Mark Pope says Mark Few has done 'unfathomable' things at Gonzaga

Pope has a good relationship with the longtime head coach.

Nov 4, 2024; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few reacts after a play against the Baylor Bears in the first half at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

After the loss on Tuesday at Clemson, the Kentucky Wildcats are looking to bounce back against a tough Gonzaga team ranked No. 7 in the country. The head man at Gonzaga, Mark Few, is one of the more experienced coaches in college basketball, with more than 20 years of coaching experience, as he has been the head coach at Gonzaga since 1999.

Mark Pope talked with the media on Thursday, and he discussed his relationship with Few, calling him a special person, all while telling one of his first experiences around him when he was early in his head coaching career. He also says Few and the Zags have a very unique style that they play with.

"I've got to know Coach (Few) pretty well. He's been a great friend. He's one of the best people in the business, special person. I'll never forget, my first head coaching job at Utah Valley, we did a buy game at Gonzaga, and I had known Coach as an assistant, and so we went up there to play. It got away from us like you would expect it would at the end. So we're there, you're early in your coaching career, you're trying to collect yourself in the locker room after the media and everything. I finally walk out of the locker room, and Coach Few is, ...there's nobody left in the building and Coach Few is just waiting there to talk. That's just who he is, man. He's just really special, and what he's done in basketball has been almost unfathomable and I love him. He puts together unique teams, a unique product every single year. He's so good. He's got a really distinctive style. They know exactly who they are. You can almost take the names off the jerseys and you would know you're watching a Gonzaga game by the way they play."

- Pope on Mark Few, Gonzaga.

Now Kentucky will look to exploit that unique style, a team that goes at a similar pace that the Wildcats also like to go. It's going to be a really fast game, and Kentucky will be challenged again with physicality.