https://collegesportsmaven.io/cal/basketball/cal-basketball-travis-decuire-still-has-mike-montgomery-s-endorsement-uTgxuswYvkaE_Np0NI2NSA/
by Jeff Faraudo
DeCuire spent six seasons with Montgomery at Cal but was bypassed as his successor in 2014
Mike Montgomery pushed for Travis DeCuire to be named his successor as Cal basketball coach five years ago, and he continues to endorse the candidacy of his former assistant.
DeCuire didn't get the call in 2014. Cal hired Cuonzo Martin from Tennessee, and when Martin left for Missouri two years ago, the Bears promoted assistant Wyking Jones.
Cal played in one NCAA tournament over that five-year period, and the program cratered the past two seasons under Jones, going 16-47. Jones was relieved of his duties last Sunday and first-year athletic director Jim Knowlton has begun the search for a replacement.
Three names have resurfaced that were mentioned as possibilities both in 2014 and 2017: DeCuire, Russell Turner of UC Irvine and Randy Bennett of Saint Mary's.
"I think Travis would be an excellent candidate," Montgomery said. "Russ would be a excellent candidate. Obviously, the guy at Moraga.
"I don't know why you'd need to go a lot further than those guys."
DeCuire, now 48, was hired as head coach at Montana, his alma mater, in 2014 and has compiled a five-year record of 109-58. The Grizzlies played in the NCAA tournament the past two seasons.
Turner, who coached under Montgomery both at Stanford and with the Warriors, led Irvine to a 31-6 record this season and the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory. He is 188-128 in nine seasons with the Anteaters.
Bennett has been extraordinary at Moraga, transforming the Gaels into an annual threat to reach the NCAAs. His teams have earned seven NCAA bids and have averaged 26 victories over the past 12 seasons.
DeCuire has one qualification that separates him from the other two and is invaluable, Montgomery said.
"As important as anything, he understands Cal because he's been there," Montgomery said.
DeCuire was part of Montgomery's staff all six years at Cal, the final four seasons as associate head coach. Together, they led the Bears to six 20-win seasons, four NCAA tournament berths and, in 2010, the program's only conference title since 1960.
Mike Montgomery won 20 games all six of his seasons at Cal.
[url=https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/cal/basketball/1sbivtc_D02ORWKfEZDLTw/yuh6iF0tQ0KpmYsSVSDK1g][/url]
Montgomery figured he had a good pretty read on Cal from his 18 seasons competing across the Bay at Stanford. Once he arrived at Berkeley, the reality was a bit different.
"Cal's a little unique, for sure," Montgomery said. "The issues that exist there that people don't see, (DeCuire has) dealt with. He's lived there. He knows. He knows what he's selling. I think he would have the support of all the support people from when we were there, so he hits the ground the running."
The university is responsible for the current state of the basketball program because it failed to make the "logical" choice five years ago, Montgomery said.
The team coming back in 2014-15 should have been strong. Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews all were returning, and the Bears had a commitment from big man Jakob Poeltl, who later flipped to Utah and how is playing in the NBA.
"A lot of guys there, they all wanted Travis. It just was way too logical," Montgomery said.
Then-athletic director Sandy Barbour explored big name candidates, including Mark Few and Tommy Amaker. They said no thanks.
"Sandy Barbour, who was a good AD but not in the best shape of her career at Cal, went out and did her due diligence," Montgomery said. "She came back and said you're right, `Travis is the guy.' "
But Barbour no longer had the political clout with the Cal administration to sell DeCuire, who had no head-coaching experience at the time. The Bears hired Martin.
"I don't think they wanted to have Sandy make the decision at that point because she hired a football coach (Sonny Dykes) and that didn't go swimmingly. That relationship was fractured and that was too bad.
"That's why they're in the fix they're in now. The continuity of the program with the kids they had, there would have been no hiccup."
The Bears went 7-11 in the Pac-12 that first season under Martin. Two years later, he bolted.
"Cuonzo was a good guy, but Cal wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't what he thought it was," Montgomery said. "Wyking's a good man but he inherited an impossible situation."
The next coach faces the same campus learning curve that all new coaches experience. DeCuire would be exempt from that break-in period.
"Cal's a great school, great location, beautiful campus," Montgomery said. "You understand Telegraph's a little different environment than some places.
"It's a typical big university with a lot of cooks in the kitchen, a lot of decision makers. It's tough to get things done in a timely manner. You don't know that going into the process. Travis knows about those things."
DeCuire's qualifications for the job extend beyond his familiarity with Berkeley and the UC bureaucracy.
"First and foremost, he's a good coach and I think he's proven that at Montana. He's won three league championships," Montgomery said. "You have to be able to coach the game. A lot of assistants don't get the chance to prove that and now he has proven that."
Beyond the Xs and Os, DeCuire is good with players, Montgomery said.
"He relates to them. He played. He's stern and he's demanding but I think the kids also trust him," Montgomery said "It's not like he's standoffish or doesn't relate to their problems. He's good that way."
Montgomery said he has talked with Knowlton, who he believes is thorough and organized, and provided his thoughts on various candidates.
