Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have a rich history of turning former players into NBA stars – but less discussed is the program’s pipeline of developing coaches.
Three of Gonzaga’s current assistant coaches – Zach Norvell, Stephen Gentry, and Brian Michaelson – are former players, while many other Zags have gone on to coach elsewhere, including Rem Bakamus (Texas Tech), Gary Bell Jr (Northern Arizona), Eric McClellan (FAU), and Connor Griffin (Brooklyn Nets).
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You can add former Gonzaga walk-on Will Graves to that list.
Graves, the son of longtime Gonzaga and Oregon women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves, is joining the Portland State Vikings as an assistant coach, as announced by the program on Tuesday.
Graves appeared in 39 games for Gonzaga from 2019-2022, scoring 25 total points with 12 rebounds and a pair of steals. He shot 7-for-20 (35%) from three and played in ten games during Gonzaga’s incredible 2020-21 season that ended in a national championship loss to Baylor.
Prior to arriving at Gonzaga, Graves played one season at Lane Community College – averaging 6.6 points while shooting 38% from three – and he finished his career at Southern Oregon, where he earned All-Conference honorable mention honors after averaging 12.8 points while shooting 37.2% from beyond the arc.
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Coaching career
Graves spent the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant under Todd Golden with the Florida Gators, earning a Masters Degree in Sports Management while being on the sideline for Florida’s national championship in 2025.
“We are excited to add Will to our coaching staff and program,” Portland State head coach Jase Coburn said, per Portland State’s press release. “He is coming from a national-championship level program at Florida, and played in one at Gonzaga. He was highly recommended by Todd Golden and has great ties to the state of Oregon. Will has a very good basketball mind and is an excellent player development coach. Our players will really enjoy working with him.”
Family affair
Oregon coach Kelly Graves | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Kelly Graves took over as the head women’s basketball coach at Gonzaga in the 2000-01 season, right around when Will was born. Graves went 5-23 in his first year with the Zags but turned the program into a perennial powerhouse in the West Coast Conference, winning the regular-season title ten consecutive years from 2004-2014, when he departed for Eugene to coach the Ducks.
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While at Gonzaga, Graves led the team to seven NCAA Tournament berths and a pair of Sweet 16s, posting a ridiculous 316-136 (69.9%) overall record.
Now Will looks to carry on the family legacy, getting his first coaching gig in the Big Sky for a team that went 20-11 last year under Coburn and is looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/gonzaga as Former Gonzaga walk-on joins Division I coaching ranks at Portland State.
