into the Lintic
years and then Domas Sabonis and uh, which I mean,
how how good is doma spin man? He double doubles,
(34:52):
he's at he's probably gonna start in the All Star
Game too, and he should. Yeah, I mean I just
think back to watching him in practice every day. He
was just a machine gene and he was just so
competitive and uh, just so tough. And then he'd get
done with practice and he'd go to team meal and
(35:14):
then literally he would come back half an hour an
hour later, and he would do his own individual work
by his own with one of the coaches and then
and it was interesting. He would always he would just
he was smart enough to just like pick one thing
that day. You know, I am gonna work on my
you know, he's left hand off, so I'm gonna work
on my right hand or somewhere, I'm gonna work on
my three point shot. I'm gonna work. You just do
(35:36):
that and he do it hard for thirty forty minutes
and then he was done. He did that every stinking day.
I mean after practice, you think about it, after he
kind of cooled down and all that, and I just
that drive and that competitive fire that you'd have. The
other funny great story about Domus is, uh, God, every
(35:57):
time you pull him out of a game, he'd come
walking over the bench and he'd just be, I assumed,
swearing like a champ and away just cut and loose
or whatever. And he was just so I just stayed
away from every time we pulled him out. You know,
might had like three two fouls in the first five
minutes or whatever tim you know, and he's just then
once he'd sit down, you go down and talk to him,
(36:19):
and he was fine. It was like he was totally normal,
but he was just so intense in the moment that
you know, and that you just had to give him
that little then Tommy go down and talk to him.
Got two fouls in the first half. I know, I'm
getting pull That's that does make me a little mad.
I might cuss a little bit too on my way
(36:40):
to the bench. That's it's not a good feeling. It's
not just you, it's anybody I know. But it's just
like getting two fouls. I switched probably five six years. Guy,
I I don't mind putting guys back in with two now.
You know. It's interesting like people say, well, why don't
you play guys with two fouls? Like it's not a
lot of times it's not that you don't trust Drew
(37:03):
you or you don't trust Domeless. It's like I don't
trust those officials that are out there right now, you know.
And I don't mean trust is a bad word. I
don't know if they're gonna dang you for some tiki
tak one, I don't know. I don't know if there's
just you're just gonna be around the ball and they
call your third on you, you know, and and uh,
well the worst is if he's driving to the basket
(37:25):
and someone takes a charge on him and there's like
a controvert and then his third comes on that. That
that's what I always think of. That that would does suck? Yeah,
or a ball screen, you know. I mean, there's so
many of these. You can call every one of them
by the letter of the law. But like, so it's
it's more, there's a it's it's there's more to it
than just you know, why don't you play guys with two?
(37:48):
You know? I have a follow up about, um, the
NBA players that you've coached. Um, when you're recruiting now,
like you're obviously looking for a specific level of player,
whether it's international or it's you know, in the States,
but um, you know, having coached over twenty I think
twenty four players you've coached, I've touched the NBA at
some point, Like or when you're recruiting these guys, are
(38:11):
you looking at dudes that you personally think you know,
your staff personally thinks like this is a guy that
not only is gonna help Gonzaga, but like probably gonna play,
probably gonna play in the NBA. Like you know, I know,
you guys just had Zoom Diallo on campus, Like I've
scouted him my first season scouting this summer, and I
look at him and I'm like, what that guy looks like?
You know, they play in the NBA. But I'm curious
(38:32):
from your perspective on just like you know, how you
guys recruit people, um from that lens. Yeah, good question.
I don't think like I'm we look like, okay, why
would you know we're gonna just try to get guys
that are gonna be one and duns or two and
duns or whatever. But I do I do in order
to play here anymore, you need to be a guy
(38:55):
that we think after you spend one too three four
years here that you're gonna playing the NBA. I mean,
that's the level that this program is at and it
needs to be at. And so yeah, you kind of
project them as such that way, you know, And just yeah,
I mean I think I look at all those guys
(39:17):
and say, here's how I think your career is gonna go.
