Dan Monson has found success at Long Beach State

When Dan Monson told his wife two years ago that Long Beach State was interested in talking to him about its basketball vacancy, she didn't exactly welcome the prospect.

She broke into tears.

"I think she thought we were going to have to choose that day between the Bloods and the Crips," Monson joked from his office the other day. "All you hear about is the smog, the guns, the violence.

"When you live in Spokane, all you do is make fun of the people who live down here."

Monson and his wife had each lived in Spokane. He was the coach that saw the launch of the Gonzaga program, and then in 1999 he was off to clean up Minnesota. He was fired early in 2007, and spent weeks wondering if or when he wanted to coach.

The conclusion was yes, and in his second year at Long Beach State, Monson has the 49ers in first place in the Big West at 6-2, 11-9 overall.

"There's a lot of things about coaching I really didn't miss," Monson said. "But the 10 percent I did miss, I had to have. I had to be identified with a team."

Minneapolis isn't a lot like Long Beach, but there was a parallel. Much as he inherited an academic mess of epic proportion at Minnesota, Long Beach State was making a change because of some seriously seamy handiwork it had committed in getting junior-college recruits into school.

Near the end of Monson's 6-24 first season, the NCAA came down on the 49ers, taking away a scholarship for two years, imposing some recruiting limitations and adopting the school's recommendation that it not accept JC transfers until it's off probation in 2011.

That part about the JC transfers was no doubt a good thing. It was dealings with six of them that got the 49ers whacked by the NCAA and created a serious class imbalance.

"We pretty much had to start a new program," Monson said. "Ever seen a program where the top nine scorers were seniors?"

Now the 49ers are a team with two veteran guards, followed in scoring by three freshmen.

"To say we're back on track is a little premature," Monson said. "It'll be interesting to see how we finish the year."

As much angst as the ending at Minnesota created for Monson, there was an upside in Long Beach.

He received a reported $1.3 million buyout.

"We were able to buy our way into a nice neighborhood close to campus," he said. His commute is six minutes; at Minnesota, it was 21 miles.

Almost seven years ago, he accepted the Washington job, slept on it and pulled out, leaving it for Lorenzo Romar. At 48, might he have another move in him someday?

"I do think if I ever looked at another job, I'd be looking for different things than the first time through," he said. "Money and security doesn't buy you happiness.

"Being happy is way more important than being in a big conference or being on TV or something."

Talkin' Tony

Revealing comments from Dick Bennett, the ex-Washington State coach, in the Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent about son Tony's turndown of the Indiana job last year and approaches by Marquette and LSU.

"He felt he had a job to do there," said the senior Bennett. "The AD [Jim Sterk] gave him his first job, and it was good for his [children].

"He knew they weren't going to be that good this year. That's what makes it so remarkable. He knew they were going to have a tough year, this year and probably next year."

Dick Bennett said he asked Tony what he wanted in the big picture.

"He basically said, 'I want to have a chance to coach some good basketball,' " said the elder Bennett. " 'I want to have a chance to be in the NCAA tournament.' That's pretty much it. He didn't say, 'I want to be on Dick Vitale's or Digger Phelps' speed-dial.' "

And what's more ...

• Think the Pac-10's TV contract with Fox doesn't cost the league in national consciousness? With ESPN's basketball GameDay crew headed to Spokane on Saturday for Gonzaga's game with Memphis, the all-time scoreboard for hosting that show is Zags 2, Pac-10 1.

• It's a good year for Utah State — 21-1 with a 16-game win streak, the nation's longest — and an ex-USU assistant. First-year coach Don Verlin, longtime aide to Aggies coach Stew Morrill, has downtrodden Idaho at a respectable 4-4 in the WAC. Pooh Williams, a sophomore swingman from Federal Way, starts for Utah State, and ex-WSU guard Mac Hopson leads Idaho in scoring at 16.9 a game.

• A lot of folks probably will be pulling hard for St. Mary's to win the WCC tournament in March, because with Patty Mills' broken hand, suffered last week against Gonzaga, the Gaels likely can't get to the NCAAs without it. The Zags are a much better bet, especially if they can knock off Memphis.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com