LMU Head Coaching Candidates

[greendoberman]

Former Stanford coach Montgomery among
leading candidates for LMU basketball opening
By Ramona Shelburne, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/28/2008 05:19:42 AM PDT


Former Stanford and Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery has emerged as one of the leading candidates for Loyola Marymount's vacant men's basketball position, according to sources.

Montgomery's interest in the LMU job was piqued, according to the sources, by his ties to the area and the opportunity to potentially coach with his son and hand the program off to him one day.

Montgomery, 61, has numerous ties to the area and LMU. Montgomery was born in Long Beach, attended Millikan High and was inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame in 2002. His son John Montgomery played for the Lions from 2002-07, and Montgomery was a frequent visitor to Gerten Pavilion.

John Montgomery is now an assistant coach at Furman. The coach at Furman, Jeff Jackson, was an assistant under Montgomery at Stanford.

Mike Montgomery has also been mentioned as a candidate for the head-coaching jobs at California, which came open when Ben Braun was fired Wednesday, and at Indiana.

Loyola Marymount athletic director Bill Husak would not comment on any candidates for the position, which came open March 12 when Rodney Tention resigned, but said that he hopes to have a coach in place within the next week or two.

"One of my hopes is that coaches see schools in the West Coast Conference as destination points and not stepping stones," Husak said. "You see someone like Mark Few at Gonzaga, who can make a lot somewhere else, but the quality of life and quality of


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the coaching experience is so much better, he decides to stay."

Montgomery is believed to be LMU's top choice. The school is also interested in Mike Dunlap, a former LMU player who is now an assistant with the Denver Nuggets, Cal State Fullerton coach Bob Burton, former Pepperdine coach Jan van Breda Kolff, Cal State Northridge coach Bobby Braswell, former San Diego coach Brad Holland, and former UNLV coach Bill Bayno.

Holland, a Crescenta Valley High of La Crescenta graduate and former UCLA assistant coach, was on campus meeting with Husak this week, according to a source.

Another interesting possibility is Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons, who would be interested in the job, according to another source.

Former LMU star Bo Kimble has also publicly thrown his name in the ring, even though he's never coached at any level.

[ironlions]

With Dunlap not interested, I would move Bill Bayno to second choice to Montgomery. The rest of the candidates don't really have me too excited. This is a huge hire for us and Husack should realize that his ass in on the line.

Go Lions.

[lionspride]

bankman44 said:

Unless you a big time booster at LMU, (which we have none), our Athletic Department ain't listening to anybody. Lawton needs to know that Husaks job should be on the line with this hire. Somebody start a perspective AD thread. All throw some names in there.

Bankman,

Bankman, if Husak screws up this hiring (again)....I will be all over that thread of yours. The letter writing campaign to Lawton on a new AD will be intense.

FYI...our big time booster is Chad Dreier. He did put up $2 million a couple of years ago to add to the fund for the new Athletic offices, Gersten renovations.

[fanblade]

From the OC Register. Not concrete, sounds like a little bit of saving face. Burton currently makes about $190k a year at Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton coach Bob Burton has been contacted by USF and LMU concerning their vacant coaching jobs.
Burton said he has not had any "real" conversations with either school. He said he wants to stay at Fullerton "for as long as they want me."

"My preference is to stay here, especially now that we have had some success," Burton said Wednesday night. "All the attention is flattering. Nice, too. But the big thing for me is to just stay put."

[shanny28]

Bankman For Athletic Director. Anyone who writes Mike Dunlap obviously has a passion for LMU basketball that no one else could possibly have.

BITTER

[lionspride]

Does this mean that Bill Bayno is Husak's guy? Given that Husak used the Pump brothers to get Rodney, will Husak go back to this stinky well again for our next replacement? Husak, you best get Monty.

Below is excepts from ironlions post of the Pump Brother (sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AsRIRf0hAQCswNh9dr4x4.HevbYF?slug=jo-pumps040108&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)

After talking to Oscar Robertson about a memorabilia deal, he called Bill Bayno, the former UNLV coach and an assistant coach with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Bayno had expressed interest in an opening at Loyola Marymount. Pump assisted Loyola Marymount in 2005 with a search that led to the hiring of Rodney Tention, who resigned under pressure March 12.

Though Tention failed to make it through his third season at Loyola Marymount, Dana Pump had been talking to school officials about the search for yet another coach. He was pushing Bayno for the job.

Less than 10 minutes after talking to Bayno about filling the Loyola Marymount job, he greeted the guy who just lost the job. Tention and his wife, Rebecca, had arrived at the house.

