Whatever your opinion is on the matter, I do feel these columns are interesting. (HoopDreams has the Grantland link in the post below.)
Honestly, I feel Monty is feeling the pressure of winning, which is what led him to do what he did. I think he expected to have more success than he's currently had here. He badly wants to add another tournament appearance to his Cal resume. I just hope this doesn't hurt recruiting, but that might be wishful thinking. But then again, John Calipari has had public dust-ups with players and he obviously doesn't struggle with recruiting.
Kawakami
Poole
Honestly, I feel Monty is feeling the pressure of winning, which is what led him to do what he did. I think he expected to have more success than he's currently had here. He badly wants to add another tournament appearance to his Cal resume. I just hope this doesn't hurt recruiting, but that might be wishful thinking. But then again, John Calipari has had public dust-ups with players and he obviously doesn't struggle with recruiting.
Kawakami
Quote:
There is something going on here, maybe mostly under the surface, but it showed up in a hugely public way last night.
Maybe Montgomery's feeling a little extra pressure in his fifth season at Cal -- he has three tournament appearances and could be heading to his fourth this season.
But Cal only has one tournament win and flopped in a play-in round last season. Some local talent has recently headed elsewhere (Arizona, in particular).
Maybe the push to make it this season is jangling some nerves. Maybe we are seeing some fraying and raw public anxiety. It's possible Montgomery believes this period is a make-or-break situation -- either this month or this season or these several seasons.
Sometimes that kind of pressure brings out the best in players and coaches, and sometimes it brings out the worst.
Last night, it brought out the best in Crabbe, and the worst in Montgomery.
Just think about where this could've gone...
Crabbe could have screamed back at Montgomery and -- given Montgomery's level of agitation -- possibly triggered an even more embarrassing Montgomery reaction.
Crabbe, probably the best player in the Pac-12 this season -- could have refused to return to the game despite the coaxing of his teammates.
Crabbe could have stunk it up on the court when he returned, or he could have blasted Montgomery (or refused comment) afterwards.
Any of those responses -- again, natural responses -- could've ended Montgomery's Cal career, if not immediately, at least by the end of the season.
If Crabbe never wanted to play for Montgomery again, I don't know what Cal and Barbour would've or could've done next.
But Crabbe sloughed it off, and he played tremendously.
That's partial justification for the shove, but not close to fully explaining or absolving Montgomery for it. And it shouldn't be who he is now. It just can't be.
If this is who he is now, if he's changed that much, then a lot of what we think about Mike Montgomery -- and his career -- will change, too.
Poole
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I'd like to be confident, too. I like Mike. I think he's a solid guy and an excellent college basketball coach, even if his work in five seasons at Cal is has not been as impressive as it was during his 18 years at Stanford.
Problem is that Montgomery wants consistent intensity, the ultra-talented Crabbe is not wired to deliver it and this gets under the coach's skin.
The bigger problem for Montgomery and for Cal is that this has happened before, and not so long ago.
Though the Montgomery-Crabbe scene surely stunned those who witnessed it unfold, it only shocked those who missed a similar incident between Montgomery and another player, guard Justin Cobbs, a few weeks ago.
One such incident should raise eyebrows and result in nothing less than a warning. A second incident, however, sounds an alarm and calls for a measure of discipline to be meted out by Barbour or the Pac-12 Conference.
Neither the school nor the conference can allow this kind of conduct, nor should they accept it. Cal 20 years ago dumped former coach Lou Campanelli for being abusive, though Lou's alleged abuse was verbal and pushed the team to the brink of revolt.
Campanelli never got another head coaching job -- and that was before society had evolved to the point of organized and potent anti-bullying messages.
Montgomery is nearly 66 years old. He survived a serious health scare in 2011. He's probably working on his last contract, one that runs through 2015.
And, yes, maybe his tantrum spurred Crabbe, who responded with a game-high 23 points.
But does Montgomery really want to ride into the sunset with diminished dignity, as the coach whose temper ran amok near the end? Like, for example, Ohio State's legendary football coach Woody Hayes?
Or worse, does Mike really want to be shoved into retirement because his own actions left his boss with no alternative?