PALO ALTO “”mdash; UCLA basketball fans know Stanford coach Mike
Montgomery as the guy who takes subtle shots at Steve Lavin.
What many of them don’t know is that Montgomery, who will
lead his No. 2″“ranked and 14-0 Cardinal against the Bruins at
Maples Pavilion on Thursday, conceivably could have been
Lavin’s replacement. UCLA officials privately interviewed
Montgomery for the job last April just before hiring Ben
Howland.
“It was just an inquiry, and it was real nice on their
part to at least extend the courtesy,” Montgomery said
Tuesday, adding that he was never offered the job.
“UCLA is a great school. I grew up in Southern California
like Ben did and grew up with the success. There’s always
that thought process in the back of your head about some places you
grew up with when you were a kid.”
Montgomery, who has led Stanford to nine straight trips to the
NCAA tournament, including an appearance in the Final Four, is a
Long Beach native and his parents are UCLA alumni. However, he
indicated he was not ready to move his family to Southern
California after 18 seasons at Stanford when UCLA was set to hire
Howland.
“Like anything else, timing is everything,”
Montgomery said. “That timing has to be right.
“(Stanford) is the place I need to be.”
Montgomery has been impressed by what he has seen out of Howland
this season. At the Wooden Classic in Anaheim last December, he
briefly watched as UCLA stifled the Kentucky offense.
“Ben’s making them play good, sound half-court
defense,” Montgomery said. “He’s just a tough,
hard-nosed guy who will get that attitude passed along to his
players. He’s getting them to be a little more physical in
terms of their approach.
“He’s going to get them (wins) based on fundamentals
and sound concepts. If you stray too far from those, you’re
going to get yourself in trouble.”
Montgomery also senses that UCLA will thrive under Howland in
the long run.
“There’s really no reason that UCLA shouldn’t
be pretty good with access to players in recruiting and the
tradition of the program,” he said. “Whether they can
achieve the success, I think you’re going to have to earn
that. (But) that’s something that’s not outside the
realm of possibility.”