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GN: What was your high school career like and how did your recruitment lead you to Gonzaga?
JK: As with most college players, I had a nice high school career. I was a three-year varsity player at Sehome High School in Bellingham, reaching the state semifinals in both my junior and senior years, placing 6th in 1990 and 3rd in 1991. I averaged 22 ppg my junior year and 25 ppg my senior year, leaving as the school's all-time leading scorer.
We had 16 or 17 D1 players come out of Washington high schools in 1991 and I was "stereotyped" as a player that would go to one of the smaller D1 programs. I didn’t really like the label... and that served as motivation. If you ask any of the guys I played with, you'll find that we were a collection of similar stories. Guys that didn't accept a stereotype, had something to prove, and absolutely hated losing. Long story short... I signed during the late period during my senior year after narrowing it down to Gonzaga, San Francisco, Washington, Montana, and Cornell.
GN: Expectations for Gonzaga men’s basketball are currently through the roof. What were your expectations in the mid-1990’s, and the team’s and coaches’ expectations? How have expectations changed, in your view?
JK: From the moment I arrived on campus, the culture was that of a winning program. The odd thing was... the team was coming off 8-20 and 14-14 seasons. Despite a couple of down years, coaches and players were determined to win. In terms of expectations, our goal was to win the league and win the WCC tourney, qualifying for the Big Dance.
When I look back, I realize that the school and the community of Spokane were dying to get behind something, but we needed to win to earn support. It was just going to take a breakthrough. During my redshirt year we went 20-10, losing in the conference tournament championship, which proved to be the breakthrough. After that season, we went 19-9, 22-8, 21-9, and 21-9 with two regular season titles, a tournament title, and three trips to the post-season.
Over the last few seasons, the expectations for putting it all together in the post-season can be unfair. What many fans don’t realize is how much has to fall into place to make a deep post-season run, no matter who you are. The margin for error in March is negligible. A tough shooting night, foul trouble, or an injury is enough to knock you out in the first round (See Kansas – 2005). Be patient Zag fans-- it’ll happen.
GN: Walk us through the first season in which Gonzaga finally made the post-season, and the feelings of being on the first Zag team to ever accomplish this?
JK: Coming off 20-10 and 19-9 seasons, the ’93-’94 team had all of the pieces needed to win the WCC, returning 7 of our top 10 players. But on a pre-season trip to Buffalo we played horribly in losses to Canisius and Niagara: two teams who ended up with RPIs in the high 200s. Needless to say, there was some soul searching on the flight back from New York. We regrouped and went 12-2 in league, winning our first ever WCC championship. While losing in the conference tourney was a disappointment, a first-ever NIT bid still represented progress for the program. We ended up beating Stanford on their home floor in the first round and losing by 2 at Kansas State in a game that was decided in the last minute. As a sophomore sixth man on this team, I wondered if I had missed my best chance at making the Big Dance. But that’s why they call it March Madness. Despite losing 4 starters and the league MVP, we were able to win the WCC Tourney in 1995, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, which is another story altogether.
GN: There must be many memories of Gonzaga, on and off the hardwood. What is your favorite memory on the court, and what is your favorite memory off the court?
JK: On the court, winning the WCC Tourney in 1995 and earning a bid to the Big Dance, because it was everything the program was working toward. And to do it with a 1995 team that was supposed to be a rebuilding year made it even better.
Hitting a big 3 to break a tie late in the NIT game against Stanford was special. I caught the ball trailing on the break and launched the shot without looking at where I was standing (which was about 10 feet behind the 3 point line). Anyone that knows how much Fitz liked a deep 3 early in the shot clock knows how quickly I would have been watching the rest of the game had the shot missed.
Not necesarily off the court...but a funny memory to share: One day at practice several hundred Japanese tourists entered The Kennel, all with cameras around their necks. Apparently they were doing a campus tour. As they encircled the upper part of The Kennel, our team was stretching at center court. Geoff Goss (always the ring leader) got up and got all of the Japanese tourists chanting “Marty!.. Marty!.. Marty!..” After 30 seconds of chanting, 6’10” Marty Wall got up, dribbled over and dunked a ball. The tourists went crazy, coming down on the floor for a photo session with Marty that lasted 15-20 minutes!
