A Grip on Sports: Another chapter of Inland Northwest basketball history closes with Don Monson’s passing Wednesday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Friday’s columns are all about looking ahead. Usually. And I’ll get there. Eventually. But there has to be a more-than-glancing look in the rearview mirror today as once again a titan of Inland Northwest college basketball has left us.

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• I’m about 99% sure Don Monson would give me a raft of crud for using the word “titan” to describe him. At the least one of those “what the heck” sideways glances he handed out whenever someone nearby said something ill-informed.

Monson, who died Wednesday night at 92, didn’t just consider himself a basketball coach. He was proud to wear that title. And he wore it at a lot of different places in this region.

At Cheney High, coaching in the old downtown – did Cheney really have a downtown back then? – high school gym with the dead spots in the floor, perfect for a trapping defense. At Pasco High, where his fire and knowledge cemented Jud Heathcote’s belief Monson was meant for bigger things.

It was Heathcote, himself a former West Valley boys coach, who dragged Monson into the college ranks, bringing him to East Lansing, to Michigan State and the Big Ten. Where the former Coeur d’Alene High and Idaho basketball star helped Heathcote build the team that would win the 1979 NCAA title.

You know, the Magic Johnson team? Monson had a major hand in bringing Johnson in the Spartan fold but by the time the best player he ever coached helped lead MSU over Larry Bird’s Indiana State team, Monson had a new/old address.

In Moscow.

Monson was never destined to cut down an NCAA championship net with the Vandals. Schools like UI just don’t do that. But that doesn’t mean he coached any different. And came darn close, turning his 1981-82 team into one of the school’s best ever, posting a 23-3 regular season mark, winning the Big Sky tourney and coming close in an NCAA’s first round loss to Pitt.

The next season, though, was even better. Brian Kellerman, Phil Hopson, Gordie Herbert et al went where no other UI team, before or since, had traveled. A 27-3 record. A Sweet Sixteen loss to NCAA runner-up Georgetown. A national ranking that reached sixth at one point.

A year later Monson moved on, to Oregon, a move he may not have regretted but once told me was, well, let’s say he called it a mistake and leave it that.

The last time I saw Don was about a year and a half ago. At the Park Inn on Spokane’s South Hill. A gathering of folks, of course. Folks brought together each year to honor the memory of a peer of Monson’s, Dan Fitzgerald, near the anniversary of the former Gonzaga coach’s 2010 death.

Monson sat at the head of the table. I sat just to his right, making sure he was comfortable, always had a full glass and reminding him of everyone’s name. He was just one of the guys, albeit the one with the best stories, the most coaching wins and the sharpest tongue. As always.

The quiet part of the conversation was about coaching. Not Xs and Os, though he was good at that. About helping players reach their potential. About keeping their mind free so they played that way. About helping everyone on the roster, from top to bottom, know their role and fulfilling it. About being a coach.

Which what Don Monson was. Even at 92.

• What’s ahead? How about the biggest weekend in Seattle pro sports history?

OK, that’s probably been said before. With even more reason. But Saturday the Mariners host the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series opener at T-Mobile (5:30 p.m., FS1) while across the street the Sounders meet Portland (7:30, AppleTV). Sunday it’s game two for the M’s (5 p.m., FS1) and, at 1:05 p.m. on CBS, the Seahawks’ game with Tampa Bay.

The competition for parking spaces in SoDo will be a pain this weekend. And expensive.

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WSU: Yep, the Cougars have a bye, which is why we didn’t spend any pixels above listing their TV plans. And why coach Jimmy Rogers was at the Mead High football game. We have other stories to offer. Picks too. Jon Wilner has his in the S-R. … John Canzano offers his on his website. … Oregon has a bye too and, like Washington State, is also getting ready for showdown with a top 10 team. … Utah is just on a bye. … USC has to use its free time fixing its secondary problems. … Utah State has been improving at linebacker.

• Here is the schedule for (current, old and future) Pac-12 teams this week, listed chronologically. All games this week are Saturday unless noted. The schedule below also includes any game in which mining news about turned out to be nearly impossible.

– Colorado State at San Diego State (Friday, 7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): The weekend kicks off with a Mountain West battle near the ocean.

