Monson Era Set To Start In Typical Gonzaga Style

Gonzaga University’s men’s basketball program will kick off the Dan Monson Era by sticking with what worked under his predecessor, Dan Fitzgerald.

Monson, who took over the head coaching job when Fitzgerald stepped aside last March, will introduce his first Bulldogs team to the public during a traditional Midnight Madness celebration that kicks off in Martin Centre Friday following GU’s 7 p.m. volleyball matchup against Pepperdine.

Under NCAA rules, preseason practices cannot begin until Saturday, so the men’s and women’s teams will stage a joint practice beginning at the first tick past midnight.

Post-volleyball events leading up to the introduction of the teams will include human bowling, golf fish races, bouncy boxing and fast-track car racing.

There will also be a chance for participants to win a free dinner for four and a limousine ride. GU is the only one of the area’s four Division I schools that has planned a Midnight Madness session.

Those in attendance at Saturday’s early morning event will be introduced to a veteran Bulldog team featuring a pair of preseason All-West Coast Conference candidates in senior forward Bakari Hendrix and sophomore point guard Matt Santangelo.

Hendrix was named to the all-conference first team last year after averaging 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds for a GU team that finished 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the WCC. Santangelo was named the league’s co-freshman of the year after averaging 13.2 points and 4.4 assists per game.

“This is a team that has size, some experience and showed last year it’s on the verge of being able to compete with everybody in the conference,” added Monson, who returns two other starters in 7-foot sophomore center Axel Dench and junior forward Mike Leasure.

GU will play the first of its two exhibition games Nov. 1 against Old Dogs AAU and open its regular-season schedule at home on Nov. 15 against Concordia College.

Here’s a look at the other area Division I men’s teams as the first day of practice approaches:

WSU (13-17, 5-13 Pac-10)

The Cougars will stage their first practice Saturday morning just a stroke past midnight, but there will be no accompanying madness.

Fourth-year coach Kevin Eastman has closed the 2-1/2 hour Bohler Gym workout to the public - not that there would be much to see anyway, because of the rash of off-season injuries that have once again struck the Cougars.

Six of the 10 scholarship players on Eastman’s roster have been nursing injuries this fall and several, including senior starter Rodrigo de la Fuente who has tendinitis in his left foot, will be at less than full strength when workouts begins.

Eastman said he expects senior forward Carlos Daniel, who averaged 15.2 points and a teamhigh 8.3 rebounds last season, to take up most of the scoring slack left by the departure of career scoring leader Isaac Fontaine.

“Carlos is a proven player at this level who is going to be the focal point of what we do offensively,” he explained. “We’re trying to get him to develop his outside shot a little bit better, but his bread and butter is going to be somewhere around the basket.”

The Cougars face NBC Thunder in an exhibition game Nov. 5 and open their regular season at home Nov. 14 against Central Washington.

EWU (7-19, 3-13 Big Sky)

The Eagles, hoping to rebound from last year’s tragedy-and injury-plagued season, open practice Saturday with workouts scheduled for 7-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.

Third-year coach Steve Aggers’ top priority is finding a point guard to replace Travis King, one of two seniors on last year’s team who was pressed into duty when junior starter Rod McClure was killed in a traffic accident.

The No. 1 candidate is 6-foot-3 sophomore Deon Williams, who practiced with the team last year but was not allowed to play because of high school academic deficiencies. Otherwise, Aggers has returning experience at every position - provided senior center Kevin Lewis recovers fully from off-season knee surgery.

Lewis missed the last part of the 1996-1997 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and is still trying to strengthen the muscles in his knee. Aggers hopes to have him practicing full-time by early November.

“We really like our guys, and we’re cautiously optimistic,” Aggers said. “We’ve got excellent chemistry right now and our team-building exercises during the preseason have been terrific.”

The Eagles play a Nov. 4 exhibition against Northwest Basketball Camp and open their regular season at home on Nov. 16 with a 1:05 p.m. matchup against Sam Houston State.

Idaho (13-17, 5-11 Big West)

Idaho, which opens practice with workouts from noon-2 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Saturday, enters its third straight year with a new head coach. Dave Farrar takes over from one-year resident Kermit Davis, who replaced Joe Cravens the year before.

The Vandals return just five players and the late date of Farrar’s hire left him scouring a shallow recruiting pool. As a result, Farrar opted to sign six junior-college transfers. The lone freshman on the roster is Moscow High walk-on Adam Miller.

Avery Curry, who sat our last season after transferring from Florida State, is expected to take over at point guard.

“The biggest problem is not one of talent, but of experience,” Farrar said. “Only five guys have been in a Division I game.”

Farrar’s returning cast includes guards Kris Baumann and Jon Harris, forward Troy Thompson and 6-foot-9 center Kevin Byrne, the only player on the roster taller than 6-5.

The Vandals play their first exhibition game Nov. 9 against Next Level Sports and open their regular season Nov. 21 with a 6 p.m. matchup against Montana Tech in Idaho’s Memorial Gym. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo