Last of the Monaghans ready for big finish at Fremd

Nine months hasn't eased all of the pain for Zach Monaghan.

Some of the sting from a nightmarish ending to a dream season for Fremd still lingers for Monaghan. Especially seeing basketball careers suddenly end in an upset loss in a regional opener to Schaumburg.

And the only way to eliminate the pain is to get back in the gym and start winning again, which the Vikings did 24 times in 26 games last year en route to a Mid-Suburban League title.

"I don't like to lose and lot of guys on the team are the same way," Monaghan said. "That makes it real competitive in practice, too. They want to win every drill and that carries over to games."

Especially with the 6-foot-2 Monaghan leading the way in his third varsity season. And that is his main concern with an all-area season behind him and a Division I future ahead of him at South Dakota State.

"One of the things I like is he said, 'Now it's time to focus on the Vikings,'" said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski of one of the area's sharpest long-range shooters.

"I'm not worried about anything past this season yet," said Monaghan, who signed his letter of intent with SDSU on Nov. 10. "I'm completely focused on the task at hand here."

In an era where there are so many games in the offseason and for other outside teams, there are times it's difficult to tell if winning or losing for the name on the front of the uniform matters that much.

But it mattered to SDSU coach Scott Nagy along with Monaghan's skills. He averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and hit 43 3-pointers.

"Zach gives us versatility because he can play both guard positions," Nagy said on the SDSU website after Monaghan's signing. "He has a tremendous basketball IQ with the skills to develop into a great scorer.

"It's important as we move forward to recruit players that are used to winning and Zach is definitely used to winning."

Monaghan is accustomed to Fremd basketball being important. His brothers Pat and Matt wore the uniform as all-area guards.

Zach Monaghan was there when Mo Tharp was ending his 27-year coaching career at the school. He was the water boy for Widlowski's first team, would go to team dinners and at times gave chest bumps to starters during pregame introductions.

"I've known him since he was a fifth grader and he's a pretty competitive kid," Widlowski said. "That's why I feel good about him receiving a Division I scholarship because he's worked very hard for that."

A lot of hard work building his competitive nature came in his own backyard from his brothers and his dad Dale. There was no backing down from the bigger challenges.

As a third grader he was playing against current Wisconsin starting quarterback Scott Tolzien. So when he was called up to the varsity early in his sophomore year there was no fear even in a regional final when he ended up guarding Waukegan star and current Illinois freshman Jereme Richmond.

"I still stuck my nose in there with them," Monaghan said of his older brothers. "We went at it and we still go at it.

"When I go into a game I'll attack someone who doesn't look like they should be out there."

What will be different this time around for Monaghan is he will be the most experienced player for Fremd.

And it will be his turn to put into practice what he learned from seniors such as all-area captain Chris Klimek last year and all-area guard Dan Bruno two years ago.

"You pick up and learn how to go hard every day in practice and you don't take a practice off," Monaghan said. "That shows how successful they were."

It leads to the kind of on-court success Monaghan wants a lot of again.

"I don't like to lose at all and coach Widlowski doesn't like to lose at all," Monaghan said. "The most disappointing thing about last year was the seniors, Klimek and Charlie (Rosenberg) are playing college basketball, but the other guys weren't going to get that experience anymore.

"That's what happens when you don't come ready to play. Your season is over."

Avoiding that sting is driving Zach Monaghan to keep the Fremd uniform on as long as he can.