Isaiah Washington Lands at Long Beach State Under Former Gophers Head Coach

Around three weeks after decommitting from the University of Iona, former Minnesota Gophers point guard Isaiah Washington (JellyFam founder) has found a new home. This time, Washington is headed to Long Beach State University, the home of none other than Don Monson.

Yes, the same Don Monson who coached for the Gophers back in the day.

Washington, who transferred out of Minnesota after the 2018-19 season, recently left Iona after Rick Pitino (Richard’s dad) accepted the head coaching job. Now, the Jellyfam founder is once again tied back to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Monson, who has been the head coach at Long Beach State for 13 years, held the reigns at Minnesota for seven seasons, from 1999-2007. 

After taking the job following the infamous academic scandal under Clem Haskins, Monson compiled a 118-106 (.527) record through his seven seasons with the Gophers. He led the Maroon and Gold to four NIT appearances and one NCAA tournament appearance. But, following a 2-5 start to the 2006-07 season, Monson resigned. 

Dan Monson’s Tenures

Then, in the spring of 2007, Monson accepted the job at Long Beach State. Compiling a 200-196 (.505) record thus far, he has led the 49ers to only one NCAA tournament appearance and three NIT appearances. Not to mention his three straight losing seasons. 

Not the Best Fit

Apparently, Washington is ready to help change that. After averaging 8.7 and 4.3 points per game in his freshman and sophomore years respectively, Jellyfam Dimes increased his average to 11.3 points per game at Iona during the 2019-20 season. He also averaged 4 assists in his 33 minutes per game.

It looks like Coach Monson may have sold him on being his star. However, there’s one glaring problem: Long Beach State already has too many guards. Last year, the top three scorers on LBSU all played a guard position… and all three are returning this year. Washington will just add to an already crowded backcourt.

Unless one of those players decides to transfer from LBSU, I don’t see Isaiah Washington garnering the 33 minutes he’s used to. But however it works out, it’ll be nice to (hopefully) see the former 4-star guard settle down in one place after a somewhat rocky career thus far.

Carson Ruen | Minnesota Sports Fan