A week on and off the court with college basketball’s most fascinating team

LAS VEGAS — Seven hours before its 84-81 loss to No. 5 Duke at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, No. 1 Gonzaga’s players, coaches and staffers launch half-court shots at the end of a pregame shootaround.

Minutes earlier, assistant coach Roger Powell Jr. was talking trash to freshman Nolan Hickman in their ongoing series of shooting contests. Powell missed his next shot and lost — again.

On the other side of the court, Mark Few was questioning his veteran star’s jewelry.

“I thought we were done with the 50-year-old, gold chain look?” he asked Drew Timme.

The half-court shooting contest is a tradition for the program, which prefers to keep things light in between the rigors of the college basketball season. Games against No. 8 Texas the previous week and No. 2 UCLA on Tuesday preceded the monumental matchup against Duke. No. 10 Alabama and Texas Tech are on the schedule in the weeks ahead.

But the concerns about the team’s high-stakes schedule, in Vegas and after, can wait.

Everyone’s at midcourt, ready to start the competition. Evan Manning, a grad assistant and the son of former Wake Forest coach Danny Manning, nails a shot. Chet Holmgren, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft per ESPN, does too. But a shot by sophomore Dominick Harris, who is currently sidelined by a foot injury, clanks off the rim.

“Ohhhhh!” Timme yelled as Few, who always shoots last, air balls his shot.

One-by-one, players come over to look at the sheet and see where they stand in the competition throughout the season. “These numbers are garbage,” Harris said of his numbers. “I gotta get it together.”

A few years ago, the tally record was misplaced by a staffer and players “allegedly” inflated their numbers. That’s why this sheet of paper matters so much to these guys, who value their half-court shooting marks….