Oct. 5, 2009

Long Beach, Calif. - As the men's and women's basketball seasons quickly approach, the Long Beach State Athletic Department and its basketball staffs are hitting the local community to talk 49er hoops with fans.

The third annual Weekly Wednesday Basketball Coaches Tour will feature head men's basketball coach Dan Monson and new head women's basketball coach Jody Wynn as they dine, laugh and even serve the occasional cocktail while talking 49er basketball with people in the community.

The tour will cover six local restaurants over a six-week period spanning from September 9 to October 14. All events are free to the public and will offer insight into the highly-anticipated 2009-10 seasons for both squads.

Weekly Wednesday Basketball Coaches Tour Remaining Schedule:

October 14 - Legend's Sports Bar and Restaurant - 5:30 - 7:30, 5236 E. 2nd Street (Belmont Shore), Long Beach

About 2009-10 49er Men's Basketball Entering the third year of the Dan Monson era, the outlook is as bright as it has been at nearly any point in the program's history for 49er men's basketball. Last year, Monson had took a team that had won just six games in 2007-08 to a second-place finish in the Big West in 2008-09. That success was in large part to a trio of freshmen in Big West Freshman of the Year Larry Anderson and All-Big West Freshmen Casper Ware and T.J. Robinson. Outstanding shooters in senior Stephan Gilling and junior Greg Plater return to bolster that group along with a promising recruiting class to make a serious run at strong non-conference opponents such as Texas, Duke, Notre Dame, Kentucky and Utah State, a Big West Conference Championship and a trip to the Big Dance.

About 2009-10 49er Women's Basketball The Long Beach State women's basketball team is looking to return to its winning tradition in 2009-10 as first-year head coach Jody Wynn welcomes back 12 letterwinners, including three-time All-Big West Conference selection Karina Figueroa. Figueroa is just 16 points shy of becoming the 49ers' 21st 1,000-point scorer as she has averaged 13.5 ppg over her three seasons at The Beach. Also back for LBSU will be 2008-09 all-conference picks Whitney Fields, Lauren Sims and Adelle Walton. Fields garnered second-team honors after leading the 49ers in scoring and rebounding, while Sims earned honorable mention recognition. Walton, meanwhile, was named to the Big West All-Freshman team.