And by the way, let me cite you this guy
and this guy and this guy who have done it
before you. So we're not just you know, this isn't
a dream or we're not just making this up. I mean,
these dudes before you have kind of done this, so
we we I've been doing this long enough. We think
(39:38):
you can do the same. Yeah. So I mean kind
of speaking of how you have to recruit guys that
you think can playing in the league, how would you
say that you've had to change as a coach over
the years, which is how much change has happened over
your career as a coach. I mean, to be honest
with you, Drew, I don't I don't know if I've
had change like that way with in regards to the
(40:01):
NBA stuff that I think you know this have and
been through it and all that. My biggest thing with
the NBA and guys going to the NBA and all
that is just as as long as everybody is listening
to the real voices out there and not getting caught
up in all the Yeah. I didn't mean NBA. I
meant more of just like you as a coach in college,
(40:23):
not with like NBA guys. Just you're coaching your style
over the years, Like how it's changed. Man, It's totally changed.
I remember when I first started we were running flex
and we were really I mean, it was like a
set offense, you know, we had all these reds and that,
and then I kind of switched us into motion, you know,
and and and we did that, and then we shifted
(40:44):
to and we probably played zone back then, and and
really soft man demn are are. Our defense was not great,
you know. Back then it was mostly our offense that
we were surviving on um and then we when Roni
Turreyoff got here, we almost went exclusively to high low ah.
(41:10):
And then about after that we got in and then
when when Morrison came here, we were back to you know,
running him off screens and getting him and things and
him and Ravio and but also throwing high low to
JP uh. And then then we kind of shifted into
our ball screen mode around that, you know, coinciding with
(41:33):
Kelly Olynok and Elias Harris and those guys were just terrific, uh,
you know, but that we could play through him, I
think we kind of figured out we could. I think
we were before everybody quite frankly on this kind of
initiating offense with our bigs like we do with Drew
Um and Kelly was phenomenal at it and then it
just kind of rolled after that. Domus was phenomenal at it.
(41:56):
Ah and then but then to be out quite honest,
like in seventeen, the year we played Caroline in the
National Championship game, that was just m We had bigs
that you could just pound the ball inside to, I mean, Karnowski,
Zack Collins, j three. The Gonzaga big thing has been
a staple for you. Has that been purposeful? Um? Like
(42:17):
you said at the forefront of you know, getting the
offense through the big man, like, was that purposeful? And
it kind of just was natural because of the players
you had. Yeah, I mean, I think we do the
best at adapting to what we have. And we we
had exceptional bigs, and we had biggs that we you know,
knew we could put the ball in their hands and
(42:37):
then and they're gonna make great decisions and it makes
it kind of hard to guard. Um. It's funny though,
when we that first ten fifteen years, we used to
call it guard you up here, you know, because we
had Dan dick Ow and Blake step and even before them,
Matt's at TAngelo and he's these guards, you know, and
(43:01):
and uh Adam Morrison and then it kind of switched.
I mean, now if you really look, you know, I
mean Ruey and and BC and Domis and Drew and
Jet and but you know we've also had Andrew and
Jalen and Corey and all that. So right, um, coach,
(43:21):
I've heard you say something about John Jobs. John Jacobs
when he was in the program, he brought along the
analytical piece UM, and I think it would be interesting
for you to just explain to you know, listeners, how
you guys utilize UM the analytics piece. Have you know?
I heard you say you guys drill it home now
you make players aware of it. Like, can you just
talk about, you know, the addition of that dynamic to
(43:43):
your team, how it's helped you guys. Yeah, and that
that know, was when that coincided with when we really
started drilling down on our defense, and that was when
we John was great at and as an interpreter for
like a dinosaurs or guy who doesn't understand any of
(44:05):
this stuff. So he was a good li aison and
he David communicated it in the proper mechanism that I
could like, Okay, I'll listen to that. You know, I
ain't gonna listen to that, but I'll listen to that. So, um,
you know, at that time, we were still playing some
zone and he would we would always share like, okay, look,
(44:27):
these guys are you know, I know we want to
play all man, but like, these guys are showing analytically
that they're just awful against zone, so we gotta mix
some zone in or these guys have shown analytically against
this particular ball screen coverage that they can't they're not
nearly as good as if you do this. And so
(44:49):
we started, you know, applying that almost primarily, um, pretty
much primarily exclusively on the defensive end. You know, I
think we've always felt great and are the numbers match
what we're doing offensively? So I don't get two into
(45:10):
you know, analyzing what we're doing offensively. Yeah, it's always
scary after a game on the white board and it's
your defensive accountability for forty up there, and uh, you
never want to be in the top four. Because it's
the first time he gets a look at it, and
so everyone's just sitting in there waiting for him to
come for the post game film and he walks in,
(45:30):
takes his quick look at the board and if you're
in that top four, man you are, you are shipping
bricks and in your chair. Let me tell you, is
that a rough film day for those top four guys?
