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My commenting system will be down tonight. If you have any comments for the Griz shirts, feel free to email or Facebook me. Sorry for the inconvenience.
- Colin
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Thoughts on Griz hoops shirts?
The Griz basketball program needs some shirts. Just about every single other student section does it. Sorry, those plain 'UM' shirts just aren't going to cut it.
With that, here is a very rough draft of a basic design, any suggestions are welcome.
I know the quote is dumb and cheesy, that's the point.
Seriously though, let me know in the comments what you think.
UPDATE: Matt, not quite the verticle eyechart look -- that can get confusing -- but something a little similar..png)
Early look at Gonzaga and Washington State
AOL Fanhouse has started doing a ridiculously early look at they they believe are the top 25 college hoops teams. Griz opponents Gonzaga and Washington State were up today as they came in at 15 and 11 respectively.
Each preview gives a brief intro to then sections on why the team should be ranked where it is, why it should be ranked higher and why it should be ranked lower. Seeing as these are both legit top 25 teams and we or may not crack the top 144, let's take a look at why they should be ranked lower for hope we can pull off the upset.
No. 15 Gonzaga
Why This Team Should Be Ranked Lower: There's still the issue of when and how effective Josh Heytvelt will be when he returns. Because of the rest of the WCC, Gonzaga can't afford an inconsistent start to the season. If they stumble, early there won't be much of an opportunity to recover in the polls.
I absolutely hate that Josh Heytvelt is on this team. He was caught with hallucinogenic mushrooms, a felony. Because he hadn't been caught before, he got off on community service or classes. Maybe it's just me, but you'd think a private Catholic university would take a tougher stance on this. If it was someone outside the starting 5, they'd be gone.
No. 11 Washington State
Why they should be ranked lower: The surprise factor is gone. The Cougars were the darling of the West Coast last season, and they were able to sneak up on just about everybody. Even when they got ranked highly, opponents still seemed to fear the Cougs' cross-state rival more than WSU during the Thursday/Saturday match ups. People will be ready for the Cougs this year, so the guerrilla tactics of college hoops are obsolete.
The hope with this team is that we can sneak up on them like they snuck up on everyone else. Maybe an early season loss will shake their confidence and remind them of the team they were two years ago.
Lady Griz announce schedule
Robin Selvig has announced this year's schedule. It's not stacked with big, well-known names but that doesn't mean there isn't some quality in lesser known opponents.
Montana will face four teams that made the 2007 NCAA tournament (Boise State, Gonzaga, Mississippi and Idaho State) ... The Lady Griz will also face two teams that advanced to the 2007 WNIT (UC Santa Barbara and WNIT champion Wyoming) ... UM will play six of its first seven games on the road, then have nine straight home games extending from Dec. 8 to Jan. 12 ... The Lady Griz Holiday Classic will feature a three-team, three-day round robin format with one game each day ... The Holiday Classic's three teams (Montana, UC Santa Barbara and Mississippi) have made 43 NCAA tournaments between them, with the Lady Griz and Rebels playing in 16 each and the Gauchos 11 ... Montana's Big Sky Conference schedule has the Lady Griz playing six of its eight first-half league games at home, then six of eight in the second half on the road ... With Northern Colorado filling the role of "lone wolf" in the Big Sky schedule, the travel partners that existed before UNC's arrival (Northern Arizona/Sacramento State; Idaho State/Weber State; Portland State/Eastern Washington; Montana/Montana State) are back in effect.
There aren't any big names from major conferences but the schedule is solid. All the major contributors are back from a team that rolled through most of the season before stumbling in the Big Sky Tournament. Wins over tournament teams bode well for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if the Lady Griz somehow come up short again.
The Zoo could be coming back
The first Griz basketball I attended was in the fall of '05 against Stanford. Since then I've been obsessed. Like nerds and World of Warcraft obsessed. Everyone else, not so much. The game was unbelievable. It was like playing a basketball game inside a packed Metrodome. You know, like it was when Kirby played. Those who filled Dahlberg that night showed that Griz fans are some of the best in the country -- when they're motivated.
