Michigan State University Athletics
Mike Garland Named Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 4, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo has announced that Mike Garland has been hired as an assistant coach and Mark Montgomery has been promoted to associate head coach. Garland spent last season as an associate head coach at SMU under Matt Doherty, and returns to East Lansing having previously served as an assistant at MSU for seven seasons from 1996-2003. Montgomery will enter his seventh season on the Spartan bench this fall.
"We are thrilled to have Mike Garland back at Michigan State," said Izzo. "Certainly my loyalty and friendship played a role. But even more importantly, I'm excited to add someone who was here through our championship and Final Four runs, and helped build this program from the ground up. Mike has a tremendous passion for coaching and developing relationships with players. I expect that he will also help instill the toughness necessary to compete at the championship level. I'm pleased to add someone to our staff that has strong support and ties throughout the state of Michigan and in the Michigan State University community. I'd also like to thank Matt Doherty for allowing Mike to return to MSU. This is the second time I've hired one of his former assistants, after hiring Doug Wojcik from North Carolina, and I have great respect for Matt and his program."
"Mark Montgomery has earned a promotion to associate head coach. He has really grown in the job over the past six seasons and elevated all aspects of his coaching, from his court teaching, office management and certainly recruiting. He has positioned himself as the next Spartan assistant likely to get a head coaching job. Other people are starting to recognize his abilities, as shown by FoxSports.com naming him one of 10 assistants ready to become a head coach. That's a nice honor for Mark, but one he deserves.
"With Mike's hiring and Mark's promotion, it's also important to recognize the contributions of Dwayne Stephens over the last few years," Izzo continued. "Like Mark, DJ has made great strides in his coaching. One of his greatest strengths is his recruiting as he has played a large role in putting together some of the best recruiting classes of my time at Michigan State. He has taken on more responsibility over the last year and will continue to do so as he looks to someday lead his own program.
"There is a lot of talk about the importance of camaraderie on a team, but it is just as important within a staff. I'm excited that Mark, DJ and Mike all complement each other with their individual talents. To have assembled a staff of two former players and a former assistant who helped build this program from the ground up is very exciting for me, our players, recruits and the entire MSU family."
Garland enters his second stint on the Spartan bench. In his seven previous seasons at MSU, Garland helped coach the Spartans to five NCAA Tournaments, four Big Ten Championships, two Big Ten Tournament Championships, three Final Fours and one National Championship. He excelled in self-scouting and individual player improvement. His instruction led to six Spartans being selected in the NBA Draft during a three-year span from 2000-02. In total, he worked with nine Spartans that were picked in the draft.
"Deciding to leave SMU was a very tough decision," said Garland. "Under the direction of Matt Doherty, the Mustangs are on on the verge of accomplishing great things. Coach Doherty knows how to build a great program, and he is taking the steps to make sure SMU is among the very best teams in the nation, including the construction of a new practice facility. I feel fortunate to have been a part of this program during the first steps on its way to excellence. There is no other job in America for which I would have left SMU. It was a great learning experience, and one where I developed several meaningful friendships. But Michigan State, the Detroit area and the entire state of Michigan are my home. The opportunity to go back home along with my relationships with Tom Izzo and the other people at Michigan State helped me make the tough decision to return to the Spartan program.
"Not only do I bring with me the championship experiences from my first stay at Michigan State, I also have a new set of experiences from being a head coach at Cleveland State and my one season at SMU. My time away has made me a better coach. I'm excited to begin developing player relationships with the new group of young men at MSU. Most importantly, I look forward to working with Coach Izzo, Mark and Dwayne as part of a strong staff where we can all help each other succeed."
Entering his seventh season at Michigan State, Montgomery is instrumental in the development of the perimeter players, passing on the knowledge that helped make him an all-conference selection during his time at MSU. He also assists with scouting and recruiting, helping assemble a top-five recruiting class in 2007. Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com named him one of 10 assistant coaches ready to "make the jump and run their own program in 2008." In his six seasons, perimeter players Maurice Ager, Alan Anderson, Shannon Brown, Chris Hill, Drew Neitzel, Marcus Taylor, Kelvin Torbert and Travis Walton have earned all-conference recognition in some format. The Spartans have also appeared in six NCAA Tournaments, including a trip to the Final Four in 2005 and the Elite Eight in 2003.
"It's a great honor to be named associate head coach at my alma mater," said Montgomery. "I'm very grateful to Coach Izzo for giving me this opportunity to take the next step in my coaching career. I was playing at Michigan State when Coach Izzo was named associate head coach under Coach Heathcote. I'm honored to follow in his footsteps, along with those of Tom Crean, Brian Gregory and Doug Wojcik, all great coaches who have held this position before me. I'm also excited to work closely with Dwayne Stephens and Mike Garland as we work alongside Coach Izzo to pursue more success at this great program."
This past season, Garland served as associate head coach at SMU under Matt Doherty. Prior to that, he was head coach for three seasons at Cleveland State, posting a 23-60 record, while increasing the Vikings' win total each season. In his second season, the Vikings improved by six wins in Horizon League play, which was the fifth-best improvement in league history.
Prior to his arrival at East Lansing, Garland enjoyed a successful nine-year stint as varsity head coach at Belleville High School. During that time, he posted a career record of 153-49 (.757) while earning numerous coaching honors. He was selected as the Associated Press' 1993-94 Michigan High School Coach of the Year while also being named the Michigan Mega Red Conference Coach of the Year. Garland, who coached three players to first-team all-state honors during his tenure at Belleville, was named The Detroit News All-Metro West Coach of the Year in 1990-91 while being selected as the All-Suburban Coach of the Year during the same campaign by the Detroit Free Press. His Belleville teams won six Mega Red Conference championships, four district titles and advanced to the state tournament quarterfinals in 1991. He spent five seasons as an assistant at Belleville before being named head coach.
Garland started his coaching career in 1977 with a two-year stint as an assistant basketball coach at Cody High in Detroit. Garland then headed to private business for several years before his desire to teach led him back into coaching as the junior varsity coach at Belleville High in 1982.
Garland earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and community recreation from Northern Michigan in 1977. While at NMU, he was the recipient of the Minority Student Academic Achievement Award. Izzo and Garland were teammates on the Wildcats' basketball squad.
Garland's family includes his wife, Cynthia, daughter, Simone, and sons Quentin and Michael Ray.
Montgomery returned to his alma mater prior to the 2001-02 season after four years as an assistant coach at Central Michigan. He joined the Central Michigan coaching staff in 1997-98 and helped direct a turnaround in the Chippewa program. In 2000-01, CMU posted a 20-8 record and captured the fifth Mid-American Conference regular-season championship in school history and first since 1987. Central's 20-win season was only the second since 1976, and just the third winning season since 1980. By capturing the 2001 conference championship after a 2000 record of 6-23 (2-16 MAC), CMU became the first team in MAC history to go from last place one season to first the next.
An Inkster, Mich., native, Montgomery was a four-year letterwinner at Michigan State from 1989-92. A 1992 third-team All-Big Ten selection, Montgomery ended his career as the then-career leader in games played at MSU (126). A four-year starter for the Spartans, he was part of the 1990 Big Ten Championship team, three NCAA Tournament teams and an NIT Final Four. Montgomery ranks fourth on the career assists chart (561) after leading the team in assists as a junior (169) and senior (190). He also ranks third on the MSU career steals list (168).
Following his playing days at Michigan State, Montgomery played four years of professional basketball in Europe. He averaged more than 25 points a game during his career in Germany, Lithuania and Sweden.
While at Michigan State, he was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. Montgomery received his bachelor's degree in food industry management from Michigan State.
