Led by Casey Calvary’s charge, Gonzaga has outgrown the beloved Cinderella tag.
No longer wearing the glass slipper, the Bulldogs are preparing for their third-straight Sweet Sixteen appearance against No. 1-seed MSU on Friday.
“That’s one characteristic of this team, we’re not in awe of anybody,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “We believe if we play our game we can win.”
Few admits the program’s success over the last three years is in large part due to Calvary. He called the senior forward a hard-working and extremely competitive player whose achievements are too outstanding to be put into words.
“I think the world of Casey Calvary,” he said. “He’s a walking, living, eating, breathing example of what our program is about.”
Since averaging 3.7 points in 13.5 minutes per game his freshman season, Calvary’s production has steadily improved every year.
As his career winds down, Calvary is on the Top 20 final ballot for the John R. Wooden Award - most outstanding collegiate basketball player of the year - after averaging 19 points and 6.3 rebounds per game his senior season.
Calvary’s 1,492 points and 752 rebounds make him one of just four Bulldogs to record 1,000-plus points and 700-plus rebounds. He’s also the West Coast Conference’s all-time blocks leader with 204.
Even as the history major continues to rewrite the Gonzaga record books, he has a hard time grasping all the achievements he’s accomplished.
“I don’t know too many guys that go to any college in the country that can imagine going to three-straight Sweet Sixteens,” Calvary said. “I’m a big dreamer and I had a lot of aspirations and expectations of what this school could accomplish. So I’m happy with where it’s at.”
Along with MSU and Duke, Gonzaga is one of three programs to play in the Sweet Sixteen for the third-straight year. And just like the Spartans and Blue Devils, no one is surprised the Bulldogs are back.
In the Bulldogs’ first-round upset of No. 5-seed Virginia, Calvary posted 16 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. His performance in the second round against No. 13-seed Indiana State was just as impressive - 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists and one block.
Calvary said he expects MSU to be Gonzaga’s biggest challenge of the tournament to date.
“Michigan State is real physical,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of All-Americans and real talented players.”
Senior forward Andre Hutson said MSU is certainly concerned with Calvary. He said Calvary is not only a strong low post player, but added he has the ability to shoot the three-pointer as well.
Indeed, Calvary is 3-of-5 from behind the arch in the tournament already. As a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward, he creates matchup problems for the Spartans.
“He’s going to be a load for us, but we’re definitely going to keep bodies on him,” Hutson said. “He does a lot of things, but we’ve faced a lot of talented teams in our league to prepare us for these tournament games.”
Gonzaga junior guard Dan Dickau said Calvary’s versatility not only creates mismatches for opponents, but opens up the offense for the Bulldogs’ perimeter players.
He said Calvary’s ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket often forces double-teams.
“That creates a lot of open looks on the outside,” Dickau said. “It’s just a matter of our guards finding open spots and him getting us the ball.”
Calvary said the Bulldogs have plenty of experience as the underdog in the tournament, and plan to use that against the Spartans for their second trip to the Elite Eight in three years.
“We’ve played a lot of tough teams in tough places. We just try to use that experience as much as we can,” he said. “We go into every game thinking we’re going to win.”
