'I felt my heart drop to my knees.' Ahead of Naismith enshrinement, Gonzaga's Mark Few flashes back to unique hall call

Aug. 14—UNCASVILLE, Ct. — Most of Mark Few's favorite fly-fishing spots are tucked away in remote parts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, where Ponderosa pine trees vastly outnumber cell phone towers. Generally speaking, the further from civilization the better. It's ideal when you're looking to unplug and disconnect — not as much when you're anticipating the type of phone call that comes once in a lifetime. Few had reason to think one of those might be coming on March 31. He and an angling partner were miles out of town, just a minute or two from the river where they'd be casting their fly lines. Few's cell signal probably wasn't for long, but right as he prepared to enter a dead zone, the coach felt his phone vibrate. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame was on the other line to inform the longtime Gonzaga coach he was being enshrined as part of the 2026 class, alongside NBA coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D'Antoni, former NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire, former WNBA stars Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne and Chamique Holdsclaw, the 1996 USA women's Olympic team and referee Joey Crawford. "It happened in the perfect place," Few recalled on Friday during a press conference at Mohegan Sun Casino. "... I just felt my heart dropped down to my knees and I was just kind of overwhelmed with gratitude. It was showering down on me. Your entire basketball experiences of your life comes and flashes through your mind and it was really, really powerful stuff." Months after learning he'd be part of the esteemed group in Springfield, Mass., Few acknowledged he was still in the processing phase — and may never leave it. "This weekend, it's really sinking it with just the enormity of it," Few said. "But I don't know if it will ever truly sink in. As we've gotten closer and closer to this, I've definitely thought about that but it still seems overwhelming. Kind of surreal." Five months since inductions were announced, the newest Hall of Fame class will go through its Enshrinement process this weekend with a full schedule of activities in Uncasville, Ct., and Springfield, Mass. Few and other class members went through media obligations on Friday at Mohegan Sun Casino, followed by a red-carpet ceremony in the evening where he was presented with the classic Naismith Orange jackets. The Gonzaga coach responsible for 773 career victories, a winning percentage of .832 and two national championship appearances will deliver his official speech on Saturday at the "Birthplace of Basketball" in Springfield. Between 130 and 150 people in the Gonzaga/Few circle (including plus-ones) were scheduled to attend one or both days of activities this weekend. The group that arrived for Friday's red carpet gala featured more than a dozen former Gonzaga players, including John Stockton, Domantas Sabonis, Drew Timme, Matt Santangelo, Dan Dickau, Zach Norvell Jr., Kevin Pangos, Jeremy Jones, Kyle Dranginis, Casey Calvary, David Stockton, Mike Nilson, to name a handful. A large group of Few's close coaching colleagues also made the trip out East, including Tommy Lloyd, Dan Monson, Brian Michaelson, Roger Powell, RJay Barsh, Ray Giacoletti, Bill Grier and Tad Boyle. Others who've impacted Few's life and coaching career in a significant way traveled for the weekend festivities. That contingent included former ESPN anchor Neil Everett, former Oregon Director of Athletics Pat Kilkenny and Gonzaga benefactors Pat Volkar and Phill McCarthey. "Just to be such a small part of this program and everything he's built, it's so cool and special," said Timme, the program's career scoring leader. "I can't think of a more fitting way to celebrate coach Few than being here in the Hall of Fame."