Gonzaga NCAA  Tourney wins since 1998:

47.  

Program History Without Mark Few:

0

Mark Few has 28 NCAA Tourney wins since 2017 

As incredible as the Sweet 16 streak is, the 16 NCAA Tourneys with a victory in a row streak is even more so

GW has played 1 Tourney game during that span
Gonzaga was won an NCAA Tourney game in 16 straight years, 35 wins during a period where GW is 0-1




 

DC Native wrote:

GWRising wrote:

DC Native wrote:

Actually, I think belittling a coach who has taken a team from a mid major conference to 2 national title games, 6 Elite Eights, and 14 Sweet Sixteens is the most ridiculous thing ever posted here, but I guess that’s just me.

Nobody is belittling him. He's a very good coach - one of the top 10% in college. Problem is he is not "America's Greatest Coach". Bet even he would be embarrassed by the moniker. But it points to the over the top nature of the posts that have consistently been placed here over the years for what purpose I have no idea.

I understand that the poster you reference has a history of hyperbolic posts, but maybe you should consider that there are some other posters on here that respect and admire Mark Few. To say he is only a top 10% coach is pretty laughable. I would love to see your list of 35 coaches you think are better. To me, getting a team from a mid major conference to the Final Four is harder than winning it all at a power conference, but even if we treat everyone equal regardless of program/conference, there are only 9 active coaches that have taken a team to 2 or more Final Fours. Assuming no preference for situation, here is how they would rank:

1. Tom Izzo: 8 Final Fours (1 win in 2000).
2. Rick Pitino: 7 Final Fours (2 wins in 1996 and 2013).
3. John Calipari: 6 Final Fours (1 win in 2012).
4. Bill Self: 4 Final Fours (2 wins in 2008 and 2022).
5. Dan Hurley: 2 Final Fours (2 wins in 2023 and 2024).
6. Mark Few: 2 Final Fours (13 Sweet Sixteens)
7. Kelvin Sampson: 2 Final Fours (8 Sweet Sixteens)
8. Thad Matta: 2 Final Fours (6 Sweet Sixteens)
9. Jim Laranaga: 2 Final Fours (5 Sweet Sixteens)

So even not considering the advantages and disadvantages that certain programs have over others, he comes in at #6. But I would love to see how well some of those coaches ahead of him would do at a WCC school, and how Few would do at some of their blue blood schools. One of things I most admire about Mark Few, however, is that although he could have moved to a power conference years ago, he decided to stick it out and build a program in a mid major conference. If only GW would be so lucky as to find someone like that, or any other school in the A10. Our coaches tend to bolt at the first chance they get, like Ryan Odom just did after only 2 years at VCU...

Don't know why we have to have an extended non-GW coach debate, though understand everyone's
opinions.
  But we literally had that coach who turned down something approaching triple his salary to stay
at GW.
And we repaid him by destroying his career and livelihood (even with our roughly $3 million in hush money that no family man could refuse).

To the point I would add in some other coaches (in no particular order) moving forward who are or will be in or near the same category down the road ...like stocks past performance is not always indicative of future results.

Dusty May
Chris Beard
Todd Golden
Ben McCollum
Tommy Lloyd
Jon Scheyer
Dana Altman
Greg McDermott
Bruce Pearl
Rick Barnes
Nate Oats

There will be others I am sure I neglected to mention (list is just off the top of my head). Gonzaga had two built-in advantages that they no longer have ... weak conference and monopoly on foreign players (NIL has changed that). Few is a good coach no doubt but today he is not a better coach than those listed by me or in the list DC Native posted above.

The Dude wrote:

Gonzaga NCAA  Tourney wins since 1998:

47.  

Program History Without Mark Few:

0

Mark Few has 28 NCAA Tourney wins since 2017 

As incredible as the Sweet 16 streak is, the 16 NCAA Tourneys with a victory in a row streak is even more so

GW has played 1 Tourney game during that span
Gonzaga was won an NCAA Tourney game in 16 straight years, 35 wins during a period where GW is 0-1




 

 I know facts and you usually do not overlap but you realize this is factually incorrect? Dan Monson took Gonzaga to the Elite 8 in 1998-99. That means Gonzaga won 3 NCAA games before Mark Few not zero.  

