We might see a pair of Coach Drews in the NCAA tourney this month: Scott is a lock to make it with Baylor, and Bryce has the Lopes well-positioned to join him there. Their father Homer had quite a run of his own at Valparaiso in the late-1990s, winning 6 straight conference tourneys and providing 1 of the most fantastic NCAA tourney finishes ever when Bryce made a game-winner to beat Mississippi State in 1998. The Crusaders won a share of the Mid-Continent title again in 2001 and hosted the conference tourney title game against Southern Utah…and that is where it all went horribly wrong. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jeff Monaco about beating the 6-time defending champs and then almost beating BC in the NCAA tourney. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Thunderbirds winning the MCC title game on March 6, 2001.
Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport
You grew up in Arizona: what made you choose Southern Utah? I was recruited by a few big schools like UMass (whose coach at the time was John Calipari), Maryland, and Northwestern. I was waiting for Arizona State but they just never thought I was tall enough. I was about to sign with New Mexico State but at the last moment they decided to go with a 6’7” forward instead. The coach who recruited me at New Mexico State knew the Southern Utah coach so I made a trip out to SUU. It was close to end of the signing period so I decided to take a chance, go to a small school, and try to bring them to the NCAA tourney. I also really loved the head coach (Bill Evans) and the assistant coaches at the time (Louis Wilson, who was a beast at individual workouts, and also Bob Lowe). It took 2 years to get the right players to fit around me and they did a great job getting Fred House, who could have gone anywhere in the country to play but choose to take a chance on SUU as well. Justin Sant was the 2-guard who was also a great player that fit our system and a huge reason for our success. We also had great role players like BJ Chandler/Chris Wallin/Stan Johnson/John Wheeler/Jeff Dorenbosch/Jason Baker/Ross Day/Aaron Miles. The beast of them all that took us to the next level and really brought our team up the national rankings was Dan Beus.
On December 31, 2000 you scored 8 PTS before being ejected in the 2nd half of a 4-PT OT win over Idaho State after wrestling Rashad Kirkland for a loose ball: were you a pretty feisty player or were you just looking forward to an exciting New Year’s Eve celebration later that night?! Idaho State seemed to be my biggest rival: we blew them out when they came to our gym. I always loved playing against the bigger teams: they had a point guard who transferred in from Utah and talked a lot but I never fell for that stuff. Teams overlooked us due to the name of our school and where we came from but my junior/senior years we were really good and could have beaten anyone in the country, or at least made it a game until the end. We beat Idaho State at SUU during my junior year and then played them again during my senior year. The assistant coach was Louis Wilson, who was at SUU for my freshman year. The Bengals’ coaching staff told their players to cheap-shot me anytime I came off of screens…which they did every time. I never got tired because I trained/ran every day so most of the time when teams would try to take me out of the game I just strategically ran around screens to make their players chase me/worry about me. When that happened, Fred/Justin would take over for us and teams realized you could not just take 1 of us out because we had so many weapons. There was a loose ball and Rashad threw an elbow at my groin and connected where nobody likes to be hit! As we turned my elbow hit him, then we both got ejected, then Jason Baker came in and kicked butt in OT. I was a feisty player: I had to be that way because I am 5’10”, White, and cannot jump. However, I played like Steve Nash: you could not steal the ball from me and I had tremendous court vision. I could shoot the lights out and never backed down from anyone: I had to be that way to get to where I was. Sometimes my emotions got the best of me because I am my own biggest critic: I would get down on myself and sometimes it would hurt my game.
During each of your final 3 years of college you finished in the top-3 in the conference in both AST/STL and you still remain the school’s all-time leader in both categories: how were you able to balance your offense with your defense? I wish my assists where higher but I was a shooting PG and had to be that kind of player at SUU for us to be successful. On defense I was probably a liability if we played man-to-man: that was my weakness as a player. I did not realize that until I played pro and tried out for some NBA teams. Back in college we actually played a zone defense that no one could figure it out: it was most similar to the UNLV zone that they played back when they had Greg Anthony/Larry Johnson/Stacey Augmon. I believe Fred was top-5 in the country in steals during our junior year and I was 2nd in the conference all because of this zone defense that our coaching staff had created. The steals/defense just came from anticipation and knowing the job that you were supposed to do in the zone. I was very smart and anticipated a lot of passes that we turned into steals: it was the same for Fred/Justin. Assists come easy when you have someone like Fred who can play above the rim. Due to my shooting I could fake a 3, dribble-drive, and hit the open man for an assist, as well as turn those steals into assists on a fast-break.
Your career 87 FT% also remains #1 in school history: what was your secret for making FTs? There is no secret to FTs: just hours and hours of practice. I would shoot 100 every day after practice and did so ever since I was a kid. My father coached me all of my life and always said that games are won/lost at the FT line.
In the 2001 MCC tourney title game you scored 17 PTS in a 3-PT win over 6-time-defending conference champion Valparaiso: how much of a home-court advantage did the Crusaders have while playing in Fort Wayne, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? That game was amazing. We knew that we would win during our senior year: Valpo had beaten us the year before so we just had unfinished business going into our senior season and were not going to let anyone take that from us. Valpo always got home-court advantage, which is fine: they have been at the top of that conference forever and deserved to have that until someone knocked them out. They were a great program and had a great coach in Homer Drew who knew how to win. To beat them we had to play great basketball knowing we were in their house: we only had a handful of fans there but that never bothered us. I never heard any fan noise. I loved the atmosphere of playing against teams with traditions and big fan followings: the louder the arena, the better we played. Fred was unstoppable in that tournament: there was no way he was going to let us lose and no way that any of us were going to let any team stop us from going to the Dance. We had a big lead going into halftime but understood that they were not going to fold: we just had to take care of the ball and not let them rattle us. We came out on top and it was 1 of the greatest feelings in the world to win that game and know that Southern Utah University, a small school, was headed to the NCAA tourney. On a side note: my junior/senior years I only lost 1 home game. Our crowd/town supported us so well and it was amazing to be part of that transformation. We took a small school/small town that no one has ever heard of and just turned the program around. To dominate like we did and make it to the tourney: it was an honor to be part of that school/city. The reaction when we got back to school was amazing: it was an exciting time for our town/school/program.
