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Don Monson
Donald Lloyd Monson (April 11, 1933 – October 1, 2025) was an American 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. He was selected by his peers as the national coach of the year in 1982. Monson spent 1993 in Australia, coaching the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League.
Born in Menahga, Minnesota, on April 11, 1933, Monson moved with his family when he was in the second grade to Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. During his sophomore year at Coeur d'Alene High School, the Vikings won the state title under longtime coach Elmer Jordan, defeating Burley 53–43 in far-away Pocatello.
Monson graduated from high school in 1951 and then attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he lettered for three years in basketball and graduated in 1955. (team photo) He played under Vandal head coach Charles Finley through his junior year, then Harlan Hodges for his senior season.
After a stint in the U.S. Navy, 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 for nine seasons with a 105–69 (.603) record. While in Cheney, southwest of nearby Spokane, he earned a master's degree at Eastern Washington State College. In 1967, Monson moved southwest to Pasco in the Tri-Cites, where he led Pasco High for nine seasons and posted a 161–65 (.712) record.
Monson moved up to the collegiate ranks in 1976 as an assistant under friend Jud Heathcote at Michigan State. Heathcote (1927–2017) was in his first year with the Spartans, hired after five seasons as head coach at Montana; he was previously an assistant at Washington State in Pullman and a high school head coach in the Spokane area at West Valley. The two had first crossed paths in December 1950, when Monson was a high school senior; he scored a dozen points and CDA defeated West Valley 35–25 in Heathcote's first game as a head coach.
With the Spartans, Monson refined the 2–3 matchup zone defense and was given credit for the recruitment of Earvin "Magic" Johnson to the Spartans in 1977. Monson stayed in East Lansing for two seasons, leaving in August 1978 for the late vacancy at Idaho. The Spartans won the national championship that season, defeating the Indiana State Sycamores, led by Larry Bird, in the title game in Salt Lake City in 1979.
Monson became a college head coach in August 1978 at the University of Idaho, his alma mater. In the early 1950s, he 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. Jarvis' final team went just 4–22 (.154) and 1–13 in conference play in 1978. 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. The next season, the 1980 Vandals finished second in the Big Sky (9–5) and 17–10 (.630) overall. They swept Montana in the regular season, but lost to the Grizzlies in the semi-finals of the four-team conference tournament, won by host and regular season champion Weber State.
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Don Monson
Donald Lloyd Monson (April 11, 1933 – October 1, 2025) was an American 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. He was selected by his peers as the national coach of the year in 1982. Monson spent 1993 in Australia, coaching the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League.
Born in Menahga, Minnesota, on April 11, 1933, Monson moved with his family when he was in the second grade to Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho. During his sophomore year at Coeur d'Alene High School, the Vikings won the state title under longtime coach Elmer Jordan, defeating Burley 53–43 in far-away Pocatello.
Monson graduated from high school in 1951 and then attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he lettered for three years in basketball and graduated in 1955. (team photo) He played under Vandal head coach Charles Finley through his junior year, then Harlan Hodges for his senior season.
After a stint in the U.S. Navy, 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 for nine seasons with a 105–69 (.603) record. While in Cheney, southwest of nearby Spokane, he earned a master's degree at Eastern Washington State College. In 1967, Monson moved southwest to Pasco in the Tri-Cites, where he led Pasco High for nine seasons and posted a 161–65 (.712) record.
Monson moved up to the collegiate ranks in 1976 as an assistant under friend Jud Heathcote at Michigan State. Heathcote (1927–2017) was in his first year with the Spartans, hired after five seasons as head coach at Montana; he was previously an assistant at Washington State in Pullman and a high school head coach in the Spokane area at West Valley. The two had first crossed paths in December 1950, when Monson was a high school senior; he scored a dozen points and CDA defeated West Valley 35–25 in Heathcote's first game as a head coach.
With the Spartans, Monson refined the 2–3 matchup zone defense and was given credit for the recruitment of Earvin "Magic" Johnson to the Spartans in 1977. Monson stayed in East Lansing for two seasons, leaving in August 1978 for the late vacancy at Idaho. The Spartans won the national championship that season, defeating the Indiana State Sycamores, led by Larry Bird, in the title game in Salt Lake City in 1979.
Monson became a college head coach in August 1978 at the University of Idaho, his alma mater. In the early 1950s, he 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. Jarvis' final team went just 4–22 (.154) and 1–13 in conference play in 1978. 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. The next season, the 1980 Vandals finished second in the Big Sky (9–5) and 17–10 (.630) overall. They swept Montana in the regular season, but lost to the Grizzlies in the semi-finals of the four-team conference tournament, won by host and regular season champion Weber State.