Mark Few Ready For the World to See ‘How Great’ Chet Holmgren Is

Mark Few has had a front row seat to Chet Holmgren’s development, and has now coached against him at Team USA training camp.

For the first time in his young basketball career, Thunder star Chet Holmgren played against his college coach Mark Few. Holmgren had plenty of success under few at Gonzaga, which landed him inside the top three of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Holmgren was selected to partake in Team USA’s training camp and star on the select team along with Thunder teammate Jalen Williams. The Gonzaga coach was selected as an assistant on the United States National Team. Few understands Holmgren’s game better than most and was able to give Team USA a bit of direction during the squad’s scrimmages.

“It was odd being on the other bench during the scrimmage,” Few said. “Obviously I was rooting for him but then again I was trying to warn our guys, ‘Hey, watch out, you got to get on him out there.’”

Holmgren shot 39% from 3-point range in his lone season at Gonzaga, taking 3.3 attempts per game. His former coach clearly knew his shooting stroke well, warning Team USA bigs to step out onto the perimeter.

Holmgren starred for Oklahoma City in Summer League, but outside of that, USA training camp was the first time he participated in organized five-on-five scrimmages against the NBA’s top players. There’s been footage of Holmgren training individually and one-on-one, but the USA Select Team provided him a chance to put his talent to the test against some of the best players in the world. He continues to excel at every level of hoops.

“It’s great to be able to play up against great competition like all these different dudes out here,” Holmgren said. “It’s a bit of a different style [than the NBA] with the FIBA style of basketball that USA Basketball is trying to play and get ready for. But at the end of the day, there's still talent out there and it’s great to go up against it.”

Holmgren missed all of last season with a foot injury and has slowly worked his way back to action. Any experience for the big man is positive in the grand scheme of things.

“It sucked not playing but I feel like I made the most of it and learned a lot,” Holmgren said. “I definitely feel like it’ll help me in the long run.

“[I’m always] trying to work on my overall game, all facets of it, but especially [working on] my creation with the ball in my hands, whether that’s with the ball in my hands or finding the open guy or getting somebody open.”

As someone who has seen the best of Holmgren and understands basketball at a high level, Few is ready to see him succeed in the NBA. He has all the tools to be a star and can help the Thunder win now.

“I just want him out on the floor because I think when people see him out on the floor over a long stretch, you’re going see how great a player is,” Few said. “He’s definitely on a [great trajectory] right now, so we’re all going to be able to sit back and watch that.” 

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