Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are back at the Moda Center in Portland, OR for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, squaring off against No. 14 seed Kennesaw State on Thursday.
Gonzaga battled major adversity this season, with three critical players all missing at least two games with injuries – most notably star forward Braden Huff, who has not played since January 8 after he suffered a knee injury during practice.
Still, this team leaned heavily on the back of senior leadership – including All-American Graham Ike – to secure a 30 win season and one final WCC championship before moving to the Pac-12.
Coach Few spoke about this team's experience, getting back to Portland, and what he sees in the Kennesaw State matchup during media availability on Wednesday before the NCAA Tournament games begin:
Opening Statement
"Obviously, great to be back at the NCAA Tournament. The streak that we have we take very, very seriously. I know this group feels a sense of relief, but also a sense of accomplishment to keep that thing going on their watch. With all the adversity we've been through this year I think the staff and the players have all had the opportunity to just step back and be very grateful we are playing in March Madness."
On Playing in Portland
"The best thing for us is some of these teams have to travel long distances and this is an easy trip for us. It's easy for our fans, we have a lot of fans around the area and I think that's the biggest positive."
"I love coming to Portland, love staying in the northwest, it's a huge bonus for us."
On Jalen Warley's health
"He's much better, getting better by the day. I wouldn't say he's 100%, but he's probably in the upper 80's and he's moving much better than he did even a week ago."
On Tyon Grant-Foster's role
"This would theoretically lend itself to a game that could lean toward Tyon's style of playing. But you never know, every game takes on a life of itself and we'll have to see. He's done a nice job throughout his career, it seems like he starts trending up as the calendar turns to March. So hopefully that will be the case this year too."
On Kennesaw State and similarities to Alabama
"We've had some great games with Alabama over the recent history, and they're [Kennesaw State] similar in some ways to Alabama but they're different too. But it does help that our guys experienced playing against Alabama earlier this year."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as What Mark Few said ahead of Gonzaga's NCAA Tournament matchup vs. Kennesaw State.