Don Monson

Don Monson
Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	April 1, 1933 (1933-04-01) (age 78)
Place of birth	Menagha, Minnesota, U.S.
Playing career
1951-55	Idaho
Position(s)	guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1958-67 1967-76 1976-78 1978–83 1983-92	Cheney H.S. Pasco H.S. Michigan State - ass't Idaho Oregon
Head coaching record
Overall	266-134 (.665) - high school 216-186 (.537) - college
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big Sky: 1981, 1982

Donald L. "Don" Monson (born April 1933 in Menahga, Minnesota) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon.

Early years and career

Monson was born in rural Minnesota, but grew up in Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho, where he played for longtime coach Elmer Jordan at Coeur d'Alene High School. During his sophomore year the Vikings won the state title.^[1] Monson graduated in 1951 and then attended the University of Idaho, where he lettered for three years in basketball and graduated in 1955. (team photo)

Monson was a successful high school coach in eastern Washington, a head coach for 18 seasons from 1958–76, compiling a record of 266-134 (.665). Monson first led Cheney High School, where he stayed for nine seasons going 105-69 (.603). While in Cheney, he earned a master's degree at Eastern Washington State College. In 1967, Monson moved over to Pasco High School for another nine seasons, going 161-65 (.709) ^[2]

In 1976, Monson moved to the collegiate ranks as an assistant coach at Michigan State under friend Jud Heathcote, where he refined the 2-3 matchup zone defense and was given credit for the recruitment of Earvin "Magic" Johnson to the Spartans in 1977. Monson would stay in East Lansing for two seasons, leaving in the spring of 1978. The Spartans would win the national championship the following season, defeating the Indiana State Sycamores, led by Larry Bird, in the title game in Salt Lake City in 1979.

Idaho Vandals

Don Monson became a college head coach in August 1978 at the University of Idaho, his alma mater.^[2] In the early 1950s, Monson was a reserve guard for the Vandals who "never started one damn game here." Monson took over a dismal Idaho basketball program from Jim Jarvis, who resigned on July 1 after four poor seasons (26-78, .250) and was under investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations.^[3][4] Jarvis' 1978 team went just 4-22 (.154) and 1-13 in conference play. The Vandals finished in last place in the eight-team Big Sky every season under Jarvis and had finished no higher than sixth place for seven consecutive seasons.

The first season under Monson brought another last place finish (4-10) in the Big Sky, their fifth straight, and an overall record of 11-15 for the 1979 season, but the groundwork had begun.

In Monson's second season in Moscow, the 1980 Vandals finished second in the Big Sky (9-5) and 17-10 (.630) overall. They lost to Montana in the first round of the four-team conference tournament.

1980-81 season

Monson's third season opened well, as the 1981 Vandals won their first ten games (including road wins at Nebraska, Washington State, and Gonzaga). Idaho went 23-3 in the regular season, winning the Big Sky regular season championship, their first conference title ever in basketball.

Their 12-2 conference record earned them the host position for the conference tournament (top four teams of the eight), which they won and were seeded #7 in the West region of the 48-team NCAA tournament. Idaho lost by one point to a talented Pittsburgh team, the #10 seed, in El Paso in the first round. The Vandals finished the season with an overall record of 25-4 (.862), with most of the key players returning.

1981-82 season

The 1982 basketball team was the most successful in the school's history, and has yet to be surpassed. Building upon the success of the previous season, the Vandals won their first 16 games and went 24-2 in the regular season. They defeated Gonzaga, all four Pac-10 teams from the Northwest. They won the eight-team Far West Classic in Portland in late December 1981, winning all three games by at least 19 points (over Iowa State, Oregon State, and Oregon).

The Vandals' only setbacks during the regular season were consecutive two-point road losses in late January. The first was to rival Montana on a raucous Saturday night in Missoula on a tip-in at the buzzer. The second was to Notre Dame in South Bend two days later, ending a three-games-in-four-nights road trip, which included multiple weather-related travel delays. The Vandals then reeled off eight straight victories to conclude the regular season, and won the four-team conference tournament, which they hosted for the second straight year as regular season champions.

Their 26-2 record after the Big Sky tournament (& ten straight victories) earned the Vandals a #8 national ranking and a #3 seed in the West region of the 48-team NCAA tournament, which included a first round bye.

