John Montgomery has the name. Eran Ganot has the belief.
Ganot announced Montgomery, the son of legendary college coach Mike Montgomery, as his third and final Hawaii men’s basketball assistant coach on Tuesday.
To Ganot, the addition of Montgomery is worth much more than just some added name recognition.
“It’s something that’s helped him, as it should,” Ganot said. “I think that’s a resource that’s a great advantage for him, and potentially for us in terms of a guy you can always seek some wisdom (from). That’s what we’re all in this for, to continue to get better.
“But I do want to make clear, John’s good. John’s really good.”
Montgomery arrived in the islands Tuesday and went about completing his paperwork. The timing is important; UH begins full practices for the 2015-16 season on Friday.
“John is blazing his own path, so to speak,” Ganot said. “Really excited to have this staff on board, as we shift gears and get ready for first practice.”
Montgomery, 32, spent six years working for his father at California — the last three as a full assistant, something he called “a dream come true.” But upon his father’s retirement to cap the 2013-14 season with 677 career wins, John was in search of a new job.
He latched on at San Francisco as director of basketball operations last season, a stopgap solution. He longed to get back onto the floor as a full assistant.
“I feel like in this business, recruiting is … a huge deal,” Montgomery said. “So, the opportunity to work with kids on the floor and recruit I think is a huge step for me.”
Fortuitously for him, UH was in need when Ganot’s second hire, Norm Parrish, took a head coaching job at a small college back in Parrish’s native Utah in late August. The junior college veteran Parrish was only on board in Manoa for three months.
Montgomery came highly recommended to Ganot by the UH coach’s old boss, Saint Mary’s skipper Randy Bennett.
“I think we can compete for Big West titles and make the NCAA Tournament on a consistent basis,” Montgomery said. “I’ve always admired the Hawaii program from afar, I’ve always admired Eran from when I was at (Loyola Marymount) and he was at Saint Mary’s.”
Montgomery was a four-year guard at LMU. Right after completing his playing career in 2007, he latched on at Furman in South Carolina for some on-the-job training as an assistant.
All told, he’s logged four years as a full assistant and four years as a director of operations.
“He’s got a track record of success in terms of his teams, the programs he’s been with and their performance,” Ganot said. “Cal, to make four NCAAs and two NITs in six years is pretty impressive. It (2009) was their first Pac-10 championship since 1960 … that’s a heck of an accomplishment.”
Montgomery’s recruiting strength is on the West Coast and in Europe. He also helped call plays with the Golden Bears.
“You’ve got a guy whose strengths fit what we’re looking for and complements the rest of our staff,” Ganot said.
No twilight ohana
There is no midnight or twilight ohana event planned for the launch of full practices on Friday. There will, however, be a Green and White intrasquad scrimmage sometime before the team’s exhibition vs. Chaminade on Nov. 5.
The Green and White date will be revealed at a later time, UH said.
