Plenty of NCAA Tournament connections for Gonzaga players, coaches in Salt Lake City

Mar. 17—Gonzaga forward Anton Watson hopes to see his former Gonzaga Prep teammate Liam Lloyd, former Zags teammate Oumar Ballo and several former GU staff members, including Liam's dad, Tommy, this week.

It'll be a quasi-Gonzaga reunion in Salt Lake City, site of the fifth-seeded Zags' first-round NCAA Tournament contest against No. 12 McNeese State on Thursday. GU (Midwest) and Arizona (West) are in different regions but they'll begin March Madness at the same venue with the second-seeded Wildcats facing No. 15 Long Beach State.

Former Gonzaga head coach Dan Monson guided Long Beach State on an improbable run to the Big West Tournament championship, just days after the school announced he won't be returning next season. The Wildcats are piloted by former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd and his staff includes former Gonzaga staffers Riccardo Fois, TJ Benson, Ken Nakagawa and Evan Manning, and former Zags' Przemek Karnowski and Rem Bakamus.

"Yeah, we've been on a text thread hot and heavy, getting (Dan) through everything," Few said after the brackets were announced on CBS. "That was a glorious evening (Saturday) just watching that (Long Beach State title win)."

Ballo was teammates with Watson, Ben Gregg and Nolan Hickman at Gonzaga before transferring to Arizona, where the senior has blossomed into a two-time, first-team All-Pac 12 selection.

Few's connections to Monson and Lloyd run deep.

"Actually 'Mons' had agreed to have Tommy come up here (to Gonzaga) and then he took off for Minnesota," Few recalled of Lloyd joining his staff when he replaced Monson. "So I had to call him after he left and I'm like, 'What the hell is the deal with this guy (Lloyd) who is hanging out around here.'

"And obviously Tommy ended up just being spectacular for Gonzaga and all of us and certainly down at Arizona."

Few said he wouldn't have a coaching career without Monson.

"He was the one who told 'Fitz' (late Gonzaga coach Dan Fitzgerald) to hire me," Few said. "He brought me up, no money, let me sleep on his couch in his apartment. Did that for two years. I moved up, he gave me cheap rent when he bought a house and moved out of the apartment after it got broken into a couple times.

"I owe my whole career to him. That's why that was so powerful (Saturday) night."

There'll be a matchup of former Zag assistant coaches when 10 seeds Boise State and Colorado clash in the First Four in Dayton on Wednesday. Leon Rice has led BSU to three straight tournament appearances. Billy Grier is an assistant with the Buffaloes.

"I don't want get on too much of a soap box, but Leon, that's one of the worst screw jobs I've seen," Few said. "They had a heck of a year, swept some of the teams that are 4, 5 seeds ahead of them. That one was shocking, but I'm glad to see Tad (Boyle, Colorado head coach) and Billy get in.

"It's funny, man, when you've got all your buddies in this thing, you don't want to play them, but you're also rooting for them to get a good seed and if they get a good seed you're probably going to have to play them."

Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard wouldn't mind running into his former squad, Creighton, in the tournament. The Bluejays are the third seed in the Midwest Region so the only chance for a GU-CU game would be in the regional final.

"I'm tight with (Creighton guard) Trey Alexander," said Nembhard, who helped Creighton reach the Elite Eight last season. "I'm happy for them to be back in the tournament. I hope they do well. Yeah, that would be fun for sure (facing the Bluejays)."

Watson knows a few Boise State players, including Leon Rice's son Max, honorable mention All-Mountain West, and Paxson Wojcik, a grad student coming off the bench for No. 1-seeded North Carolina. Watson knew more players in the tournament when he was younger, but "I'm old now and a lot of dudes graduated already. But I still have some boys playing on different teams."

GU forward Ben Gregg rattled off a handful of fellow Portland products in the Big Dance, including a trio of Oregon Ducks, Vermont guard Aaron Deloney and Long Beach State guard Marcus Tsohonis.

"Cool to see Portland getting some recognition," Gregg said.

Senior guard Shahada Wells leads McNeese State at 17.8 points. He transferred from TCU, which lost to the Zags 84-81 in the round of 32 last March. Wells played five minutes in that game. Cowboys junior reserve guard Mike Saunders Jr. was one year ahead of Gonzaga's Hickman at Wasatch Academy in Utah.

"It's going to be dope running back into him," Hickman said. "He was always coming back to visit and playing with the guys. We know of each other."