Explaining what defensive accountability is tho, Yeah, defensive accountability is
kind of I think it's kind of like a g
you made stat a little bit just from the fact
that like if you know, if you play good defense
(45:52):
and you can test and the guy makes a shot,
it does not count for you. But I don't know
if you don't do the right ball screen coverage, you
don't communicate a switch, you don't execute a choke down,
you don't block out, and your man's scores you can
go ahead and tell you those points up to your accountability.
So it's a lot of easy ways to get get
points out. It's your name real quick and uh, I
(46:14):
would say in my past, I've been pretty pretty keen
at just getting somehow make working my way up to
the top of the list. But I've been doing better
this year. I've been staying in the bottom half, which
has been pretty good. So the less points the better. Yeah,
the more points, it's it's bad and it's per forty.
So they can get jacked up really quick. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
(46:36):
but it's all based on like like Drew said, like
if if you get through the screen and you challenge
the guy's shot, the guy hits a tough shot. I mean,
there's nothing they we don't ding you. But yeah, we're
supposed to be switching and you don't switch, and the
guy hits a three, that's that's three on you. You know, Yeah,
that's fair. That's a fair coach, No on no one.
(46:58):
I think it would be right on par with our
staff here. I mean I love the I The analytics
part of it is like you know, like because you're
saying with the phones and then obviously this analytic thing
you'll hear like a lot of younger coaches in college
basketball and even the NBA really grasp it's really like
(47:19):
just it takes over. And you always hear in the
media like, oh, like what about the eye test, like
you know how you probably what's your balance eye test
analytics of you know, balancing the two. I mean I
lean much much more to the eye test, you know,
and feel um like, I like so much of the
(47:39):
NBA they do they love to do drop coverage, right
and they just say, well, we just wanted to get
tough too, and they'll sit there and watch Chris Paul
or somebody shoot pull ups on that drop coverage over
and over again. I mean, he's gonna make you, gonna
make it. I mean, I'm sorry, like I ain't gonna
sit and watch this. I mean we're gonna draft him.
We're gonna do something because that might work for those
(48:00):
other teams that ain't working on him, you know. And
and uh so I I I think that's one thing
probably that we do a pretty good at gonzagas we
adapt our coverages and and Drew will tell you, um
uh and I started this and probably fifteen I think
(48:20):
we'll we'll have a plan A, and a lot of
times Plan A doesn't turn out or not a lot
of times I'd say there, you know, whatevert seventy or something.
But when it doesn't, we have Plan B, you know,
and sometimes we even have planned C. And we'll go
over those and and the guys understand plan as this
will ask me, what's Plan A. Planny is this? But
(48:42):
if that doesn't work, plan B is this? And so
you go into this thing thinking like maybe you can
do some sort of coverage on this player or this
team and they start schooling you. Then, I mean you
got to get out of it. And uh, you know,
I think back to that Alabama game. I mean we
were doing something then we just said I just said
(49:02):
screw this, let's just start happened, Brandon Miller. Yeah, still
almost didn't work. Yeah, I hear you. At least it
worked the last two or three. Yeah, you talked about
USA basketball. Just how much does that help you as
a coaches, being around other great coaches and NBA players,
(49:22):
And how much of that are you able just to
kind of bring back and give to us just because
those the two games are just so different. Yeah, I
mean it's been huge. It has been huge all the
way back to my first uh stint. I mean I
always remember it was myself, Billy Donovan and shock A Smart,
uh and we were we got chipped down to this
(49:42):
little little tiny town out in the middle of Brazil,
uh uh somewhere and uh gosh, we had Jeremy Grant
and Marcus Smart and uh all kind of guys on
that team and and uh but I it was it
was great to just sit and you know, watch somebody else,
(50:03):
like the one thing you don't to do when your
head coach. A lot is get to watch somebody else
coach or be part of that or you know, we're
just so busy caught up with all our stuff that
I mean when you're practicing and then games and stuff.
