Sports Notebook

Warriors happy with North Shore isolation

Already far removed from their Bay Area home, the Golden State Warriors are enjoying the relative seclusion of their North Shore headquarters for training camp.

The Warriors are staying at the Turtle Bay Resort this week and are practicing at BYU-Hawaii's Cannon Activities Center.

While Laie may not offer the nightlife options available on the other side of Oahu, the lack of distractions is a plus as far as the Warriors are concerned.

"It's a real good setting," Golden State guard Jason Richardson said. "We're pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it gives us time to bond as a team and to focus on basketball. Pretty much all the guys came out here to focus on getting in shape and getting ready for the season."

Golden State last held training camp at BYUH in 2003 and will again face the Los Angeles Lakers for two preseason games next week at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Golden State coach Mike Montgomery said holding camp in Hawaii rather than in California means the players spend more time with each other, which could be beneficial for a relatively young squad.

"They hang together, they get to know each other, they tend to stay in one place," Montgomery said. "I think that probably helps."

What might have been: This training camp is Montgomery's first in Hawaii. Had things worked out just a little differently two decades ago, he might have been coaching here a lot sooner.

Montgomery, then the coach at Montana, was a finalist for the University of Hawaii head coaching job in 1985. The position was eventually awarded to Frank Arnold, but things certainly worked out nicely for Montgomery.

He was hired at Stanford in 1986 and coached the Cardinal for the next 18 years before being tapped to lead the Warriors last year.

"It's a hard job. Riley (Wallace)'s done a great job," Montgomery said of the UH post. "It was awfully intriguing leaving Montana in the snow and coming out here. I really liked (former UH athletic director) Stan Sheriff and thought it'd be fun. But I ended up getting the Stanford job, so things worked out."

Familiar face, new job: Chris Mullin was a cornerstone of the Golden State franchise for 13 of his 16 years as an NBA player. Now he's concentrating on building the Warriors into a winner from the front office as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.

"It's totally different, there's nothing the same," Mullin said of the shift in his career. "It keeps you involved in basketball, you learn a lot and I'm enjoying learning."

Mullin ended his playing career with 17,911 points and is happy to have taken his last jump shot.

"It's way out my system," he said. "My body couldn't do it, so now I'm totally focused on my job."