Erika Lang averaged 8.6 points and 5.7 rebounds during her UF career from 1988-92.
Deep Gator Roots Lured Lang Back
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Erika Lang-Montgomery has crystal-clear recall of her part in the Florida-Tennessee women's basketball game of Jan. 16, 1991. With that recall comes a remarkably candid assessment of her performance in the clutch.
The Lady Gators (yes, that's what they were called back then) had Pat Summitt and the No. 1-ranked Lady Vols on the ropes when Lang-Montgomery, UF's 6-foot-2 center and second-leading scorer, went to the line for a pair of free throws in a tie game with 14 seconds to play. History was in her hands. Make a pair, or even one, and the biggest win in program history likely was in the books.
"I choked," Lang-Montgomery said.
Not once, but twice. In double-overtime, Lang-Montgomery again went to the line, this time with Florida down just one with five seconds to go. Again, a one-and-one opportunity.
Bonk.
Final: Tennessee 71, Florida 70.
UT went on to win the national championship. UF finished the season 17-11.
Lang-Montgomery, now 48, came to terms with the moment long ago, which now allows her to matter-of-factly invoke the dreaded c-reference.
"Well, that's what it was," she said. "As you get older and more mature, you can say it. That's what happened."
Ah, but nearly three decades later, Lang-Montgomery now will have no shortage of opportunities to make amends on behalf of the Gators after officially coming on board Monday as an assistant on the staff of UF coach Cameron Newbauer. Lang-Montgomery logged 14 seasons as a Division I assistant coach, including stops in the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12, before getting her first crack as a head coach in 2009 at then-NAIA Flagler College, in St. Augustine. There, she piloted the Saints over the past 10 seasons. Her last Flagler squad finished 21-8, posting the team's best record in 42 years.
Lang-Montgomery built something there. Now, she'll be part of the rebuild here.
Erika Lang-Montgomery's last two teams at Flager went a combined 39-7, including a 21-8 mark in 2018-19, the program's first season after making the jump from NAIA to Division II.
"It was an extremely difficult decision for me [to leave] and one that wasn't made quickly or immediately. I had to spend some time on it," Lang-Montgomery said. "I enjoyed every moment of my time at Flagler and felt I left it — the school and the program — in a better place than when I got there. Leaving is bittersweet, but I'm excited to be coming back to UF and be part of Cam has going."
One more thing.
"And it's Florida," she added of the place she not only went to school, but also met husband Larry Montgomery. "That really is the biggest reason."
In Lang-Montgomery, Newbauer not only hired a seasoned assistant, but someone who has sat in the chair behind the big desk and made executive decisions. As such, she'll not only be able to advise Newbauer, but also take some day-to-day stuff off his plate.
"That was one of the things that really attracted me to her," Newbauer said. "I wanted someone with a little more experience, which is going to help me tremendously. As a coach who has been in that position, she's been in situations before and will have confidence when it comes to helping make decisions."
Carol Ross is the greatest coach in Florida women's basketball history, having posted a 247-121 record over 12 seasons and guided the Gators to nine NCAA tournaments, including one Elite Eight appearance. When she arrived at UF in 1990, the program had never been to the NCAAs and was coming off a 15-13 season and next-to-last place finish in the Southeastern Conference.
Lang (without the Montgomery) was a junior.
"What I found out about Erika was that she could be whatever she wanted to be. She was the total student-athlete," said Ross, who in 2012 was the WNBA Coach of the Year with the Los Angeles Sparks. "She was a player who was willing to do it all, whatever it took. She was a caretaker who did for others. There are tangibles on a stat sheet, but I'm not talking about the personality of the player and the person. She had coaching attributes then, which start with doing things others won't or don't want to do. She would always do her part or someone else's."
In 2018-19, the team's second season under Newbauer, Florida went 8-23, including 3-13 in SEC play, as the Gators continued the transition from the Amanda Butler era. In '19-20, all 12 scholarship players on the roster will be Newbauer signees, including a four-member freshmen class that includes Lavander Briggs, a Jordan Brand all-star and consensus top-50 prospect who set the all-time scoring record in Utah, and Brylee Bartram, from Seffner, Fla., the all-time 3-point-shot-maker — among girls and boys — in the nation's prep history.
Lang-Montgomery will replace Laura Harper, who resigned in April. After stops at Purdue, Florida State, Southern California, Wichita State and North Texas over 14 seasons, Lang's last 10 years back in the Sunshine State have given her a chance to scan the landscape of the game for home-grown girls. Though UF has had pockets of success over the 44-year history of the program, sustaining that success has been a struggle. Lang-Montgomery, though, knows first-hand what any team at UF is capable of.
"Just look at all the other programs at Florida," she said. "This is a great time for a young woman who loves the game to come and be a Gator There's a lot of talent in this state, but also in this country, and being a Gator is a very attractive thing. I hope I can come in and have a positive impact in attracting bright young women who want to be a part of the Gator nation." Carol Ross
Lang-Montgomery, who grew up in Jacksonville, once felt the UF lure. By the time she was done, Lang-Montgomery had started 63 of 100 games, amassed 962 points and 647 rebounds, with career averages of 8.6 and 5.7 in those respective categories. Her best season came as a junior when she started all 28 games, and averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 boards.
She also led the team in want-to.
"As that player who always did her part and part of someone else's, that carried over to her as a coach," Ross said. "She's a worker, a grinder, a relationship person. She was all those things as a player and when you see that and identify those qualities in a player it's hard to see them ending up in the coaching profession."
Ross, by the way, also has vivid recall of that Tennessee game.
Specifically, its aftermath.
"Erika just had to hit one and she felt terrible about it," Ross said. "I'm not sure if it was that night or the next day, but she was in the gym shooting free throws very soon afterward. Lots of 'em. She wore it out. She didn't miss them because she hadn't worked at it, so it was hard on her. But when you're confident, like Erika, moments like bring out inner strength. They don't break you, they tend to make you."
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