During a heated moment in Sunday's game against USC, Cal coach Mike Montgomery shoved guard Allen Crabbe in the huddle during a timeout.
The Bears were trailing the Trojans in the second half of the game on Sunday when Montgomery called a timeout. According to USA Today, Montgomery shoved Crabbe with two hands at the beginning of the huddle.
On the video from KEZI-TV Sports reported Stephen Nelson, it can clearly be seen that Montgomery shoves Crabbe as he first come into the huddle in an attempt to get him focused into the game. Junior forward Richard Solomon steps in right after and grabs Crabbe by the heresy and says something to him before they two head to the tunnel of the arena.
Along with guard Justin Cobbs, Crabbe went to the wide and then back to the bench before coming back in the game. Crabbe is the leading scorer on the team and he scored 14 of his 23 points in the game during the second half as California won the came 76-68.
The shove may have actually worked, as the team has now won five of the past six games to improve to 16-9 overall and 5-6 in the Pac-12. After the game Crabbe had no problems with the contact.
"An emotional game was going on at the time and I guess he was just trying to motivate me," Crabbe said of the incident, according to The Associated Press. "But everything's fine. It's under the bridge. He's my coach, no hard feelings. We're just going to keep moving on."
Shoves in college basketball can become more than just small incidents, including when Bobby Knight was embroiled in some controversy and previously Morehead State suspended their coach for making contact with a player on the sidelines.
Montgomery also downplayed any controversy afterwards.
"Worked, didn't it?" Montgomery said, per The Associated Press. "Allen had come down twice went to the wrong side of the court and his guy shot two 3s. I was trying to get him going. Probably overdid it a little bit but Allen's my guy. We can't win if he is not ready to play."
In preparation for the questions, Cal athletics director Sandy Barbour and Montgomery issued statements after the game.
"Sunday's game was an emotional one for everyone who cares deeply about our men's basketball program, and the Bears certainly showed tremendous resolve coming back to earn a win over USC. However, it is unacceptable for our coaches to have physical contact with student-athletes regardless of the circumstances. The second-half incident was certainly out of character for Mike Montgomery, and I am confident that something like this will not happen again."
Said Montgomery:
"I have great passion for this game and tonight, I let my emotions get away from me in the heat of the moment. While my intent was to motivate our student-athletes, my behavior was inappropriate and I apologize for my actions."
