Stanford men’s basketball will pay tribute to former head coach Mike Montgomery, Stanford’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach, during its contest against Cal Saturday. Players, coaches and fans on both sides of the stands will pay homage to Montgomery, the Long Beach native who transformed the men’s teams at both Stanford and Cal into national forces

During Montgomery’s 18-year tenure from 1986 to 2004, Stanford made 16 appearances in postseason play, including a record-setting ten consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and a Final Four appearance in 1998. His teams secured four Pac-10 titles and the 2004 Pac-10 Tournament championship. 

His teams were known for disciplined play, strong defense, and outstanding player development. Several of his players even made the leap to the NBA,  Brevin Knight, Mark Madsen and the Collins twins, Jason and Jarron. 

Montgomery’s legacy stands next to present-day collegiate coaching stars like Bill Self at Kansas and Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Montgomery, like them, built a winning culture and kept his teams near the top of national competition. While Self and Izzo are credited for collegiate champion glory and sustained success, Montgomery achieved those feats at a program that lacked the recruiting advantages of basketball powerhouses. He led Stanford to the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll during the 1999-2000 season, continuously offering a level of excellence that hasn’t been seen at Stanford since. 

After leaving Stanford, Montgomery served as head coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2004 to 2006, compiling a 68-96 record over two seasons. He returned to college basketball in 2008 as the head coach at Cal, leading the Golden Bears to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a Pac-10 regular-season title in 2010. He retired from coaching in 2014.

Saturday’s homage and game will be held at Maples Pavillion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m on February 22.