Drew Timme is one of college basketball’s best characters, and the star Gonzaga big man delivered another gem following the Bulldogs’ win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament.
While discussing coach Mark Few’s nicknames for players, Timme — a senior and consensus First Team All-American — revealed the not-so-flattering moniker Few picked out for him while he was a freshman in Spokane, Washington.
“My nickname was dumbass for a while my freshman year,” he bluntly said, according to USA TODAY Sports national columnist Dan Wolken. “Pretty fitting.”
Well, at least we may now know the source of Timme’s penchant for foul language.
Few jumped in to clarify that Timme is no longer known as “dumbass,” and has now earned a new (and potentially even funnier) nickname: The Union Rep.
Mark Few responds: "He’s the union rep now. That’s his nickname now. He’s always on me about length of practice, length of film sessions, days off, etc., etc., etc., so I guess he’s moved up some."
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 24, 2023
Moving up in the world, indeed.
With the win over the Bruins, Gonzaga will face UConn in the Elite Eight, which Few’s Bulldogs have now reached in five of the last eight NCAA tournaments.
Gonzaga has reached the championship game twice in program history — in 2017 and 2021 — but lost both times. Few will hope things will be different this time in his last run with Timme, who he went on to call “one of the all-time greats of the modern era.”
He sure has come a long way.
