Stanford Brings Back Johnson to Fill Void

Trent Johnson was as shocked as anybody to hear about Mike Montgomery’s departure from Stanford to coach the Golden State Warriors.

Athletic Director Ted Leland did a lot to calm the fears of the Cardinal faithful and the players Tuesday: He selected Johnson, the Nevada coach who served three seasons as an assistant under Montgomery during the 1990s, as successor.

Stanford was without a coach for less than a week.

“Wow! Obviously I’m overwhelmed,” said Johnson, who was at Nevada for five years and led the Wolf Pack to a breakthrough season in 2003-04. “One of my goals is to every day, every second try to put ourselves in position to be the last team standing at the end.... The only thing I’m going to guarantee everybody is that the wheels are going to stay on.”

Johnson, 47, was formally introduced Tuesday, with his new players looking on, along with other Stanford coaches.

“We’re really thrilled,” Leland said. “He had an incredible amount of support internally at Stanford. If anybody questions whether we made the right decision, spend five minutes with him.”

Leland contacted Johnson on Friday as soon as Montgomery’s departure became official.

Johnson met with Stanford officials for about six hours on campus Sunday.

Montgomery publicly campaigned for one of his assistants to be promoted, but once Leland made it known he was going after Johnson, the athletic director said Montgomery offered his support.

Montgomery was at Stanford for 18 years and led the Cardinal to the Final Four in 1998. Last season, the Cardinal earned its third No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament in five years but was upset in the second round by Alabama.

Stanford has been to the second round of the NCAA tournament for 10 consecutive years. The Cardinal won its first 26 games this season and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 with a 29-1 mark.

“Am I honored to be replacing him? Yes I am,” Johnson said. “But Coach Montgomery won’t be replaced.”

Johnson plans to keep all of Montgomery’s assistants.

Johnson had agreed in March to a five-year contract worth $450,000 a season with Nevada, after leading the Wolf Pack to the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 for the first time. Nevada defeated Michigan State and Gonzaga in the tournament before losing to Georgia Tech.

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Back in Town

A look at Trent Johnson’s coaching career:

1986-89: Utah, assistant

1989-92: Washington, assistant

1992-96: Rice, assistant

1996-99: Stanford, assistant

1999-2004: Nevada, coach

1999-2000

* Led Wolf Pack to first-round victory over UC Santa Barbara in the Big West tournament.

2000-2001

* Nevada joined the Western Athletic Conference and opened the season with five wins in a row.

2001-2002

* Advanced to the semifinals of the WAC tournament after knocking off Southern Methodist, 72-66, in the quarterfinals.

2002-2003

* Recorded 18 wins, the most since the 1996-97 season, and tied for third in the WAC with an 11-7 record. Also made its first NIT appearance in six seasons.

* Led the WAC in scoring at 76.0 points per game.

2003-2004

* Earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the WAC tournament.

* Recorded its first tournament victory by defeating Michigan State, 72-66, in the first round.

* Knocked off second-seeded Gonzaga, 91-72, to reach the Sweet 16.

* Lost to Georgia Tech, 72-67, in semifinals of the St. Louis regional to finish the season at 25-9.