They sat at the kitchen table, with the pool visible through a sliding glass door. The coach and his wife looked concerned, and Dana Pump listened as Tention grumbled about being forced out of the job.

Talk turned to potential job prospects, and suddenly Dana Pump grew animated.

He suggested Tention call Lute Olson at Arizona and “tell Big O you want to come home.” Tention had previously worked as an assistant under Olson at the school. He suggested Tention fly to Utah and ask about potential job openings. He suggested Tention call as many schools as he could, to be proactive, to seize every opportunity, to consider every option, and then Dana Pump paused.

“You don’t kiss ass like I do,” he said. “I kiss everybody for a job.”

Tention and his wife grinned. A few minutes later, they stood up to leave and Dana wished them good luck and told them to stay in touch as he ushered them out the front door.

[ironlions]

I have a good feeling about getting Monty. I have read that he is "no way" for the CAL job. I doubt he would want to walk into sanctions (thanks to Sampson) at IU. I hope we get the word by the end of the week. Bayno wouldn't be a bad hire either.

Go Lions

[lionspride]

ironlions said:

I have a good feeling about getting Monty. I have read that he is "no way" for the CAL job. I doubt he would want to walk into sanctions (thanks to Sampson) at IU. I hope we get the word by the end of the week. Bayno wouldn't be a bad hire either.

Go Lions

Every day that goes by makes me more nervous that we are not going to get Monty. I hope and pray, ironlions, that LMU, its administration, and Husak are fully committed to re-establishing the roar of Lion's basketball program. Without that committment, no new coach will succeed.

[ironlions]

Per Andy Katz

Crean to Indiana

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3324439

So Coach Monty....

CAL=No
IU=No
LMU= Yes please

[ironlions]

If we are not able to get Coach Montgomery. I think Bill Bayno is also a good candidate for us. He has a lot of coaching experience at in a variety of different levels. Maybe he can get Paul Allen to donate a few million to start on a new arena.

Anyone other named mentioned in our search other than Monty in Bayno, are in my opinion are not good hires.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bayno

[ADG'99]

My guess would be that Monty is choosing between LMU and retirement/TV not LMU and another school. Seems like he could probably take any D-I job that he wanted. But, the man is 62, and while obviously not ancient, he's lived his entire life west of the Rockies, so it doesn't seem like he'd uproot himself at his age to take a high-pressure job far away. LMU would present him with a challenge, but would be mostly out of the spotlight and low-pressure. All he would have to do is get the team in the big dance as a 16 seed and fans (like me) would erect a statue of him outside Gersten. Then, he gets to ensure his son employment for the rest of his life. I still think its a long-shot, but if he turns down LMU (which he likely will ), I doubt it will be for another D-I head coaching position.

[ADG'99]

ironlions said:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bayno

Where can I get a Talk 'N Text Phone Pals jersey???

[greendoberman]

A couple comments on Bayno, seeing as I live in Las Vegas and the Rebels are my second favorite team behind LMU.

-Bayno was fired from UNLV and the program was put on 4-years probation when he was head coach. Apologists like to say it wasn't his fault, but he was the head man.

-Coaching the Talk and Text Phone Pals and the Yakima Sun Kings does not impress me.

-Billy probably spent more time in the strip clubs here in Vegas than he did planning for games.

-I believe UMass had some recruiting questions surrounding the time he was there as well.

-He ran the most idiotic offense while here in Vegas. Get ready for zipper cut ad nauseum in Gersten. He is not a good game coach.

-Recruiting athletes to UMass and UNLV is quite different than recruiting student-athletes to Westchester. He had numerous "questionable" athletes under his tenure.

To summarize, I am no fan of Mr. Bayno and don't feel he is the least bit qualified to lead the Lions.

I also agree that the other candidates mentioned don't light a spark as well (specifically: Burton and Braswell)

I'd be completely thrilled to look at the bench next year and see Mike Montgomery with his assistants Russell Turner and John Montgomery.

[ironlions]

-Billy probably spent more time in the strip clubs here in Vegas than he did planning for games.

This is a positive in my book.

If there are some possiable issues with the NCAA. I'm pretty sure he won't be our next head coach.

[lionspride]

Looks as if Monty is still available for Husak as Indiana is to name Marquette's Tom Crean its head coach on Wednesday. Husak, go to Lawton and GET THE DEAL DONE!

sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/specials/ncaa_tourney/2008/04/01/bc.bkc.crean.indiana.ap/index.html