Mark Few Gets Career Win No. 750 as Gonzaga Annihilates North Florida 109-58
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Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Davis Fogle (4) dunks the ball against the North Florida Ospreys in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images [/caption]
It was a quick turnaround for Gonzaga (9-1) after its win over Kentucky in Nashville Friday night, but the Bulldogs didn’t show any signs of fatigue in a 109-58 win against North Florida 48 hours later.
The Zags’ win on Sunday was the 750th victory of Mark Few’s career, making him the second-fastest head coach to reach that milestone, doing so in 904 games, just behind Adolph Rupp of Kentucky, who achieved the mark in 902 contests.
For Few, it’s a testament to being at the helm for so long, as well as working with the people he’s been around over the years in Spokane.
“It means I’ve been doing it a lot longer than I remember doing it, or feel like I'm doing it,” he laughed. “It's been an awesome, awesome run with just awesome guys, incredible players, and incredible people around me, and great support. So just maybe take a moment, reflect on that a little bit, and just kind of move on.”
The short rest in between games, combined with the absence of the Bulldogs’ best player, Graham Ike, perhaps makes the lopsided final score more impressive. Ike missed the game with left ankle soreness, an injury he reaggravated in the team’s previous game when he collided with the Wildcats’ Otega Oweh after it had been bothering him in the days leading up to the game, per Few. Initially, Ike seemed to pull up and favor his leg in GU’s win against Alabama at the Players Era Festival two weeks ago, but he played through it, finishing that game and the two others Gonzaga would play in the tournament.
Besides his 1-point outing in the team’s drubbing against Michigan, Ike put together two double-doubles where he recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds. His production, regardless of his ailing lower leg, only reinforced what Ike’s teammates know about him.
“He's a machine. We've known that,” Braden Huff said. “… He’s been going through it and dealing with that ankle injury. But, I mean, he's a warrior, he's a trooper…So the fact that his ankle has been bothering him like you couldn't tell, glad he was able to get some rest tonight, and hopefully he'll be ready to go Saturday.”
But even without their top scorer and rebounder, the Zags had little trouble dismantling the Ospreys on Sunday night. Huff led the way, scoring a game-high 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting with rebounds.
Outside of the mismatch in talent, there was another reason that lined up perfectly for the Bulldogs to rest Ike in this matchup. UNF’s tallest player in its starting five is 6-7, the same height as senior guard Jalen Warley, who was inserted into GU’s starting lineup in Ike’s place. Warley played a similar small-ball “4” role in this one that he does coming off the bench when one of Ike or Huff is not on the court. The change made the fifth different starting lineup the Bulldogs have already rolled out this season through 10 games.
Immediately, Warley made his presence felt. After a North Florida defensive rebound under the basket, Warley ripped the ball away from an Osprey and layed the ball back up. Then on the other end, he blocked a three-point shot while closing out on the perimeter. Overall, Warley put up six points, while pulling in five boards and dishing out two assists in his first start as a Bulldog.
It was another strong showing for Gonzaga from beyond the arc, as the team connected on 10 of their 18 attempts from deep, marking the second consecutive game the Zags have shot over 50 percent from three. Leading the way in this department were Steele Venters and Mario Saint-Supéry, who drained four apiece. After a slow start capitalizing on looks from the outside, Few points to his squad’s shooters’ ability to be prepared when the ball comes their way.
“I don't know that our shot selection was ever bad there. For the most part, we got the right guys shooting them,” he said. “And I think those shooters have been shot-ready. I think early in the year, we were so focused on either moving the ball really quick or throwing it inside, then we weren’t always shot-ready.”
“Mario's done a really nice job with that. Hands and feet ready when the ball hits him…Steele had some rough outings early, but you know, he's got a great stroke. Those things will all end up averaging out, and he’ll be a 40% shooter at the end of the new year, and Ace [Miller], it’s coming off his hand, nice too. So if those three are the ones shooting it, we’re in pretty good shape.”
On top of being the Zags’ starting point guard, Saint-Supéry is sitting at an astounding 53.6 three-point shooting clip on 28 attempts thus far. While averaging five assists (and three of them a game being of the flashy variety) on top of unbelievable efficiency from the perimeter, there is still work for him to do to fine-tune the edges of his game to be a sharper player, says Few.
“I mean, he's shooting the ball really, really well, you know, I think we just got to keep helping him -- he's just got to make reads. I'm constantly on him on reading the game, not making up a decision, what he's going to do before it happens,” Few shared.
“Basketball’s so dynamic, you can't just decide what you're going to do. You can get away with it sometimes, especially maybe games like this, but you’ve got to read the situation. So I think that's his next step in the growth on that end, and then, same thing on the defensive end. He worked so hard…but we just got to kind of settle him down a little bit. Just execute the planning, probably save some calories doing it that way too.”
With a deficit as drastic as Gonzaga has mounted numerous times this year, there has been a common story when the game is well out of reach: the standout play of redshirt freshman Davis Fogle. In 18 minutes of action, Fogle outscored all Ospreys with 15 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field. He looks to have tunnel vision with the ball in his hands, going downhill supposedly to score as many points as quickly as possible.
Fogle is making a case to be in the running for a rotation player for GU whenever and if it ever becomes available this year, but Few is evaluating the game script, Fogle’s decision-making, and overall maturity when it comes to placing the first year forward in more high-leverage scenarios.
“I think he has a nice sense of when garbage time is. It's a little different Davis then, than when you throw him into a real live game,” Few said. “… I like the fact he's being aggressive. Obviously, he's got some real gifts. And similar to what I said about Mario, next step for him is to start reading the game, making the right basketball play. But I love his aggressiveness…”
The Bulldogs’ next game is scheduled for Saturday, December 13, against UCLA (7-2) at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle at 8:30 PM PT.