Idaho's first game (in the second round) was nearly a home game, conveniently played just eight miles (13 km) west in Pullman on a Sunday afternoon. The opponent was 16th-ranked Iowa of the Big Ten, the region's #6 seed, then coached by Lute Olson. Iowa, a Final Four team two years earlier, had won their first round game handily, but Idaho won this close game by two points, 69-67 in overtime, and advanced to the Sweet 16 at the West regional in Provo, Utah. [2] [3]

There the Vandals met the nation's fourth-ranked team, Oregon State, the #2 seed in the West region. Idaho had defeated the Beavers by 22 points in December at the Far West Classic in Portland. This time the result was far different, as the Beavers prevailed 60-42. OSU was defeated two days later by the region's #1 seed Georgetown, led by freshman center Patrick Ewing. (Georgetown would advance to the national final, where they lost by a point to North Carolina.)

The Idaho Vandals finished the 1982 season at 27-3 (.900), and were ranked as high as #6 in the nation (AP poll) in mid-January, when they were still undefeated. The 1982 starters were guards Kenny Owens (6'0") and Brian Kellerman (6'5"), forwards Phil Hopson (6'6") and Gordie Herbert (6'6"), and center Kelvin Smith (6'6"). Just before their two losses in January, the team was featured in a two-page article in Sports Illustrated.^[5] (team photo)

Don Monson was named the Kodak Coach of the Year in Division I in 1982 (photo) and rumors were rampant that he would jump to a higher league, maybe to struggling Arizona in the Pac-10. That position was eventually filled by Lute Olson (a year later), and Monson chose to stay for another year at Idaho. The 1982 team was inducted into the Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame, as was Monson.

1982-83 season

The 1983 Vandals returned three starters (Kellerman, Hopson, and Smith) and began the season at 13-1, repeating as Far West Classic champs in December 1982. Idaho again defeated all four Northwest Pac-10 schools during the regular season, and also won at Gonzaga, then led by legendary point guard John Stockton.

The Vandals were hobbled by injuries late in the year, and finished tied for third in the Big Sky at 9-5, and an overall record of 20-7. They lost in the first round of the conference tourney at Reno to regular season champion Nevada. This letdown was followed by a first round loss in the NIT against Oregon State in Corvallis on March 16, ending the Vandals' season at 20-9 (.690), and Monson's five year stint on the Palouse.

Legacy in Moscow

Don Monson became a cult hero in the Moscow community in the early 1980s, bringing championship status to a university that had long struggled in both football and basketball. He was well-known for his anguished expressions and contorted body language while on the Idaho sideline, which became the subject for an unofficial fan club (and caricature T-shirts). Monson was the biggest thing to happen to Vandal basketball since Gus Johnson in 1963 (and his elevated nail at the Corner Club on Main Street).

The Vandal basketball team could outdraw the Division I-AA football team in the multi-purpose Kibbie Dome, and it was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the toughest home courts in America. From January 1980 to February 1983, the Vandals won 43 consecutive games on their home floor. (After a shocking loss to Montana in front of a record 11,800 on February 12, the Vandals would win their final three home games in 1983.) In Monson's final four seasons at Idaho, the Vandals were 51-2 (.962) at home.

Monson's overall record in his five seasons at Idaho was 100-41 (.709), and was 72-16 (.818) in his final three seasons. His successor was Bill Trumbo, a successful junior college head coach in northern California. Trumbo did not come close to equaling Monson's success, as the Vandals struggled and returned to last place in the Big Sky in each of his three seasons, going 8-34 (.214) in conference and 28-59 (.322) overall. Trumbo lost 21 games at home in the Kibbie Dome and was relieved following the 1986 season, replaced by Tim Floyd.^[3]

During the "Monson Era" at Idaho, the neighboring Washington State Cougars were also doing well in basketball under head coach George Raveling. Monson's Vandals were 3-2 against the Cougars, winning the final three to the great frustration of the Cougar Nation and the Pullman community.

The highlight of this series was the final game, in early December 1982, which was the only one played in Moscow. A then-record crowd of over 11,000 packed into the Kibbie Dome's south grandstand & expanded temporary bleachers to witness a four-point overtime victory for the Vandals, their 37th consecutive win at home.^[6] Concurrently in Kentucky, the resurgent Vandal football team (under first-year coach Dennis Erickson) was battling eventual champion Eastern Kentucky in the I-AA playoffs; losing 38-30 in a game that went down to the final play.

That 1983 Cougar team, led by future NBA guard Craig Ehlo, would finish second in the Pac-10 with a 14-4 record, a game behind champion UCLA. The Cougars' non-conference losses were both on the road in early December to Big Sky opponents; Idaho and Montana. The Cougars advanced to the second round in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, losing to #1 seed Virginia by five points, finishing at 23-7.^[7] After that loss, head coach George Raveling left Washington State to replace Lute Olson at Iowa. With Monson also leaving for Oregon, college basketball on the Palouse went into dormancy. Simultaneous success for both universities in basketball (or any other sport) has yet to recur.

Oregon Ducks

Following the 1983 season, Monson moved up to the Pac-10 conference, coaching the University of Oregon in Eugene. He took over a 9-18 team from former head coach Jim Haney. Monson's best record at Oregon came in his first season, as the 1984 Ducks went 11-7 in the Pac-10 and 16-13 (.552) overall. Monson went 116-145 (.444) in nine seasons, but never made the NCAA tournament. The Ducks qualified for the NIT three times, but only won one game, in 1988.

Monson's final year at Oregon was the 1992 season, which ended with a dismal 2-16 record in conference and 6-21 (.222) overall. He was replaced by Jerry Green, who coached the Ducks for five seasons before leaving for Tennessee after the 1997 season. Green was succeeded by Ernie Kent.

Monson's Oregon Ducks never faced the Idaho Vandals during his nine seasons in Eugene. The two teams played the season before Monson arrived (his last at Idaho, in the Far West Classic, a Vandal victory) and the one immediately after he departed in December 1992.

Monson's teams went 216-186 (.537) in his 14 seasons as a head coach. His best finish was with his 1982 Idaho Vandals, a #3 seed in the West regional that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and spent time in the national polls in the Top Ten. They finished 27-3 without a starter taller than 6'6".

In December 2004, Gonzaga honored Monson with the second annual "Battle in Seattle Award," presented to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong contribution to basketball in the Pacific Northwest. [4] Marv Harshman was the inaugural recipient a year earlier.

Monson currently resides in Spokane, as does his former boss and mentor Jud Heathcote.

Career coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Idaho Vandals (Big Sky) (1978–1983)
1978-79	Idaho	11-15	4-10	8th
1979-80	Idaho	17-10	9-5	2nd
1980-81	Idaho	25-4	12-2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1981-82	Idaho	27-3	13-1	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1982-83	Idaho	20-9	9-5	T-3rd	NIT 1st Round
Idaho:		100-41	47-23
Oregon Ducks (Pac-10) (1983–1992)
1983-84	Oregon	16-13	11-7	3rd	NIT 1st Round
1984-85	Oregon	15-16	8-10	6th
1985-86	Oregon	11-17	6-12	9th
1986-87	Oregon	16-14	8-10	7th
1987-88	Oregon	16-14	10-8	5th	NIT 2nd Round
1988-89	Oregon	8-21	3-15	9th
1989-90	Oregon	15-14	10-8	5th	NIT 1st Round
1990-91	Oregon	13-15	8-10	T-5th
1991-92	Oregon	6-21	2-16	10th
Oregon:		116-145	66-96
Total:		216-186
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ ^{a b} Lewiston Morning Tribune - Monson named UI basketball coach - 1978-08-23 - p.1B
3. ^ ^{a b} Go Vandals.com - Basketball media guide - 2011-12 - p. 75
4. ^ Spokane Daily Chronicle - Idaho post to Monson - 1978-08-22 - p.15
5. ^ Sports Illustrated - A case of Vandalsim in Big Sky country - 1982-01-25 - p. 20-21
6. ^ Lewiston Morning Tribune - Vandals nip Cougars in OT, 62-58 - 1982-12-05 - p.1B
7. ^ The Seattle Times - 1983 WSU Cougars - 2007-02-14

• University of Oregon Basketball media guide 2006-07, p. 136-140.

External links

• Idaho.Scout.com - The Monson Era
• Idaho.Scout.com - Golden Season of Vandal Basketball (1981–82) - Dec 2001
• University of Idaho Athletics = All-time basketball coaches (pdf)
• University of Idaho - Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame - Don Monson
• Battle in Seattle award - Don Monson - Dec-2004
• Tri-Cities Sports Hall of Fame - Class of 2004 - Don Monson
• Monson recalls Coach Jordan's impact - Spokane Spokesman-Review - 17-Jan-2007
• Univ. of Minnesota Athletics - official bio of Don's son, Dan Monson

Persondata
Name	Monson, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 1, 1933
Place of birth	Menagha, Minnesota, United States
Date of death
Place of death