The Long Beach State men’s basketball team will try to build upon its road win over Cal Poly when it hosts Cal State Northridge this weekend, but before then, former 49er head coach Jerry Tarkanian will pay a visit to The Beach.
Tarkanian, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September, will meet with players before Saturday’s game against the Matadors. Current head coach Dan Monson said the credibility and experience Tarkanian has will translate well to his team.
“It’s not just a hall of fame coach with knowledge,” Monson said. “It’s meaningful to our kids. It’s amazing, but a guy like that will say the same things that we will, but it will ring a little truer [for the players].”
On the court, the 49ers (6-12, 2-2 Big West) will take on fourth-place CSUN. The Matadors (10-9, 2-2 Big West) opened conference play with a pair of wins but have struggled since, dropping games to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
“Northridge is very dangerous,” Monson said. “They’re the most athletic team in the [Big West].”
Led by 2012-13 All-Big West honorable mention Stephen Maxwell, the Matadors have scored 74.6 points per game this season, good for third in the Big West. Maxwell ranks third in the conference with 17.1 points per game and second with 8.4 rebounds per game.
“They’re very aggressive,” Monson said. “As most Northridge games are, it’s going to be a great ballgame. We’re going to have to disrupt them somehow and not let them get into an offensive flow.”
For LBSU, the biggest adjustment may come the week before the game, as players will have to once again balance basketball with school. After enjoying nearly a month where basketball was the only thing to focus on, the start of classes have introduced another priority.
“We think we’re a wannabe NBA team when we’re not in school,” Monson said. “We have all day to watch film and practice in the morning, then come back and get shots up at night. The month of Christmas break is my favorite time to coach.”
Even with classes taking up time that was available over break, the 49ers have a slight advantage over CSUN in that they will play only one game this weekend, whereas the Matadors also have to visit UC Irvine on Thursday. Because the Big West has only nine members this year, each team will have two weeks of the conference season with only one game. For the 49ers, one of those is this week.
Tip-off for Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.