Top-ranked Gonzaga returns to practice as No. 3 Iowa awaits

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — In a way, Mark Few feels like No. 1 Gonzaga is starting over.

The Bulldogs finally got back on the court to practice this week following a two-week break due to COVID-19 cases within the program. It looked like the first practice of the year to the Gonzaga head coach.

“We were able to get together last night. It looked like our first practice in the fall, balls going everywhere and people leaning over and grabbing their shorts because they were gassed,” Few said Thursday.

The Bulldogs haven't played since Dec. 2, when they beat West Virginia in Indianapolis. Two days later, Gonzaga's showdown with No. 2 Baylor was abruptly canceled just a couple of hours before tip-off after one player and one staff member in the Zags' program tested positive for COVID-19.

That led to a complete shutdown of the Bulldogs program and the cancellation of four home games.

“I just tell you this is probably, in the 20 years I've been coaching, the biggest challenge I've faced as a head coach,” Few said.

Gonzaga (3-0) opened the season spending more than a week on the road in Florida and Indiana for games against Kansas, Auburn and West Virginia. The matchup with Baylor was going to be the showcase event for the early portion of the college basketball schedule.

The Bulldogs may still get an early showcase game. They're scheduled to return to the court Saturday against No. 3 Iowa in a game scheduled in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

But while Luka Garza is a major concern for the Bulldogs, Few is more worried about the shape of his own team after two weeks of no practices. The first full squad practice for Gonzaga since the day before the Baylor game was scheduled for Thursday.

“To use the term monumental challenge would be doing a disservice,” Few said. “There's a conditioning factor we're trying to get up to speed. There's a timing and rhythm and execution issues involved in basketball that are obviously a big concern, and really when you play the way we play that's a huge part of who we are.”

Few also pointed to the mental toll of the layoff on the players, who have mostly been isolated in their rooms since early December.

“It's not easy,” he said. “They want to play. Their whole lives are about playing basketball.”

Associated Press At the basket: In this Dec. 2, 2020, file photo, Gonzaga's Drew Timme goes to the basket during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia in Indianapolis. Coach Mark Few of top-ranked Gonzaga says the suspension of basketball activities for the past two weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic has ''not helped us in any way, shape or form.″