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Following up on a rumor that HoopDirt.com posted yesterday. It’s now been made official – University of Hawai’i men’s basketball coach Eran Ganot announced the hiring of John Montgomery as assistant coach for the Rainbow Warriors. Montgomery brings experience and winning at the highest level after a six-year run with the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12 Conference.
“I am thrilled and excited for the opportunity to join Coach Ganot and the Rainbow Warrior coaching staff,” said Montgomery. “Hawai’i holds a special place in my heart as I visited the islands frequently when I was younger. While playing at Loyola Marymount, I had the opportunity to play against Coach Ganot’s St. Mary’s teams and I’ve always been impressed with him and believe in the program he’s running. I look forward to working with the players and staff toward the goal of winning a Big West title.”
“We’re excited to welcome John to our men’s basketball ‘ohaha,” added Ganot. “He is someone I have gotten to know well over the years during my time at Saint Mary’s as he has been nearby at Cal and at USF. He has a proven track record of success in terms of helping his teams reach great heights and in terms of recruiting, with a focus in the west and internationally, two target areas for us. I’m fired up to go to work every day with this staff. This is a highly motivated and eager group that is committed to this program.”
Montgomery, who joined the San Francisco men’s basketball coaching staff last year for one season, served as director of basketball operations at Cal for three seasons before being elevated to assistant coach for the 2011-12 season. He worked primarily with the team’s guards and aided in the development of Pac-12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Jorge Gutierrez along with all-conference honorees Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs. Crabbe earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors in 2012-13 as a junior before embarking on a promising NBA career with the Portland Trailblazers.
In his six seasons at Cal, the program went to four NCAA Tournaments and two NIT’s. The 2009-10 Cal Bears team won the Pac-12 for the first time since 1960, then known as the Pac-10. Overall, the team posted an impressive 130-73 record during Montgomery’s tenure with the team. In the 2012-13 season, the second of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, Cal defeated UNLV in the second round before falling to eventual Final Four participant Syracuse.
Montgomery was a four-year letterwinner as a point guard at Loyola Marymount. As a senior, he started 12 of 30 games and averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 assists per game. He poured in a career high 20 points, dished out eight assists and went 3-for-6 from three-point range against Pepperdine. He also helped the Lions to a win over nationally-ranked Gonzaga, scoring 12 points and making three free throws in the last minute to seal the victory.
A native of Menlo Park, Calif., Montgomery earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in business administration from Loyola Marymount in 2007. He is also the son of legendary basketball coach Mike Montgomery whom he coached under while at Cal.
http://www.hawaiiathletics.com/news/2015/9/29/MBB_0929155836.aspx
Photo Courtesy Hawaii Athletics
