If a stray basketball was in the vicinity during David Pendergraft’s four-year career at Gonzaga, chances were that No. 25 was going to own it.
Floor burns, skinned knees and the occasional bloody nose were part of the tenacious approach when the player known as “Pendo” took the court. Not long after his debut as a freshman in 2004, the Omak, Washington native became a fan favorite.
In 2008, Getty Images captured a photo from the first round of the NCAA Tournament that seemed to crystallize Pendergraft’s determined demeanor. In the image, Davidson guard and future NBA MVP Stephen Curry is clutching the ball in his right hand, separating himself from the defense. Pendegraft, meanwhile, is oblivious, grappling for possession like a steam shovel clawing through piles of stubborn earth.
“As a player, I asked myself ‘How can I contribute to the team?’” Pendergraft recalls. “What could I do to help us win?”
Winning became commonplace during Pendergraft’s tenure as a Zag. He was part of four regular season West Coast Conference titles, three WCC Tournament crowns and a quartet of appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet 16 run in 2006. The program racked up 103 wins against only 28 losses with Pendergraft on the roster. As a senior, he earned first-team All WCC honors.
Pendergraft was only a sophomore at Brewster High School when he committed to Gonzaga, spurning interest from the likes of Stanford, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and other high-profile Division-1 schools. The attention was unusual for an athlete from a 1A high school in a town of around 2,000 residents 135 miles northwest of Spokane.
The transition to the Lilac City made sense for a variety of reasons.
“It’s the perfect place,” Pendergraft told the Seattle Times in 2002 after he pledged to GU. “I’m not a big-city type of person.”
After graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy from Gonzaga in 2008, Pendergraft stuck around. He worked in sales for Next IT for just over three years before returning to GU to work on his MBA. While there, he served as Director of Athletic Giving. With MBA in hand, Pendergraft took a job as president of Empire Ranches.
In March 2014, Pendergraft joined McConkey Auction Group (MAG) as director of Strategic Initiatives. In less than three years, he’d moved up to General Manager. In July 2020, he was named Chief Operating Officer.
A niche business-to-business operation, MAG works on consignment with rental companies, banks, leasing businesses, lending institutions and other entities to create a unique market that moves between 1,500 to 1,700 vehicles a week. Pendergraft is based at MAG’s DAA Northwest site on Hayford Road. Other locations include Seattle and Anchorage, Alaska. Over 500 employees call MAG home, including over 200 locally, making it one of the largest employers in the West Plains.
Pendergraft points to MAG President and CEO Bob McConkey as a mentor and the person responsible for “building a company that is people-first.”
Pendergraft says he has savored being part of the growing West Plains business community over the past decade, calling attention to “the leadership that is just amazing out here.”
“It’s been an honor to learn from these people,” he said. “It’s just tremendous how many businesses have a legacy in this area.”
Pendergraft learned a steady work ethic from his parents, Mike and Lori, who raised David and his younger brother Robert with an emphasis on integrity and accountability along with a disdain for taking shortcuts. Mike worked as the assistant Public Works director for the town of Omak and Lori ran her own embroidery business.
“My brother and I knew my parents sacrificed a lot for us,” Pendergraft said. “My dad grew up with a lot fewer opportunities than we did so we didn’t want to waste ours.”
After the family moved from Omak to Brewster before Pendergraft’s freshman year of high school, David didn’t waste time making an impression. He placed fifth at the state cross country meet and became an instant contributor to a basketball program that already boasted five state titles in boys’ basketball.
Pendergraft and his teammates would add two more state crowns to that total by the time he graduated in 2004. As a senior, he averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds a game, concluding his prep career ranked fifth on the state’s all-time scoring list.
