Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos reflects on his basketball journey at Gonzaga under Mark Few: 'It's a family'

'I miss it here. It’s a family and people use that word for a reason. You jump in and people care about you as a person and a player,' Pangos said of Gonzaga

Mar 27, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Kevin Pangos (4) and forward Kyle Wiltjer (33) celebrate as they head to the bench for a timeout against the UCLA Bruins during the second half in the semifinals of the south regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The night of Nov. 13, 2011, Gonzaga men’s basketball guard Kevin Pangos couldn’t sleep ahead of a highly-anticipated matchup against the Washington State Cougars at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The 6-foot-2 Canadian guard had a modest introduction to college basketball in his first game as a freshman against Eastern Washington earlier that week when he had 11 points in 27 minutes off the bench. After Gonzaga’s coaches noticed a flaw in WSU’s defense in their game prep, Pangos spent the night before his second game getting up extra shots in preparation for his start as a Bulldog.

“[The Cougars are] playing a zone,” assistant coach Tommy Lloyd told Pangos. “So we’re going to start you and we’re going to start you to shoot the ball.”

Pangos couldn’t have followed his coach’s orders any closer. After missing his first outside shot, he lit up the Cougars for 33 points on nine made 3-pointers, tying Dan Dickau's program record. He went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line and dished out six assists in a thrilling 89-81 victory in front of a sold-out Kennel crowd. 

“Pregame, I didn’t eat. I was really nervous,” Pangos recalled. “But I went into the game and I just listened [to Lloyd]. I think I shot like six 3s in the first three minutes. It was just bang, bang, bang.”

The 3-point barrage against WSU catapulted Pangos to star-level status on campus and set the stage for what would be a decorated career in Spokane. Pangos was an All-WCC selection all four years at Gonzaga, highlighted by his senior season in 2014-15 when he averaged 11.6 points, 4.8 assists and shot 43.1% from downtown to win the West Coast Conference Player of the Year award. He and a talented squad headlined by Domantas Sabonis, Kyle Wiltjer and Gary Bell guided the Zags to the Elite Eight that season, which ended up being the first of nine straight Sweet 16 appearances for the program

Pangos helped set the foundation for a decade-long run of unparalleled success out of the Bulldogs, though he certainly couldn’t have seen it coming all those years ago.  

“Since then they’ve exceeded that [expectation],” Pangos said. “They’ve been to the national championship twice, they’ve ranked No. 1 consistently. It’s been amazing to see.”

While his Zags kept making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, Pangos’ basketball career has taken him all around the globe — he has played in top leagues in Spain (twice), Lithuania and Russia as well as international competitions with the Canadian senior national team. After he was named All-EuroLeague first team with Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia) in the 2020-21 season, he decided it was time to give the NBA a shot before it was too late.

“I just always wanted to compete at the highest level,” Pangos said. “I knew going into that season, I’m going to give [the NBA] a shot. I wanna look back at not regret not giving it a go, so I turned down all my offers overseas.”

Pangos signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in September 2021, and after playing spot minutes for much of the season, he got the nod to start alongside Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 31. Pangos had a quiet two points in his first NBA start, though he was much more productive in his next two games against the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers.

Pangos played in six more games with Cleveland before being released in February. Though his time in the association was brief, he can say he gave it his best effort. Now Pangos is coming off his second season back in Europe’s top leagues, as he completed the 2023-24 season with Spanish club Valencia Basket after a short stint with Olimpia Milano the year prior. 

The free-flowing nature of the European game probably better suits Pangos as a pick-and-roll dominant guard, though he still has a soft spot for the place that launched his basketball career over a decade ago.

“I miss it here,” Pangos said of Gonzaga and Spokane. “It’s a family and people use that word for a reason. You jump in and people care about you as a person and a player. After that you just build a tight-knit [relationship] cause they’re all people who feel the same way.”

Pangos shared more insight on his Gonzaga days, his experiences playing overseas and much more on a new episode of Forever Zags on Gonzaga Nation.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE BELOW:

Produced by Thomas Gallagher.

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