Mark Few reveals Gonzaga 'sliding doors' moment one day before Tommy Lloyd leads Arizona into Final Four
Apr. 4—If Tommy Lloyd wasn't leading a top-seeded Arizona team into the Final Four this weekend, it's possible his head coaching tenure at Gonzaga would already be well underway. Current Gonzaga coach Mark Few outlined the "sliding doors" scenario Friday during an interview with the Field of 68, not far from where Lloyd and Arizona will play fellow No.
1 seed Michigan on Saturday in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It's widely known Lloyd had a stipulation in his contract designating him as Few's successor, but the assistant's head coaching tenure at Gonzaga may have started even sooner had Arizona opted to go elsewhere with its coaching hire in 2021. Few, who's planning to return for his 28th season at Gonzaga in 2026-27, said he would've considered stepping down at an earlier stage knowing the program would be in capable hands with Lloyd.
Few indicated he would've taken a different role with the university to continue to support Lloyd and the basketball program. "I don't know that I've said this publicly, but I probably would've moved on to a subsidiary role at Gonzaga knowing it was in such great hands if (Lloyd) would've stayed," Few said, noting current assistant Brian Michaelson has since been tabbed as GU's coach in waiting. "Now we've got B-Mike and the same thing's happened with B-Mike and I think he's ready for this gig.
" Few spoke for approximately 14 minutes during the interview, covering a mix of topics that included Gonzaga's 2025-26 campaign, his Naismith Hall of Fame induction and the success Lloyd's had over five seasons at Arizona. The 63-year-old also addressed questions about his immediate future, confirming he'll be back in 2026-27 as Gonzaga makes a highly anticipated transition to the Pac-12 Conference and attempts to stretch its NCAA Tournament streak to 29 seasons. "I'm down here grinding, my staff had me meeting with agents here and all that," Few said.
"I sat through 12 hours of coaches meetings. I'm trying. " Field of 68 host Jeff Goodman sought more confirmation from Few: "So you're back?
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