California Sports Journal

"I think it's the best thing everybody could do for the game of basketball," said Montgomery, who coached at the college level for 26 years at Stanford and Montana.

NBA Commissioner David Stern recently proposed setting a minimum age for players wishing to enter the draft. High school phenoms like NBA All-Star Lebron James are increasingly opting to skip college and enter the draft, a trend that has some league officials concerned.

As for Montgomery, he said the age limit would give young players a chance to mature and gain additional schooling before taking on the pressures of NBA life. "You need to grow up to be in this league," he said.

Cliff-less

The Warriors didn't simply lose a veteran presence with the departure of forward Clifford Robinson, who was traded to New Jersey last week. The team lost its best defender, according to Montgomery.

"He's (Robinson) a guy you can really kind of count on to take a guy out," Montgomery said. "I think defensively, we've just got to get better across the board," he added.

Montgomery also noted that Robinson's trade has left the team with a leadership void. "Somebody has got to step up and accept some leadership," Montgomery said, adding that he expected his younger players to take the reigns in the second half of the season.

The Warriors coach said management expects 18-year-old Andris Biedrins, last year's first-round draft pick, and second-year center Zarko Cabarkapa to get more playing time in the second half of the season. Both are averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game.

First timers

Tuesday night's game marked the first reunion of Montgomery and his former Stanford standout Josh Childress, now a first-year swingman for the Atlanta Hawks. Asked who was having the better debut in the NBA, Montgomery said, "I haven't scored a single point, so I guess Josh had a better year." Childress is averaging 7.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.