SportsCamp - April 30

- If you've ever doubted the wonderful nature of sports or the beauty of sportsmanship, you need to read this. It doesn't matter that it's small college softball. To me, this is what makes sports so special - the way it affects people on an entirely different level. Just read it, it's got my vote for sports story of the year so far, and it'll be a hard one to top.



- For Zag fans looking forward to next season, Gonzaga Bulletin reporter Zach Stratton has exclusive stuff on next year's recruits.



- As well, Tony Schick has an inside-look at next year's women's team.



- Travis Lucian wrote an excellent piece on Bulldogs second baseman Evan Wells.

Few's plan hits nine-year snag

What does the future hold for the Bulldogs?

The question is asked every year, after seasons good or bad, successful or tumultuous, memorable or forgettable. After a college basketball season, the question ultimately arises: What's next?

For too many years the Bulldogs have been forced to ask that question. Well, now it's time to stop asking and start finding some answers.

Mark Few, specifically, needs to find out whether he can answer that question and deliver results for a program that has grown stagnant. Actually, scratch that - stagnant implies that it's been in the same place, and the fact is, this team has actually taken a step back from where it was nine years ago.

In 1999, head coach Dan Monson guided the Zags to the Elite Eight. In the nine years since then under Few, they haven't been back.

Talk all you want about the Bulldogs' recruiting classes, national exposure or winning percentage - the reality is that while Few has built the program to prominence, it has since reached a plateau.

Every off-season the talk is about the future, and yet every year these Bulldog teams succumb to the same failures that have plagued them since 1999. There was the tearful choke job against UCLA in 2006, the blowout by Indiana in 2007, the lack of heart shown in losing the WCC crown this past March, and the blowing of an 11-point lead against Davidson in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Nevada, Texas Tech, the list goes on.

How long can we accept these kinds of disappointments?

In these past nine years, Few still hasn't shown that he can right the ship, as each new method he employs falls on its face. Few loosened the reins for Adam Morrison, which resulted in a lack of options when he was ineffective. He slowed down the pace for Derek Raivio, which resulted in over-dribbling on every possession. Just this past year, he used every trick in the book. He essentially cut players (Pierre-Marie Altidor Cespedes), benched others (Larry Gurganious, Micah Downs), and employed several different lineups with mixed results. The end result: another loss in a big game, another first-round exit, and another offseason of waiting and hoping.

At some point, you'd want to start seeing some improvement.

For too long we've allowed Monson's success in 1999 to carry over into the Mark Few regime, masking Few's inadequacies as head coach. In the nine years since taking over the Bulldogs, Few's teams have not only failed to return to the Elite Eight, they've failed to keep their spot as the best team in the conference.

If people are content with run-of-the-mill scheduling, high regular season winning percentages and zero progress, then the current incarnation of Mark Few is for you. But in truth, improvement and achievement probably hold more importance, and after nine years, it's time to deliver these things.

A month ago, while on Jim Rome's television show, Few stated that he didn't need a national title to feel complete as a coach. While this sentiment is noble as a human being, it ultimately makes him fail as a head coach. To achieve success, a coach needs to seek and demand the best from both his team and himself. You don't need to win a championship to be a success, but you'll never be a success if you don't work for it every day.

Nine years after getting the job, Few needs to decide if he is ready to turn the corner with this program. The future depends on his ability to step up and make changes for the better.

What does the future hold for the Bulldogs? For Mark Few, the answer is clear: Shape up, or ship out.

With his decision, Pargo grows up

No amount of begging, pleading or reasoning can ever sway the decisions of a man who has made up his mind. That's been exactly the case with Jeremy Pargo during these past few days.

Through his actions, decisions and attitudes surrounding his decision to enter the NBA Draft, Pargo suddenly grew up before our eyes, from a talkative, headstrong kid to a full-grown man.

Gonzaga should be proud of him, and proud of who he has turned into during his three years here.

Pargo made no hoopla surrounding his decision to test the NBA Draft waters. He didn't stage an elaborate press conference or attempt to hype up this monumental decision. Instead, we saw the matured Jeremy Pargo, who quietly made his decision to friends, politely answered the media's inquiries about the rumor and quickly went to work to handle his business.

In his decision to professionally play a kid's game, he acted like a man.

A kid is rarely equipped with the maturity to handle a decision like this. A kid would believe every yes-man and every hanger-on who baited him with false promises and delusions of success. A kid would buy into his own hype, overestimate his skills and ultimately fail in his quest to go pro.

But a grown man, one who has developed a level head and maturity, wouldn't. Pargo is showcasing those qualities right now, during one of the most important periods of his life. He didn't have to think this over, he didn't have to weigh his options while many others were voicing their own opinions, but it is the fact that he did that is important.

