Gonzaga at WCC Media Day in Las Vegas

It wasnt just a media day dedicated to the West Coast Conference at Resorts World in Las Vegas but the Mountain West Conference as well.

You can even say for the Pac-12 Conference with several programs from both the WCC and MWC moving to the Conference of Champions in 2026-2027.

A couple of quotes from the MWC portion in the morning stood out.

Boise State head coach Leon Rice spoke about Gonzagas head Mark Few joining a league where his voice may not carry as much power in the Pac-12.

That is simply just not the case as Few receives respect from all of his college basketball colleagues and everyone listens to what he has to say.

I wont say this to his face, but when he says something about basketball and things like that, hes usually right.

- Leon Rice San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher was also asked about the addition of Gonzaga to the Pac-12.

The Zags and the Aztecs will be right at the top of the conference as both programs have been in the national championship once in the last four seasons.

I just think when you start any conversation with a basketball conference that includes San Diego State and Gonzaga, its a good thing.

- Brian Dutcher Onto the WCC portion in the afternoon, Randy Bennett and his Gaels joined the Field of 68 where Rob Dauster asked him if they were going to keep the Gonzaga-Saint Marys rivalry going past 2025-2026.

Bennett and Few were even spotted by Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review chatting for a bit.

Not a huge surprise to see Gonzaga leave...

We have.

We need to get that done.

- Randy Bennett As for the Zags, in attendance along with Mark Few was Graham Ike, Ben Gregg and Nolan Hickman.

Few was thrilled to have the trio of seniors along with everyone else from last season come back to Spokane for one more run together.

The transfer portal haul of Michael Ajayi, Khalif Battle, Emmanuel Innocenti and Braeden Smith (redshirting this season) was wonderful to acquire but the return of Gonzagas veteran experience from 2023-2024 is that much more important to have.

Retention is so much more important than addition.

- Mark Few .

@ZagMBB discusses their new approach this upcoming season at #WCChoops Media Day.

@ESPNU pic.twitter.com/JSDeOfHe2f To no ones surprise, Gonzaga was picked to win the West Coast Conference with 9 of the 11 first-place votes from the head coaches going to the Zags.

Saint Marys received a first place vote and surprisingly, USF got the other.

With that being said, this is definitely looking like a three-bid league for the NCAA Tournament.

Gonzaga always looks forward to the Bay Area road trips because of the beautiful scenery and the competitiveness those programs bring.

This season is no exception with Saint Marys, USF and Santa Clara all making a case for an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

This is the strongest the middle half of the league has looked in a long time with the additions of Washington State and Oregon State.

Although, the bottom half from Portland and on is a dumpster fire.

The first look at the #WCChoops men's preseason poll https://t.co/kWVd4EYeU3 pic.twitter.com/pww3P7Hy6P It hasnt happened since 2018 but the Zags have 4 players named to the WCC preseason team in Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Michael Ajayi.

The only other programs with multiple players named was Saint Marys in Augustas Marciulionis and Mitchell Saxen as well as Santa Clara in Adama Bal and Carlos Stewart.

Im fine with Saxen winning the WCC Defensive Player of the Year again and definitely could but Marciulionis better not win the WCC Player of the Year again.

Its either Ikes or Nembhards for the taking.

Your 2024-25 #WCChoops men's preseason team https://t.co/kWVd4EYeU3 pic.twitter.com/Sr70h9GWQb Less that three weeks until #6 Gonzaga tips-off the 2024-2025 season at the Spokane Arena against #8 Baylor on November 4th at 8:30 PM PT on ESPN2.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area...

Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho.

This article has been shared from the original article on slipperstillfits, here is the link to the original article:

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