Nice ESPN article on Dan Monson......

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cheeseheadgophfan said:
www.espn.com

Stop saying Dan Monson made a mistake

He walked away from Gonzaga as it began its transformation into a college basketball powerhouse. But don't weep for Dan Monson, whose home is in Long Beach.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Good read, thanks for sharing. Interesting that his big regret isn't leaving Gonzaga (doesn't feel they would have reached same level under him), but rather not taking the Washington job in 2002 when it was offered to him while he was here.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Good read, thanks for sharing. Interesting that his big regret isn't leaving Gonzaga (doesn't feel they would have reached same level under him), but rather not taking the Washington job in 2002 when it was offered to him while he was here.
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I don't remember the Washington offer, and it's very interesting.

Too bad he didn't take it. Both sides would have benefited, and we probably never would have hired Tubby or Lil' Ricky.
 

I always liked Monson as a person and I think he was a good coach. But I don't think he understood the Big Ten's greater focus on defense and physicality, and we didn't play defense under Monson. If we had won that game at home against Illinois when we melted down -- would that have been 2002, his third year? -- I think that would've changed everything. The momentum would have appeared to be back. Alas, it wasn't.
 









Hates Monikers said:
I always liked Monson as a person and I think he was a good coach. But I don't think he understood the Big Ten's greater focus on defense and physicality, and we didn't play defense under Monson. If we had won that game at home against Illinois when we melted down -- would that have been 2002, his third year? -- I think that would've changed everything. The momentum would have appeared to be back. Alas, it wasn't.
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That Illinois game was his waterloo for sure.
 


Good Read! He never regretted
leaving Gonzaga and felt Minnesota was, win at all costs, cutthroat.
 

Hates Monikers said:
I always liked Monson as a person and I think he was a good coach. But I don't think he understood the Big Ten's greater focus on defense and physicality, and we didn't play defense under Monson. If we had won that game at home against Illinois when we melted down -- would that have been 2002, his third year? -- I think that would've changed everything. The momentum would have appeared to be back. Alas, it wasn't.
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I still think about that Illinois game from time to time. Even though Monson had the fun year a couple of seasons later with Vincent Grier, Zach Puchtel, Jeff Hagen, et. al., the Illini game killed sustainable progress for the program. IIRC, they had the ball and a four point lead at home with 27 seconds left and couldn't get it inbounds. Tough, tough loss.
 



I thought the most interesting quote in the article was where Monson said

"Minnesota was win at all costs, cutthroat."

I'm not disputing that - just saying it's interesting to get that perception from inside the program. I think the outside perception was that Monson was brought in to "clean up the program" academically and restore some respectability.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I thought the most interesting quote in the article was where Monson said

"Minnesota was win at all costs, cutthroat."

I'm not disputing that - just saying it's interesting to get that perception from inside the program. I think the outside perception was that Monson was brought in to "clean up the program" academically and restore some respectability.
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That’s what he was hired to do.
And win. Some can’t grasp that winning variable.
 

Bobek said:
Monson inherited a bad situation with the academic scandal and all the restrictions that came with it, including probation for four years, five scholarships lost and limits on recruiting contacts. It was a hole he could not dig out of.
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Before that Illinois game, I think he was also set back a lot by Przybilla quitting on him mid-season a season or two earlier. After Clem, Monson knew that expectations reached beyond the basketball court. Can remember Joel's dad complaining about unfair treatment like his star son was expected to show up in class? I don't think our record was very good at the time but I think we had just won a game to show some promise.
 

The Monson story was well written and interesting. I hope he gets Long Beach in the NCAA's this year.
But maybe a better read is the Gillespie at Tarleton State story below the ESPN Monson story, on my screen anyway. If it's elusive, might be worth googling.
 

Long Beach vs Spokane
I think he is fine
 

Mulligan said:
Before that Illinois game, I think he was also set back a lot by Przybilla quitting on him mid-season a season or two earlier. After Clem, Monson knew that expectations reached beyond the basketball court. Can remember Joel's dad complaining about unfair treatment like his star son was expected to show up in class? I don't think our record was very good at the time but I think we had just won a game to show some promise.
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I forgot about Pryzbilla. I think they had just beaten Indiana by a bunch, which made Pryzbilla's departure that much more surprising.

There was a general malaise around the program under Monson, a lot of it having to do with the sanctions. He could never put a critical mass of talent together. The year Humphries father made him play for the gophers was pretty bitter. The team was terrible and Humphries basically treated his teammates like ball boys. I think he led the B1G in scoring and had three assists all season. It's pretty damn hard to play 35 minutes a night and generate approx three assists for the year.
 




