BearTalk

Cal coach Mike Montgomery and assistant Jay John know Lute Olson as well as anyone in the Pac-10 Conference.

During his 18 seasons at Stanford, Montgomery competed against Olson’s Arizona teams 39 times. (He won just 12 of those games, the only program in the Pac-10 against which Montgomery does not enjoy a winning record).

 John spent four seasons as Olson’s right-hand man in Tucson before becoming head coach at Oregon State in 2002.

I talked to Montgomery and John after Cal’s practice Thursday afternoon, as the news of Olson’s sudden retirement — less than a week into practice — was settling in.  Both expressed hope that health issues weren’t the reason for Lute’s departure. (Later, Olson released a statement saying he simply wants to spend more time with family).

Here’s what they had to say:

Montgomery: “I feel badly for Lute, I feel badly for the Arizona program, because this is the one thing I don’t think anybody wanted to see. Lute’s been such a good coach for so long, with such a good program, that obviously he wanted to try to finish up and put a little exclamation point on his career.

“I hope he’s now able to do what he wants to do and he’s at peace with it.”

John: “First off, I hope that everything is good with coach. That it was simply a choice, that he had enough coaching. He always said he’d keep doing it as long as he had the energy and passion. And when it was done, that’s when he knew he’d be done. And at 74 years old, if he woke up today and said, `I don’t want to do this anymore,’ then my best to him.

“He’s had a glorious career. I’m an Arizona grad, I’m a Tucson guy, and what coach Olson accomplished at the University of Arizona basically saved the athletic department. He was like Tucson’s opera or ballet show. That was the deal for 25 seasons. His presence is larger than life. He carried a large burden on his shoulders about his responsibility and his duty to keep that program at a high level. He’s one of the all-time greats.”

KNBR radio host Tom Tolbert played two seasons for Olson, and fears his alma mater will have trouble maintaining the elite level they enjoyed under Olson. Here’s some of what Tolbert had to say during Thursday afternoon’s program:

“The days of them dominating the Pac-10 or winning multiple Pac-10 championships in a row, I think those days may be over. They’re going to have to battle. It’s UCLA’s ballgame now. It’s UCLA’s conference. (Ben) Howland has that thing on cruise control.

“I’m a realist, and I think there is a possibility that as good as they have been for 20-plus years, they could be scrapping for the middle of the Pac-10.

“It’s absolutely amazing what coach Olson has been able to do in Tucson. I was in Tucson for two years and I loved the city. But if you’re a recruit, are you going to choose Tucson over Tempe (and Arizona State)? You’ve got UCLA, you’ve got USC, you’ve got the Bay Area, you’ve got Seattle.

“We’ve seen seen Florida State slip away, we’ve seen Nebraska slip away, we’ve seen Miami slip away in college football. And once you start slipping away . . . I don’t think tradition means much to kids anymore.”