Dan Monson, who led Long Beach State University to the NCAA Tournament as a lame duck coach, has returned to his roots as Eastern Washington University's new men's basketball coach. Monzon and Long Beach city officials agreed to a “mutual separation” in early March as the regular season ended with five straight losses. However, once the team won the Big West Tournament, Monzon and his team earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. In the West Division opener, second-seeded Arizona State defeated No. 15 Long Beach State 85-65. Monson, 62, has a 445-396 record in 27 seasons as a Division I head coach. The Washington native lived in Cheney, located in Eastern Washington, when his father coached high school basketball there. The younger Monzon began his coaching career as an assistant for two seasons at UAB in 1986, then held the same position at Gonzaga from 1988 to 1997. He served as the Bulldogs' head coach for two seasons (1997-99) before moving on to Minnesota (1999-2006) and Long Beach State (2007-24). His teams have appeared in the postseason 13 times, including four in the NCAA Tournament. Under Monzon, Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight for the first time in 1999. When he departed for Minnesota, Gonzaga named current coach Mark Few to replace him. Athletic director Tim Collins said Monzon is a great fit for the Eagles. “Eastern Washington University is a huge part of Spokane County and our region. During the search for our next men's basketball coach, it was important to us to identify a head coach who represents our region.” said Collins. “As I talked with Dan, it became clear that this area was as important to him as it was to Eastern,” Monson said of Washington State after a 21-11 season with the Eagles. He replaces David Riley, who resigned to become head coach. –Field level media