Gonzaga’s Mark Few Names Brian Michaelson as HC Replacement When He Retires from CBB.
Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few announced his successor on Monday, tabbing assistant coach Brian Michaelson to eventually replace him.
“Michaelson will be the guy that takes over for me,” he said on the College Hoops Today Podcast. “That’s the great thing about Gonzaga. We always have the next guy up in line.”
While Few knows who he wants his successor to be, he didn’t specify how much longer he plans on coaching.
“I don’t spend a lot of time on that,” he said. “I don’t have a five-year plan or 10-year plan.”
Michaelson will have big shoes to fill whenever the time comes. Under the 61-year-old Few, Gonzaga has gone 716-143 in 25 seasons, reached the NCAA tournament 24 straight times (it wasn’t held in the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and has reached a pair of Final Fours. Gonzaga has gotten past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament 13 times under Few’s watch, though a national championship has eluded them due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it was held in the 2019–20 season and has advanced to two Final Fours. Under Few’s direction, Gonzaga has made it past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament 13 times, but they have failed to win a national championship.
Under his watch, the Bulldogs have won at least a share of the regular season title 22 times and have claimed 19 conference tournament championships. He was named the Associated Press’ Coach of the Year in 2017 and has seen a number of his players reach the NBA, including Domantas Sabonis, Jalen Suggs, Brandon Clarke, Chet Holmgren, Corey Kispert, Kelly Olynyk, Rui Hachimura and Adam Morrison, among others.
Michaelson is himself a former walk-in for the program and has served on Few’s staff since the 2013 season. The current head coach had previously tabbed Tommy Lloyd as his next-in-line, but Lloyd took the Arizona Wildcats’ head-coaching position in 2021.
Few himself succeeded Dan Monson after being on his staff for 10 years.
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