Before suiting up for GU, Pendergraft cut his teeth against top competition, from pick-up games against current and former Zags to high-level AAU tournaments across the nation. The summer before his senior year, he was one of 50 high school players invited to the USA Basketball Festival in Colorado Springs where he averaged over 14 points and nearly seven rebounds per game. As a Brewster senior, he led the Bears to upset wins over 4A programs like Auburn and Snohomish, schools with 10 times the enrollment as their 1A foe.
While at Gonzaga, Pendergraft met Lauren Zuckerman, a member of the women’s soccer team. The two married in 2010 and are proud parents of two daughters, 11 and 9, and a son, 7. The family lives in the Lakeside/Nine Mile area.
“I don’t play much basketball these days,” said Pendergraft, who was part of five Hoopfest Elite titles. “Most of my time is spent chasing three kids.”
Pendergraft, who helps coach his kids’ sports teams, is now part of the team at Zags Collective, Gonzaga’s foray into the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) arena focused on fundraising and community connectivity. He serves on the board while his former teammate Derek Raivio oversees the cause aimed at keeping GU relevant in the increasingly competitive NCAA NIL mix.
As for his role in the now-famous narrative of a small, private Jesuit school in Eastern Washington rising to national prominence in spite of the odds, the kid from Brewster with his own underdog story continues to savor the journey.
“It’s pretty special,” Pendergraft said.
Q: How do you think growing up in small, closely-knit communities like Omak and Brewster impacted who you became as a person?
A: Obviously, we all have a biased perspective regarding the social environment we grew up since it’s what we know and what we have experienced. That said, the Okanogan Valley was almost like a protected petri dish where you can experience and explore “life” but small enough to be protected from the significant dangers that are more common in bigger communities. So many families heavily invest in the schools, in sports, towards events, which creates great opportunity to grow and fail fast and safely. My parents did a great job in guiding my brother and I within the realm, as well.
Q: Gonzaga was just a few years into being recognized on the national stage when you were being recruited out of Brewster High. At one point did GU seem like the best fit for you and why?
A: This has always been a tough one to answer because of how it just felt right. I committed at a young age, right after my sophomore year of high school began. My family and I still didn’t know how the dynamics of recruiting worked or the proper way to go about things but for me it wasn’t about that. I had just played the spring and summer AAU circuit with Sean Mallon who was going to be a senior and chose Gonzaga over many other top-25 schools. He was a mentor of mine and I trusted him and his reasoning. That helped me follow what seemed to be an easy choice with Gonzaga’s great coaching staff, the family environment and a culture that was built differently. After praying and discussing with my family, I knew I wanted to be part of that story so why delay the inevitable.
Q: The McCarthey Athletic Center opened in 2004, your inaugural year at GU. What do you remember about your first game at The Kennel?
A: I have a framed photo of that game in my office. That’s about all I remember. I had no idea what I was getting into and, looking back, learning how to play at that level as a freshman took some time. It was the epitome of the cliché “deer in the headlights.” But it was the start of the journey and one that I am forever grateful for.
Q: What was the reaction in Brewster when you signed with GU and how would you describe the degree of support for you and the team in your four years there?
A: Brewster was a wonderfully supportive community. Tim Taylor, my head coach, provided me sage advice and guidance throughout my years going through high school. The support from the community continued throughout my career at GU, which always brought a comfort and almost a relaxation that I think is special and unique in small towns. But it went past Brewster, it extended into the friendships and family I had in Omak and Okanogan, as well. In some ways, it is almost the 1A-school classifications. There is a sense of pride in supporting one of our own small school players at that level. It was the same support on the woman’s side, as well, with players like Chandler Smith and Jill Townsend.
Q: Is it fair to say the underdog brand was still in place when you played at GU? Beyond the program, did you also feel like you had something to prove individually as a recruit from a smaller in-state school?
