Monson Enjoying New Gig
9/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
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Monson Enjoying New Gig Dan Monson, new basketball coach at Long Beach State, has been settling slowly into his new environment that is far removed from Minneapolis and Spokane, sterling hamlets he had graced in previous incarnations. "Everything is a little different out here, but I love everything about it so far," says Monson, although he admits he wasn't overjoyed the other day waiting two hours in a DMV line to take the test for his California driving license which he passed. Nor was it a simple proposition duplicating the housing facilities here that he had in Minneapolis, where he and his family, wife Darci and four children, MicGuire, 7, Mollie, 5, Maddux, 3 1/2 and McKenna, 2, lived in a 4,500-foot edifice on a private golf course. He did wind up finding a nice residence in Rossmoor after a lengthy search, and just this past week his brood moved into the new living quarters. "Gotta lot of boxes to unpack," he says. He also for the next two months has been booked by marketing guru Dave Benedict to make no less than 26 public appearances, including not only at Rotary and Kiwanis gatherings but also at such sports oriented local hangouts as Cirivello's, Joe Jost's and Smooth's. "I'll be on sort of a lecture tour to meet people in the community," says Monson, who seems to be looking forward to such a frenetic speaking schedule. Indeed, it might be beneficial to Dan Monson's psyche that he will be kept busy and not be dwelling on the daunting task he faces assuming control of a 49er club that (a) lost nine lettermen including five starters - Aaron Nixon, Kejuan Johnson, Sterling Byrd, Kevin Houston and Dominique Ricks - from last season's group; (b) has only four returning lettermen - Andrew Fleming, Artis Gant, Arturas Lazdauskas and Chris Peyes - who collectively scored fewer points among themselves (45) than the 49er team did in its season-ending 122-88 loss to Tennessee last spring; and (c) is facing possible sanctions after a recent NCAA investigation into program violations committed during Larry Reynolds' regime. Monson is accustomed to taking over teams being penalized by the NCAA - he had to clean up the mess that Clem Haskins left at Minnesota - but never during his 11 years as a head coach will he have gone into a season with such modest firepower at his disposal. He does have a couple of redshirt performers who could make an impact in 6-3 guard Donovan Morris, who played a couple of seasons at Fresno State and started 26 games for the Bulldogs, and Darnell Porter, a walk-on 6-3 guard from Millikan High who sat out last season and earned himself a scholarship from Monson. He has brought in a couple of junior college transfers from the Northwest in Brian Freeman, a 6-10 center who averaged 18.1 points and 14.4 rebounds for Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore., and Brandon Johnson, a 6-8 forward who averaged 16.9 points and 5.0 rebounds for Lamar CC in Vancouver, Wash. Two other promising JC prospects, 6-6 Cornell Williams of San Diego City College and 5-9 Maurice Clady of Grossmont College, have successfully completed summer classes and have just been admitted into school. Monson also scooped up a freshman, 6-2 Greg Plater, who last season was considered to be the top high school point guard in Oregon while playing for McKay High in Salem. Monson brought with him a longtime aide from Minnesota, Vic Couch, once an assistant at St. Anthony High, as well as two other men with extensive Southern California recruiting ties in Rod Palmer, a longtime coach at Centennial High, and Eric Brown, who worked as an assistant under Henry Bibby at USC and Bobby Braswell at Cal State Northridge. "Obviously, it's important to have assistants who are well connected and have ties in this area," says Monson, who also has hired a graduate manager with quite a basketball pedigree in the former Poly High and Arizona star forward, Ricky Anderson, son of Long Beach City College coach Gary Anderson. Obviously, it is, and Dan Monson already has received commitments from a couple of heralded high school seniors in 6-7 Eugene Phelps of Taft High and 5-9 Casper Ware of Gahr High. Monson also has a player named Stephan Gilling, a 6-2 transfer from Colorado State who played in the team's 30 games last season and averaged 8.9 points, who will sit out this season. This first year with the 49ers figures to be a struggle for Monson, whose top returning scorer is the 6-3 Gant, a junior guard from Pasadena High who averaged 1.9 points. "Obviously, this season is going to be a big adventure," concedes Monson. "It's not where you start. It's what you can do to mold your players into a cohesive unit. You just try to do the best with what you have. "My job here is to coach, and make the team as good as it can be. I can't worry about all the other stuff. You live with the cards you're dealt in life. It's not like I haven't faced challenges before. Remember, we had NCAA sanctions for five years at Minnesota." Dan Monson doesn't hide his affection for his new position. "I've thoroughly enjoyed the people I've met out here," he says. "I found everyone around here to be so down to earth, and it's been a comforting feeling. It's also nice working for a president (Dr. F. King Alexander) and athletic director (Vic Cegles) who support you and want you to succeed." Monson was let go in Minnesota last December after a 2-5 start, but he fashioned a 118-106 record with five playoff appearances the previous seven years with the Gophers under difficult circumstances. "This is a fresh start for me and I'm looking forward to the challenge," he says. "We have a lot to sell here. We have a great city. A great campus. A great basketball tradition. It might take some time. But there's no reason that we won't be heard from in upcoming years. We're putting everything in place for it to happen." |
