 Before coaching the Gophers, he was the head coach at Gonzaga for two seasons, leading the Zags on an improbable run to the Elite Eight during his last season.Monson is the son of college basketball coach Don Monson, and spent most of his early years in eastern Washington, where his father was a successful high school head coach in Cheney and Pasco for 18 seasons.At age 14, the family moved from Pasco to East Lansing, Michigan, where Don was an assistant coach for Jud Heathcote at Michigan State for two seasons.