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SALT LAKE CITY — Long Beach State’s athletic director said the timing of his decision to fire coach Dan Monson was made in hopes it could spark the exact run that led the team to its unexpected trip to the NCAA Tournament. .
“My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and at the right time, they would play inspired, and that’s what they did,” Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press on Thursday, a few hours before the Beach tipped off against Arizona . “I’m not trying to congratulate myself, but it worked.”
Monson’s employment situation has been one of the more intriguing storylines leading up to the first round of the NCAA tournament. He was fired last Monday after a five-game losing streak, but continues to coach for the rest of the season, and the team responded last weekend by winning the Big West tournament to earn an unexpected trip to March Madness.
Smitheran said there has been too much talk about the idea that Monson was fired.
“I don’t believe that narrative,” Smitheran said. “I think people don’t really understand that we agreed that a change in leadership was necessary. This was something that Coach Monson brought to me.”
Monson has never suggested otherwise and has handled the situation with class. On Wednesday, he joked that he is now working for free and that he loves it because of the great support he has received from his players, friends and family.
“I keep using the word ‘surreal,'” Monson said. “The Twilight Zone may be partly true. It’s been incredible.”
Several coaches in Salt Lake City this week, including Monson’s friend, Gonzaga’s Mark Few, have been less charitable, suggesting that an AD should let things take their course before announcing an in-season split.
Smitheran, who is in his first year at Long Beach State after a successful stint as an executive at San Diego State, said the big picture is that he wants Beach to be in the hunt for tournament bids every year.
This is Long Beach State’s first NCAA appearance since 2012; Monson has been there since 2007.
“My job is to position our coaches and student-athletes to be successful,” Smitheran said. “Maybe it was an atypical way to do it. But I believed in the squad we had, I believed in our coaching staff and our ability to do something special. Maybe this was the catalyst they needed to inspire each other and play for each other.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.