GN: What did you major in and what kind of student were you? What is the most important thing you left Gonzaga with, be it academically, athletically or otherwise?
JK: I had a double major in Finance and Marketing at GU. What kind of student was I? That's a loaded question. If I say excellent, you'll think I'm a little proud of myself. If I say average, you'll do some fact checking and call me a sandbagger. Let's put it this way-- school was important to me and I made the most of the opportunity.
I suppose the most important thing I left with was an appreciation for the people that make Gonzaga the special place that it is. Until a year or two ago, I hadn’t been back for 8-9 years because I lived thousands of miles away. Now that I’m back in Washington, when I have a chance to get to a game or spend a day around GU, my favorite part is catching up with people: coaches, teammates, classmates, professors, and fans from the old days that actually remember me. Those relationships are what I value most.
GN: You worked awhile for Disney in Orlando. Please tell us how this came about and what exactly your job was? And, just curious, what’s the coolest ride at Disney World?
JK: Yes, it's true, I was a Walt Disney World Cast Member for 5 years. After playing basketball in Venezuela during the winter following my career at GU, I went to graduate school at the University of Massachusetts, where I received a Master's Degree in Sports Management. From there, I accepted a job as Marketing Manager for Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. It’s really an amazing place. We hosted 250 sporting events each year - everything from national amateur events to professional sports. Some of the events I was integrally involved with include the Walt Disney World Marathon (22,000 runners), Atlanta Braves Spring Training, the Disney Classic PGA TOUR event, and the US Mens Clay Court Championships ATP Tour Event. Working an ATP Tour Event was especially fun since I also played collegiate tennis while at GU.
Disney takes great pride in training leaders — and I grew tremendously in that respect in my years there. When it was time to move on, it was really difficult because I really enjoyed going to work each day.
Favorite attraction at Disney: The Hollywood Tower of Terror, even though I read that a guest had a heart attack on the ride last week.
GN: What led you to Yakima where you currently reside? And, please, fill us in on how you met your lovely wife Adriene, and all about the Kinloch family?
JK: The move back to the Northwest was a family decision. My wife and I welcomed our first child, Logan, a couple of years ago and we really wanted him to grow up around family. After looking at a couple of opportunities at Espn.com in Seattle and Nike in Beaverton, I decided to do something completely different. I ended up accepting a job to work for my uncle as Director of Marketing for Apple Tree Resort in Yakima: taking a leadership role that would help transition the Apple Tree Golf Course into a Resort Community with custom single-family homes, condominiums, amenities, etc. All in all, the transition has been great.
I met my wife during the summer after my freshman year at GU while working at Camp Firwood in Bellingham. She went to Seattle Pacific with my brother and sister-in-law, and they had an idea we might be a good fit. Bottom line: anyone that knows her knows that I definitely got the better end of the deal. She is currently at home with Logan and our 4-month old daughter Lily, after 6-7 years as a high school history teacher. She also teaches fitness classes at the athletic club here in Yakima. Interesting side note: while I was at UMass, she received her master’s degree in U.S. History from the University of Connecticut, so we got to be grad students at rival schools together.
GN: Any final thoughts, Jon?
JK: Something that didn’t find its way into the interview that belongs somewhere is the role that Fitz (Coach Dan Fitzgerald) had in my career. For most of the 90’s, when the transition occurred, Fitz was Gonzaga. I respect him for all of the things he did right when I was at GU. His work ethic, competitiveness, and determination were instrumental in the transition years, and I’m not sure it would have happened without him. On top of that, his personality, sideline antics, and humorous quips and quotes provided incredible entertainment value. I still laugh to myself about some things. But on a serious note, Fitz really challenged me as an individual, and I’m thankful for that.