Friends like these Few and far between

By: TOM SHANAHAN - For The North County Times
Grier readies USD to face his friend and mentor | Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:48 PM PST ∞

]SAN DIEGO ---- Mark Few and Bill Grier, friends and coaching colleagues at Gonzaga University for 16 years, were back on the same basketball court late Sunday afternoon.

But it was only for a moment before their jobs forced them to head separate ways.

They're preparing to face each other tonight when the University of San Diego hosts Gonzaga in a game that could decide first place in the West Coast Conference.

Grier, in his first season as USD's head coach after 16 years at Gonzaga, was wrapping up practice at Jenny Craig Pavilion as Few arrived with his team for a workout.

"It's not fun," Few said. "You'd rather play guys you don't like."

USD is enjoying its best start in WCC play since the 1986-87 season, and Grier's quick success has forced a showdown with Gonzaga sooner than expected. Tonight's game is sold out and will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

"He's done a great job, but I think it's what we all expected from him," Few said. "We knew he would, given time. I'm very happy for him."

Grier is Few's first assistant to become a head coach from a program with an amazingly stable staff. Associate head coach Leon Rice is in his ninth year with the team, and assistant Tommy Lloyd is in his seventh.

"We worked really hard together for 16 years to build that thing up there," said Grier, referring to Gonzaga's status as a national power. "It's weird that he's up there and I'm down here. That's what makes it hard."

Grier said he and Few still talk about three or four times a week. Describing them as old friends doesn't tell the full story.

First they were roommates as young assistants and bachelors. When Grier got married, Few served as his best man, and Few's father, a Presbyterian minister, performed the ceremony.

But the element that really makes it hard for Grier is that Few is one of those rare bosses who spreads credit rather than taking it all for himself.

"None of my assistants work for me," Few said. "They work with me. That's the way it's always been up there. It's been a team."

This is the second Few-Grier reunion. USD visited the Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash., on Jan. 19, leaving with a 80-70 loss.

But USD has been much more cohesive since that game, reeling off seven straight victories, including a 63-55 upset of then-No. 21 Saint Mary's, only the third victory in school history over a ranked opponent.

The lessons Grier learned under Few helped him change the game of junior point guard Brandon Johnson. He now drives less, distributes the ball better and hits more jump shots. Early in the year, Johnson pouted at Grier's criticism until he bought into what the coach was teaching him.

Few taught Grier how to push, but not push too far.

"He (Few) understands how to push buttons better than anybody I know," Grier said. "He knows when to crack the whip and when to back off. You can see it in his teams. Every year they start peaking at this time of the year. That's what he's done a tremendous job of."

Now Grier is using many of those lessons at USD. And Few finds himself looking in the mirror when game-planning against the Toreros.