Don Monson obit

Legendary Idaho basketball coach Don Monson dies at age 92

 

He was not on the list.

Former Idaho basketball coach Don Monson, who guided the Vandals to the Sweet 16 in 1981, has died. He was 92.

His son, current Eastern Washington basketball coach Dan Monson, announced the news on social media.

“Last night, holding Mom’s hand, Dad passed away peacefully after 92 years of serving the Lord,” Dan Monson posted on X on Thursday. “I’ve lost a great father, my idol, role model, mentor, and, as he would say, Partner.

“Rest in peace — Big Mons, Mons, Dad, Don, Donny, Papa, Coach, Coach Monson. I love you Dad, PARTSY.”

Don Monson guided UI to two NCAA Tournament appearances while his team won 43 straight wins at home over two seasons. The 1981-82 team, which finished 27-3, became the first Vandal team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

The ‘81-82 team – which was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press poll – was inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame over the summer.

Monson led the Vandals for five seasons, finishing 100-41 before leaving after the 1983 season to coach Oregon.

Prior to coaching, Monson played three seasons, from 1952-55, for the Vandals. Monson, who grew up in Coeur d’Alene, started his coaching career at Cheney High School before moving on to Pasco High.

He later worked under Jud Heathcote as an assistant coach at Michigan State –where he was credited for the recruitment of Earvin “Magic” Johnson – before eventually taking over at Idaho.

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.  He played under Vandal head coach Charles Finley through his junior year, then Harlan Hodges for his senior season.

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.

Monson's third season opened well, as the 1981 Vandals won their first ten games (including road wins at Nebraska, Washington State, and Gonzaga). Idaho went 23–3 in the regular season and won the Big Sky regular season championship, their first conference title ever in basketball.

Their 12–2 conference record earned them the host position for the conference tournament (top four teams of the eight), which they won and were seeded seventh in the West region of the 48-team NCAA tournament. Idaho lost in overtime by one point to Pittsburgh, the #10 seed, in El Paso in the first round. The Vandals finished the season with an overall record of 25–4 (.862), with most of the key players returning.

Don Monson became a cult hero in the Moscow community in the early 1980s, bringing championship status to a university that had long struggled in both football and basketball. He was well known for his anguished expressions and contorted body language while on the Idaho sideline, which became the subject for an unofficial fan club (and caricature T-shirts). Monson was the biggest thing to happen to Vandal basketball since Gus Johnson in 1963 (and his elevated nail at the Corner Club on Main Street). Five years after his departure to Eugene, he was honored with a roast in Moscow.

The Vandal basketball team could outdraw the Division I-AA football team in the multi-purpose Kibbie Dome, and it was ranked by Sports Illustrated as one of the toughest home courts in America. From January 1980 to February 1983, the Vandals won 43 consecutive games on their home floor. (After a shocking loss to Montana in front of a record 11,800 on February 12, the Vandals won their final three home games in 1983.) In Monson's final four seasons at Idaho, the Vandals were 51–2 (.962) at home.

Monson's overall record in his five seasons at Idaho was 100–41 (.709), and was 72–16 (.818) in his final three seasons. His successor was Bill Trumbo, a successful junior college head coach in northern California. Trumbo did not come close to equaling Monson's success, as the Vandals struggled and returned to last place in the Big Sky in each of his three seasons, going 8–34 (.190) in conference and 28–59 (.322) overall. Trumbo lost 21 games at home in the Kibbie Dome and was relieved in March 1986, succeeded by Tim Floyd.

During the "Monson Era" at Idaho, the neighboring Washington State Cougars were also doing well in basketball under head coach George Raveling, advancing to the NCAA tournament in 1980 and 1983. Monson's Vandals were 3–2 against the Cougars, winning the final three (in three different cities) to the great frustration of the Cougar Nation and the Pullman community.

The highlight of this series was the final game, in early December 1982, which was the only one played in Moscow. A then-record (basketball) crowd of over 11,000 packed into the Kibbie Dome's south grandstand & expanded temporary bleachers to witness a four-point overtime victory for the Vandals, their 37th consecutive win at home. Concurrently in Kentucky, the resurgent Vandals football team (under first-year head coach Dennis Erickson) was on the road battling eventual champion Eastern Kentucky in the I-AA playoffs; losing 38–30 in a game that went down to the final play.

That 1983 Cougar team, led by future NBA guard Craig Ehlo, finished second in the Pac-10 with a 14–4 record, a game behind champion UCLA. The Cougars' non-conference losses were both on the road in early December to Big Sky opponents; Idaho and Montana. The Cougars advanced to the second round in the West regional of the NCAA tournament, losing to #1 seed Virginia by five points, finishing at 23–7. After that loss, head coach George Raveling left Washington State to replace Lute Olson at Iowa. With Monson also leaving for Oregon, college basketball on the Palouse went into dormancy. Simultaneous success for both universities in basketball (or any other sport) has yet to recur.

Following the 1983 season, Monson moved up to the Pac-10 conference to coach the University of Oregon Ducks in Eugene. He took over a 9–18 team from former head coach Jim Haney. Monson's best record at Oregon came in his first season, as the 1984 Ducks went 11–7 in the Pac-10 and 16–13 (.552) overall. Monson went 116–145 (.444) in nine seasons, but never made the NCAA tournament. Oregon qualified for the NIT three times, but only won one game, in 1988.

Monson's final year at Oregon was the 1992 season, which ended with a 2–16 record in conference and 6–21 (.222) overall. He was replaced by Jerry Green, who coached the Ducks for five seasons before leaving for Tennessee after the 1997 season. Green was succeeded by Ernie Kent.

Monson's Oregon Ducks never faced the Idaho Vandals during his nine seasons in Eugene. The two teams played the season before Monson arrived (his last at Idaho, in the Far West Classic, a Vandal victory) and the one immediately after he departed in December 1992.

Monson's teams went 216–186 (.537) in his 14 seasons as a head coach. His best finish was with his 1982 Idaho Vandals, a #3 seed in the West regional that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and spent time in the national polls in the Top Ten. They finished 27–3 without a starter taller than 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m).

In December 2004, Gonzaga honored Monson with the second annual "Battle in Seattle Award", presented to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong contribution to basketball in the Pacific Northwest.  Marv Harshman was the inaugural recipient a year earlier.

 

Born    April 11, 1933

Menahga, Minnesota, U.S.

Died    October 1, 2025 (aged 92)

Playing career

1951–1955      Idaho

Position(s)       Guard, forward

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1958–1967      Cheney HS

1967–1976      Pasco HS

1976–1978      Michigan State (assistant)

1978–1983      Idaho

1983–1992      Oregon

1993    Adelaide 36ers

Head coaching record

Overall            266–134 (high school)

216–186 (college)

14–14 (NBL (Australia))

Tournaments    1–2 (NCAA Division I)

1–3 (NIT)