Longtime Red Bank Catholic coach Montano captures career win No. 600

Red Bank Catholic High School girls basketball coach Joe Montano does not care who you are. He doesn’t care if you’re the star player heading off to a Division I school in the fall or the last girl on the bench who never sees playing time unless it’s the waning minutes of a blowout. Montano demands your best. Montano is tough, challenging and honest with his players. He’ll get on player for not giving effort on the defensive end of the floor even if she’s the best player in the state. He expects the best from each and every player, and that’s how you build a basketball empire. “He doesn’t care about individual players and their ability, he’s all about the team, which is good,” Red Bank Catholic senior Rose Caverly said. “He holds us to the highest standards when it comes to effort and hard work. Sometimes he’ll say that he doesn’t care about talent, and that he’ll play the girl that wants to work the hardest. That’s what he prides Red Bank Catholic girls basketball on. Just effort and outplaying everybody.” Girls Hoops: Shore Conference December Awards Montano’s demanding coaching style was evident in the Caseys’ loss to Class B North rivals Manasquan earlier this season. The Caseys were getting beat and were eventually walloped to the tune of 60-37. The whole time, a fiery Montano stayed on his players and implored them to give their best effort, or he’d pull another player off the bench who was willing to give the effort he expected. “I think our kids know that I care, and that’s the reason why I do it,” Montano said. “We all need each other, and we’re all important no matter what our role is. My expectations are that we all have a job to do, and I expect them to do it. I feel that’d I’d be cheating them as a coach if I didn’t demand their best so they can continue to get better and improve.” That’s also how to get to 600 career wins, a mark that Montano reach on Tuesday when the Caseys defeated Ocean Township, 71-10. Montano is one of only seven girls basketball in New Jersey who has eclipsed that mark. His career record sits at 600-157 in his 28th season at the helm. Montano has created an absolute juggernaut and powerhouse in Red Bank Catholic in a tenure that dates to the Bush Sr. administration. In that time, Montano has packed the Red Bank Catholic trophy case to the gills. Nine sectional championships, eight group titles, six first place By demanding the best out of his players, he’s received just that in return from his talented groups of players. “He demands greatness every single day at practice,” Red Bank Catholic senior Katie Rice said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in the starting five or you’re the 12th girl on the bench, he wants you to play hard and play as a team. That’s the status quo at RBC.” Despite this, Montano is not a ornery tyrant that barks orders just to see how loud his voice can get. He’s tough because he truly cares for his players. When Rice needed help keeping a level head during the college recruitment process, Montano was there to offer her reassurance. When Caverly entered RBC as a timid point guard, Montano put his faith in her abilities and gave her the confidence to play to her potential. “As far as being a leader, I owe that all to him because he instilled the confidence in me that I’ll carry on to college and the rest of my life,” Caverly said. “I was freaking out in the big games freshman year, and he calmed me down and told me, ‘you got this.’ He was very encouraging when it came to that.” When it comes to player development, there are few who are better than Montano. That’s where he feels he’s at his best, when he’s in the gym, running practice with his players. In fact, Montano says he doesn’t do a whole lot in a game to affect the outcome. He says that as long as he molds his players the right way in practice, they’ll repay him with sensational performances on the court during the big games. “Once you do your job in practice, your kids pretty much take over from there,” Montano said. “I think it’s a bit overrated. I think you make three or four decisions in any game that mean anything, but I think you make a whole lot of decisions in practice that help make your kids successful in the game.” Daniel LoGiudice: @danny_logiudice; dlogiudice@gannettnj.com

LONGTIME RED BANK CATHOLIC COACH MONTANO CAPTURES CAREER WIN NO. 600

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APP | 1/10/2018