Since then, there hasn't been a game where the crowd -- and the student section especially -- has reached the same excitement level. Outside of a few select games, the '05-'06 season was disappointing from an atmosphere perspective. The team played great but fans didn't come in earnest until the meaningless regular season finale against NAU. I didn't get it. After football season and the Stanford upset, I thought obsessive insane fans were the norm out here. That wasn't the case for hoops.
Turns out it wasn't always this way. Hoops used to be big, real big. Bigger than football. The students used to stand in the courtside seats, not sit in the baseline bleachers. The frenzied pack of undergrads was dubbed "The Zoo." Since then, the students were moved and "The Zoo" disappeared along with the overwhelming enthusiasm for the basketball program.
Well, The Zoo may be on it's way back. This comes from Griz basketball head coach Wayne Tinkle:
We are planning on putting them there for the CSU game, and IF there is a great showing we’ll entertain the idea of putting them there for the MSU game. We really need to make a push for the students to show up in droves in order to influence the administration. I believe the lack of student participation has severely declined since the late 80’s…due to multiple factors. I know that we coach’s are working hard to make it exciting now the fans need to buy in and stir up the frenzy!
It's tough not to look ahead to a time when the students are back where they belong. However, UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day points out some big issues that may prevent a permanent move.
We have many issues to consider first, such as hearing from those who pay higher prices to sit there, and what to do about the media tables … or more importantly, what to do about the signage for the corporate sponsors. Where can we put them? Also, we have to look at court space for adding additional media benches on the west side if such a decision is made… to make sure we have enough room for the teams. We are looking at all avenues --- and may only be able to do it for one game, if at all, this year, as an experiment.
Oh no, not this again, right? Just like all the roadblocks preventing a move to the FBS, there's financial stuff with this too. Well, don't fret too much, O'Day seems to be a bit more enthused about this idea.
As a former member of “The Zoo” while in college, I know how special that was… and if we do it and the students are challenged to fill the seats and create atmosphere, we’d have to look at a permanent situation if it made a difference. If we took such a gamble, I would only hope that the students would respond in force… to demonstrate interest for men’s basketball.
So it's all up to those it benefits the most. Let's do this students.
Elgin-Taylor and Watson in, still questions with Phillips
On Friday, I wrote that Lloyd Phillips and Sean Watson were in as Griz recruits and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor still needed to get some paperwork figured out. Well, I was wrong.
Tinkle announced Friday that junior college transfers Sean Watson and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor would join the Griz for the 2007-08 season. They join prep recruits Derek Selvig of Glendive and Brian Qvale of Williston, N.D., in the 2007 recruiting class. Selvig and Qvale signed last November.Tinkle said the Griz have one more scholarship to give and “we have a guy that we're trying to work all the paperwork out with.” Jucojunction.com reports that player is 5-10 point guard Lloyd Phillips of Allen County (Kan.) Community College.
Tinks on Watson:
“He handles the ball, he's athletic, can shoot it and score,” said Tinkle, who added that Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, St. John's and Texas Tech were some of the other schools recruiting Watson. “When I saw him play I thought what a great defender. He keeps his man in front of him.”
Info on Elgin-Taylor:
Elgin-Taylor is a 6-1 point guard who averaged 13 points and 5.5 assists for Irvine (Calif.) Valley College last season. He was named first team all-conference.“He can play both guard positions,” Tinkle said. “He's a quarterback who runs the team. He's a very, very tough-nosed defender, just a tough-minded point guard who runs your team and sets the tone defensively.”
It's looking good so far. Tinks says it best later in this article, "It looks like a talented group. The challenge will be getting them to gel." Just like last year, this year's team looks phenomenal on paper but it doesn't mean a thing if they don't fill their potential and gel as a team.
