Now that Trent Johnson appears to be headed to Baton Rouge, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Stanford.

One thin is for certain: Mike Montgomery is regretting his decision to take the Cal job last week.

Johnson was in the final year of his contract, which would explain part of the reason why he has verbally agreed to a deal that will land him at LSU.

The guy just took his team to the Sweet 16 and he had one year left - which was puzzling to say the least.

Montgomery, the former Stanford coach who left for the NBA, just took the job across the Bay Area last week, but he probably would have waited had he known that Johnson was going to bolt for LSU.

FORD ON CAMPUS

UMass coach Travis Ford is touring the Providence campus as I type with an offer on the table.

Ford, 38, has a difficult decision. The Friars will certainly offer more money, but he's already got his system in place at UMass - and ultimately, he'd like to get to the midwest or south, according to numerous sources.

However, Providence returns the nucleus of a team that could certainly go to the NCAA tournament next year.

RANDOM NOTES: West Virginia's Joe Alexander told me he'll put his name in for the draft, but expects to be back in school next year. ... Mississippi State's Ben Hansbrough is transferring - as is Providence guard Dwain Williams. ... One-time Indiana signee Terrell Holloway committed to Xavier and will be a good insurance policy for freshman Mark Lyons.