Tony Ding/AP
Long Beach State Athletic Director Bobby Smitheran claimed he fired his men’s basketball coach in the hopes that it would inspire the team to finish strong.
The team did, and now it’s competing in the NCAA Tournament under the same coach who was supposed to be gone by now.
Last week, Smitheran and coach Dan Monson agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the season. Monson’s first season as Long Beach State coach was winding down and the team had just lost five games in a row. At the time, the team looked dead in the water.
Then, the team suddenly turned its season around by winning the Big West tournament. That win gave them a spot in the national tournament.
Speaking with The Associated Press, Smitheran said it was actually part of the plan.
“My belief and hope is that by doing what I did and the timing of it, they would play inspired, and that’s what they did,” Bobby Smitheran said. “I’m not trying to pat myself
On Wednesday afternoon, Monson joked that he was “working for free” after the team punched its ticket to March Madness.
Fifteenth-seeded Long Beach State was set to take on second-seeded Arizona in the first round of the tournament Thursday.