Few named again to USA Basketball coaching staff

From news and wire services

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo — Gonzaga coach Mark Few, an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Men's Basketball Team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, was named one of three assistants for the USA team which will play in the 2027 FIBA Men's World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

"It's the highest calling you can have as a basketball coach and it was such an honor to serve with USA Basketball during the last cycle," Few said. "To be asked to return is another tremendous honor. I'm humbled, I'm honored and I'm excited to get back to work alongside Coach (Erik) Spoelstra and an outstanding staff. There's an incredible amount of camaraderie that comes with representing your country and working together toward that shared goal is an awesome feeling."

Spoelstra, coach of the Miami Heat who will be the USA Men’s National Team head coach for this cycle, will also be assisted by J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons) and Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City Thunder).

The coaching staff was selected by USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director Grant Hill.

“I am thrilled to add Mark Few, J.B. Bickerstaff and Mark Daigneault to the USA Basketball Men’s National Team coaching staff,” Hill said. “Mark Few, a Hall of Famer, is not only is one of the most accomplished NCAA coaches in history but also knows what it takes to guide USA Basketball at the highest levels. Mark Daigneault and J.B. are proven leaders and winners who I’m confident will be extraordinary additions to Erik’s staff.”

Few, along with Spoelstra, served as assistants to Steve Kerr for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, where the USA won their fifth consecutive gold medal, and the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup in Manila. Daigneault has previous experience with USA Basketball as the video coordinator for the gold medal winning 2013 USA U19 and 2014 U18 national teams under USA head coach Billy Donovan. Bickerstaff will take his first USA assignment next summer.

Few is one of the most successful NCAA coaches in history, serving on Gonzaga’s coaching staff since 1989 and assuming head coaching responsibilities in 1999. Few, a 2026 Naismith Hall of Fall inductee, has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament every season and reached the NCAA Championship game in 2017 and 2021. The Bulldogs have won 21 West Coast Conference Tournaments and a share of 23 conference regular season titles under his watch.

Few has been a member of the USA Basketball family since joining as a court coach for the 2009 USA Men’s U19 National Team training camp. He was an assistant coach at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp and for the 2019 and 2021 USA Men's Select Teams. He won a bronze medal as head coach of the 2015 USA Men’s Pan American Games Team and a gold medal as an assistant for the 2012 USA U18 National Team.

Coaching staff appointments were approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors on Thursday.

“We’re really excited about it," said Spoelstra, who'll serve as the U.S. head coach for the first time. "We wanted to try to zero in on this a little bit earlier in the process so we can start to get more organized and start to have some level of communication and continuity. The earlier the better, so I'm really excited about that.”

The 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup is set for Aug. 27-Sept. 12, 2027, in Doha, Qatar. The USA are currently in the process of qualifying for the World Cup with Window 4 of 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifying set for Aug. 26-31.

The Olympic Games return to the United States for the first time since 2002 with Los Angeles set to host its third Games (1932, 1984) from July 14-30, 2028.

Bickerstaff became Detroit’s head coach in July 2024 and, in his second season at the helm, led the Pistons to an Eastern Conference-best 60-22 record and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He previously took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the conference semifinals in 2024.

Bickerstaff, the 2026 National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) Coach of the Year, was the 2026 NBA All-Star Game head coach. A University of Minnesota alumnus, he has been an assistant or head coach in the NBA since 2004 with five franchises, including Charlotte, Houston and Memphis.

2025 NBA champion Daigneault has led the Oklahoma City Thunder since 2020. He’s been in the Thunder organization since 2014, when he joined as head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue while serving a dual assistant role with the Thunder.

In 2026, Daigneault’s Thunder had the best regular season record in the NBA with a 64-18 mark and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. A year before winning the NBA title in 2024, Daigneault was the NBA and NBCA Coach of the Year.

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at University of Holy Cross before returning to his alma mater University of Florida from 2010-2014.