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 Head Coach Mike Montgomery |
Pam Reed (Fremont, CA)
Several weeks ago, the Syracuse Coach made a statement that read "Stanfordcouldn't give UCONN a game". I think this was in reference to our first #1ranking of the year. I was, and still am, very bothered by a head coachmaking such a disrespectful comment about another team. Did this botheryou?
Coach Montgomery: No, I don't worry too much about what everybody says. The press can goadpeople into lots of things. I know Jim (Boeheim) personally -- he's a goodguy. He probably was just asked a question and, off-hand, he felt like weprobably were not as good as some of the teams in their league. But I don'thave a problem with that.
David Lee (Kentfield, CA)
Coach, it's amazing how far the basketball "program" has come during youcoaching tenure. Congratulations! To me it seems like your one of your mostdifficult tasks is to find playing time for a slew of talanted players. Forinstance, Julius Barnes hasn't played too much this season, but from whatI've seen of him it doesn't seem like a stretch to say he is the mostathletically gifted player on your roster. Do you struggle to get playingtime for players (like Barnes and Borchardt) who need to be on the court todevelop? What the method for coaching a team that frankly has more talentedplayers than available playing time?
Coach Montgomery: Talent, versus being able to win at this level, are two different things.Young players have certain things they can do or they wouldn't be here. Butwe're playing our best players. Certainly if young players played more theywould have a chance to develop, but we wouldn't win as much. So it's aproblem from a personal standpoint, because you like the kid, but it's nota problem differentiating between who's the best players that will give usthe best opportunity to win.
John Andrews (Reno, NV)
As an alum (class of 1971) and a great fan of your program how do I gettickets to a home game? I haven't been inside of Maples since 1975. To seeyou guys play I've actually flown to Arizona (last year) and UCLA thisyear because at least there's some ticket availability. My real question,since I suspect I know the answer to the ticket question, regards yourpractices. Do redshirted players practice with the team? If so, do theyalso travel with the team or do they just watch from the bench in streetclothes during home games? Lastly, how do you scout your opponents?
Coach Montgomery: Tickets at home are tough to get -- great demand. Our redshirt players playevery day in practice. They do everything everybody else does except suitup for games, and they learn in practice, give us a great practiceenvironment. Redshirts sometimes travel, depending. We're allowed to travel13 players and depending on what our situation is (they may travel).Sometimes kids have academic responsibilities, and if they're not playingwe'll allow them to stay, and stay on top of their academics. And sometimesthey travel because we think it helps them to get a feel for what it's liketo play on the road in this league. Scouting we do off tape. We're notallowed to live scout, so we do all our scouting off videotape.
Alex Boesenberg (Saratoga, CA)
Coach- Tell us about Teyo Johnson. Does he have the skills to come and playright away? How will he be able to balance both sports? Do you see him as a3 or a 4? Thanks.
Coach Montgomery: Teyo is a very good athlete that probably can play both 3 and 4. He's goingto play basketball the first year, as soon as we start, to give him anopportunity to learn what we're doing, and he can come in and becomfortable. He'll still be with football in August and September, and willredshirt, and of course have four years of football from that pointforward. His ability to come in and help depends on his development, hisability to learn what we're doing. I think he can play both on theperimeter and on the inside.
Kamara Adams (Kenedy, TX)
I am a high school teacher and coach and am proud to say that I had theopportunity of knowing and admiring David Moseley at Mayfield HighSchool. I have not seen David since your last final four appearance in SanAntonio. I would like to know how you feel David has grown and maturedsince his freshman year at Stanford. I understand he has become quite aleader for your team and I believe that is a credit to you and your values.Good luck.
Coach Montgomery: Moseley, it's unbelievable. In fact, that person should call Dave and talkto him, see how he's changed. He's matured. He is so much more confident,polished. He's improved on the basketball court, but more than anythingelse I think he's improved in his personal life. It's a tribute to Dave andhis ability to hang in there and learn in a tough environment. We're realproud of him.
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