Finally, some news on Griz basketball
An official announcement is expected to be made later today but Wayne Tinkle spoke last night in Great Falls about the class of incoming recruits.
"We've signed a couple of junior-college players, one from Texas and one from Kansas, who I think will really help us in the backcourt," Tinkle said. "Along with the high school kids we signed in the fall, it really is shaping up to be a pretty darn good class.""One kid's a 6-1 combo guard. The other kid's a 6-3, 6-4 wing who will add a lot of toughness and athleticism. Both are highly touted players," Tinkle said. "Then we've got a third kid who we've got to go through the process and finish the paperwork on who I think will really add to the class as well. We're pretty excited and looking forward to it."
Well, this is kind of what we expected. I'm almost certain the first two players are Lloyd Phillips and Sean Watson with the third questionable kid being Ceylon Elgin-Taylor. Phillips is listed at 5-10 and is more of a strong shooting speedster than a combo guard. He's closer to a pure point than people like Zach Graves and Matt Martin.
There was also news on the upcoming schedule:
"We're looking to go over and play Gonzaga in Spokane and it looks like we'll be in a tournament with Washington State in Spokane also," he said. "Air Force and Mississippi Valley will be there."We open up with Colorado State in Missoula. So we're going to be challenged the first couple of weeks out of the game, but that's the way we wanted it."
The games against Gonzaga and Wazzu in Spokane were expected but it's good to hear about some other teams. I love that we now know who we'll be opening with. It makes hoops season seem just a little bit closer.
Your chance to ask Tinks about recruits
Montana Grizzles head basketball coach Wayne Tinkle will be in Great Falls tonight at Montana ExpoPark to meet Griz fans. So, if you're there, can you please bug him about recruits and when on Earth we are going to hear anything.
I exchanged emails with him ten days ago, upon which he said the names of signees would be released "in the coming days." Coming days is like three, right? If it was a week he would've said "next week." Something's up.
The show will also roll into Butte on Friday. Fellow head coach, Robin Selvig (women's basketball) , as well as assistants Kraig Paulson (football), Andy Hill (men's basketball) and Harry Clark (track and field) are also expected at the event.
This could get ugly
The NCAA NCAA Basketball Oversight Panel will likely approve the proposal to move the men's 3-point line back a foot to 20 feet 9 inches. There's the conspiracy that this rule is being put into affect to make smaller, accurate shooting Mid-Majors less successful against the bigs of the major conferences but there's simpler concerns than that: there's going to be more lines and more confusion.
There is no proposal to push back the women's line; that mean's two separate lines a foot apart. Plenty of people believe this could get confusing for players and referees with the two and maybe three (if a team plays in an NBA arena).
I doubt this will make judging a three as confusing as some people believe, but a proposal to help those out who can't tell the difference between two lines a foot apart comes from the AOL Fanhouse NCAAB blog via an ESPN Insider article:
There will be two separate lines of contrasting colors. Rules committee chair Larry Keating, an associate athletic director at Kansas, is proposing to have a one-foot wide band instead of two separate lines. He wants to see the women play off the front of the band and the men off the back. The intent is to have a vote next year for either the two lines or a one-foot band.
Didn't some hockey leagues do this for a bit, make the blue line huge? The line would be hideous but imagine how much worse things would get if teams like Boise State started decorating the inside of the line. I don't need to horses, flames, paws or anything else prancing through the 3-point line.
Rodney Stuckey headed to the NBA
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As reported by a couple other sources, Rodney Stuckey has hired an agent and will not be returning to Eastern Washington as he takes his shot at the NBA.
Dave Trimmer, who writes for the Spokane Review and their EWU Sports blog points out how disappointing it is to look back on Stuckey's tenure as an Eagle.
First, no hard feelings for Stuckey leaving. It's The League and it's big bucks.Second, it's a travisty that the Eagles managed just one postseason berth and a 30-29 record in the "Stuckey Era." There is plenty of blame to go around from the coaches, other Eagles and Stuckey, heck, even the recently departed A.D. if you will but only Stuckey is going to the big time. The others will rue the day they let this oportunity get away. A knock on Stuckey is putting up his numbers in a weak league. Shouldn't a team with a player of his calibre accomplished more in a weak league?