In the 2001 NCAA tourney you scored a game-high 26 PTS in a 3-PT loss to BC: how close did you come to pulling off the upset, and did you think that Justin Sant’s 3-PT shot at the buzzer was going in? When we were warming up we were getting booed the whole time from the crowd. We knew it was New York…but by the time the game started and the crowd saw how hard we played and how good we were, they began to cheer for us and boo BC, especially when the refs started giving BC a bunch of ghost calls to get them back into the game. We loved our match up with BC: we knew they were overrated and that Troy Bell was not that good: Fred was so much better then Bell. People counted us out because of all the travel the NCAA made us go through but it did not bother us at all: we were in the Mid-Continent Conference at the time and every game we played involved a lot of travel. That is what made our team so special: we had to stay focused during all of our trips. It was amazing to playing against a Big East team: that is what every small school dreams of, to play against nationally-ranked teams and prove that they are nothing special. Back then the big teams from the power conferences were a lot better than those in today’s game since the top players now leave after 1 year to go the NBA and ruin the pro game! The big teams back then had seniors on their roster and were tough to beat. Just imagine how good Kentucky would be if all of their players stayed until their senior year (or at least junior year)! However, that is not the case anymore and that is why you see so many small schools beating those big teams (or at least giving them a scare). You have to love NCAA tournament basketball: it is the best time of the year! We had them beat and we all thought that Justin’s 3 at the end of the game was going in. BC beat us on the offensive boards, which is what gave them the edge, but it was amazing just to get there. We had a special team and if we got past BC I believe that we would have upset USC and made the Sweet 16. Besides the birth of my son, the greatest memory I have is after that game when I came out of the tunnel into the arena. My mother was on the complete other side so I had to walk all the way around the court to get to her. As soon as I got out of the tunnel and began walking I got a standing ovation from the crowd. It still brings a tear to my eye: the fact the crowd understood how hard I had played. It turned out that they loved an underdog and appreciated our team: it was amazing and I know that it made my mother/father proud. 1 last thing: we had the best announcer in Gus Johnson who re-used a nickname for me from a Weber State player named Harold Arceneaux who they called “The Show”. Gus gave me the name Jeff “The Show” Monaco, which was pretty cool!
Your team had 9 players who served Mormon missions and 6 who were married: how crucial do you think all of that life experience was to your team’s success? The guys on the team were done with their missions so it was all about ball with them. What sucked is that after playing 2 years and developing a team that had chemistry they would leave for 2 years, which I think hurt us. The ones on our team were already done with their missions or did not do a mission so we were all in and had that chemistry from Day 1. Our team during my junior/senior years meant business: we got after each other in practice and there were some nasty altercations. Some players could not handle it and took it personally but they sat on the bench. Others knew that the purpose of practice was to make each other better and when practice was over it was all hugs: that is how great teams are made. The thing I did love about playing with teammates who were mostly married is that they were mature and not out partying or doing other things that would hurt the team or themselves. I could not have asked for a better place to live, get an education, or play basketball.
You finished that season by being named Summit League POY: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? Winning the player of the year award does not really cheer me up too much. It was great that all of my hard work that I put into basketball was recognized by the other coaches around the league and it was an honor to win the award…but I really wanted to win the conference tourney and make it to the NCAA tournament. That was the most amazing part of all that we accomplished. I am prouder that Coach Evans was named Coach of the Year as well, which he deserved so much.
In 2015 your NCAA tourney team was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? Making the Hall of Fame was a tremendous honor. It was amazing to see all of my past teammates/teachers/trainers/coaches and everyone else who played a part in our success. To be recognized by the school for the outstanding job our coaches/players did to make us successful and become the team we were was a great honor: I do not think that can ever be duplicated. We had a special team filled with great players who accepted their roles to benefit the success of the team, and when that happens you get a team like ours. It was truly an honor. The only selfish thing I would ever say is that I hope 1 day I can have my number up in the rafters, but that is every kid’s dream. It would be an honor to have my parents there to see that and celebrate them because the sacrifices that parents make to help give their kids their dreams is amazing. My parents have been there through it all. My mother actually moved to my college town to watch me play and become the team mom…which all of my teammates loved because she made home-cooked meals and you cannot beat those! To look up during every home game and see my mom in the stands meant the world to me. My father would also fly in from Scottsdale to watch me play. I eventually got married and had a little boy of my own so I hope that I can do for him what my parents did for me.
You ended up working in the insurance industry: how do you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? As far as my career now, insurance pays the bills but I do not like sitting behind a desk. I did spend a year coaching D-2 basketball in Colorado at Adams State with my former assistant coach Louis Wilson, which was what I really wanted to do. However, due to some health scares with my parents I had to leave that to come home and take care of them. I have spent time running Boys and Girls Clubs: teaching is my true passion so that is what I am currently trying to get back into. I would like to work with kids and will continue to do insurance on the side, but until I get my teaching certification I am selling insurance. It seems like every athlete goes into sales when they are done playing!