Pictured above from left to right: Bill Grier, Dan Monson, Mark Few, Leon Rice, and Ray Giacoletti.
(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
This Final Four appearance by Gonzaga has allowed coach Mark Few to spend some time with former Bulldogs coaches who helped build the program into a national power. He doesn't want their contributions to be forgotten.
At his news conference Sunday, Few recognized Dan Monson, the head coach he replaced at Gonzaga, along with former Gonzaga assistants Leon Rice, Bill Grier and Ray Giacoletti.
Monson was an assistant at Gonzaga for more than a decade before spending two seasons (1997-99) as head coach.
The Bulldogs' first big NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight came with Monson as head coach.
When he left for Minnesota, Few was promoted.
"It would never have happened without them. I never would have been coaching without Dan Monson giving me a job and believing in me and letting me grow," Few said.
Monson is the now the head coach at Long Beach State. Rice is head coach at Boise State after spending 12 years at Gonzaga as an assistant. Grier was a Gonzaga assistant for 16 years before leaving to become the head coach at San Diego. He now is an assistant at Colorado.
Giacoletti did six years as an assistant at Gonzaga in between stints as a head coach. Giacoletti was also the head coach at EWU for 4 seasons, leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament in 2004. He left after that to become head coach at the University of Utah. He also coached at Drake from 2013-2016.