He does think Stuckey will make it though.
Fifth, I think he'll make it. His strength, finishing ability and point guard experience will make him a valuable asset in any back court. And, with him projected in the second half of the first round, he could end up with a better team, which lessons the pressures and demands on a rookie.
I'm not sure Stuckey will make it or not, but I find it odd how much value is being placed on this guy. Sports Illustrated has him going at 18 to the Warriors. The main point I have is one that everyone has heard before on Stuckey, how does a player of this calibre fail to make it the NCAA tournament, win the BSC regular season title, or even make it to the Big Sky Tournament championship game?
One completely random thought I've always had is just how much of an effect an NBA star would have on a mediocre college basketball team. For example: If you plucked LeBron James out of the NBA (now, during this coma of a conference final) and put him on the Griz, could he carry them to an National Championship? I don't have an answer, but it's fun to imagine. Rodney Stuckey isn't Lebron James -- and the Eagles aren't the Griz -- but if Stuckey's so good, he should've shown it a bit more.
Continue Reading...Kentucky backs out of UMass game
Last week, I mentioned how great it was for Lute Olsen to nut up and play some mid-majors; well this week it's Billy Gillispie and Kentucky's turn -- to do the exact opposite.
Kentucky was not completely unjust when it decided to back out of the game as they followed the opt-out clause laid down by the contract for the game. It still sucks for UMass, financially and otherwise.
The cost to the Wildcats to back out of the game? $50,000... chump change compared to the $250,000-$300,000 the match would have generated. And of course, Kentucky being a marquee opponent would have brought a lot of media and publicity to UMass.
The game was scheduled by Tubby Smith's program because UMass' head coach, Travis Ford, played his college ball at UK. Views on this issue range from highly unethical to "it's all a business."
UK is going to try and cash in on the Gillispie hype by scheduling a less dangerous home game instead of flying out to Boston. It's really great that teams can't play a single game to help a former player out because they want more money. I really hope they schedule some extremely 
low-major and suffer some horrible defeat that sets the tone for the rest of the season. Or even better, they get 12-5 upset by UMass in the tournament. A Karmic kick to the groin would be great.
To put this in perspective for Griz fans, it'd be like Gonzaga or maybe even U-Dub backing out of a game in Missoula. Even months out the anticipation would be huge. It'd be like Vancouver putting up Olympics 2010, "Our Time to Shine!" signs. Could you imagine that suddenly being gone?
UMass already sold 7,000 tickets to the game and now have to use that 50k just to pay everyone back. For UK fans, it's tougher to see how much this sucks for the Minutemen and their fans, but just try to imagine for a second that the biggest game of the season just got cancelled. For UMass, this was their Ohio State/Florida. Just a huge non-conference game and now it's gone. You know what, I'm glad you didn't get Billy Donovan.
Wayne Tinkle on basketball recruits
It's been known for a bit that the Griz coaching staff knocked down three recruits — Sean Watson, Lloyd Phillips and Ceylon Elgin-Taylor — during the spring signing period. What hasn't been known is when the coaching staff was planning on making an official announcement. Here's what head coach Wayne Tinkle had to say on the matter:
We will be releasing the names of our signees in the coming days. Not trying to hold out on anyone, just making sure that all of the paperwork etc is correct! It should prove to be one of our better classes in some time! Thats on paper anyways...they still have to get here and perform both in the classroom and on the court!
Well there you go. He sounds pretty enthusiastic.
Griz hoops earns a B for last season's effort
The Schoeneck Republic has been going from conference to conference and giving teams a letter grade based on their performance and improvement this past year. Up today is the Big Sky.
3. Montana – The Grizzlies were coming off a fantastic season in 2006 when they defeated Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference championship to reach the NCAA tournament where they upset Nevada in the first round. They returned much of their lineup from 2006 including Andrew Strait. The only questions were in the backcourt where former backups Matt Martin and Bryan Ellis would enter the starting lineup. Ultimately, the Grizzlies could not put it together like they did in 2006, and they finished 10-6 and in 3rd place in the conference before they lost to Northern Arizona in the Big Sky semifinals. Grade: B
I really cannot decide whether or not I agree with this. If you had told me before the season that the Griz would finish third and get knocked out in the Big Sky Tournament Semis then asked me to give them a letter grade I would've probably tried to give them something below an F. Maybe somewhere around a J.
Then, if one looks at the major transition this program was going through having lost LK and some major senior leadership you realize that this team made some big steps forward. Then a B+ would be about right.
Check out the complete entry for all the grades.
Lute Olson is a compassionate, compassionate man
God bless Lute Olson. Honestly. Out of the kindness in his heart, he decided to schedule a few games against mid-majors. As most know, hoops teams from major conferences have very little to gain from playing mid-majors seeing as they look stupid just for doing it and if they lose they'll watch their RPI get hit harder than Steve Nash.
The Wildcats will have its own mid-major outreach program by playing Cal State Fullerton, San Diego State and UNLV this upcoming season. (Three teams, incidentally, that yours truly follows the most.) Arizona also will play Fresno State, too. The Titans and the Big West are a long-shot for an at-large bid, but UNLV and San Diego State (and maybe Fresno) certainly are. So Arizona should be applauded for helping out
It's sad that its gotten to the point that it's probably gutsy-er to schedule a mid-major than a major opponent. You'd think coaches would have enough confidence in their teams to go out and play teams with much lower talent levels. If you're an elite team, you really don't lose much from a defeat at the hands of a fellow major hoops team. However, it looks awful when you lose to, say, Oral Roberts.
Does anyone else find it bizarre that a team is under more pressure playing in Dahlberg Arena than Cameron Indoor Stadium? Seriously, if you're on the line, down by two with a FT percentage floating somewhere near 50% would you rather be facing Duke or UM?
I wonder how long it'll be before a Stanford-calibre team finds its way into the Zoo again. Can someone sign the Griz up for the Lute Olson Sympath Tour?
Girls' AAU team Big Sky Hoops representin' well
There's a good article in today's Missoulian on what is probably the most successful basketball team in the state. It's not the Lady Griz -- but it could be their future.
The AAU team Big Sky Hoops, which is coached by Montana AAU girls' basketball director Bill Hill and former Lady Griz Lisa Tinkle, is made up of the best girls high school players in the state. These players include Lady Griz commit Ali Hurley and Joclyn Tinkle -- daughter of Wayne and Lisa Tinkle.
“We all get along really well,” Joslyn Tinkle said. “That's really the best part. We have all these girls from all over Montana, and it's fun to see it all come together like this. It's great to represent Montana and show everyone that we can play.“I think we opened some people's eyes to what girls' basketball is like here. We definitely take pride in that.”
Now think about how much fun it'd be to do it on the college level.
Griz basketball signs fifth recruit
The Griz basketball program signed its fifth recruit as Lloyd Phillips out of Allen County Community College has decided to play for the University of Montana.
Phillips is a bit small at 5'10" but he's only going to be a sophomore and has the ability to shoot the ball as he made 48.3% of his shots from distance while averaging 17.2 ppg and 3.5 assists this past season.
The guard position is pretty stacked with these type of guys as the Griz now have four young point guards if you toss tweener Zach Graves into the bunch. It's five total if you decide to count Matt Martin as a 1. The starting job is all locked up in Cameron Rundles but it will be a fight for the spots behind him.
Rundles has shown he can play the two in the Big Sky so this will a lot with two point guards on the floor. It will make be easier for guys like Phillips, Graves and Cox to find time if Staudacher and Martin aren't knocking down shots.
