Gonzaga’s Mark Few receives Wooden Award’s Legends of Coaching honor

Posted by Admin October 30, 2024 Basketball

Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few was named the 2025 recipient of the John R. Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” award, which recognizes the lifetime achievement of coaches who exemplify high standards of coaching success and personal achievement.

Few, who’s heading into his 26th season at the helm of the Bulldogs, joins an exclusive list of either current or future Hall-of-Fame coaches who’ve received the Legends of Coaching honor. John Calipari (2024), Dawn Staley (2023), Jay Wright (2018), Bill Self (2013), Geno Auriemma (2012), Tom Izzo (2011), Pat Summitt (2008), Jim Boeheim (2006), Roy Williams (2003), Mike Krzyzewski (2000) and Dean Smith (1999) are a few of the notable names to take home the prestigious award since its inception in 1999.

“Coach Mark Few has been a consistent and significant part of the Wooden Award experience, dating back to his assistant coaching assignment at Gonzaga,” said Sam Lagana, chairman of the Wooden Award steering committee, in a news release. “Mark has supported the Award and stood with his candidates every step of the way. Coach Wooden had an appreciation for Coach Few, and Coach Few expressed great regard for Coach Wooden as they shared an emphasis on care for the student-athlete and on the value of competitive greatness. Mark Few is a wonderful addition to the fraternity of Wooden Award ‘Legends of Coaching’ recipients.”

Under Few’s leadership, the Zags have become a perennial powerhouse in college basketball. With a pair of national championship appearances and an unrivaled streak of Sweet 16 trips, Gonzaga has long ditched the “mid-major” title it once wore and instead operates at a top-10 level nationally year after year. The Bulldogs have never missed the NCAA Tournament with Few in charge and have been to the past nine Sweet 16s.

Gonzaga has won or shared 22 regular season league titles in Few’s 25 seasons. He’s coached the Zags to the conference tournament championship 21 times. Few, who boasts the highest winning percentage of all coaches (715-143, .833), adds to his decorated mantle that also features two Naismith Coach of the Year awards, a pair of NABC Coach of the Year awards and one AP Coach of the Year honor. He’s also been crowned the WCC Coach of the Year a whopping 14 times.

Off the court, Few and his wife Marcy have overseen the growth of the Spokane branch of Coaches vs Cancer, which is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Since the Fews’ initiated the program in 2002, it has quietly become one of the largest Coaches vs Cancer fundraisers in the country. So much so, in fact, that the Fews and others in the Spokane area built off their previous successes and launched the Community Cancer Fund in 2014.

Few was recognized for his philanthropy in 2020 when he was honored at the Dick Vitale Gala that benefits The V Foundation for Cancer Research. He’s also a recipient of the Nell and John Wooden Coaching Achievement Award, which he received in 2008 from the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame.