The loaded Pac-10 gets even better: Montgomery (reportedly) enters the fray
Just a quickie thought on the state of the conference: My goodness, it’s loaded on the coaching front.
With Lute Olson back in charge (and supposedly in better health) in Tucson and Mike Montgomery reportedly taking over at Cal, the league has the best lineup of coaches in the country.
Yes, better than the Big East. Pitino, Boeheim, Calhoun, Thompson, Huggins, Wright — no doubt that’s a star-studded lineup.
But the Big East has 47 teams (OK, 16), so if you go by percentages, the Pac-10 is better. Much better.
Olson, Montgomery, Ben Howland and USC’s Tim Floyd — four Hall of Fame/absolute stud coaches, and they constitute 40 percent of the league.
I mean, Washington’s Lorenzo Romar is no better than fifth in terms of accomplishments, and he was in the Sweet 16 in 2005 and 2006.
Same with Stanford’s Trent Johnson, who has two Sweet 16s in the past five years.
And same with Washington State’s Tony Bennett, who’s only the hottest young coach in the country.
If you were to rank the league’s nine coaches (Oregon State has a vacancy), then Oregon’s Ernie Kent rolls in at No. 9 — and he was in the Elite Eight last year.
The Kent equivalent in the Big East (again: going on percentages) would be the guy who ranks No. 14 or 15. Who’s that? St. John’s Norm Roberts?
No contest.
Tim Floyd, Hall of Fame coach. I like him and all, but come on, Hall of Fame coach ?!?!
I don’t know about Hall of Fame yet, but Floyd has been successful in two college gigs and has NBA head coaching experience. So the larger point (that the Pac-10 is absolutely stacked with coaches) is definitely true.
I can’t believe Montgomery took the Cal job. It’s not going to feel good rooting for Monty to fail (and he won’t fail, anyway — the league is just going to get tougher and tougher after a down year next year).
Wow, that’s tough news — if it’s true — for this Cardinal fan to take. As for 206 Hoops take about whether or not to cheer for Monty: I guess I’ll cheer for him except when he plays Stanford.
On the bright side, at least he’s not coaching USC.
After such a strong year, many underclassmen are going to bolt to the next level. The pac-10 will have a very down year. This is a great time for Monty to acculamate. And as far as recruiting, well he may find out that its not that easy as everyone thinks it may be. After all Cal has more perfect sat scores then Stanford has overall. The Cal-Universities do have a high level of academics. Don’t kid yourself.
Come on…Tim Floyd is in the Hall of Fame for “beer drinking with co-eds…not coaching…which is a smaller group and one I wish I was in!!
Mike and Trent were “former” friends…NOW!
Cal is a geat university…Stanford is a great university…but folks, come on, unless I am the only person that knows that one Lopez was sat down because of academics or the lack thereof…and is the only one that has witnessed the verbal bable of the same on TV…they aren’t going to be “Rocket Scientists” after their NBA life…Holy Cow “Stanfurd” alums!!
Bye the way…my Wazzu that’s Washington State Universtiy to those of you that don’t know…placed more players on the Pac-10 All-Academic Team…3 on the first team…I don’t think that the S. J. Mercury-News or Jon Wilner has mentioned or published that team or fact…so you can all k— m- W—z —!…especially concerning academics!!
GO COUGS!!
Are you kiding me? Cal has academic standards for their “student”-athletes?
Do you remember Leon Powe, who had to take the SAT 5 times?
Don’t kid yourself - Cal has minimal academic requirements compared to those for non-athlete students. Recruiting won’t be a problem at all. I guess you could call it hypocritical that Cal fans would want to trumpet their academics AND athletics but it’s a sad reality that is common at most universities these days, not just at Cal.
Stanford is one of the few schools that requires their athletes to be students first. Robin and Brook Lopez may not be rocket scientists, but they are much more intellectually inclined than the vast majority of college athletes…and that includes Wazzu’s.
I will not be cheering Mike Montgomery at any time that he walks on the Maples Pavilion Basketball court. I love what he did for Stanford Basketball, but he has chosen to be the enemy, and he will be considered the enemy until he leaves the Cal program.
Ryan - all I can say is whatever. The off spring of rich alums and donors get into Cal, Stanfurd and the Ivies regardless of their grades, or despite their grades and general intelligence…e.g., George W. Bush.
In this context I have few problems with athletic admissions.
If you want to argue grades go right ahead but do you really think Tiger Woods did that well on the SATs or had that outstanding of a GPA? He certainly seems like a good guy but lets face it, if he didn’t play golf he’d never be considered.
the real questions is:
what is the difference between the lowest non-athletic admit and the lowest athletic admit?
my guess is that this gap is larger at stanford than anywhere.
plus I went to princeton grad school. many of their “student-athletes” were amazingly unprepared and lazy. they just happened to be rich and white. so in general the whole “our athletes are smarter than your athletes” act is a bit insincere.
Hey Jon - Any love for the one Bay Area team that actually qualified for an NCAA Basketball final? The bandwagon has some room left. Heck, I found a seat. They’ve beat two #1’s already and have one game left. /Lefty
JW - so it looks like UCLA loses Love, Collison, Westbrook and perhaps even Josh Shipp. What does that do to the Pac 10 next year…and does that push Ryan Anderson back in the draft?
Tim Floyd, you gotta be kidding. He is not well liked by the PAC10 coaches, is a bad actor on the court and loses big games. You can’t possibly put him up there with Olson, Howland and Montgomery. What are you on Wilner?