The timing and planning of Gonzaga’s new basketball facility more than two decades ago was spot-on, mirroring so many of the key aspects that launched the program’s ascension to national prominence.
It took bold thinking to make it happen. Mark Few, early in his head coaching tenure, accompanied then-school president Robert Spitzer to Salt Lake City to request donations from brothers Phil and Tom McCarthey for GU’s athletic endowment.
Except Few drew up a new play and asked Rev. Spitzer to broach the idea of a new basketball arena when they huddled before a meeting with the McCartheys.
“ Mark laid it on the line: An investment in a new Kennel is going to help us with our recruiting, with our marketing and on down the line – all these things instinctively one would know,” Spitzer told The Spokesman-Review’s John Blanchette in 2009. “I knew right away for Mark that this was going to be essential for him as a coach.
“So I changed my pitch right away – I’ve told the McCartheys this story – and it became all about the arena. We didn’t have a design, we didn’t have an amount, we didn’t have anything, but we were pitching the arena.”
That meeting was one of many that led to the McCarthey Athletic Center, which opened 20 years ago in October 2004.
Gonzaga’s men have lost just 18 times and boast a 94% winning percentage on their home court, so there’s plenty of candidates for the top 20 McCarthey moments.
Timely
On-court highlights occupy most of this list, but, as mentioned earlier, the McCarthey Athletic Center came to be at just the right time.
Building materials were largely budget-friendly when the facility was being built.
“Garco (Construction) did a fantastic job and was willing to make an honest profit and we had great subcontractors,” Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford said. “At the time, the prices for (building materials) were really suppressed and then they came back to normal (after construction). Especially steel, it was really low.”
Size mattered
It’s a question Standiford and former AD Mike Roth probably have heard hundreds of times. Why didn’t the $25 million arena have more than 6,000 seats? The answer in a nutshell: It wouldn’t have been anywhere close to a $25 million price tag if the arena required expanding to seat even 8,000.
“Substantially more on a cost -per -seat basis,” Standiford said. “I know from the design, development phase, it was way more expensive to make the building bigger. We were really pressing to build that building and fund that building as it was.”
Turiaf thrives in new digs
Ronny Turiaf felt right at home inside the new arena. The charismatic forward scored 33 points in a win over Portland State on opening night.
He followed with 20 points against Montana before dropping 40 points in a victory over Idaho in the third game.
First ranked foe falls
No. 14 Washington, the first ranked opponent to visit the McCarthey Athletic Center, fell to the Zags 99-87 in December 2004.
Adam Morrison scored 28 points, Turiaf added 23 points and 13 rebounds and Derek Raivio made five 3-pointers while contributing 21 points.
Morrison magic
We could probably assemble a list of Morrison’s top 20 in the McCarthey. Instead, we combined several of his memorable moments for space reasons.
There was his fadeaway jumper in the final second in a 75-73 win over San Francisco in Feb. 2005. There was Morrison’s 42-point eruption against Portland in January 2006, still the McCarthey Athletic Center record.
Morrison had 23 points and earned MVP honors as Gonzaga rallied from 15 points down to edge Loyola Marymount 68-67 in the 2006 WCC Tournament title game. He celebrated by hopping on the broadcast table and hanging out in the Kennel Club after LMU’s Chris Ayer missed from close range in the closing seconds.
GameDay and more Morrison magic
When ESPN’s GameDay came to GU for the first time in February 2006, Morrison delivered 34 points, 12 in the final three minutes, in an 80-76 win over Stanford.
P-Mac’s triple, Morrison’s pass
OK, one more Morrison mention. He had 34 points in a 75-72 victory over San Francisco on Senior Night in February 2006. He had a hand in the game-winner with his lone assist leading to a Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes 3-pointer with two seconds remaining.
J.P.’s Senior Night surprise
Gonzaga center J.P. Batista, a native of Brazil, had no idea his older brother Anderson had made the long trip to surprise him on 2006 Senior Night.
The two shared an emotional embrace after Anderson walked onto the court. It had been four years since Anderson had seen his younger brother.
Gonzaga pulls rank on UW
No. 18 Gonzaga routed No. 13 Washington 97-77 on Dec. 9, 2006, in the first McCarthey Athletic Center contest between ranked teams. Raivio drained five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points.
First home defeat
Santa Clara toppled the Zags 84-73 in February 2007, ending GU’s 50-game home winning streak – the nation’s longest – that dated back to the Martin Centre.
It was an unsettling weekend for the Zags, who were without Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis. Both were suspended after being arrested the night before the game on drug possession charges.
