Gonzaga Begins a New Era Under Keith Urgo

[DCSportsFan.com]

There’s a special connection that Keith Urgo feels to the Gonzaga uniform. It’s a major reason he chose to return to his alma mater as its basketball coach. It’s something that pops back up before every game and again when those who also attended the D.C. school reach out with words of encouragement.

In his first year as Gonzaga’s coach, Urgo has navigated the challenges of a new job at a new level by leaning on that sense of school pride.

“It’s been pretty special for me, and the support has been through the roof,” Urgo said. “This place means so much to me, and our guys believe in playing for the name on the front of the jersey.”

Before returning to Gonzaga, Urgo was a Division I coach for three seasons at Fordham, and moving to the high school level presented its own adjustments. For starters, the age of the players meant the teaching process had to take a different form. The schedule has a different pace, too, with a similar number of games in a shorter time frame making every moment on the court more valuable.

There also was the challenge of replacing the entire starting lineup and nine top players from last season. A few transfers helped round out the roster, but for the most part Urgo ran with players already in the program.

“A lot of the guys didn’t play a whole lot until this year, and it was a challenge for those guys to grow into the leaders they’ve become,” Urgo said. “I think they started to gain a lot of confidence and believe that if we focus on these things, we’re going to have a lot of success.”

Quickly enough, the Eagles came together and rounded into form. After winning the Gonzaga D.C. Classic in December, they won 10 of 12 games between late December and mid-January. At 16-7, they are ranked No. 10 in the D.C. area by The Washington Post and sit fifth in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

“If we can continue that momentum, we will be the best team we can be by the end of the year,” Urgo said. “And quite frankly, if we do that, we have an opportunity to win a lot of games down the stretch.”

Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2026/02/03/high-school-basketball-notes/

[Author]

Posts