Kelvin Sampson offers analogy when giving the correct pronunciation of Gonzaga
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is very familiar with Gonzaga from his days coaching at nearby Washington State.
So much so that he knows how to properly pronounce both the school and the town it’s located in, as evidenced by an exchange at Sampson’s press conference Friday leading up to the Cougars’ second-round NCAA Tournament game against Gonzaga.
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Late in his press conference, a reporter asked Sampson if he tried to get a game scheduled with Gonzaga in 2021, pronouncing it “Gon-Zah-Ga.” Sampson immediately interjected the reporter, saying the schools is pronounced “Gon-Za-Ga.”
“It always burns me up when people say that,” Sampson said further. “It's like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin.
“My mother used to say, people would see my name and say Kevin. She always used to say, ‘Don't let people call you Kevin. Your name is Kelvin; make sure they pronounce your name right.’ That’s why my antennas go up with that. Same with Gonzaga; they were our neighbors.
"It's not Spokane (pronouncing it Spo-cain) or Gonzaga (pronouncing it Gon-zah-ga). It’s Gonzaga (pronouncing it Gon-Za-Ga) and Spokane (pronouncing it Spo-can).”
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No doubt that will earn Sampson some brownie points with Gonzaga faithful and the denizens of Spokane when their Bulldogs take on Sampson’s Cougars in Saturday night’s second-round game in Wichita. That’s pronounced “Witch-ih-taw,” by the way, not “Witch-ee-tah.”