What the comparison to GW has to do with anything is beyond me.

Why are we arguing about Mark Few?

Alum '04 wrote:

Why are we arguing about Mark Few?

Because this thread is about March Madness, and GW hasn't been in the NCAA Tourney in almost a decade, lol. Also, I like debating these kinds of things, so I appreciate all of you who responded to my posts, even though none of you seemed to agree with me...

My rooting interests in the NCAA Tourney are first GW (but its been a while), then the A10 (only one game this year), then local teams (except Georgetown, just Maryland and I guess American this year), then any team that is not from a power conference. For the latter, I usually focus on the team with the best chance to win it all, which for about a decade now has been Gonzaga, thus my appreciation for Mark Few. Before Gonzaga, though, there was Butler (2010-2011). Other teams with shorter shelf lives or unexpected runs includes San Diego State (2023), Loyola-Chicao (2018), Wichita State (2013), VCU (2011), Memphis (2008), George Mason (2006), and UMass (1996). Lots of other mid majors have made it to the Elite 8 (St. Joes in 2004 comes to mind). And of course the last team from a non power conference to win it all, UNLV (1990-91). The power conferences are doing everything they can to prevent such teams from making the Final Four, however, so I don't guess I'll have much interest in future years. There are no teams from such conferences in the Sweet 16 this year, the first time I can remember that happening in a long time. According to the article below, only 4 conferences are represented in the Sweet 16 this year. Every previous year had at least 7!

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/ncaa/march-madness-lack-of-upsets-rcna197838

Last edited by DC Native (3/24/2025 10:01 pm)

A quick Q & A:

Why are we arguing about Mark Few?  Two reasons.  First, The Dude continues to troll the board by bringing his name up at every conceivable opportunity. He knows it annoys some and bores others, and he's fine with each of these outcomes.  He also uses this reference to contrast how disappointing he finds GW basketball to be.  Second, because The Dude continues to force the argument that Few is America's Greatest Coach, an easily disputed moniker when considering that he has never won a national championship.

Do none of us agree with DC Native?  This is not the case if we are talking about Few's accomplishments.  Most if not all of us admire the amazing job he has done at what started out being a low to mid-major and elevating Gonzaga's status to a national power.  Any resistance comes from two assertions: a) that it is questionable at the least to refer to him as America's Greatest Coach one time, let alone hundreds of times, and b) that GW or any other mid-major should not be harshly criticized for not achieving what Gonzaga has been able to achieve.  This is utter nonsense.

Why does The Dude hate Shaka Smart?  Because The Dude believes he committed career suicide by leaving VCU to accept the head coaching job at Texas.  Let's ignore the facts that he left to coach in a more competitive conference where he more than doubled his income.  Or that he was immediately hired by Marquette after Texas made it clear that it was looking to make a change without actually having fired him.  Or that he is now coaching in his home state where his contract has already been extended through the 2029-2030 season with his income about 10% less than the maximum he had earned at Texas. (still north of $3 million per season, compared to a maximum of under $1.6 million at VCU).   

Why does The Dude hate Tom Crean?  That's an oldie.  I guess because he underachieved at Indiana and Georgia after overachieving with Dwayne Wade at Marquette?  Or maybe it's a Harbaugh thing?  This answer is less clear.

 

Hugh wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

A quick Q & A:

Why are we arguing about Mark Few?  Two reasons.  First, The Dude continues to troll the board by bringing his name up at every conceivable opportunity. He knows it annoys some and bores others, and he's fine with each of these outcomes.  He also uses this reference to contrast how disappointing he finds GW basketball to be.  Second, because The Dude continues to force the argument that Few is America's Greatest Coach, an easily disputed moniker when considering that he has never won a national championship.

Do none of us agree with DC Native?  This is not the case if we are talking about Few's accomplishments.  Most if not all of us admire the amazing job he has done at what started out being a low to mid-major and elevating Gonzaga's status to a national power.  Any resistance comes from two assertions: a) that it is questionable at the least to refer to him as America's Greatest Coach one time, let alone hundreds of times, and b) that GW or any other mid-major should not be harshly criticized for not achieving what Gonzaga has been able to achieve.  This is utter nonsense.

