UH hoops comes full circle for new coach Montgomery

If the late Stan Sheriff had had his way, Tuesday would not have been the first time that John Montgomery set foot in the University of Hawaii men’s basketball coaches’ offices.

Montgomery was introduced as a new assistant coach at UH on Tuesday, but, truth be told, he doesn’t know how close he could have come to growing up on the premises with his father, Mike, as the Rainbow Warriors’ head coach.

Or, how, in one of the great what-ifs, the course of UH hoops history might have been altered.

Thirty years ago, UH was in the process of finding a successor to Larry Little with probably the most accomplished field of applicants assembled for the position in Manoa.

One finalist, Neil McCarthy, withdrew to take the New Mexico State job. That left Paul Westhead, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers; Merv Lopes, coach of the “miracle” Chaminade team; former New Mexico coach Gary Coulson, ex-Brigham Young coach Frank Arnold and Montana head coach Mike Montgomery.

Ultimately it came down to the final two interviewees, the veteran, 50-year-old Arnold and the 38-year-old Montgomery.

At the time Mike told reporters, “I believe there’s a real opportunity to succeed there (at UH). It is a situation where the right person could do well and a place that I’m extremely interested in.”

Montgomery entered as the dark horse, but by the completion of campus interviews he had emerged as a favorite. “Honestly when I left there I thought that we had really clicked and the job was mine,” Mike recalled Tuesday. “I walked out of there feeling like it was a great fit and we had mutual respect for one another.”

Except with the political undercurrents at UH, things are rarely as they seem and Arnold, who had won two WAC titles before being fired by BYU, was an easier sell to the powers that be.

Mike recalls, “Years later Stan said, ‘Mike, you were a young guy and I just thought that there was some stuff here that you might not want to have to deal with.’ ”

Whereupon Montgomery went back to Missoula, posted a 21-11 record and was hired by Stanford, where he spent 18 years, going 392-168. He later coached the Golden State Warriors and Cal, finishing 677-317 as a college coach with 16 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Arnold took the job and his son, Gib, grew up around UH basketball until Frank threw up his hands in frustration after two seasons (11-45, 3-29 in the WAC), leaving for an assistant’s job at Arizona State.

It would be left to former UH assistant Riley Wallace to return from Seminole (Okla.) Junior College and turn things around.

Meanwhile, John became the ballboy at Stanford and a familiar site on the court sinking shots during pregame and halftime. Later, he joined his father on the Cal coaching staff.

When John applied for the UH job, he said, “My father told me about his (interview) visit here, about standing on a (hotel) balcony and being excited about being here.”

John said, “It has come full circle and I’m out here, now — and I’m excited.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.