And I remember at that time Billy was pressing a
lot so with Shaka and we didn't we weren't pressing
at all, and it was it was really interesting to
see that, you know. And then consequently they were interested
(50:27):
in what Gonzaga was doing. And then there's just this
total sharing of ideas and concepts and and then that
now then you know, as it morphed into being a
head coach of the PanAm team and then then being um,
you know, kind of a back assistant on on the
you know, the latest Olympic run and now to be
(50:50):
able to be on this staff for this next Olympic run.
But being like in all the meetings the last two
or three years with coach Pop, coach Kerr and and
just sharing ideas in there. I mean, that was probably
the best thing we did over the last two summers,
was just being able to you know, break down practice
and breakdown way you thinking. Pop is so good about
(51:11):
including everybody, you know, and asking opinions and then and
then kind of kind of like what I like to
do with my staff, kind of in a Socratic forum,
arguing and have them arguing for their way. You know,
even if he, like, even if Pop felt like he
agreed with you, he'd make you argue for it, you know,
and challenge it a little bit. And uh, I mean
(51:33):
I kind of do the same thing with my staff. Yeah.
But speaking in the USA, there was a clip of
you running sprints because I think the coaches lost something
versus the players, and I must say I was not
impressed with your effort. Coach. I thought you had a
lot more to give than what you showed. Is that
the one where Steve and I were in last place
by long ways and kind of a long long way
(51:56):
you work out every day, that was a deal where
the I think the coaches jumped in or Pop said
something and Steve right at the other end, and so
we we did get a late jump. Uh, But yeah,
I don't we didn't give it a great effort. So
sometimes the joints are a little slow to warm up. Um,
(52:20):
all right, we gotta wrap it up sooner, Coach, I
want to ask just two more quick ones. If you
had any players you've coached that you think, would you
know while you're coaching him, you're like, damn that guy,
would you know? He'd be a hell of a coach.
Anybody that comes to mind? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got
a bunch of him. Yeah. Yeah, we actually have one
on staff right now, but or I mean not on staff.
(52:41):
He's finishing up his degree. He's been hurt, he still
wants to, you know, get back to playing in the NBA.
And Zach Norvelle, I think he's gonna be I think
he's got a future just because he's he's he's positive,
and he's upbeat, and he he brings great energy and
he's got a good feel and yet I think he's
a good communicator. But we've had tons of them, you know.
(53:04):
It's just I think a lot of them see our
lifestyle and how many hours and all that, and they're like,
ain't doing that? Yeah, I would love to do it
without the recruiting. That's my kind of thing. But you
can't not do that. That's the biggest part of it.
Almost so I think recruiting, I would I would want
(53:25):
to do it, no, But obviously Drew would be terrific
at it um Chet would be terrific. Chester would be
a good one. You know. Uh, Andrew's brilliant. But Andrew
would not put up with the recruiting, not at all.
Not what makes you say check coach. He had something
(53:47):
about like just on the court while he picked up
on things faster. He's a quick learner, but he's also
a willing learner. I mean, the dude just is I mean,
he was down here and I know he's doing the
same thing at Oak City. He's down at your facility
twenty hours a day. I mean you got to literally
kick him out of here every day. And he's just working.
(54:08):
He's watching film, he's he's in the weight room, he's
doing individual work, he's doing all this. But he's all
he's very inquisitive and he was never you know, and
I think if you're inquisitive, I mean that's kind of
I mean, way back when at a way, way, way,
way way lesser level, that's how I l was, was like, well,
why are we running this play? You know? And well
because of this, this, this and this, you know, and
(54:30):
why are we doing this? Because this is how you
attack an ond front zone. And uh, I think he's
got a lot of that. Uh you know, yeah, Um, well,
I think we're gonna cover the n I L or
anything that you want to hit on the nis wax
on what do you got, coach. I think that in
(54:55):
I l UH is a really good thing and something
that um, we probably needed to address a long time
going the n c A. But the way the combination
of that and the transfer portal is, I mean, I
hope we can get it back on the tracks right now,
but it's an absolute disaster right now. So that's where
(55:17):
I totally disagree with Jake because again he I love
Jay and he's a really good friend. Um, but he's
not He's not on the ground right now. He's viewing
it from thirty thousand feet And I mean, I I
just think it's a mess right now because it's unregulated
(55:38):
and agents are involved, and in many cases it's not
you know, I think everybody thought it was such a
great idea that the athletes should get advice. It's fine
if they're getting advice from the really good agents that
are handling all the pro guys, but there's a whole
mix of youngsters that would love to get into the
(55:58):
game in the agency game that are handling a lot
of people and promising a lot of things and saying
a lot of things. And I mean, as we just
witnessed down here, I guess with this Florida situation football thing,
these things aren't coming to fruition like they're all this stuff,
and so it's kind of you know, all of it's
(56:21):
kind of mixed together. And we we definitely need some
sort us humans need some sort of regulation. Uh, when
we're on earth here, you know, I can't have ever good.
