May 28, 2004

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

A good start for Johnson

by Rick Eymer

ew Stanford men's basketball coach Trent Johnson helped put smiles on the faces of his players this week.

"I'll give the players a little more freedom offensively," he said, "but not defensively."

That freedom thing hit a nerve, and he most likely endeared himself to his players as a result.

"That brought a smile to my face," acknowledged sophomore center Matt Haryasz. "I'm sure that would bring a smile to every basketball player's face if any coach says that. It's a little exciting. I'm willing to play defensively, and then come down the court and be ready to go."

"I always like to hear that," said sophomore Dan Grunfeld.

Johnson was, at times, charming, overwhelmed, funny and serious when he was formally introduced as Stanford's 16th men's basketball coach. It has to be a whirlwind week for Johnson from the moment he found out last Wednesday that Mike Montgomery had taken a job with the Golden State Warriors, to when he signed his contract and attended his first press conference on Tuesday.

"The speed of the thing was good because it gave us a sense of stability over the summer," said junior center Rob Little. "I knew with the leadership of Dr. Leland, he would make a good decision."

In less than a week, Johnson went from being a coach of a Cinderella team in the NCAA tournament to taking over one of the most prestigious programs in the nation. And through it all, it's also a homecoming.

"I've known coach (Montgomery) since I was 17," said Johnson. "I'm honored to be replacing him, though Coach Montgomery can't be replaced."

Players said the quick hiring meant the transition period should be brief.

"Dr. (Ted) Leland did a great job finding the right guy very quickly," said Haryasz. "That was important to the program. Know we get to meet him before school is out. This was the ideal situation, and it worked out well for us."

Johnson actually helped recruit Nick Robinson in 1997, before the junior went on his Mormon mission. Now he gets to coach him.

"I liked him then," said Robinson. "He picked me up from the airport."

Robinson led a question-and-answer session with Johnson over the weekend in their first meeting.

"We asked him some good questions to get some of the adjusting out of the way and we can look forward," Robinson said.

"I was put through the chambers by Nick Robinson, who I recruited 20 years ago," Johnson joked. "It was tough to leave Nevada because I get attached to the kids, but it was tough to leave here five years ago."

While he'll have plenty to work with next year, Johnson probably won't have junior All-American Josh Childress back. Childress announced his intention to make himself available for the NBA draft, though he hasn't hired an agent, which means he can still decide to stick around another year. Childress, however, has been projected as a No. 4 lottery pick and is likely to turn pro.

Justin Davis, Joe Kirchofer and Matt Lottich will graduate this year, meaning Stanford loses three starters and a top reserve from a team that finished 30-2, won the Pac-10 title and advanced to its 10th straight NCAA tournament.

Robinson, Little, Haryasz, point guard Chris Hernandez, Jason Haas, and forward Fred Washington return to give Stanford a solid nucleus.

Johnson will retain all three assistant coaches - Tony Fuller, Eric Reveno and Russell Turner - and that also help assuage any of the players' concerns.

"That was very important because it keeps the core of the foundation," said Haryasz. "It makes the transition easier and we like the assistants as coaches and individuals."

Johnson was at a coaches' conference in Chicago last weekend when he took a break and happened to notice a television which flashed the news that Montgomery was going to coach the Warriors across the bottom of the screen.

"I saw that and went, 'Please!,' " said Johnson, who was in a state of disbelief at the moment. "I called coach and left him a message saying thanks for screwing up my spring."

Johnson was ready to get right to work. He planned a meeting with the staff directly after Tuesday's press conference. He also began setting up individual meetings with each of the players.

"We're psyched," said Grunfeld. "We're all excited to have him here. We've heard nothing but positive things about coach Johnson. We all saw Nevada go to the Sweet Sixteen and we're impressed not only with how they did, but also how they won" . Johnson first came into contact with Montgomery as player at Boise State in the 1975-76 season, in which Montgomery served as an assistant coach. He's been an assistant at Utah, Washington, Rice and Stanford before accepting the head job at Nevada, where he improved his records in each of his five seasons.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.