NCAA: Few's Zags shake their fluke tags Article written by: Steven Schindler He's no Rick Pitino with the flash and dash of big time college ball. He doesn't command the physical presence of Rick Majerus. He's not a human hairline like Matt Doherty and he doesn't throw chairs or chokeholds. But Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few has his Zags back in the “Sweet 16” of the NCAA Tournament and nobody labels them Cinderellas anymore. Few has his kids from this tiny Spokane, Washington Catholic prep school playing like tournament pros from the ACC or Big 10. The Zags might have been labeled a fluke 3 years ago when they made their first appearance ever in the March Madness. But they are now making their third consecutive trip to the “Sweet 16”, dropping much bigger rivals along the way like a pack of little Davids throwing stones from flimsy slings. This is all the more remarkable considering the hit the Zags took graduating 4 starters from the surprisingly good team of last year. This was supposed to be rebuilding time for a team that had no place competing at this level in the first place. But Mark Few has done a big-city job building this team year-to-year through quality recruiting that has become easier and easier as the wins have piled up. With only two seniors on the squad these Zags look scary for years to come. But it has been the tough play of its two lone 3-year men Casey Calvary and Mark Spink that has carried Gonzaga this deep into the season. Calvary, a candidate for this year's Wooden Award, is absolutely fearless on the hardwood in the “Kennel” and his Zags would follow him into tournament hell and back. Junior guard Dan Dickau is so important to his bunch that his injury during the season almost dragged the Bulldog's off the power-rating map. It got to the point that Gonzaga had to win their WCC conference title just to get an NCAA invite, so that's what they did. “To get to three straight Sweet 16's speaks to the character of these guys, especially Casey, Spink and Dan Dickau,” Few said. “If anybody watched this team they knew this was a really good team, especially when they saw Dickau.” The tournament committee did the Zags no favors this year, assigning them a lowly #12 seed in the South and Few and his minions have stewed on that just a bit. But this team-oriented bunch has fought through that mental slap to join Duke and Michigan State as the only teams to ever make 3 consecutive “Sweet 16” appearances. With the steady play of the old hands and Few's ability to insert his calming influence, this team has a strong, youthful base and looms as a threat to anyone drawing them for the balance of this roundball ruckus. As they look out over the remaining field the Zags only see one of the remaining Final Four teams from a year ago and only half of the #1 seeds still standing have as much tournament experience as the mighty Gonzaga Bulldogs over the last three years. No small part of Gonzaga's mercurial success is due to the continuity of the Bulldog coaching staff. Apart from the loss of head coach Dan Monson to Minnesota after leading this team to the “Elite 8” two years ago, the staff remained intact with Few sliding into the head coaching spot and Billy Grier remaining as assistant coach. “We didn't miss a beat,” Few said. “The continuity is huge. The kids were used to hearing the same voices.” Now Mark Few's Zags must deal with his highly respected friend Tom Izzo and his Michigan State team in what some are calling the South Regional Spartan Invitational. But Gonzaga can beat the Spartans with their sparkling point guard play and bang inside with the likes of Zach Gourde and Calvary. If they can shoot with MSU and avoid getting torn up inside then the Bulldogs are far from finished in this big show. Gonzaga's most famous graduate to date remains crooner Bing Crosby and their greatest contribution to NBA is the lonely John Stockton of the Utah Jazz. People poke fun at the rag-tag collection of small private schools they compete with in the West Coast Conference but nobody makes jokes about Gonzaga's basketball program like they used to. And the Zags don't wear fluke tags anymore. Article provided courtesy of http://www.e-sports.com/ Home | Jim Rome Show | The Last Word | Gloss | Jim Rome World Tour Jungle Store | The Polls | Inside Jim Rome | The Clones | Jungle Chat Site Created by © Copyright 2001 Content provided by independent writers. The views expressed on this site are not necessarily the views shared by Myndgruve and Jim Rome. Moreover, these views are only opinions for the purpose of entertainment.