‘Icons of modern-day basketball’: Mark Few talks about Team USA ahead of Paris 2024, balancing the Zags

SPOKANE, Wash. – “When you get an opportunity to represent your country at the Olympics; that’s the biggest thing you can get in my book.”

In the midst of managing his own team during the offseason, Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few is gearing up for a trip to Paris as an assistant coach representing Team USA.

Few was selected by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr as one of three assistant coaches for the Olympic summer games. Few will join Kerr along with Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the coaching staff as the only college representation on Team USA.

“I mean, it’s the highest calling you can have as a college coach,” said Few.

What’s unique about being the one college coach on staff? Few said these games are “more like the college game than the pro game”, and his experience with the style of play will allow him to share ideas on how Team USA can approach this summer.

“You get [these coaches] together in a group…it’s a great learning environment for all of us.”

Few said a great camaraderie and friendship has been built up between coaches since all four of them were on the coaching staff for the FIBA 2023 World Cup. Few added: the star-studded roster USA is sending to Paris will be one to watch.

“It’s just a tremendous group of incredibly established players and people,” said Few. “[They are the] icons of modern-day basketball.”

Bringing back a gold medal looks feasible with the NBA legends that fill the United States roster, but Few said the group knows it’s not going to be an easy feat.

“I think we all know within our group how tough it’s going to be. It’s different, man, it’s not a seven-game series. It’s like the NCAA tournament; you get one shot.”

Few’s time might be divided this summer between the Zags and Team USA, but recruiting and summer session for the Bulldogs hasn’t been jeopardized.

“[Assistant coaches] step up in a huge way. The beauty of our staff is that we’ve got guys with tons of experience… it’s great for them to kind of assume that responsibility.”

Few said he’ll be with the Zags for the first half of the summer session and his coaching staff will focus on the team the second half while Few is with Team USA for camp and the Olympic games.

“It’s good for the program because the players get to hear their voices. That’s how we do it here anyway.”

In the way-too-early NCAA basketball rankings, the Zags sit top-five in the country heading into the 2024-25 season. But that doesn’t mean they can get comfortable; Gonzaga stayed aggressive this offseason in adding players like Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi and Arkansas transfer Khalif Battle to their roster.

“The best thing we did this offseason was we added pieces that bring different aspects of things we don’t have,” said Few.

Few also addressed Ajayi testing the waters in the NBA draft process before deciding to return to Gonzaga this season. He said Ajayi was able to get great feedback and experience with professional teams and Few added that Ajayi, last season’s leading scorer in the WCC, was already back practicing with the Zags.

You can watch the full press conference with Mark Few here.