SFCityBear said:
I think I'd rather play for Monty. I wouldn't mind the criticism. Braun is a really nice guy, but I don't think I could stand dribbling back and forth around the perimeter, seemingly with no real objective, or nobody else getting open. Also, I wasn't a good practice player, I'd get bored, so I wouldn't see the floor much in a game. I was always better in games, but only a couple coaches figured that out.
I think we created a bit of a false dichotomy in our descriptions of these guys. Rod Bensen's description of Braun's relationship with the players is not the "nice guy" he was with the fans. Monty was more aloof than critical in practice, often he didn't even run them. When he did instruct, he was like a teacher, explaining what he wanted done and why. Braun was the opposite. It was during games that Monty was emotional and vocal and could be very harsh especially with his best players (and the refs) sometimes running out on the court, even getting physical with players. Behavior we complained about when he was at Stanford got him T'd up at Cal. Braun was the opposite.
After "the shove" and getting multiple T's at Cal, Monty would just have ongoing discussion with Travis and then have Travis do a lot of the in-game coaching of the players, and that seemed to work well.