Zags come up short on Gray’s great day
Steven Gray tried to will the 11th-ranked Zags to victory, but No. 25 San Diego State’s Billy White and Kawhi Leonard had other ideas in a November 2010 showdown.
Gray scored 35 points, including 14 of the team’s final 15, but GU couldn’t overcome White’s career-high 30 points and Leonard’s 18 points and 12 boards. “Steven was superhuman,” Few said.
Pangos hits nine 3s vs. WSU
In his first start and second collegiate game, freshman Kevin Pangos put on a memorable shooting display in an 89-81 win over the Cougars in November 2011.
Pangos equaled Dan Dickau’s school record with nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points. He made 9 of 13 3s and handed out six assists.
Olynyk drops 31 on the Gaels
Kelly Olynyk was early in his breakout junior season when he scored 31 points in an 83-78 victory over Saint Mary’s, just days after his career high 33 points in a road win over Santa Clara in January 2013.
Olynyk and Pangos combined for GU’s last 16 points. The 7-footer made a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left after the Gaels had closed within 79-78.
BYU ends GU’s bid for perfection
It started like so many Gonzaga games in the 2017 season. The Zags methodically moved in front 18-2 on Senior Night and another blowout was seemingly in the works.
Not so fast. BYU rallied late to pull off a stunning 79-71 victory, handing GU its first loss after 29 straight wins. The Zags rebounded to win the WCC Tournament and five NCAA Tournament games before falling to North Carolina in the championship game.
Geno’s crossover
Geno Crandall introduced himself to the Kennel when he scored 28 points and nearly led North Dakota to a n upset before the Zags rallied for an 89-83 OT win in December 2017.
Crandall transferred to GU the following season and made this list with a remarkable move that bewildered BYU’s Nick Emery. He shook Emery with a behind-the-back dribble near the 3-point line, followed by a between-the-legs crossover that sent Emery stumbling in the wrong direction as Crandall finished with a layup.
Emery poked fun at himself, tweeting a video of the play with the comment: “If anyone is wondering, my ankles are okay. You win some, you lose some.”
Rui connects on game-winner
Washington rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to pull even at 79, but Rui Hachimura countered with a 15-foot jumper with less than one second remaining for an 81-79 win in Dec. 2018.
Hachimura finished with 26 points and the Kennel Club chanted his name as he waited for a post-game interview with ESPN’s Bill Walton and Dave Pasch.
Blue bloods visit the Kennel
GU has entertained lots of power conference schools, but the anticipation meter was off the charts when two of the biggest names in the college hoops came to town.
In 2011, coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State pulled out a 74-67 victory powered by Draymond Green’s 34 points. Jud Heathcote, who led the Spartans to the 1979 national championship during a distinguished coaching career that began at West Valley High, retired in Spokane and watched from the stands.
The second-ranked Zags handled North Carolina, one of the bluest blue bloods, 94-81 in December 2019. Corey Kispert hit 5 of 6 3-pointers and scored 26 points.
The Tar Heels, playing without standout point guard Cole Anthony, suffered their fourth straight setback. “We want Wofford!” chided the Kennel Club, in reference to the team responsible for UNC’s third loss in the streak.
Timme torches Texas
The Longhorns’ visit in November 2021 was big by any measure, including AP rankings – Gonzaga was No. 1, Texas No. 5.
Drew Timme, a Texas native, conducted a post-move clinic with a 37-point effort, third in McCarthey Athletic Center history. He made 15 of 19 shots in GU’s 86-74 win.
GameDay visit, Gaels go down
In February 2023, ESPN’s GameDay returned to the Kennel for the first time in 14 years. About 12 hours after Mark Few sat down with the GameDay crew and the airing of Drew Timme’s 94 feet segment with Jay Bilas, the 12th-ranked Zags downed No. 15 Saint Mary’s 77-68, avenging a 78-70 loss in Moraga, California.
Timme had 19 points and Anton Watson added 17 as GU and SMC shared the regular-season title.
McCarthey Athletic Center’s impact
Brian Michaelson has a unique perspective on what the McCarthey Athletic Center has meant to the program. When the venue opened in 2004, he was a senior on the team. He joined Gonzaga’s staff in 2008 and he’s entering his 12th season as an assistant coach.
“The timing was absolutely perfect,” he said. “It was as early in the run as we could have done it and you needed it at that time. It has really helped take it to the next level. A bunch of us played in that old gym (Martin Centre) and it was really special, the atmosphere was special.
“But for the future, it was huge. The legitimacy of having a real arena was huge for the growth that came down the road.”
