In March of this year, in one of the strangest stories in the college basketball world, Long Beach State University’s head basketball coach was fired at the end of the season, just before the team was set to play in the Big West Tournament to earn a college berth. I was once told that it would happen. NCAA tournament.
The school’s athletic director, Bobby Smitheran, told The Associated Press on Thursday, before the school’s loss to Arizona, that he fired coach Dan Monson in hopes of sparking the team moving forward.
“My belief and hope is that by practicing what I did and the timing, they too will be inspired to play, and that’s what they did,” Smitheran said. told the media. “I don’t want to pat myself on the back, but it worked out.”
With Long Beach State on a five-game losing streak, Smitheran announced last Monday that Monzon would be fired at the end of the season.
Monzon remained on staff as a coach until the end of the season, and the team rewarded him by winning the Big West Tournament, defeating No. 5 seed UC Riverside, No. 1 UC Irvine, and No. 2 UC Davis. Broke it. The road to the championship.
“If it helped, I’m really glad we did it because you wouldn’t trade it for a job or any other job. I’ve said that all along,” Monzon told reporters. Ta. “If that’s the trigger [being dismissed], That is wonderful. But we’ll never know how it happened. You’ll never know if that happened. It’s not really worth talking about. ”
Mr. Smitheran said he had reached an agreement with Mr. Monzon that a change in leadership was needed.
“I don’t buy that theory,” Smitheran said of the timing of the shooting. “I think what people are really missing is that we agreed that there needed to be a change in leadership. That’s what Coach Monson brought to me.”
Long Beach State, the No. 15 seed in the West, fought hard, but lost to Arizona 85-65, ending up on the losing side.
Monzon did not focus on his team’s loss in his postgame press conference.
“My stance remains the same this week. I’m the luckiest guy in the world in this tournament to be able to do what I had to do today with these guys,” Monzon said. “I’m proud, I’m happy, I’m reflective…mostly proud. I’m proud of my tenure. I’m proud that I’m doing it the right way. I’m proud of the student-athletes who came out of here, I’m proud of the students who came in as young men, and I’m proud of the students who left as men…I think that’s what I’m most proud of.
“I’m proud of who I am. And by the way, I’m also proud of my family. … It’s been a tough few weeks. I couldn’t imagine it without them.”
Monzon has been Long Beach’s head coach since 2007.
This will be the team’s second NCAA Tournament appearance in his tenure, the first being in 2012.