A: When I came to GU they were coming off being ranked in the top five, getting a two-seed in the NCAA tournament, but also graduating some of the most accomplished players in school history, at that time. It wasn’t necessarily an underdog story but a question of sustainability. Can this next generation keep it going or build on the foundation? That said, we still approached these national spotlight games with the underdog, chip-on-the-shoulder approach. However, in WCC play, it was more of the big dog attitude of making sure we control our house, if you will. So, two different approaches of claiming more national recognition in sustainability but keeping the streaks alive with winning the conference and going to the NCAA tournament. It is also significantly helpful to have players like Ronny Turiaf, Adam Morrision, J.P. Batista, Derek Raivio and Jeremy Pargo lead the way on the court, to name a few.
Q: Now that you’re involved in the Zags Collective (Name, Image and Likeness) effort at your alma mater, what does GU need to do to stay relevant and competitive on a national level?
A: Coach (Mark) Few and his staff have done a tremendous job building a national powerhouse. The accolades speak for themselves. In this new era of NIL, I don’t think a Gonzaga will ever be possible again in collegiate athletics. That is why it is imperative to cherish what we have and not take it for granted. For Gonzaga to still compete at the level we are at, we need the community to help support it within NIL. The new landscape of college athletics isn’t going away. It is the new reality for student-athletes and universities. For Gonzaga, what has made us so uniquely special is the local community and the GU fan base across the nation. There is truly nothing like it. In many ways, GU basketball is the pro sport of Spokane. With how much this community loves GU and the success, we have to do our individual part in supporting NIL to compete with the blue bloods year in and year out. That’s the new reality.
Q: You had a few career stops before landing at McConkey Auction Group in 2014. Why has this been a good fit for you?
A: McConkey Auction Group is similar to Gonzaga basketball in many ways. MAG battles and “wins” against the blue bloods of the auction industry. We are a small market competing against big market teams. Bob McConkey is an incredible leader who has built something surpassing people’s expectations and he is a widely respected industry leader, much like Coach Few. For me personally, the feeling of family, doing things differently, and no matter the pressure, doing it the right way is very much the same. People come first and there is a bigger picture philosophy that is led by grace, selflessness, but also a strong competitiveness. I cannot express enough how thankful I am do have been a part of Gonzaga and then find a work home I am just as passionate about at MAG.
Q: Ex-athletes will sometimes talk about traits and approaches they incorporated during their competitive days that have carried over into aspects of their post-sports life. Have there been some for you?
A: As an ex-athlete, emphasis on the ex, a few traits stand out to me are work ethic, goal-setting, teamwork, mental toughness and adaptability. However, one main trait that I believe encompasses many of these is grit. I like Angela Duckworth’s definition of grit, “It’s a passion and perseverance for long-term goals.” Accomplishing something at a high level isn’t possible without learning to be locked into a goal or dream enough to know it’s a marathon not a sprint, you learn to say “No” to short-time experiences to ensure you are putting in consistent work to improve and you have a focus that allows you to weather the up and downs which can be a strong deterrent for many people. The hard part for many ex-athletes is finding something you are passionate about. It is difficult to have grit without a deep love in your pursuit.
Q: What have you enjoyed about working in the West Plains community for the last decade-plus?
A: The business community, the food, and especially learning from the compilation of great leaders. I am thankful for the brilliant lessons many of the leaders like Bob McConkey, Irv Zakheim, and Phil Haugen have been willing to share and their wiliness to mentor the next generation in the West Plains. Also, their impact in this community has been unmeasurable and allowed for many of us to have opportunities that weren’t available here even 10 years ago.
Q: Finally, we often hear about the privilege of “being a Zag” and the expectations and responsibilities that come with that. From your days in uniform to your years beyond basketball, what does it mean to you?
A: Great question. I have always had a great sense of revered pride in being a Zag. To me, it’s the ability to humbly use what has been given to you to serve in the current situation. As a player, being engaged with the kids, the fans and the great community we live in. As a player, what can I give and provide each position. How can I lead better, how can I service my teammates. Now, it all translates to how I am a husband, a father, a coach, a leader, a friend, etc. How can I be engaged in the moment and give what I have to offer.
