Gonzaga’s Pangos, Wichita State’s backcourt share common experiences

Gonzaga and Wichita State are celebrated because of their underdog status, their ability to challenge the big names from the power conferences.

So it is only natural the players on those teams feel a kinship — once that one uncomfortable topic from 2013 is broached.

“We talked about the NCAA Tournament game,” Gonzaga guard Kevin Pangos said. “Now that I can finally laugh about it.”

Summer basketball is the time for friendly competition and Pangos buddied up with Wichita State guards Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet at elite camps in Las Vegas, North Carolina and New Jersey the trio attended in 2014. They hung out in the hotel lounge and at meals, bonded by similar positions and experiences. On Sunday, the trio starts its NCAA Tournament journey with high expectations.

This might be the best Gonzaga team in coach Mark Few’s 16 seasons as coach and Pangos, a senior guard from Ontario, is the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Year. The Shockers expect another successful March with Baker and VanVleet, both juniors, at the controls.

“The fun thing about it is, obviously you watch him on TV, and then when you meet him in person you get to see personalities,” Baker said. “I catch a lot of their games on TV. They have the same vibe that we do, as far as a non-BCS school that plays with a lot of passion.”

Gonzaga, out of the West Coast Conference, is the standard for the little guys and will make its 17th straight NCAA trip. WSU will make a fourth straight appearance, three with an at-large bid. Along with schools such as Butler and VCU, they are at the lead in making NCAA basketball about more than large state schools and football TV money.

“We’ve got more in common than the BCS people and what they go through,” VanVleet said. “We understand each other.”

Summer camps are a time to compare situations.

Both programs are at the top of their respective conferences and start each season expecting to play in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga is a Catholic school, located in Spokane, Wash., with an enrollment of around 7,000 students. WSU is a state school with an enrollment around 15,000. Both schools play high-profile non-conference schedules and are expected to run through their conference schedules with few losses. The WCC is a 10-team conference made up entirely of private schools, stretching from Spokane to San Diego. WSU’s travels through the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference take it to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.

All three are used to skeptics questioning their strength of schedule when compared to higher-profile conferences. The Zags earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2013; the Shockers did so last season.

“We can relate because we go to schools that are kind of mid-majors that burst onto the scene,” Pangos said. “We talked about what we do outside of basketball, the living situations. Honestly, other than that, we would talk about more basketball. NBA players. What games are coming up. You’re both trying to reach the same goals.”

Baker and Pangos keep up with summer friends Sam Dekker of Wisconsin, Georges Niang of Iowa State and Buddy Hield of Oklahoma in a group text.

“We give each other crap when we lose and congratulate each other when we win,” Baker said.

WSU hit the big time at Gonzaga’s expense with a 2013 victory in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. That win sent the Shockers to the Sweet 16 on their way to the Final Four. Pangos tells the Shockers that Few gave him a hard time for not guarding Baker more closely on a crucial three-pointer during WSU’s second-half rally. Pangos, graciously, never mentions the ankle injury that kept defensive stalwart Gary Bell Jr. sidelined during that rally.

“That was the first thing he brought up … how he should have guarded me in the corner,” Baker said. “He was a cool kid about it, laughing and joking about it.”

On the court, they enjoyed getting an up-close view at each other’s talents last summer. Gonzaga’s late starts on the West Coast fit in well with Baker’s schedule.

“He’s real smooth with his game,” Baker said. “I watched his game against BYU and he wasn’t pressing on himself to score the ball every time down. He was getting good shots for his team. Then it came down to crunch time and he made a dagger three.”

Pangos and VanVleet also share a similar physical stature. In a one-on-one tournament at the Chris Paul camp in Winston-Salem, N.C,, Pangos and VanVleet had to battle bigger guards. VanVleet’s game against VCU’s Treveon Graham sticks out for its physical nature.

“Me and Ron were just kind of laughing because Fred got really feisty,” Pangos said. “We enjoyed watching him play against those bigger guys. Some of the bigger guards were playing physical and trying to post up. He stood his ground, whether he gave them a hard foul to make sure they knew he meant business or took it right at them. I can definitely relate.”

Later this week, all three will travel to their NCAA destinations while keeping an eye on each other’s draw, hoping for more similar experiences.

This story was originally published March 15, 2015 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Gonzaga’s Pangos, Wichita State’s backcourt share common experiences."