His new corner office has an impressive view over the Cal pool and is about 10 feet from his son, John, the Bears’ first-year director of basketball operations under his father.

They’ve always wanted to work together and finally are getting that chance.

“That was part of the motivation to get back here,” Montgomery said. “He got good experience and I was able to hire him back. We could have been somewhere else. It just so happened this job came available. And I like the Pac-10. I’m more comfortable in the Pac-10.”

After his playing career at Loyola Marymount, John Montgomery spent last year as an assistant at Furman, which was a positive experience and a chance to see another part of the country.

“It’s a dream come true working for my dad,” he said. “There’s no negative. All the time he said: ’You’re crazy to get in his business. You’ve seen what I’ve done to be at Stanford for 18 years — it’s not the norm.’ At LMU, the coach said to me, ’You can’t compare Stanford to here.’ It’s crazy when you grow up at Stanford. You don’t like Cal. You see Telegraph (Avenue) and think that’s a weird place.”

Montgomery bought a house in the upscale East Bay suburb of Orinda, having sold his home near Stanford. The laid-back, liberal Berkeley climate featuring its share of hippies and tie-dye is strong on campus, too. It’s about as opposite from Stanford as you can get.

No question this is a fresh start for Montgomery.

“I can imagine when you’re going right down the road and coaching at our rival, it’s going to make some news,” new Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “He’s a great coach. I look forward to coaching against him.”

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