We've got to regulate the phones. We gotta regulate n
I l that right, Well, you do you think it should?
I mean when he's here's the other thing that's fascinating
(56:44):
about some of these guys. And I am a total capitalist,
as Drew can attest to, I am a big capitalist.
I don't want regulation a lot in my life. I
mean I would. But here here's the thing. If we
if you want true capitalism like they're talking about, then
you also can't sit here and talk about, you know,
sharing all your money with all the other programs that
(57:06):
don't make any money, right, I mean, and that and
so on one side they're talking socialism, but then on
the other side, they're talking capitalism, and it's just like, now,
wait a second here, okay, for instance, here again zag
and men's basketball is the only program that even comes
close to making any money, you know, So yeah, I
mean it's it's fine, this dude should get a lot
(57:28):
of money in N I L and all that. But
when you start saying, well you gotta give all had
this to that and this to that and this to
that and this to that, it's just like WHOA. And
I think you're you're seeing some of the A d
s and some of the conference commissioners kind of saying
WHOA on on that front. You know, if we're gonna
do this N I L thing, then we better back
off this socialism thing. Were you referencing j Billis his
(57:55):
comments on our show or just conversations that you've had
with him this. I've had conversations with Jay, but I've
also and he's great and and I totally totally respect
his take on this, but again, uh, you know, when
you're boots on the ground and and hearing you know,
fortunately again saga, we don't have this. When you hear
(58:16):
these teams that these kids come in at the end
of the year, I'll go in the transfer portal and
go to get see what they're worth is at some
other school or somebody's making them off or somewhere else,
and then they come back to the original school and say, hey,
I'm gonna need this to stay. I don't know how
that could be good for college athletics or anything. I
(58:38):
mean that, that's just a little bit disgusting in my opinion,
So show, I'd love to hear your guy's opinions on that.
I would reference it. My wife as a listener of
your you all's podcasts, I am not I was, Uh,
she was playing at one at home, I think, or
(59:00):
maybe in the car when we were riding together, and
I happen to be listening to that part when you're
talking to j about it, and it was fascinating, it
was thank you, it was really really good. We gotta
get you. We gotta turn you into a regular listener.
Maybe when you get away from Drew once and for all,
you'll you'll tune in. I think he here's a lot
of my podcast takes in the locker room and everything.
It has absolutely nothing to about Drew. In fact, I
(59:21):
would listen to Drew seven because I enjoy the heck
out of it and it has everything to do is
Drew can attest to my total of lack of uh
understanding how to even get a podcast on my phone.
I was quite thank god for because that was quite
the show. I would I had listen to it all
(59:43):
the time if I could, but I have no way
to understand that access that I don't have the patience
to sit here and have you guys tell me um
coach you we gotta wrap it up. I know you
guys gotta get to practice. Man, this was awesome, long overdue.
Appreciate you coming on. I probably gonna have to do
around two because I got fifty more questions I gotta
throw at you sometimes, So we appreciate you, man. Thank you. Yeah. Well,
(01:00:04):
a great job guys. And and Drew. I'm so proud
of you for not f bomb and today. I made
sure before you got I said, we have to watch
our mouths today. Yeah. He gave me a notice. So
that was a little stipend for the deal that we
agreed to earlier. You know what you can miss on
a couple of ball screen coverage is uh uh forward here. Well,
(01:00:28):
thanks guys, that was fun. Thanks so much. We appreciate you.
This has been a presentation of the College Athletes Network
Host
Drew Timme
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