Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the time, it was arguably the most famous image ever associated with University of Florida basketball and it adorned the front pages of newspapers across the state. 
 

There was sophomore point guard Ronnie Montgomery seated on the basket as if it were his throne – donning a top hat, no less, and holding a sign that read "Apple Time" – and looking very much the part of a player ready to take Broadway. And why not? Clutch late free throws by Vernon Maxwell had just given the Gators a 54-53 victory over Southwest Missouri State in third-round play of the National Invitational Tournament to send UF to the tourney semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time. The O'Connell Center was a mad house.
 
"Oh, I remember that, all right," former UF guard Clifford Lett said Tuesday night. "That should have been me up there." 
 
Or Maxwell. Or Andrew Moten. Or maybe Pat Lawrence. Instead, it was the floor general known as "Ronnie Mont," who a year later was running point for the first Florida team ever to reach the NCAA Tournament and thus carving himself a nice niche in the groundwork of the program's ascension to national prominence.
 
Montgomery, who held the UF record for career assists for nearly a quarter century, died Monday in Sunset Beach, N.C., due to complications from a brain aneurysm. He was 58.

"I love getting assists," Montgomery once said. "I'd rather see a nice pass lead to a score than score myself."
 
A standout at Jacksonville (Fla.) Ribault High, Montgomery always dreamed of playing at Florida and that dream came true when he signed with Coach Norm Sloan in 1984. Over the next four seasons, the 6-foot, 170-pound Montgomery played in 130 games, with 56 starts, scored 500 points and dished a program-record 503 assists, a mark that stood until it was broken by Erving Walker in 2012.  
 
CHARTING THE GATORS
Florida all-time assists leaders (since 1967-68, the first season the statistic was recognized)

Assists	Player	Seasons
571	Chris Chiozza	2014-18
547	Erving Walker	2008-12
530	Kasey Hill	2013-17
503	Ronnie Montgomery	1984-88
493	Eddie Shannon	1995-99

For his career, Montgomery averaged 3.9 assists and just 1.5 turnovers per game for a better than 2-to-1 ratio. 
 
"As a player at Florida he was the quintessential point guard," said former UF assistant Monte Towe, who coached Montgomery all four seasons. "He made sure the ball moved around, could also score if we needed it, but really was more comfortable making sure Vernon got his shots and everybody else got their shots and trying to win basketball games." 
 
Which the Gators did. A bunch. 
 

Montgomery arrived in the same class as Maxwell, the future NBA star who would go on to become the highest-scoring player in Florida history before two seasons worth of his points were wiped away by the school due to NCAA violations. 
 
Their first two seasons together, Florida combined to win 37 games and twice played in the NIT, something the Gators had done just twice in their history (in 1969 and '84). In Year 3, UF finished the regular season 19-9 and second in the Southeastern Conference, earning the first NCAA berth in program history and seizing the moment by advancing to the Sweet 16 – with wins over North Carolina State and Purdue – before losing to 10^th-ranked and second-seeded Syracuse. That '86-87 Florida team, with Montgomery pushing the ball and in the first season of the collegiate 3-point line, averaged 84.2 points per game, which stood as the highest in program history before Coach Todd Golden's '23-24 squad eclipsed it last season (85.6).
 
As a senior, Montgomery average 6.0 points and a career-high 5.6 assists per game in helping guide the Gators back to the tournament, where they lost in the second round. 
 
There would be more NCAA trips in the future for the Gators, of course, but Montgomery was among the pioneers who helped pave that first postseason path. 
 
"He was part of the foundation that catapulted the program, starting with that NIT run," Lett said. "We had the talent and from that point, Florida basketball kind of took off."

Added Towe: Ronnie loved everything about Florida basketball. The practices, the games, just being around his teammates. And I'll always remember the big smile that was always on his face." 

Like the won he wore on top of that basket. 
 
After leaving UF, Montgomery played professionally for two years in South America and eventually returned to his native Jacksonville to coach. In later years, he became an avid golfer and worked at a course in North Carolina.

Montgomery is  survived by his wife, Catherine, two children (Duane and Rauna), seven grandchildren, a sister (Debbie) and a loving extended family of friends. A celebration of Life Service will be held at 10 a.m. on April 27 at Cathedral of Faith Church (2591 W. Beaver Street) in Jacksonville.