Gonzaga coach Mark Few met with Washington athletics director Barbara Hedges on Sunday in Spokane, Wash., and Hedges has identified Few as her No. 1 candidate for the school's coaching opening.Hedges is looking to replace Bob Bender, who was asked to resign last week.Hedges met with Few to gauge his immediate interest, but sources said Few was non-committal. Few is expected to let Hedges know if he wants to continue talks during the Final Four in Atlanta this weekend. Unrelated to Washington's pursuit, Few was expected to receive a restructured, 10-year deal from Gonzaga this week."We'll just have to deal with the fact that Mark is a commodity from the standpoint that people are very interested in him," Gonzaga AD Mike Roth said. "That's a compliment to Mark, it's a compliment to our program and it's a compliment to our entire university."Roth said he hopes to persuade Few to stay.If Few is out of the mix, Hedges will look at Minnesota's Dan Monson and Saint Louis' Lorenzo Romar.Bender was asked to resign last week after nine seasons at Washington, and Few's name surfaced immediately.Few, 39, has an 81-20 record at Gonzaga, the best of any third-year coach in the history of Division I men's basketball. This year's team had a 29-4 record, but was beaten by Wyoming in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.Few has refused to comment publicly on whether he has any interest in replacing Bender, a close friend, at Washington.Details of Few's long-term contract with Gonzaga have never been made public, but The Spokesman-Review newspaper on Monday reported it is about $250,000 a year.Roth said he is concerned about Hedges' interest in Few, but added that he understands."We don't want to lose our coach," he explained. "Mark has indicated he wants to stay at Gonzaga, and we, as a university, are doing everything we can to not lose him."But if a great situation presents itself to Mark, one that he feels is right for him and his family, the univ...