– Oklahoma State at Arizona (noon, TNT): This seems like a good weekend for Arizona to fine-tune its quarterback play.

– No. 7 Penn State at UCLA (12:30 p.m., CBS): A blowout loss tomorrow will not help athletic director Martin Jarmond’s job status.

– Boise State at No. 21 Notre Dame (12:30, NBC): A Bronco win would be one of the school’s better upsets. And it has had a few.

– Washington at Maryland (12:30, Big Ten Network): The Terps are undefeated. At home three time zones to the east of Seattle. If the Huskies are to win, Jacob Manu will have to supply a lift to the defense.

– Oregon State at App State (12:30, ESPN+): Not only have the Beavers posted a winless mark this football season, the school’s NIL contract with an outside group may be a loser as well.

– Texas State at Arkansas State (1, ESPNU): The Red Wolves must have their secondary play well to win their final Sun Belt opener tomorrow.

– Colorado at TCU (4:30, Fox): TCU coach Sonny Dykes is worried the Buffs are on the verge of breaking through.

– Duke at California (7:30, ESPN): It’s been a while since Cal started a season 5-1. The Bears can do that with a win against 3-2 Duke. … ESPN’s Game Day visit last season is still paying dividends for the Berkeley campus.

– Nevada at Fresno State (7:30, CBS Sports Network): The Bulldogs have the edge at many positions. 

• In basketball news, Arizona State is about ready to show off the men’s team. … Arizona has already done that.

EWU: Saturday’s Dam Cup rivalry football game in Cheney (4:30 p.m.) pits the Eagles with Portland State. It’s homecoming too, which is perfect considering, as Dan Thompson shares, PSU coach Bruce Barnum is a 1987 Eastern grad. Two numbers to share: 22 and one. The former is how many of the Dam Cup games each school has won, the latter the wins the two schools have combined for this season – in 10 attempts. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, Montana State has a history of turning quarterbacks into outstanding players at another position. … Sacramento State’s stadium plans come with a cost. … A smaller running back has come up big for Cal Poly. … Injuries slowed, but did not stop, a Northern Arizona player.

Idaho: We shared our albeit limited thoughts on Don Monson’s passing above. Dave Boling has more – better and more detailed – thoughts to share in his column this morning. … There are other stories on Monson’s death as well.

Mariners: We listed this weekend’s schedule above. The Tigers earned the right to play in Seattle by topping Cleveland 6-3 yesterday. … When will Bryan Woo be available to pitch? We still don’t know even after he threw off the mound Thursday. … The M’s haven’t been in the playoffs a lot recently. That doesn’t mean there aren’t experienced players on the roster, though. … What are the M’s staff’s best pitches? … Want to get away? To Detroit? It’s expensive. But after the long wait for another chance at the title, maybe M’s fans will take the trip. … Can Seattle win a dozen games and raise the trophy?

Preps: The Thursday night game was at Union Stadium, where host Mead rolled over winless Ferris 38-9. Dave Nichols was there and has this coverage. … Greg Lee has a look at this Saturday’s Battle for the 509 cross country race at the Polo Grounds. … Emily White covers a story from Post Falls concerning a photo from earlier this year that resulted in suspensions for football players. … Cheryl Nichols has this roundup of Thursday’s action. … Finally, Ferris alum Andrew Kittredge helped the Cubs move on the MLB playoffs yesterday.

Sounders: Cristian Roldan has earned a call-up to the U.S. National Team.

Seahawks: The Times’ story about the Hawk’s 50th anniversary schedule is on the S-R site today. So is Matt Calkin’s mea culpa column. … I’m not sure I’ve seen an NFL game end with more presents from the losing team (the Rams) to the winning team (the 49ers) than I did last night. … Riq Woolen is playing through his mistakes, mainly because of injuries to other secondary members. … Leonard Williams works just as hard at home as he does at the office. … The Bucs are dealing with a big injury.

Bloomsday: Nina Culver has another story on a race Perennial, this one on Steve Vigus.

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• Monson’s passing marks the end of a group of Spokane-area college basketball coaches who made up what can be termed the old guard. Old school, if you will. Fitz. Jud. George Raveling. Don. Others who led the area’s colleges through the late 20th Century and helped lay the ground work for a generation of coaches who dominate the local college and high school scene. Until later …