The Mike Montgomery StoryMike Montgomery, the highly successful head coach of the Stanford Cardinal for twelve seasons, has the basketball program in high gear.
In the past four seasons, the Cardinal has been to the NCAA Tournament, and last year, Montgomery directed the team to an appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
"Walking around San Antonio and seeing all the people wearing their Stanford stuff and recognizing so many familiar faces was great," said Montgomery. "It brought home what college basketball is all about, which is being proud of your school annd how your players handle themselves and compete. So from a university standpoint, there is nothing better. From a basketball standpoint, this puts us in the upper echelon."
Stanford finished the 1997-98 season with a 30-5 record and a #4 national ranking in the final USA Today/ESPN poll. The Cardinal finished tenth in the Associated Press poll. Both final rankings represented the Cardinal's best ever finishes in the respective rankings. In 1997-98, Stanford broke or tied 18 school, Maples Pavilion and NCAA records. In the Pac-10, Stanford placed first in eight offensive and defensive categories. In his 12 seasons at Stanford, Montgomery has directed the program to six NCAA appearances (including one Final Four appearance, one Sweet Sixteen appearance) and four NIT appearances (NIT champion in 1991). Montgomery has compiled a distinguished 389-209 (.651) record overall in 12 years at Stanford (1986-1998) and eight seasons at the University of Montana (1978-1986). He boasts an even more impressive 19 winning seasons in his 20 years as a head coach at both Stanford and Montana. Montgomery was named head men's basketball coach at Stanford University April 25, 1986. A further testimony to his coaching, Montgomery has guided 12 teams into postseason play in the last 14 years (1985-97), six times advancing to the NCAA Tournament (1988-89, 1991-92, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 seasons), six times his teams received bids to the NIT (1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1993-94), and his Cardinal team won it all in the 1991 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). In 12 years at the helm of Stanford basketball, Montgomery is listed as the second-winningest coach (235-132) in Cardinal history behind former Stanford head coach Howie Dallmar's (1955-75) 257 wins. In just his second year at Stanford's helm, Montgomery piloted the Cardinal to a 21-12 record and an invitation to the 1988 NIT, being the first Stanford team in 46 years to reach postseason play. The following year, the Cardinal posted a 26-7 record, and advanced to the 1989 NCAA Tournament, the first Stanford NCAA Tournament berth since Stanford won the 1942 NCAA championship. Under Montgomery's direction in 1996-97, Stanford finished the season ranked 12th in the final USA Today/CNN poll. Under Montgomery's direction in 1988-89, the Cardinal finished 12th in the final United Press International poll, and 13th in the Associated Press poll, Stanford's highest ranking since the 1962-63 campaign when Stanford finished 10th in the UPI poll. During the 1988-89 campaign, Stanford set or tied 26 Stanford, Maples Pavilion, team, individual and Pac-10 records. Included were a school record 15 conference wins, and a second place finish in the Pac-10 behind nationally-ranked Arizona. Montgomery followed that up by piloting each of his next three teams into NCAA or NIT tournaments. Montgomery's 1990 team posted a 18-12 record and played in the NIT; in 1991, the Cardinal took home top NIT honors, finishing the season at 20-13; and in 1992, Montgomery coached Stanford to the NCAA Tournament and an 18-11 record. In 1993-94, Stanford, behind Montgomery's guidance, posted a 17-11 record and again participated in the NIT. Most recently, Montgomery has guided his last four (1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98) Cardinal teams to a combined 93-30 (.756) record and four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Three of Stanford's top players during Montgomery's tenure, Adam Keefe, Todd Lichti and Brevin Knight, have played in the NBA and were first round draft choices. Lichti and Keefe finished their careers as Stanford's #1 and #2 all-time leading scorers, respectively, while Keefe is the school's all-time leading rebounder. Knight is the school record holder in assists and steals, and #3 all-time in scoring. Lichti, Keefe and Knight were named to numerous All-America teams during their tenure at Stanford. Another top Cardinal player, Andrew Vlahov, is a top professional in Australia and a member of that countries Olympic team. Under Montgomery's leadership, attendance and enthusiasm has reached a fever pitch. Ten seasons ago, Stanford set a single season record by averaging 7,405 fans per game in Maples Pavilion (7,500 capacity), including seven sellouts. Last season, Stanford set a school record with nine sellouts. In 1998-99, it's anticipated that every game at Maples Pavilion will be sold out. Montgomery, 51, had been at the University of Montana, located in Missoula, for the previous 10 years. The first two of those years, he was an assistant coach. Montgomery was head mentor at Montana for eight years, where his overall record was 154-77, for a winning percentage of .657. Montgomery averaged 19 wins per season while at Montana, and his teams qualified for the Big Sky post-season tournament four-team format all five seasons that that particular format was used. In his last two years there, his teams went on to compete in the NIT post-season tournament. In his last four years at Montana, Montgomery produced four consecutive 20-win seasons in the Big Sky Conference. His teams went 21-8 in 1982-83, 23-7 in 1983-84, 22-8 in 1984-85, and 21-11 in 1985-86. His winning percentage of .667 is the fifth-best of any Big Sky coach in the league's 34-year history. Montgomery, who never had a losing season in his eight-year tenure at Montana, served as an assistant coach for three years at Boise State before coming to Montana. He also coached at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Colorado State, the Citadel, and the University of Florida. Under Montomgery's tenure, Montana had five second-place regular season finishes in the Big Sky. In tournament play, Montgomery had four second-place finishes. During Montgomery's time at Montana, the university had four players drafted by the NBA, including John Stroeder, a 6-foot-10 center, in the eighth round by the Portland Trailblazers in 1980; Derrick Pope, a 6-foot-6 forward, in the sixth round by Portland in 1983; Marc Glass, a fourth-round choice of the Los Angeles Clippers in 1984; and Larry Krystkowiak, a 6-foot-9 forward, who averaged 22.2 points and 11.4 rebounds for the Grizzlies as a senior, by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round in 1986. Krystkowiak was a three-time Big Sky Conference MVP. He was also the District VII Player-of-the-Year as a junior and as a senior. In addition, he was a first team Academic All-America as a junior and as a senior. Montgomery added another title to his resume when he was named on April 29, 1996, head coach of the 1996 USA Men's 22 and Under Select team by the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee.
Montgomery took on international coaching duties for the third time, his second for USA Basketball. Montgomery previously served USA Basketball as an assistant coach for the 1994 Men's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that journeyed to Argentina and won the gold medal with an 8-0 record. Prior to that, he coached the Pacific-10 Conference all-star team that toured Holland and Belgium in 1991. "It was a tremendous honor to be selected to represent the United States," said Montgomery. "And it was also a tremendous opportunity and challenge to be able to work with the best amateur basketball players in the United States." Under Montgomery's direction, the U.S. 22 and Under team captured the gold medal at the 1996 COPABA Men's 22 and Under World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Caugas, Puerto Rico. For his efforts, Montgomery was named 1996 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year and the USOC Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year. Two members of the U.S. team were from Stanford, graduated All-America guard Brevin Knight and Tim Young. The U.S. team thus qualified for the FIBA 22 and Under World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia in 1997. Montgomery is by no means new to the state of California. He is a native of Long Beach, and a 1968 graduate of Cal State Long Beach, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education. Montgomery continued his education at Colorado State University. He received his Masters Degree from Colorado State in physical education in 1976. Montgomery was born on February 27, 1947. Montgomery is married. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children, John, age 15, and Anne, age 13. The family resides in Menlo Park. Mike Montgomery - Year-by-Year
Overall Conference Tournament
Year School Record Record Appearance
1978-79 Montana 14-13 7-7
1979-80 Montana 17-11 8-6
1980-81 Montana 19-9 11-3
1981-82 Montana 17-10 10-4
1982-83 Montana 21-8 9-5
1983-84 Montana 23-7 9-5
1984-85 Montana 22-8 10-4 NIT
1985-86 Montana 21-11 9-5 NIT
Montana Total 154-77 73-39
(8 Years) (.667) (.652)
1986-87 Stanford 15-13 9-9
1987-88 Stanford 21-12 11-7 NIT
1988-89 Stanford 26-7 15-3 NCAA
1989-90 Stanford 18-12 9-9 NIT
1990-91 Stanford 20-13 8-10 NIT Champions
1991-92 Stanford 18-11 10-8 NCAA
1992-93 Stanford 7-23 2-16
1993-94 Stanford 17-11 10-8 NIT
1994-95 Stanford 20-9 10-8 NCAA
1995-96 Stanford 21-8 13-5 NCAA
1996-97 Stanford 22-8 12-6 NCAA "Sweet 16"
1997-98 Stanford 30-5 15-3 NCAA Final Four
Stanford Total 235-132 124-92
(12 Years) (.640) (.574)
Career Totals 389-209 197-133
(20 Years) (.651) (.597)
The Mike Montgomery RecordStanford Coaching Records 1. Howie Dallmar 257-263 (.494, 1955-75) 2. Mike Montgomery 235-132 (.640, 1986-98) 3. Everett Dean 167-120 (.582, 1939-51)
Winning Streaks Under Mike Montgomery |
