Texas-based Montgomery Sports Group President & CEO Roger Montgomery was profiled in a Sunday sports section front-page piece by Neil Janowitz of the N.Y. TIMES. Two months ago, Montgomery's agency had only four clients: one had a "steady NBA gig," two others were playing basketball in Europe, and the fourth was Knicks G Jeremy Lin, "who had played for three teams in December alone." Lin was an "ideal candidate for the Montgomery Sports Group -- a player with a big ceiling and a small likelihood of attracting larger agencies, who are not likely to dwell on Ivy Leaguers." Montgomery said, "Often, I don't bother going after top prospects. I aim for guys who are similar to me: they haven't been given much in their careers and they're super motivated to prove themselves." Until recently, Montgomery was his firm's "lone full-time employee, with an office in suburban San Antonio." He has now "hired two full-time staff members, one to work on marketing and player relations, the other to be an administrative assistant -- with the enviable task of sifting through the pitches cascading their way." They are "taking their time, talking to Nike about a revised deal for Lin, trying to fend off unsolicited advice." And withstanding the "criticism from those who think Montgomery is doing Lin a disservice by not getting his name on several dotted lines right now." Montgomery said, "I've been hearing that we should strike while the iron is hot, as though Jeremy's a one-hit wonder. People don't know what we should do, but they're on TV pretending they do" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/10).
