Take a look at Montgomery

I am an associate instructor about to receive my third degree from IU, a (master’s degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies). I frequently tell undergraduate students that the easiest thing to lose and hardest thing to recover is personal credibility. With the credibility of IU on the line recently I was glad to see the IDS take a strong stand on the Kelvin Sampson issue. By doing so, and by calling for (Director of Athletics) Rick Greenspan to go, it demonstrated leadership at a critical moment, as we begin the tedious effort to restore our tarnished image. \nIU, moving forward, must secure a coach who meets all the high standards for ethics we should have demanded previously, as well as excellence on the court. Dick Vitale has touted former Stanford coach Michael Montgomery as just such a person and encouraged IU to consider him.\nAccording to the official Web site of the Cardinal and other sources, Montgomery has a nearly 70 percent winning record over 26 years of coaching. In 18 years at Stanford he was named PAC 10 coach of the year four times while leading the Cardinal to 10 straight NCAA appearances (12 overall and one final four appearance). His teams won four PAC 10 regular season crowns and a PAC 10 tournament and he has always run a clean program. Like respected coaching icons Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski, Montgomery has been given an award, the John Wooden “Legends of Coaching” award, that the official site of the Cardinal tells us emphasizes personal “character, coaching philosophy (and) graduation rate” as well as “success on the court.”\nWe should understand and acknowledge how difficult it will be for us to remove the tarnish on our formerly good reputation. But the place and time to start is here and now. IU should contact Montgomery while he is still available. Even without discounting other potential candidates it would be foolish not to seriously consider him. We may find no better individual, no one who offers the same rare combination of high ethical standards and extraordinary coaching talent we need to expeditiously restore respect for our program and for Indiana University.