At this year’s men’s NCAA tournament, Long Beach State coach Dan Monson is set to redefine the term “house money.”
Dismissed from his post on March 11 but allowed to finish the season, all the Beach boss did afterwards was steer his team to wins over UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC Davis—and the Big West tournament title.
The run made Monson a minor celebrity, putting the ex-Gonzaga and Minnesota coach back on the map. On Wednesday, Monson had fun with his image ahead of Long Beach State’s first round showdown with Arizona on Thursday.
“O.K., I don’t have to answer anything I don’t want to because I’m working for free today,” Monson quipped.
Dan Monson, who lost his job at Long Beach State before the Big West tournament but got to finish out, then won that tournament, opens his NCAA remarks in Salt Lake City: “Okay, I don’t have to answer anything I don’t want to because I’m working for free today.”
— Chuck Culpepper (@ChuckCulpepper1) March 20, 2024
The coach went on to compare his life to an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld.
“You guys see the Seinfeld [episode] where George Costanza was trying to get fired and he couldn’t lose his job and he’s still going to work every day? That’s me,” Monson said, alluding to 1997’s “The Millennium.”
“I’m a Seinfeld episode going on right now in real life.”
Long Beach State fired coach Dan Monson last week, but he won the Big West tournament and earned a ticket to the men's NCAA Tournament.
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 20, 2024
During his session with the media, he compared his life to a Seinfeld episode 😂 pic.twitter.com/XxK0zXM5iD
