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Monson's European vacation

Gophers' trip abroad comes in handy for new coach

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Posted: Sunday August 15, 1999 04:08 PM

For Joel Przybilla, the drudgery of practice is a welcome break from the scandal that rocked Minnesota. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- New Minnesota basketball coach Dan Monson is finally getting a chance to work with his players.

In the span of one week, Monson got married in Spokane, Wash., with a reception that did double-duty as his going-away party from Gonzaga University. The couple squeezed in a brief honeymoon in Hawaii, with Monson sneaking in work at a basketball clinic there.

The 37-year-old coach flew back to Minnesota on Friday night, and was on the court at Williams Arena 18 hours later, putting the Golden Gophers through their first practice for the 1999-2000 season Saturday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Monson and his new team will jet across the Atlantic for an 11-day, six-game swing through London, Paris and Brussels, Belgium.

The trip was booked by Clem Haskins, the coach Monson replaced July 24. And it was only a few weeks ago that Monson was in Spain, serving as an assistant on the U.S. team in the World University Games.

"Right now I'm taking sleep when I can get it," Monson said. The Gophers will hold twice-a-day practices through Tuesday, work out Wednesday morning and then fly to London that evening. They will face the Manchester Giants, the Union Hons Hainaut squad and other club teams in games that, Monson hopes, will mean more when the season begins than in August.

"It's a true blessing to get to know each other," Monson said. "Obviously, we're not going to be able to be very intricate in what we do over the next four or five days. But if we can come off this trip feeling that we're familiar with each other and trust each other, it will be a very successful trip."

For the returning players, it was their first practice without Haskins, who resigned amid an academic fraud scandal but maintains he did nothing wrong.

Sophomore center Joel Przybilla said Haskins was the main reason he decided to play for Minnesota and that he still misses him dearly. But he said it was also a relief to be back at practice.

"It's been a hectic summer, and it's good that we can all get back together and play basketball," Przybilla said. "This foreign trip is going to be good because it will give us a chance to get to know our coach real well -- our whole new coaching staff, actually -- and really become a team."

 

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