03-30-2015, 12:06 PM
Well, Montgomery is right below Bob Knight (3 championships) and two places ahead of Lute Olson (1 championship).
I don't doubt the veracity of the data or analysis, but I, too, am not sure about the conclusions to be drawn. It's aworth noting that Montgomery went the NCAAs four times with C.al, went 2-4 and never made the Sweet Sixteen. He had an upset loss (#7 lost to a #10), a loss in the first four in Dayton, OH and only one upset win (#12 beat a #5). So I'm guessing that his C.al tenure is a drag on his overall ranking.
As for Monty's Stanford-only stats? Well, he did go to the NCAA tournament 10 years in a row from 1994-2003, and his teams went 16-10 with no first-round losses during that stretch. The bad losses--turn away if it's too much to bear:
The 1999 loss to #10 seeded Gonzaga as a #2; Gonzaga made the Elite Eight that year.
The 2000 loss to #8 UNC as a #1; UNC made the Final Four that year.
The 2003 loss to #8 Alabama as a #1; the only time in my life that I have had a sports-induced migraine on my birthday. Alabama made the Elite Eight that year.
On the other hand, Monty's teams made one Final Four, another Elite Eight and yet another Sweet Sixteen.
That resume--which admittedly omits 1st-round exits in 1989 and 1992--doesn't read like the 500th or whatever "best" coach in the NCAA tournament since 1985 to me.
I don't doubt the veracity of the data or analysis, but I, too, am not sure about the conclusions to be drawn. It's aworth noting that Montgomery went the NCAAs four times with C.al, went 2-4 and never made the Sweet Sixteen. He had an upset loss (#7 lost to a #10), a loss in the first four in Dayton, OH and only one upset win (#12 beat a #5). So I'm guessing that his C.al tenure is a drag on his overall ranking.
As for Monty's Stanford-only stats? Well, he did go to the NCAA tournament 10 years in a row from 1994-2003, and his teams went 16-10 with no first-round losses during that stretch. The bad losses--turn away if it's too much to bear:
The 1999 loss to #10 seeded Gonzaga as a #2; Gonzaga made the Elite Eight that year.
The 2000 loss to #8 UNC as a #1; UNC made the Final Four that year.
The 2003 loss to #8 Alabama as a #1; the only time in my life that I have had a sports-induced migraine on my birthday. Alabama made the Elite Eight that year.
On the other hand, Monty's teams made one Final Four, another Elite Eight and yet another Sweet Sixteen.
That resume--which admittedly omits 1st-round exits in 1989 and 1992--doesn't read like the 500th or whatever "best" coach in the NCAA tournament since 1985 to me.
If there's one thing people have learned in Berkeley, it's that you can't put "Cal football" and "Rose Bowl" in the same sentence. The words just don't fit. You'd be better off linking "covered wagons" with "Mars travel." (Bruce Jenkins, Cal '70, SF Chronicle, Nov. 11, 2017)