Two weeks into his new job as the head men’s basketball coach at NIU, Mark Montgomery took some time out Wednesday afternoon to discuss the whirlwind of events that have taken place in the past few days.

Northern Star: Take us through the interview process, from the time that Michigan State lost in the NCAA tournament to when NIU Athletic Director Jeff Compher officially hired you as the men’s basketball head coach.

Mark Montgomery: I met with Jeff Compher and Christian Spears [NIU Assistant Athletic Director] and interviewed with them in Chicago. I got a chance to learn from them about NIU, about DeKalb, what they expect of me, and what I am going to give to NIU while here. We also talked about my success at Michigan State [three trips to the Final Four], also my experience coaching in the Mid-American Conference at Central Michigan. Things kind of happened fast after that. Three or four days later, I got a call back, and I went up and visited the campus and had the opportunity to meet with [NIU] President John Peters. That night I got the official offer to come to NIU.

NS: What was it that sold NIU to you?

MM: What attracted me to this university was the location of it, being in the Midwest. I’ve recruited this area; Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, so I’m very familiar with this area and the conference. The facilities really impressed me, and the passion in Jeff Compher’s voice when he talked about this job. The excitement he had about how special he believes this program can be. Also the academics; they told me how every kid has the opportunity to succeed in the classroom.

NS: Was your experience in the MAC at Central Michigan a big factor in wanting to come to NIU?

MM: I thought of [NIU] as an opportunity, because the MAC is pretty much open every year. At Central Michigan, we went from last place to first place in one year. Also, I get to coach in my home state of Michigan when we play Eastern [Michigan], Western [Michigan], and Central [Michigan]. It’s a good recruiting base; we are only four or five hours away from our next opponent.

NS: With you on the coaching staff, Central Michigan went from 6-23 in 2000 to 20-8 in 2001: the only team in MAC history to go from last place to first place in a one year span. What did you learn about building a winning program while you were at Central Michigan?

MM: We had normal high school players, we concentrated on the short term, not the long term, we said that we were going to do it the right way. We just made sure we got better in every practice, and stronger every summer. It was a mentality. They went all-in; they could see the steps to get better.

NS: People in DeKalb would love a turnaround like the one you had at Central Michigan, but after watching VCU and Butler go to the Final Four, people are dreaming a lot bigger. How do you plan on bringing NIU to a point where it can have continued success in post-season play like Butler has shown?

MM: You take Butler and VCU, and they are mid-major programs, and it gave other programs a dream and told them that this can happen. It provided a blueprint; you get the good guys, and you play a tough schedule. It gives us hope, but it has to start on the ground level. It’s going to be recruiting: you have to recruit the right student athletes, and they have to buy into your philosophy. They have to play good basketball, play physical and that’s the groundwork that I’m trying to bring to NIU.

NS: Programs with new coaches often struggle in the first year or two, due to a lack of their own recruits and other factors. How would you handle it if the wins aren’t there in your first year or two?

MM: The plan is to get better each day, so we aren’t talking wins or losses. As long as we are getting better, showing effort, showing energy, we are going to get to our goals. If your win total is a little higher than my win total, we’re just going to get better each day. If you take last year’s team and looked it up, seven or eight games last year were lost by four or five points. All of a sudden if you have four less turnovers, you’re in a game. Better free-throw shooting percentage; you’re in a game.

NS: You worked 10 years under Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. How much did he influence your coaching philosophy?

MM: You have to go back to my playing days at Michigan State. Coach Izzo was an assistant coach, and the values he instilled really influenced me. His philosophy was ‘be a physical basketball team, rebound the basketball, score points in transition, get our best players the ball, and let’s complete each possession.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do here at NIU.

NS: Right now, what type of offense and defense do you plan on running?

MM: I’ve been here for two weeks and I’ve met with the players a total of five days. I’m going to fit our personnel to what we are going to run. Do we want fast break? No question about it. We are going to push the ball up the floor. Does that mean we are going to shoot quick? Not necessarily; we are going to pound the basketball inside, and if guys have a shot they’ll knock it down. Offensively, its going to be a little motion and some set plays. We want our best players to have the basketball in position to score.