Interview with Griz commit Sean Watson
Because I'm not gone for the summer, actually write about sports and don't sell Hondas — Pat, I don't want the damn Trucoat — here's an interview with future Griz Sean Watson. Sean played his JC ball at Howard College in Texas where the 6'5" 185 lb guard averaged 13.1 ppg and 5.2 rpg while shooting 58.6 % from the field.
Grizzoulian: First off, why UM and which one of these factors was the biggest in your decision to become a Griz: the city of Missoula, the coaching staff, or the players?
Sean: well to be honest the players and coaches had alot to do with my decision all the guys were easy to get along with an the coaches were really straight up with me. one of the players that i bonded with really well was cam rundles he was my host on the visit and we basically jus became cool ever since
Grizzoulian: What do you think of your future teammates and the things they've accomplished in the past couple years? Where do you see this team going with you a part of it?
Sean: well the players seem like they are all winners an thats what i want to be apart of they won what about 17 games but they got a couple nice wins like for example the win over minnesota was a good win for the griz basketball.....i think with an addition of me on the team we should do really well because i am a winner and so are all the other guys so i see us having a very successful season coming up
Grizzoulian: What do you think of the players and coaches you've met so far and what do you think your role will be as a Griz?
Sean: the players and coaches i have met so far were all nice guys they were easy to get along with and they were really honest with me so thats all u can really ask for
Grizzoulian: Do you have any specific goals for the upcoming years?
Sean: yes i do my goal this year is to win the conference and get to the tournament and from there we will take it one step at a time
Thanks again to Sean and I wish him luck in his future as a Griz.
Griz will face Gonzaga, Washington State in 07-08
Get excited Griz hoops fans, sources say the University of Montana basketball team will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Washington State Cougars next season.
The game away game against the Zags will likely be held in early November and the Griz will compete in a holiday tournament at the Arena in Spokanistan.
Mark this down as one of the many reasons I like the Griz basketball program more than the football one. While the Griz football team plays Sisters of the Poor Nunnery and the Sentinel High School Freshman squad, the hoops programs schedules a mid-major powerhouse and one of the best 15 teams in the nation. Even during something of a down year, they faced West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Minnesota and Boise State; and they beat Minnesota and Boise State!
UPDATE
My brother, Eamon, had me take a look at Andy Katz's preseason top 25. Gonzaga is at 11 and Washington State is 5. I'm not saying I agree, but still, if someone who does this for a living think's they're this good then they have to be in the at least somewhere in that range.
I think we got a shot at the Zags. They play in a conference that isn't a whole lot better than ours and they their lost veteran point guard, Derek Raivio. If anyone knows how much that hurts, it's Griz fans. Oh, and what happened to being all upright and holy? This is a Catholic private school that charges students their weight in frankincense and they allow Josh Heytveldt — the guy that got busted with mushrooms — back on the team. Then again, that fine, fine institution did produce this nut.
WSU is a bit tougher but you have to try to get up and make them think they're really not that good. You know, hope for some kind of mental collapse. They played way above their heads last year and their talent level doesn't quite match their record. Wait, Tony Bennett didn't move up to take a better job? Nevermind then.
I'm not gonna lie, these teams are probably way better than us but this is still going to be a lot of fun.
The Zoo really needs to step up its game
While stumbling around Youtube looking for clips on a JuCo commit I came across this video of yet another small school with much better fans than us. It's really kind of sad.
I'm not sure what the Montana alternative would be on this. Odds are it'd include rodeo and/or country music. I mean I really wish our school was as intense as this — as long as it did not include any square dancing or cowboyness.
Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, please come to the University of Montana
The player above is Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, he is transferring away from Gonzaga, where he started 31 games a sophomore. Rumor has it he is interested in becoming a Montana Grizzly. I have nothing againt that. Who doesn't want a player on their team with a nickname like 'P-MAC?'