"Now they've got a situation where they've got some work to do," Montgomery said. "They're going to have to make the best decision they can and the next guy's going to have to work hard to get it back to where it should be."
by Jeff Faraudo
DeCuire spent six seasons with Montgomery at Cal but was bypassed as his successor in 2014
Mike Montgomery pushed for Travis DeCuire to be named his successor as Cal basketball coach five years ago, and he continues to endorse the candidacy of his former assistant.
DeCuire didn't get the call in 2014. Cal hired Cuonzo Martin from Tennessee, and when Martin left for Missouri two years ago, the Bears promoted assistant Wyking Jones.
Cal played in one NCAA tournament over that five-year period, and the program cratered the past two seasons under Jones, going 16-47. Jones was relieved of his duties last Sunday and first-year athletic director Jim Knowlton has begun the search for a replacement.
Three names have resurfaced that were mentioned as possibilities both in 2014 and 2017: DeCuire, Russell Turner of UC Irvine and Randy Bennett of Saint Mary's.
"I think Travis would be an excellent candidate," Montgomery said. "Russ would be a excellent candidate. Obviously, the guy at Moraga.
"I don't know why you'd need to go a lot further than those guys."
DeCuire, now 48, was hired as head coach at Montana, his alma mater, in 2014 and has compiled a five-year record of 109-58. The Grizzlies played in the NCAA tournament the past two seasons.
Turner, who coached under Montgomery both at Stanford and with the Warriors, led Irvine to a 31-6 record this season and the program's first-ever NCAA tournament victory. He is 188-128 in nine seasons with the Anteaters.
Bennett has been extraordinary at Moraga, transforming the Gaels into an annual threat to reach the NCAAs. His teams have earned seven NCAA bids and have averaged 26 victories over the past 12 seasons.
DeCuire has one qualification that separates him from the other two and is invaluable, Montgomery said.
"As important as anything, he understands Cal because he's been there," Montgomery said.
DeCuire was part of Montgomery's staff all six years at Cal, the final four seasons as associate head coach. Together, they led the Bears to six 20-win seasons, four NCAA tournament berths and, in 2010, the program's only conference title since 1960.
Mike Montgomery won 20 games all six of his seasons at Cal.
[url=https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/maven-user-photos/cal/basketball/1sbivtc_D02ORWKfEZDLTw/yuh6iF0tQ0KpmYsSVSDK1g][/url]
Montgomery figured he had a good pretty read on Cal from his 18 seasons competing across the Bay at Stanford. Once he arrived at Berkeley, the reality was a bit different.
"Cal's a little unique, for sure," Montgomery said. "The issues that exist there that people don't see, (DeCuire has) dealt with. He's lived there. He knows. He knows what he's selling. I think he would have the support of all the support people from when we were there, so he hits the ground the running."
The university is responsible for the current state of the basketball program because it failed to make the "logical" choice five years ago, Montgomery said.
The team coming back in 2014-15 should have been strong. Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews all were returning, and the Bears had a commitment from big man Jakob Poeltl, who later flipped to Utah and how is playing in the NBA.
"A lot of guys there, they all wanted Travis. It just was way too logical," Montgomery said.
Then-athletic director Sandy Barbour explored big name candidates, including Mark Few and Tommy Amaker. They said no thanks.
"Sandy Barbour, who was a good AD but not in the best shape of her career at Cal, went out and did her due diligence," Montgomery said. "She came back and said you're right, `Travis is the guy.' "
But Barbour no longer had the political clout with the Cal administration to sell DeCuire, who had no head-coaching experience at the time. The Bears hired Martin.
"I don't think they wanted to have Sandy make the decision at that point because she hired a football coach (Sonny Dykes) and that didn't go swimmingly. That relationship was fractured and that was too bad.
"That's why they're in the fix they're in now. The continuity of the program with the kids they had, there would have been no hiccup."
The Bears went 7-11 in the Pac-12 that first season under Martin. Two years later, he bolted.
"Cuonzo was a good guy, but Cal wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't what he thought it was," Montgomery said. "Wyking's a good man but he inherited an impossible situation."
The next coach faces the same campus learning curve that all new coaches experience. DeCuire would be exempt from that break-in period.
"Cal's a great school, great location, beautiful campus," Montgomery said. "You understand Telegraph's a little different environment than some places.
"It's a typical big university with a lot of cooks in the kitchen, a lot of decision makers. It's tough to get things done in a timely manner. You don't know that going into the process. Travis knows about those things."
DeCuire's qualifications for the job extend beyond his familiarity with Berkeley and the UC bureaucracy.
"First and foremost, he's a good coach and I think he's proven that at Montana. He's won three league championships," Montgomery said. "You have to be able to coach the game. A lot of assistants don't get the chance to prove that and now he has proven that."
Beyond the Xs and Os, DeCuire is good with players, Montgomery said.
"He relates to them. He played. He's stern and he's demanding but I think the kids also trust him," Montgomery said "It's not like he's standoffish or doesn't relate to their problems. He's good that way."
Montgomery said he has talked with Knowlton, who he believes is thorough and organized, and provided his thoughts on various candidates.
"Now they've got a situation where they've got some work to do," Montgomery said. "They're going to have to make the best decision they can and the next guy's going to have to work hard to get it back to where it should be."
