Canzano: What happens in realignment... stays in Vegas?
My conversation with Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few.
LAS VEGAS — A second-floor ballroom at Resorts World was set up with a series of raised platforms and studio lighting on Thursday. Two racks of basketballs were positioned outside the main entry to the event.
Inside, men’s basketball coaches and their top players were shuttled from station to station, conducting Media Day interviews.
The Mountain West Conference and West Coast Conference were both here.
So were members of the Pac-12.
Also, present — some interesting tension.
As Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few told me on Thursday: “This is a weird business, right?”
Few agreed to a long-form interview about the Zags’ recent decision to move to the Pac-12. He was candid and conversational. By the time he sat down with me, he’d spent several hours discussing his roster, the schedule, and the upcoming basketball season.
Maybe the circuit of interviews softened him up. Or maybe he was just ready to talk in-depth about something he’d waited years to happen. Few is deeply invested in making sure Gonzaga — and now, the Pac-12 — is well-positioned for what comes next and sounded concerned for college athletics.
I also spoke on Thursday with Stu Jackson, the commissioner of the WCC, and bumped into Gloria Nevarez, the MW commissioner, later in the day at Harry Reid International Airport.
As Nevarez passed through airport security, she was randomly selected for additional screening. As a TSA officer waved a wand, University of Portland men’s basketball coach Shantay Legans happened to pass by. Legans surveyed the scene, then joked within earshot of Nevarez: “Check her pockets to see if any of our teams are in there.”
All is fair in love and realignment, isn’t it?