THE MONSON STORY: FIRE A COACH AND WATCH HIM REACH THE TOURNAMENT

 

THE MONSON STORY: FIRE A COACH AND WATCH HIM REACH THE TOURNAMENT

There’s no better revenge against a dismissive university than by winning the Big West tournament, which is how Monson and Long Beach State responded to his dismissal as March Madness continues

     Before Dan Monson, none of us could pronounce Gonzaga without blanks, blurs and stutters. He was the original mid-major coach who proved he could reach the Elite Eight at a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Wash. The year was 1999.

     If he stayed, he would be Mark Few today. He left for Minnesota, and for the last quarter-century, America’s elite young coach couldn’t stop crashing. He cleaned up a repulsive academic scandal and resigned under pressure in 2006, escaping to Long Beach State, which decided to call itself “The Beach.” For 17 years, he went 275-272 and entered the season with one NCAA tournament appearance in 2012. Last Monday, Monson was fired by athletic director Bobby Smitheran, who suggested a rampant revision of a program whose best-known recent player is Bryon Russell. You remember him as the Utah guard, pushed slightly by Michael Jordan before a wrist-suspended jumper led to his sixth NBA title.

     “A change in leadership creates an opportunity to re-envision the future of our storied men’s basketball program,” Smitheran said. “We are committed to finding the right person for the job — one that can harness the incredible energy of this community, build meaningful connections and elevate this program to the next level.”

     Little did he know that the right person for the job was … Dan Monson.

     In an industry that doesn’t care how a man once performed, he and his team accepted the news and flung themselves into the Big West tournament near Las Vegas. The Beach, or 49ers, kept playing games and kept winning. Saturday night, they needed a victory over UC Davis. Many of the seats were empty. A dude named Roxy was broadcasting the game on ESPN2. Would a program with a canned coach somehow save the man for more March Madness?

     Call it sex on the Beach. Monson carries on, with resumes floating around the country, when college basketball burns coaches in flames. His advantage is a berth in the big tournament, which should remind lost souls that he can coach a team. At 62, he still wants a gig with another program, and why the hell not after a 74-70 victory? And you think the AD should have waited until after the season was over?

     “God has blessed me with a great career and these kids have been awesome to coach. When Jim Harbaugh says who's got it better than him, somebody needs to tell him Dan Monson,” he said as his players celebrated in the stands.

     Why not simply accept the grace and move on? His celebrated pal, Few, seemed to suggest as much in a text. “I got the '99 run at Gonzaga, but, as Mark Few texted me ‘Why don't we have a run in the first year and a run in the last?’ But I don't think this is my last year,” he said. “I love coaching. I love teams. I need a new challenge. It's life. It's onto the next chapter.”

     Can Long Beach State, which has dealt with leakage in a 20-year-old campus pyramid, do any better with someone else? UCLA, coached by Mick Cronin, didn’t make the tournament. Nor did USC, which lost to Monson this season despite the presence of Bronny James. Stanford fired its coach. California went 13-19. Yet here is Monson, who better make sure he still has insurance, ready to keep winning and making money. A few days earlier, he said it was “time for a new voice.”

     Maybe it’s him. “Being in it is one thing. Winning it is another and we're happy,” Monson said. “We feel like we deserve it, but we're not done. We didn't come here to get to the championship game. We came here to go to the NCAA tournament. These kids have been awesome to coach. They’re great people.”

     His players felt horrible that he’ll lose employment. In hindsight, maybe Smitheran spurred a big rally. “It was a silent moment for everyone when we heard. The guys became motivated,” said Lassina Traore, who scored 25 points. “We know that firing him is not his fault. We lost the games. The leaders agreed, we had to have his back. We weren’t going to let him down.”

     Said Traore’s brother, Aboubacar, who had seven points and 13 rebounds: “The main thing was, we were helping the coach. For us, it would be really bad for him to leave without winning a championship. He has been a great mentor for us. He could have easily said, all right. But he wanted to do his job to the end. He still wants to win. So we’re gonna do the same thing because he’s not giving up.”

     Not once did Monson rip the school. He was filled with class. “What a great week. What a great week,” he said. “What a privilege to have a team that has the kind of character to figure out a way to win three straight days. We said we were in Vegas. We said we were in a heavyweight fight. I am so proud of them and I’m lucky to ride with these guys. I’ve been to the NCAA tournament. My wife says she’s never had drugs in her life, but it’s got to be a similar feeling. It’s a high I’m expecting these guys to enjoy. It’s a team that can win games in this tournament. We’ll find out.”

     Wisely, someone asked Monson how he’d like to be remembered. “He did it the right way on and off the court,” he said. “It’s not just about wins and losses. It’s doing it with principle. It’s a tough business. I’m OK with whatever other people do, but I have to look in that mirror. I tell parents to trust me with your young man. In four to five years, I’ll give you a grown man. I’m proud of all that.”

     Stanford works. Vanderbilt works. Why not Louisville, which needs a cleanser?

     With another victory or two, consider it a massive job promotion for a man who deserves much better.

     ###

     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.