The Mike Montgomery Shove

Maybe it's the old IU guy in me knowing that Knight would have gotten killed for this, but I think it deserves its own thread.

Petchesky does nice work here, eschewing the fire and brimstone for a more nuanced take:

http://deadspin.com/5985049/when-is-it-ok-for-a-coach-to-shove-a-player

 

I admire Crabbe's restraint in not immediately knocking Montgomery right on his ass.

If I were the AD I would suspend Montgomery for a game or two with the clear understanding that the next time it happens, he's fired about 5 minutes after the final whistle.

And really, his "it motivated him, didn't it?" argument pisses me off about as much as the shove. It didn't, and if that's all you've got you're a shitty coach.

 

Why did it take the Pac-12 to issue a reprimand, and not the school? That's a chickenshit way for Cal to handle things, and if I'm the school president, I'm looking for both a new coach and AD this week.

You can't touch a player like that. And if his initial reaction was to give the kid a shove in the middle of a game, when all the cameras are on and everyone's watching, I've got to wonder what happens when no one is watching.

 

The further pussification of America[/zagoshe]

 

He shouldn't have done it, but I saw it more as trying to get his attention, sort of like a "c'mon, what are you doing?" than "shoving" him. He should not have made contact with him.

It wasn't the right thing to do and it merited an apology, and I would have no problem with him being sat down for a game.

Who knows?

 

Six times the guy's Stanford teams earned top three seeds in the NCAA tournament; Four of those couldn't get out of the second round. That's his biggest coaching crime.

 

I just remember that 2000 team that as a No. 1 seed had to play North Carolina in Birmingham.

 

Be interesting to note how quickly he'd be fired/sued/indicted for doing the same if he were a chemistry professor, not a sports coach.

 

The toupee is a crime against man.

 

I'm not defending Montgomery, but is that really a fair comparison?

Coaches have to yell at players all the time. Professors don't. The relationship between a coach and a player is pretty different than a most professors and students.

I think he was trying to get his attention and he went too far.

 

Would have been the Collins twins back then, right?