Gonzaga's Mark Few ranked 'Tier 1' coach by The Athletic

The numbers speak for themselves — Mark Few is among the elite head coaches in college basketball.

In his 24 dominant seasons at the helm, Few has turned Gonzaga men's basketball into a national brand that has redefined the term "mid-major." The Zags are a perennial powerhouse on the West Coast season after season, with five Elite Eight appearances and a dozen trips to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. From developing pro-level talent (11 active players in the NBA) to coaching and preparing Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, Few's been regarded as having one of the best basketball minds in the game.

So it wasn't surprising to see Few ranked in the "Tier 1" of The Athletic's college basketball coaching tier list of 2023. Few was in the prestigious eight-man group that included Virginia's Tony Bennett, Baylor's Scott Drew, UConn's Dan Hurley, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, St. John's Rick Pitino, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Kansas' Bill Self.

Few and Sampson are notably the two head coaches without a national championship on their respective resumes. Hurley ascended into the upper echelon after guiding the Huskies to their fifth title in program history, while Kentucky's John Calipari dropped down to "Tier 2" as the only coach to win a national championship not in the top tier.

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Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett moved up to "Tier 2," one of two non-power conference coaches listed in the tier along with San Diego State's Brian Dutcher. Bennett has guided the Gaels to No. 5 seeds in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and has his program in a position to contend for the West Coast Conference crown with Gonzaga in 2023-24. That's a long way from where the program stood when he took over 23 years ago, not to mention the NBA talent he's cultivated as well.

Portland's Shantay Legans made his debut on The Athletic's tier list, coming in at "Tier 5." Todd Golden, Florida Gators head coach and former Dons head man, was also in the tier, as was Washington State coach Kyle Smith.

Arizona head coach and former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd was ranked in "Tier 3" after setting the record for most wins by a head coach in their first two seasons with 61. He also became the first power conference coach to win his conference tournament in his first two seasons.

Boise State's Leon Rice, another Few disciple, was ranked in the "Tier 4." The winningest coach in program history, Rice is also second in Mountain West history for career victories and career conference wins.