After a season in which he won WCC Player of the Year, Pargo could have easily decided to turn pro and never look back. But a mature person knows his abilities better than anyone else, and Pargo is using his knowledge to help himself even more. By not hiring an agent, he can still opt to withdraw his name from the draft if he senses that his draft position would be lower than he thought. He's not putting all his chips on the table unless he's dealt a good hand. Now, if he realizes that he may need another year to develop, he can return to Gonzaga for his senior season.

Sure, he could come back, but I suspect Gonzaga would be even more proud for him to go pro and succeed. A return by Pargo to the Bulldogs would no doubt help the basketball team, but with the level-headedness that Pargo has demonstrated, it is evident that this is also a man who is ready to succeed in the real world. Gonzaga would be proud to cheer him on as he carries himself to the next level.

His ability to make it in the NBA game remains to be seen, but it looks like he has the attitude it takes to thrive, and sometimes that's just as important as basketball ability. He's not buying into his own hype, he knows his limitations, he knows what's at stake, and through it all he is showing a level of maturity far beyond that of a normal 21-year-old.

You have to root for a guy like that.

The Jeremy Pargo we've seen on the court is one of youthful enthusiasm. He was the kid who was always talking, playing, having fun. But when the time came for him to make decisions regarding his life as an adult, something happened in him:

Jeremy Pargo manned up.

BREAKING NEWS --- Gonzaga's Pargo declares for NBA Draft

As first reported at GonzagaBulletin.com, Gonzaga junior point guard Jeremy Pargo has declared for the NBA Draft. Pargo will not hire an agent, however, in case he decided to return for his senior season.

For the full story as first reported by Bulletin Sports Editor Tony Schick, click here.

The NBA's sleight of hand

Welcoming viewers to his Sunday NBA broadcast, ABC announcer Mike Breen proclaimed "this is one of the best seasons in NBA history."

Who wouldn't agree with that statement? The NBA and each of its 15 teams are having an amazing year, thanks to the groundbreaking decision to finally ditch the flawed concept that was the Eastern Conference.

Oh, it had a good run. Those Celtic teams in the 60s sure were powerful, and that Jordan kid made the Bulls exciting to watch, but other than that, the conference had run its course. After the decade of struggles to open the new millennium, it was finally time to take it off life support.

For the past several years, the now-defunct Eastern Conference served as nothing more than practice fodder for the vastly superior teams in the West. In the decade after Jordan retired (the second time) the West won eight championships as the Eastern Conference spiraled out of control, with franchises being managed into the ground and conference standings looking uglier than Sam Cassell. Things got so bad, the Hornets even switched conferences.

Michael Ray Richardson was right. "The ship be sinking."

Thankfully, though, the Eastern Conference is no more, and as a result we've been treated to "one of the best seasons in NBA history."

What's that? The East is still around? Ooh ... this is awkward.

OK, fine. So the Eastern Conference is still here, and the NBA has been doing everything in its power to hide this fact. For as good as the West has been this year (nine teams with more than 45 wins), the East has been equally as dismal, with the Indiana Pacers still in the playoff hunt despite being 33-44.

This is not something to be proud of, and the NBA marketing scheme has reflected that, treating the West like it's their golden child and the East like the disowned son. The East is the Ishmael to the West's Isaac.

"Have you met my son, The Western Conference? He has 10 teams .500 or better! In fact, he's so good, a team with more than 45 wins actually won't make the playoffs! Oh, and this is the Eastern Conference, my other son."

Of course, the Celtics are having a phenomenal year, but that success is backfiring by showing just how piss-poor the rest of the conference is. Therefore, ashamed, the NBA shifts the focus away from the East.

There are plenty of reasons to be ashamed, too, not the least of which is the fact that franchises like New York, Chicago and Miami have a combined 166 losses this season. Forget East Coast bias, this is some East Coast B.S.

With this continual conference mediocrity, it's a wonder that the NBA doesn't actually take steps to remove the thing altogether (actually, maybe they're trying: They did let Isaiah Thomas run the Knicks). Instead, the league is doing the next best thing: Closing its eyes and pretending it isn't there. The NBA thinks that by pushing all the focus on the unprecedented dominance of the Western Conference, we won't be able to witness the ongoing degradation of the other half of the league. Sure, East teams' attendance is in the tank, the quality of the Eastern Conference teams is rocketing toward rock-bottom and teams with pathetic records are being allowed into the playoffs every year, but just don't look at it and maybe it will go away. Hey! Have you seen the West? It's fan-tastic!

The wool is being pulled over the eyes of NBA fans, and until something can be done to fix it, every year we will continue to be treated to "one of the best seasons in NBA history."

Pay no attention to the little conference behind the curtain.