I come from a philosophy of man-to-man defense; we want to have a tough half-court man-to-man defense, except I want to extend that. I want to play more guys. I want 10 guys in the rotation, so we probably pick up the full court. But we definitely want an up-tempo style offense and an aggressive style of defense. We want to control the backboards. We control those backboards, we will have the opportunity to win basketball games.

NS: How have your initial meetings with the players gone, and what players have stuck out to you as potential leaders?

MM: The first meeting was really just me talking. There wasn’t really any interaction. I was able to sit down with each of the players and tell them where I’m from, and then the second meeting was last night. The first meeting lasted about 40 minutes, while this one lasted about two and a half hours. We got a chance to hash things out, got a chance to work hard in the weight room; there has been more dialogue, more guys talking on the phone. So far, so good.

I always look to the seniors for leaders. Tim Toler comes back as one of our leading scorers. Antone Christian; even though he will only be a sophomore, he’s a spiritual guy who doesn’t mind talking. But I’m going to look to the seniors to lead this team.

NS: You recently hired Jon Borovich to be on your coaching staff. What role will he hold on the staff?

MM: Jon Borovich comes from a great background, being at Dayton the last four years. He’s going to be the lead assistant. He’s played, he’s worked for similar guys to me. He has worked with guards and bigs. He’s a good learner.

NS: Recruiting is such a big part of college basketball. In Illinois, Chicago is a large focal point for recruiting. How do you plan on keeping the pipeline of talent open from there, and how are you going to grab an upper hand over in-state schools fighting for the same talent?

MM: With recruiting, my philosophy is pretty simple. Get on the phone with high school coaches, get on the phone with AAU coaches [and] go to high school and AAU games. Spend time after the games, when other coaches are leaving…our philosophy is to stick around a little longer. Talk to the coach, just get a dialogue with them. When you show that you want to maintain the relationship, whether you get a recruit or don’t get a recruit, its better for them. It’s also a big thing we can sell that I will be the gyms. A lot of coaches just send their assistants out, but I’m going to be there.

NS: Given the state that Ricardo Patton left the program in, nobody would have blamed you for turning down this opportunity. Why did you take it?

MM: I’ve said it before that this place is a sleeping giant. It’s in the Midwest, [has] great facilities…we can win in this conference. We can go nowhere but up, and I’m looking forward to this challenge of getting guys better.

NS: How much contact have you had with recently signed recruit Zach Miller?

MM: Miller has an impressive resume; he went to the Final Four in the Illinois high school tournament. He actually came up here for the meet and greet, and I got a chance to meet with him and his dad.

NS: We are roughly seven months away from the first game. Where is your focus at right now?

MM: Right now I’m focusing on building a relationship with the players; showing them what it’s going to take this summer. What kind of work ethic it’s going to take, [and] work on getting better with the fundamentals; passing the ball and shooting the ball. Also [I’ll] work on recruiting; we have to bring in three guys this year, so we are looking forward to this weekend: we’ve got three or four guys coming up. We are reaching out to high school coaches and AAU coaches right now throughout the country.

NS: You acted as the head coach at Michigan State for one game this past season against Prairie View A&M, and won 90-51. What did that experience mean to you?

MM: I was excited. You look in the paper and it says we are favored by 20 points, so you say, ‘hey, right there…I can not mess this up.’ It was a good opportunity to go to press conferences, give pre-games speeches, [and] lead the shoot around. I was excited to finally become a head coach [for] one day, and to get that opportunity for one game.

NS: How have you liked DeKalb thus far?

MM: So far I’ve just been sleeping in the hotel and in the office. But I did go out with the team last night and I can sell Fatty’s; it was great food, great appetizers. I was able to meet the owners. We watched some basketball on all the TV’s they have. It was a good time.