Why does The Dude hate Shaka Smart?  Because The Dude believes he committed career suicide by leaving VCU to accept the head coaching job at Texas.  Let's ignore the facts that he left to coach in a more competitive conference where he more than doubled his income.  Or that he was immediately hired by Marquette after Texas made it clear that it was looking to make a change without actually having fired him.  Or that he is now coaching in his home state where his contract has already been extended through the 2029-2030 season with his income about 10% less than the maximum he had earned at Texas. (still north of $3 million per season, compared to a maximum of under $1.6 million at VCU).   

Why does The Dude hate Tom Crean?  That's an oldie.  I guess because he underachieved at Indiana and Georgia after overachieving with Dwayne Wade at Marquette?  Or maybe it's a Harbaugh thing?  This answer is less clear.

 

literally all you have to do is ignore him bro

Bingo!
 

The Dude wrote:

DC Native wrote:

Alum '04 wrote:

Why are we arguing about Mark Few?

Because this thread is about March Madness, and GW hasn't been in the NCAA Tourney in almost a decade, lol. Also, I like debating these kinds of things, so I appreciate all of you who responded to my posts, even though none of you seemed to agree with me...

My rooting interests in the NCAA Tourney are first GW (but its been a while), then the A10 (only one game this year), then local teams (except Georgetown, just Maryland and I guess American this year), then any team that is not from a power conference. For the latter, I usually focus on the team with the best chance to win it all, which for about a decade now has been Gonzaga, thus my appreciation for Mark Few. Before Gonzaga, though, there was Butler (2010-2011). Other teams with shorter shelf lives or unexpected runs includes San Diego State (2023), Loyola-Chicao (2018), Wichita State (2013), VCU (2011), Memphis (2008), George Mason (2006), and UMass (1996). Lots of other mid majors have made it to the Elite 8 (St. Joes in 2004 comes to mind). And of course the last team from a non power conference to win it all, UNLV (1990-91). The power conferences are doing everything they can to prevent such teams from making the Final Four, however, so I don't guess I'll have much interest in future years. There are no teams from such conferences in the Sweet 16 this year, the first time I can remember that happening in a long time. According to the article below, only 4 conferences are represented in the Sweet 16 this year. Every previous year had at least 7!

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/ncaa/march-madness-lack-of-upsets-rcna197838

As a GW fan its been fun as Hell to see what Few  has done for a Quarter of a Century in a sport where far too often its the same old blue bloods deep into the NCAA Tourney. National Title games, Final 4s. Elites 8s, awesome to see.

3 days ago Gonzaga ran all over an SEC school opening a 30-5 lead to start the game. 

Mark Few at 83% is now the Winningest Coach in the History of the sport.  John Chaney comes to mind as a super successful long tenure "mid major" Coach and won 67% of his games. Few, 83%, the highest in history.

For some Perspective :   
13.Dean Smith. 77.5 %
14  .Roy Williams.77.3815 %
15   .Mike Krzyzewski.76.5 %


 

1. You never responded to the factual error on Monson. Typical.
2. Few's winning percentage has been largely inflated by playing in a weak WCC for most of his tenure. Case in point, he had the most losses (4) in the upgraded WCC this season than he ever has in conference. None of the power 4 coaches you have compared him to had the luxury of playing in a conference where each year their loss total is going to be 0, 1 or 2.

The Dude wrote:

No Coach in history has dominated their league the way Mark Few has. Lot easier to rack up NCAA Tourney wins at Duke, Kentucky or North Carolina than small Gonzaga obviously. 

The GOAT, John Wooden won 80% of his games in the Pac 8, Mark Few has won 90% of his games in the WCC.

He holds 3 NCAA All Time records:records and achievements=

Highest winning percentage (minimum 600 games) : .830

Most consecutive tournament appearances since starting as head coach : 26

Only Coach to win 8 or more consecutive conference championships twice

Right on cue continues the Pravda-esque defense of Few with no acknowledgement of any factual errors. Dude, here's a trivia question for you: who is the only D-1 coach with .830 winning percentage (minimum 600 games), most consecutive tournament appearances since starting as had coach (26), 8 or more consecutive conference championships (2x), a DUI conviction, and ZERO National Championships?