Heading into the first round of March Madness on Thursday, the No. 2 seeded Arizona Wildcats against the No. 15 seeded Long Beach State seemed like an ultimate David vs. Goliath showdown. The storylines were fantastic as well considering Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson once recruited Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd when the former was at Gonzaga.
But despite Long Beach State putting up a fight early in the first half, the disparity in talent was too much to overcome as Arizona rolled to a 85-65 victory. Following the game, Lloyd couldn't help but get a little emotional when speaking about his longtime friend Monson and the situation he faced as per Brenna Greene of KOIN News.
“Make no bones about it, I wanted to kick Monson's a**. . .I'm the little brother and I've always been the little brother to all those guys. sometimes little brother has got to fight back,” Lloyd said. “That doesn't mean I don't love Mons. I felt tears starting to well up when I hugged him at the end of the game. People don't know what we go through with our families. To think that guy gave 17 years to Long Beach State and they fired him without another year in his contract. So he's walking out of this deal in 30 days with no benefits, no severance pay, nothing. . that guy does not deserve that cause he's a great man.”
Monson and Long Beach State have been the talk of March Madness in that Long Beach State had informed its longtime coach that he would be let go after the season was over. The team responded by running through the Big West Tournament to make an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2012.
The fact that they drew Arizona and Tommy Lloyd in the first round made things that much more bittersweet. When Monson was the head coach at Gonzaga, he had tried to recruit Lloyd as a player, but wasn't able to guarantee Lloyd a scholarship.
Monson ultimately told Lloyd that he could have a job as a grad assistant on Gonzaga's staff, but Monson left to Minnesota leaving Lloyd to join incoming head coach Mark Few. Both Few and now Lloyd have criticized Long Beach State and the athletic department for the handling of the Monson situation.
But for Arizona, they vanquish some of last season's demons when, in a similar situation, were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed against the No. 15 seeded Princeton Tigers. The Wildcats now move on to face Dayton the round of 32.
In the win against Long Beach State, Arizona was led by sophomore guard Kylan Boswell who dropped a team-high 20 points along with three rebounds and eight assists. Boswell is a potential NBA prospect. Caleb Love, arguably the top transfer in the country, added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Love transferred from North Carolina and is also a potential NBA prospect.
Follow Us
Subscribe