Mulligan said:
Before that Illinois game, I think he was also set back a lot by Przybilla quitting on him mid-season a season or two earlier. After Clem, Monson knew that expectations reached beyond the basketball court. Can remember Joel's dad complaining about unfair treatment like his star son was expected to show up in class? I don't think our record was very good at the time but I think we had just won a game to show some promise.
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Great memory!

If I recall correctly Pryz had a great game in an upset win over Indiana, then he was suspended and quit shortly thereafter.
 


Mulligan said:
Before that Illinois game, I think he was also set back a lot by Przybilla quitting on him mid-season a season or two earlier. After Clem, Monson knew that expectations reached beyond the basketball court. Can remember Joel's dad complaining about unfair treatment like his star son was expected to show up in class? I don't think our record was very good at the time but I think we had just won a game to show some promise.
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More like 7 seasons earlier.
 

jamiche said:
I forgot about Pryzbilla. I think they had just beaten Indiana by a bunch, which made Pryzbilla's departure that much more surprising.

There was a general malaise around the program under Monson, a lot of it having to do with the sanctions. He could never put a critical mass of talent together. The year Humphries father made him play for the gophers was pretty bitter. The team was terrible and Humphries basically treated his teammates like ball boys. I think he led the B1G in scoring and had three assists all season. It's pretty damn hard to play 35 minutes a night and generate approx three assists for the year.
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The Indiana game was actually close, with the Gophers coming from behind late to beat the Hoosiers. The clincher was a breakaway dunk for Joel. It was a great game and a great moment...then a few days later he suddenly quit. Welcome to Gopher fandom.

On one hand, Monson did great work early here, landing the best recruiting class the team has had since Dutcher. He landed two five-star recruits in his tenure, more than Haskins (1), Smith (1) or Pitino (0). On the other hand, he did not do himself any favors when he hired his first staff, the top two of which were the groomsmen in his wedding. Bill Walker was not a good coach.

This is going to be politically incorrect, but Monson and Pitino were both young parents. It's hard to devote the necessary time and effort to a big-time basketball program and be an engaged parent, and to those guys' credit, they were engaged parents. Reading between the lines, I believe that's part of what Dan is saying about it being win-at-all-costs. It truly is all-consuming.
 

Bad Gopher said:
The Indiana game was actually close, with the Gophers coming from behind late to beat the Hoosiers. The clincher was a breakaway dunk for Joel. It was a great game and a great moment...then a few days later he suddenly quit. Welcome to Gopher fandom.

On one hand, Monson did great work early here, landing the best recruiting class the team has had since Dutcher. He landed two five-star recruits in his tenure, more than Haskins (1), Smith (1) or Pitino (0). On the other hand, he did not do himself any favors when he hired his first staff, the top two of which were the groomsmen in his wedding. Bill Walker was not a good coach.

This is going to be politically incorrect, but Monson and Pitino were both young parents. It's hard to devote the necessary time and effort to a big-time basketball program and be an engaged parent, and to those guys' credit, they were engaged parents. Reading between the lines, I believe that's part of what Dan is saying about it being win-at-all-costs. It truly is all-consuming.
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Good thoughts all around. I agree with your last paragraph and I know Monson struggled with this. That being said, Tubby had all grown children (including one on the bench) and he was not a coach who many would describe as one that "outworked" other coaches on the recruiting trail by any means. There are many coaches who have young families and still are rarely outhustled (Musselman, Scott Drew, etc.). We've hired some very nice Dad's (Monson, Pitino, Tubby, etc.), we just haven't found the right formula yet. I hope Johnson is the coach that can win big here.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Good thoughts all around. I agree with your last paragraph and I know Monson struggled with this. That being said, Tubby had all grown children (including one on the bench) and he was not a coach who many would describe as one that "outworked" other coaches on the recruiting trail by any means. There are many coaches who have young families and still are rarely outhustled (Musselman, Scott Drew, etc.). We've hired some very nice Dad's (Monson, Pitino, Tubby, etc.), we just haven't found the right formula yet. I hope Johnson is the coach that can win big here.

Go Gophers!!
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Agreed. I can't believe that it still comes up how far away he lived from campus. He wasn't commuting during rush hour and he could have chosen to live anywhere. He chose Bear Path because he liked golf and thought that living on the course conveyed status. If it was a problem, he could have moved to the city, lived in Edina, etc.
 


The bit about young children is spot on. Something had to give. And by most accounts, he is a great father…….
 

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