ESPN: Without Dan Monson, Gonzaga is not playing for a national championship

BleedGopher

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per the great Dana O'Neil:

Monson has been crying a lot this week. Cried the first time he ran into his Mike Roth, his old Gonzaga athletic director. Cried in the University of Phoenix Stadium stands alongside his former Gonzaga assistants Bill Grier and Leon Rice as he watched the Bulldogs beat South Carolina to move on to Monday's national title game.

He even broke down in the middle of a Spokane radio interview.

These, though, are not tears of regret.

These are tears of gratitude.

"For Mark to tell you that you had something to do with all this, when you don't feel that way,'' Monson said, his voice cracking before he stops to collect himself. "It's been 18 years. To say that I've had even a small part of any of this. It's ... a lot. It's a lot.''

Eighteen years ago Monson launched the Bulldogs, taking a then unknown to the Elite Eight. Four months later, Monson did what he had to do, foregoing Gonzaga's best possible offer of a $105,000 annual salary for a seven-year deal worth $490,000 a year at Minnesota.

He has spent every year since trying to recapture what he did at Gonzaga. It didn't happen in eight years at Minnesota. It hasn't happened in 10 years at Long Beach State.

Yet to Gonzaga people inside and outside the program, Monson is neither the traitor coach nor the coach left behind.

He's the architect. Fans at the Westin, the Gonzaga team hotel, stopped to shake his hand and say hello, easily recognizing the otherwise anonymous man in a black workout shirt.

And when Roth sidled by, the athletic director stopped and firmly planted his hands on Monson's shoulders.

"This is the guy,'' Roth said. "This is the guy who started it all.''

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...d-all-gonzaga-including-mark-ever-forget-that

Go Gophers!!
 

I can't quite picture Monson reaching this point though.
 

Will always appreciate Monson. He may not have had great success here, but took over during a really tough time and definitely cleaned up the image of the program. Happy for him that he gets to be a part of Gonzaga's accomplishments this year.
 


O'Neil one of the two best college hoops writers, but this one is a convenient narrative this week.

Dan Fitzgerald, who preceded Monson, was the coach who got the ball rolling at Gonzaga. 2 NITs, 1 NCAA, and 3 20-win seasons in his last 4 seasons in Spokane before giving way to Monson. Monson built on that with a NIT and an Elite 8, then Few made it a monster.

http://www.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010840219_apbkcobitfitzgerald.html
 


I would say without Russ Archambault Gonzaga is not playing for the National Championship.
 

I can't quite picture Monson reaching this point though.

So many gopher fans love to forget what Monson took over. A real $hit show. When NO ONE else would come to Minnesota to coach men's basketball.

Really a shame some cant admit he did a lot at Gonzaga instead of minimizing it. And appreciating what he did for MN - just by coming here. When no one else would.
 

O'Neil one of the two best college hoops writers, but this one is a convenient narrative this week.

Dan Fitzgerald, who preceded Monson, was the coach who got the ball rolling at Gonzaga. 2 NITs, 1 NCAA, and 3 20-win seasons in his last 4 seasons in Spokane before giving way to Monson. Monson built on that with a NIT and an Elite 8, then Few made it a monster.

http://www.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010840219_apbkcobitfitzgerald.html

That said, it was Monson and Few - Few especially - who convinced Fitzgerald they needed to go after the kids that, in the past, they had considered lost causes to Washington, Oregon and Stanford. Fitzgerald wanted to be more conservative and recruit more realistic targets. When they landed Matt Santangelo, that was a huge statement. If there was a moment when Gonzaga had arrived, maybe that was it.

That's why I appreciated Pitino and company going after big targets when they came on the scene here a few years ago. If you only think small, you're going to be small. There's a method to shooting for the moon.
 




That said, it was Monson and Few - Few especially - who convinced Fitzgerald they needed to go after the kids that, in the past, they had considered lost causes to Washington, Oregon and Stanford. Fitzgerald wanted to be more conservative and recruit more realistic targets. When they landed Matt Santangelo, that was a huge statement. If there was a moment when Gonzaga had arrived, maybe that was it.

That's why I appreciated Pitino and company going after big targets when they came on the scene here a few years ago. If you only think small, you're going to be small. There's a method to shooting for the moon.

I'm convinced that Few was running the program even when Monson was the front man
 

I would say without Russ Archambault Gonzaga is not playing for the National Championship.

God has a way of acting on behalf of the Jesuit schools.

I swear I saw the same priest on the sideline last night as I saw there in 1999 when the Zags played the Gophers in that first-round game. I'll bet he's been there for most tourney games all these years.
 




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