It's September.

The Cal football team has landed in the AP top 25, the trees are falling and the recruits are coming.

But here's a quick basketball fix. The Daily Californian was able to grab coach Mike Montgomery as he wrapped up his annual recruiting trip and discussed everything from his reception at Cal to the NBA's minimum-age rule.

Daily Californian: You've been here for a few months now. What are your thoughts on Berkeley as a city?

Mike Montgomery: It's different, there's no question about it. There are some neat things. It's very diverse. Sometimes you'd like to see a little more order, but as you get old, I think you feel that way.

DC: How's the transition going in a basketball sense? What's the hardest part of being a new coach?

MM: Just the nuances of how things work … And then, of course, recruiting, which is just a large part of what you do in this business. Knowing what to sell, how to sell, how to present your program in the best light, that takes a while to get comfortable with as well.

DC: How have you been selling Cal as a program?

MM: Obviously, the academics are where you have to start. The basketball history, having won a national title, there are things that are there, but maybe not as recently. Kids have short memory, so when you're out with kids now, they say they didn't see us in the tourney last year.

You've got to get something in basketball that we can sell. When you get to the tourney, it's amazing how many lists you're going to show up on. Kids identify with that.

DC: How would you describe yourself as a recruiter?

MM: Low-key and honest. To me, it needs to be a fit. You'd like to see kids come here because it's the right fit; it's where they belong.

A lot of kids go to places and don't know why they went there. It's the best sales job. That's not my style.

DC: Is there a difference between recruiting from Stanford and from Berkeley?

MM: Stanford forced you into a certain kid. You didn't have a choice. There's no point worrying about it, you had to find a kid that fit.

There's a little bigger window here. It makes it difficult. Now you have to make value judgments. Is this kid going to be comfortable? Is he going to thrive? In a lot of ways, you're looking for the same kid, but it's exciting to have a bigger window and more access to other kids, but at the same time you have to be careful because you're still at a great academic institution.

DC: What were some areas you were focusing on while you were on your recruiting trip?

MM: We need some bigs. A lot of juniors, a lot of guys in that junior class, but we can't have everyone graduate at the same time. We can't have seven kids leave here and fill seven scholarships. We have to divide it out a little bit.

DC: What's the consensus on the general crop of recruits across the country this year?

MM: It depends who you listen to. I think probably what is said every year is that it's not a very good group. Now last year, those freshmen that came into this league and were taken after their first year in the draft, it was an exceptional year. I don't see that in this draft, but the way the NBA has changed, there's always going to be a high percentage of kids leaving after one year now.

DC: What are your thoughts on the minimum-age requirement, by the way?

MM: It's an awful rule. If they don't want to go to college, you shouldn't have to force them to go to college. That's a decision a kid can make on his own. Now with some of the kids going overseas, maybe that's going to change it a little bit.

But I'd like to see some teeth that the NBA collective bargaining agreement with the Players Association, the league and the NCAA get together and say, "Let's give them a chance to go to college and grow up, so that when they come into the league, they're ready and it improves everybody's situation."

DC: How do you feel about being back in the college game?

MM: It's something I've done and obviously done more successfully. My personality and how I think is a little more conducive to the college game, the kids and what the values are or what they're supposed to be in terms of what you're doing for young people.

The NBA is fine. There are a lot of good people. I got to be in the right place at the right time, but I'm probably much better off here.

DC: Has returning to college kept you younger, or has the novelty of everything been stressing you out?

MM: (Laughing) I don't know. Being retired, I seemed to be more tired than I was when I wasn't … That's a tough one to answer.

Being around kids is good. Having my son work here is fun. This is a great challenge, obviously. Ben (Braun) was a good coach, a good guy and it's a challenge, there's no question.

DC: To wrap things up, rumors have it that Jeff Tedford has you beat in golf. What's your handicap?

MM: My golf swing, my age, my athletic ability. All that stuff.

I think I'm behind (Tedford) right now, although it was an aberration. He got me at a weak moment. But trust me, he hasn't been spending too much time away from the stadium … I was way up on him, and he lucked out. I got tired.

Tags: CAL MEN'S BASKETBALL, MIKE MONTGOMERY