Gonzaga men's basketball coaching tree well represented in 2024 NCAA Tournament

Four ex-Gonzaga coaches have reached the Big Dance with their respective programs

The success of the Gonzaga men's basketball program in March has spread well past the city of Spokane.

From sunny Long Beach, California, to the high altitudes of Denver, Colorado, former Bulldogs coaches have taken some of the magic from their old stomping grounds with them in their quest to bring their respective programs to new heights in the NCAA Tournament.

Four former Gonzaga coaches will be on the sidelines during March Madness, with two of them facing each other in the first round — Dan Monson and 15-seed Long Beach State will look to upset Tommy Lloyd and 2-seed Arizona when the two face off in Salt Lake City on Thursday. 

Monson hired Mark Few at Gonzaga and led the Bulldogs to their initial Cinderella run in the 1999 NCAA Tournament before leaving for the head coaching job at Minnesota. Few hired Lloyd as an administrative assistant in 2000 and he worked his way onto the coaching staff the next season. He was an assistant under Few for 20 seasons before taking the Arizona head coaching job in 2021.

The other two coaches off the Gonzaga tree will face off in the First Four on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio when Boise State head coach Leon Rice faces Colorado and assistant coach Bill Grier. Rice and Grier were assistants under Few from 1999-2007.

Gonzaga assistant coach Brian Michaelson discussed what it's like seeing former Zags' coaches thrive with new programs, and much more, on a new episode of Gonzaga Nation. Watch the full episode in the video above.

Produced by Thomas Gallagher.

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