Long Beach State Men’s Basketball head coach Dan Monson has announced the hiring of Myke Scholl as an assistant coach, filling the vacancy left following the retirement of Vic Couch.
Scholl most recently spent the better part of six seasons with Loyola Marymount as the Associate Head Coach for the Lions, leading both recruiting and player development within the LMU program.
"I am excited to get our staff back to full strength, and Myke adds new ideas and enthusiasm into our program," stated Monson. "Myke not only brings Division I experience and a Los Angeles familiarity to the table, he really compliments Eric Brown and Rod Palmer. His ties on the East Coast as well as overseas give us some new avenues to explore along with our local recruiting base. Myke has the whole package – he can recruit, teach, and relate. We are very excited to welcome him into our program."
Scholl was instrumental in landing some of Loyola Marymount’s top talent in recent years as an excellent West Coast recruiter, as well as someone with extensive international ties. Scholl’s top success story is likely guard Anthony Ireland, a 2,000 point scorer with the Lions who was a four-time first-team All-WCC selection. Scholl also helped recruit four other 1,000 point scorers as well as two big men in Drew Viney and Ashley Hamilton who were just the 13th and 14th players in LMU history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds.
A two-year player at Sacramento State, Scholl finished his undergraduate career at Ohio Weslyan, earning a double major in Sociology and History. He then went on to earn his law degree from Maryland, and pursued a passion for international basketball.
Starting out his coaching career by working with NBA players in camps throughout the Carribean, Scholl then moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. Working as the Director of Sports and International Programs for Miles and Associates International, Scholl managed the creation and implementation of the "Love Life" HIV and AIDS prevention campaign, voted the most creative and innovative prevention program in the world by the United Nations.
Never abandoning his pursuit of basketball however, Scholl established the first national high school basketball league in South Africa, a program that included over 42,000 participants. Additionally, he served as an international scout for the Detroit Pistons, working with players such as Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiel, and Arron Afflalo.
While overseas, Scholl also found time to serve as an assistant coach for the Senegal Men’s National team, as well as working as a GM for the Soweto Panthers of the Premier Basketball League and spending six years as an assistant coach of the South Africa Men’s National Team and head coach of the South Africa Men’s U20 Team.
Monson’s move to hire Scholl follows realignment within the staff following the departure of Couch, as Rod Palmer was promoted to the program’s Assistant Head Coach. Palmer has been a member of Monson’s staff since his hiring in 2007-08, and will begin his eighth year with The Beach in 2014-15.
"Rod’s transition into his new role should be seamless," commented Monson. "He has done an outstanding job in his 7 years on this staff, and his growth in the profession has earned him more responsibility in our program."
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