The men’s Pacific-10 Conference received instant respect and a black eye almost simultaneously last weekend.
The conference’s bottom two teams this year have been busy with their coaching vacancies. One has made a sure-fire hire while the other continues to pester coaches, asking them to take a job that’s sure to bury their career if they can’t turn the program into a winner.
For California, it came seemingly easy. Former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, and his 393 victories, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and four regular-season Pac-10 titles, planted himself at his old rivals’ job in the East Bay.
Oregon State, meanwhile, received its latest ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’ The Beavers will have to continue to move down in its list of potential coaches now that the University of San Diego’s Billy Grier declined the offer a few days ago.
With Montgomery, Cal is sure to see its fortunes reverse in the near future after years of unspectacular consistency for the past 12 years with the recently fired Ben Braun. In three of the last four seasons, Cal has posted a 6-12 record in the Pac-10. Montgomery will be sure to change that atmosphere in Berkeley, Calif.
For the respectability of the Pac-10, it’s a perfect hire. For Stanford and Cal, it’ll help renew a rivalry that has never risen above tepid in recent years. Cardinal coach Trent Johnson, who was an assistant at Stanford under Montgomery, will now have to game plan against his old boss and will continue to fight off comparisons with the man whose legacy Johnson has yet to distance himself from.
Yes, Stanford’s Sweet 16 run this year certainly helped Johnson’s credibility but with the departure of sophomores Robin and Brook Lopez, the Bay Area will become a more contested area that’s seen Stanford succeed for the majority of the decade.
Some Cal fans may have a hard time accepting the fact that the former Stanford coach is now at the helm of their program, but once the wins start piling up -and they will, in due time – Montgomery’s tenure with the Cardinal will be long forgotten.
For Oregon, it spells trouble that Montgomery re-entered the Pac-10.
The Ducks hardly fared well against Stanford while Montgomery was there, let alone that Oregon struggled to win any games in the Bay Area in the past eight years and until they beat Cal on Feb. 9, they had a 16-game losing streak on the road trip.
So don’t be too surprised if the Ducks start another similar streak anytime soon. While Cal’s prominence next year will depend on whether or not Ryan Anderson returns (he’s declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft but hasn’t hired an agent), Montgomery will soon enough turn Cal into a Pac-10 power.
For the fans who were hoping that Oregon’s basketball arena would draw Montgomery to the Northwest, that’s obviously not happening. Now the anti-Ernie Kent group will have to hope Gonzaga’s Mark Few doesn’t grow tired of waiting for Kent to get the boot.
Fortunately for the Ducks, however, the Beavers continue to flounder in their search for Mr. Right, and with potential coaches continuing to turn them down, Oregon at least won’t have to worry about Oregon State becoming an up-start anytime soon.
Cal, though, just knocked Oregon down a peg, at least until the arena arrives.
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