Monson’s boss says timing of ouster at Long Beach State was designed to inspire March Madness run

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Long Beach State’s athletic director said the timing of his decision to part with coach Dan Monson was done with the hope it might trigger the exact run that led the team on its unexpected trip to March Madness.

“My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that’s what they did,” Bobby Smitheran told The Associated Press before the Beach fell 85-65 to Arizona on Thursday to bring a close to Monson’s tenure. “I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked.”

Monson’s job status was one of the most intriguing stories leading into the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He and Smitheran agreed to part ways last Monday, on the heels of a five-game losing streak. The team responded last weekend by capturing the Big West Tournament to earn an unexpected trip to March Madness.

Smitheran said too much has been made of the notion that Monson was fired.

“I don’t buy into that narrative,” he said. “I think this is really getting lost on people, that we agreed that a change in leadership was necessary. This was something Coach Monson brought to me.”

Monson mostly brushed off Smitheran’s comments when asked about them after the game.

“If that’s what spurred it, that’s great,” Monson said of the decision to let him go. “But we’ll never know, because that’s how it played out. We’ll never know if it did or not.”