Mike Montgomery inducted into Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
Legendary basketball coach Mike Montgomery has been inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. Montgomery completed a rare trifecta of having been head coach at Stanford, Cal, and the Golden State Warriors:
At Stanford (1986-2004), Montgomery had his most success finishing with a record of 560-392 while coaching the Cardinal to 12 NCAA tournament appearances, four regular season Pac-10 titles, one Pac-10 tournament championship, and one Final Four appearance. At Cal (2008-14), Montgomery went 203-130 overall, guiding the Bears to one regular season Pac-10 title and four NCAA tournament appearances.
As for his time with the Golden State Warriors, Montgomery went 68-96 overall in his two seasons (2004-06), missing the playoffs both times. The Warriors went 34-48 in each season, so they were at least consistent. Jason Richardson and Baron Davis were the top two players on the Warriors during that era. In truth, Montgomery didn’t have much to work with. The fact that Montgomery struggled at Golden State says more about the Warriors than it does about him.
When I was a student at Cal, Montgomery was the head coach and so I enjoyed going to Haas Pavilion to watch his teams play. Just from my time watching his teams at Cal, what stood out to me about Montgomery was his ability to have all his players buy in and play as a team. He was a tough, hard-nosed coach that knew how to get the best out of his roster. I still remember him getting on freshman Jabari Bird during a game, who came to Cal as a McDonald’s All-American. It didn’t matter how you were rated coming out of high school, Montgomery made sure you earned every minute.
Looking back on his time at Stanford and Cal combined, Montgomery knew how to build a good roster that was balanced and deep. He always had good point guards like Brevin Knight, Chris Hernandez, Justin Cobbs, and Tyrone Wallace. When you have guys like that running your offense, you’re always going to be competitive. He did a good job of recruiting and bringing in players who were good fits for his system.
Another common theme during his time at Stanford and Cal are buzzer beating wins over Arizona. Nick Robinson hit “The Shot” to beat Arizona at Maples Pavilion to keep Stanford ranked No. 1 and then about a decade later at Haas Pavilion across the Bay in Berkeley, Justin Cobbs hit a game winning shot of his own for Cal over No.1 Arizona. I was there for Cobbs’ game winner and it was pretty amazing to see in person. No matter what side of the Bay he was coaching on, Arizona knew they were in for a fight if they were facing a Mike Montgomery coached team.
On top of being a legend of basketball, Mike Montgomery is truly a legend of Bay Area sports. It’s only fitting that he got inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. He left his mark at both Stanford and Cal and will forever be a household name at both schools.
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