James Snook/US PresswireCoach Kelly Graves wants Gonzaga to test its mettle against good teams.At the beginning of the season, Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves told his team a fairy tale. We're not saying it started with "Once upon a time." But we're not saying it didn't, either.
"I told them the story about how, 10 years ago in Spokane, a little blond-haired girl -- the kind of girl who was something special, the kind that people don't see all the time -- led her team to the Final Four."
That little blond girl was Jackie Stiles, the former Southwest Missouri State star, whose transcendent performance in Spokane a decade ago helped her team become the last non-BCS conference team to reach a women's Final Four.
For Graves, it seemed like the right time to tell a good story. To plant a seed and see if something might grow. "As a coach, you are always looking for an edge," he said. "I've retold it a couple of times during the season, and the last time Katelan Redmon looked at me and said, 'OK, coach, we know!'"
But don't be surprised if Graves trots out his tale one more time before the weekend is out -- one last inspirational edge for his squad. "There's no reason we can't do the same thing," Graves said.
If someone in the women's tournament gets to play Cinderella, Gonzaga is perhaps the best choice. The Bulldogs are a No. 11 seed coming off last Monday's upset of No. 3 seed UCLA on their home floor.
What comes next is nothing short of a golden opportunity. Led by a little blond girl named Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga is playing in the Sweet 16 for a second straight season, this time against No. 7 seed Louisville, which knocked off second-seeded Xavier.
The difference? This time, the regional semifinal will take place in Spokane, and Spokane Arena is already near a sellout. Graves said this might be the biggest basketball weekend in Spokane, ever. (Yes, he realizes the men's team has had a successful season or two.)
"That includes our guys. They made the Elite Eight, and a lot of Sweet 16s, but they never played those games here," Graves said. "Hey, those Elite Eight guys are famous around here. Those guys put Gonzaga on the map. Enrollment doubled, applications were up tenfold. Maybe our team can do the same for women's basketball."
The spotlight will shine brightest on Vandersloot, the dynamic senior point guard who had a terrific weekend in the opening rounds and became the first player in NCAA basketball history -- men's or women's -- to score 2,000 points and dish out 1,000 assists.
If the men's tournament has Jimmer, the women have "Sloot."
And Graves, he hasn't had to pay for a meal all week. He walked into his favorite Spokane sandwich shop Tuesday morning, and the customers stood up and clapped. And his pastrami and provolone sandwich on a French roll? On the house.
"I've been hearing a lot of, 'It's on me, Coach,'" Graves said.
The local television stations are doing promos. There are signs all over town rooting on the team. "This is a basketball town," Graves said. And with Vandersloot playing her final college games, this looks like a fleeting opportunity to do something very big.
It might be for Graves, as well. No doubt, Graves is going to deflect questions about whether this might be his last shot at mid-major glory at Gonzaga. There is a job opening across the state at Washington, a Pac-10 program that desperately wants to return to the conversation in its own conference, and Graves is believed to be a wish-list candidate for Huskies athletic director Scott Woodward.
For now, though, Graves said he is going to focus on what's in front of him. And that might be nothing short of a little "happily ever after."
