FOR THOSE FANS who may still be in disbelief or denial, Mike Montgomery gave visual confirmation in Marin on Monday that he is indeed a good fit and comfortable coaching men's basketball at Cal. Montgomery, wearing a white Cal polo shirt, came to the Holiday Inn Express in Mill Valley to stay smart and speak to a standing-room only crowd of close to 200 at a Cal Alumni Club of Marin luncheon. But upon arriving in a hallway, the former Stanford coach did something to Cal football coach Jeff Tedford that no one on the Farm could ever have imagined. He gave Tedford a big ol' bear hug. OK, Monty was in a playful mood, joking that he was underdressed compared to Tedford, who wore a blue blazer to the event. But it was also a sign that Cal has created a great union. The meeting in Marin brought together Montgomery, Tedford and athletic director Sandy Balbour in the same room, the three most significant faces and forces in Cal's quest for national recognition and respectability.
Take that, Stanford. It would be like 49ers fans watching Bill Walsh coach the Raiders. Tedford stole the Bay Area's college football spotlight from the Cardinal seven years ago when he quickly turned around a woeful program and made it a consistent winner, on the brink of wrestling control of the Pac-10 from Pete Carroll and USC. Bears fans are hoping Montgomery can make such an immediate impact on Cal's men's basketball program, which was saddled with assorted injuries and a reputation for underachieving with Ben Braun as its coach.
So, it was encouraging to see Tedford and Montgomery in the same place on Monday because they would like to get together more often in the near future. They can share coaching secrets and share the responsibility of fueling Cal's athletic fundraising efforts against all odds and tree sitters. "He's much more big-time than I am," Tedford said. "I'm still kind of a youngster. He's has a lot of years under his belt. He brings tremendous credibility to our program. I'm interested and excited to spend time with him and pick his brain and his coaching techniques." Montgomery wants a brainstorming session with Tedford as well. But the Bears basketball coach has been busy signing his first Cal recruit - 19-year-old 6-foot-3 point guard Jorge Gutierrez from Findley Prep near Las Vegas - while losing sleep over trying to retain team star Ryan Anderson while he decides if he wants to enter the NBA draft. Mostly, Montgomery has been camped out in his office inside the Haas Pavilion while Tedford has been conducting spring football practice at Memorial Stadium. "I haven't been to the football stadium," Montgomery said. "I need my staff to go with me up there to sit down and ask 'What do you guys sell? What is the thing you've done to make you feel like you've made it successful? ... What are the problems? What's your main thrust in terms of getting kids to come here?'"
At Stanford, Montgomery had a smaller pool of high school players to recruit from because of that school's higher and stricter academic standards. At Cal, Montgomery will take over a program with lower expectations. At the age of 61, he aims to build the Cal program the same way he built Stanford's when he started there at the age of 41. If Tedford can turn Cal's football fortunes around, why can't Montgomery, who is wiser and has a better working knowledge of the Pac-10, do the same in basketball? They could be the most dynamic duo in Berkeley since "war" and "protests" in the '70s. "What's going to help is success," Montgomery said. "Jeff winning in football has to be huge because football generally is the bell cow. It's the one (program) that drives the engine. It's more visible. It's easier. It's once a week. It's Saturday and the sun's out. It's a campus thing. Hopefully, we can chip in. I'm sure there are people who would really love to compete at the highlight level in basketball at Cal (nationally). It's obviously not easy and that's what our challenge is."
That and convincing skeptics that Montgomery's motives are sincere and not driven by money or vindication. Whereas he rented a condominium when he coached the Golden State Warriors for two seasons, Montgomery has bought a home in the East Bay to establish roots. Once settled, he can extend himself to move the Cal program up among the elite in the Pac-10. "I need to get my arms around the whole thing," Montgomery said. "It really won't happen until we get on the practice floor." At least Montgomery made impression on Monday in Marin. He got his arms around Tedford and got under the skin of Stanford with this cheer in front of a sold out Cal crowd. Said Monty, "This is something I'm working on it but haven't perfected it yet É Go Bears!" Go Bears hug.
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