Long Beach State Sports : Re: State of the Men's Basketball Program

Hello Brian,
It is SO NICE to hear from you and to have you relive the days of when you were being recruited and playing for the Long Beach State 49'ers. I have been a believer in the potential for Long Beach State to be on of those schools and teams that some how could reach the upper levels of college basketball and other sports. As far as I am concerned, you are and always be one of my favorite players of all times at Long Beach State, and my support and interest started in 1965! I remember when you came to Long Beach State! Those were the days.

There are still lots of supporters here, but many have sort of taken a vacation from their support has waned, as the wins and championships in men's basketball have gotten fewer and fewer as the years have gone on. We still have the potential to succeed, and I do believe that the fans would come back if we started to have more wins each season.

As a person, I think that Dan is a good person, but I believe that the fire that he once had to build a winning team has started to go out. Last season was fun as we started to see more wins and a championship, but that fire went away this year.

I believe that the time is long past to make a coaching change, and I hate to say that because I care about Dan and his family. But, the fact is that we are not winning to the level that both you and I think that we should be. Is it the coach, the players, the administration, or maybe a little bit of all of the above. I long for the return to the winning times that we once saw here. If SDSU can get to the Final Four, Long Beach State should be able to do it as well, but a lot of changes are going to be necessary, in my opinion, to make that happen.

I thank you so much for posting, and want you to know how much Susan and I enjoyed the time that you spent here at Long Beach State. I hope that you and your family are doing well. My daughter, Tracey, keeps me informed about how you guys to some degree, as she hears from you every once in a while through Facebook.

If you ever get out this way for a game, let me know as I almost always have a couple extra first row seats, and would be delight to have you and your wife join Susan and I for a game!

Thanks again for posting... Dennis Pitts

Previous Message

I hope this note finds everyone doing well. As someone who follows the program from afar and with FAU/SDSU in the Final Four I felt compelled to post.

I remember my official visit like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 94 and I remember sitting in the late Dave Obrien's office with Coach Greenberg. He shares with me that his dream is to see "The Beach" in the final four with traditional powers. Seth shares that there is no reason we cannot become the UMass of the west. He was right except Gonzaga did it and surpassed it by a miles. I'm a dreamer and I loved what I heard and with the building of the Pyramid it was an easy decision for me to come.

Fast forward 29 years. If you would've told me that LB would only make the tournament 3 times I would've bet a lot of money on you being wrong.

How do we fix this? We have the best facility in the league, we have the best location in the league, we have the most tradition in the league and we have the best fan base in the league.

At some point someone in the Athletic Department has to say it is time for a change. Coach Monson deep down would probably agree as he has had 16 years to do the job. Change is good and should be embraced. I think Seth had the right model that can still be very successful and that is to recruit within 100 miles of campus and plug your holes with transfers. There is still a place for the high school kid and picking your spots in the portal.

If it can get done at places like SDSU, FAU, Butler, VCU, Loyola-Chicago, George Mason why can't it get done here?

I look forward to reading some of your thoughts. What do you think?

Thank you for reading and here's to better days ahead for The Beach.

B-Yank