My favorite part of the video is that the broadcaster tries to hurry and finish saying his name before the ball goes through the basket. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Pac-10 ballas headed to the 'Sky
As most fans of college sports know, when a player becomes upset with playing time or just how things are going at his current school he or she may transfer to a school where they think they'll have more of an impact. This is the case with University of Washington freshman Phil Nelson and Washington State's Mac Hopson.
Most have probably heard but Phil Nelson, who got some starts at UW, is headed to Portland State. He's definitely going to have an impact on that program and probably the conference as a whole as any player who can contribute as a frosh in the Pac-10 certainly has some talent.
Mac Hopson, a sophomore who made some starts early in the season for WSU, is reportedly interesting in attending either the University of Montana or MSU.
As you can see there, Mac was pretty candid about just wanting more playing time in the future, and there's no doubt that he could get it at a bunch of schools out there. Hopson, you'll remember started the season as a starter for WSU and was clearly capable of making a decent contribution at the Pac-10 level, even if he was best suited as a role player right now. Should he opt for a lesser-conference school, I have to believe he can get the 30 minutes a game he's looking for. Mac mentioned Montana and Montana State to me, and said that he's looking to stay in the Northwest or on the West Coast, so we'll see how that all goes.
Sounds like this kid is very capable of making a major impact on this team. Come on Tinks, land this guy.
"Just look at the word team": Gator team shows what Griz need
The Florida Gators won back to back with what amounts to a group of talented college buddies. After seeing how we did in intramural 3-on-3 hoops, the only championship we could maybe win is one in which we had to consume as much as Pabst Blue Ribbon as possible.
With the Fab 4 or whatever they're called on this Gator team, you rarely saw one without the other. Random pictures would surface of them at random places with the quad constantly being intact. This off-court chemistry contributed to major success on the court. I read somewhere that, as freshman, this quad and some other guy beat the starters in a scrimmage.
I just don't understand how something like this isn't possible with our Griz. They don't have nearly as many distractions. I mean come on, is Sharpie gonna be selfish to try and crack the SC Top Ten or is Drew considering jumping early just so he can go off and make it rain? I don't think so. Everyone is here for four years, there is no TV and no Florida girls. Come on guys, just be friends.
For those of you that aren't on campus and don't get a chance to see the "quasi-celebrities" that are the Griz hoopsters, they really aren't a solid group of buds. I mean I'll see them eating together every now and then but it's rare and they're usually split up into a couple groups. The two main one's I've seen are the middle guys of Swift and Sharp, they seem kind of inseparable, well, until one bolts. Then there's a duo/trio of Gus, Cam and Zach. As with the Sharpie/Swift combo, part of this group is gone as well. Besides thinking Gus is a really solid player, his chemistry with the young great players is another reason I hate that he left.
As far as the upper classmen go, they tend to be a off on their own. I'm going to stop with the stupid speculation and say that everyone is friends but the team is just not as close as it could be. Come on guys, head up to Canada, bunk together, do what ya gotta do. Lets get this rolling.
Where's our 'One Shining Moment?'
They're about to cue up this year's "One Shining Moment" and I have to say I feel pretty bad for whoever had to edit this. With this year's vanilla tournament — kind of expected it after the World Series, BCS Championship and Superbowl were all pretty bland — the editors really did not have much to work with.
Seeing as this will be pretty bad, I decided to look at last year's and try and find Montana. I always thought they showed every team in this cheesy little clip but I've gone over the '06 version twice and have not found any Griz footage. You'd think a 12-5 upset would get us in there.
Krystkowiak knocks off Spurs in debut
Last night I spent about two and a half hours compiling links to stories that would make people believe that LK could really make a difference in Milwaukee. At the time, I was convinced it was almost useless because the Bucks would get blown out by the Spurs and everyone would look at this hire like they looked at the Dan Hawkins hire after the Montana State game.
Well, not only did Krystkowiak ("stk," learn it) not embarrass himself, he somehow won the game. Over the San Antonia Spurs. Just a day short of a year since beating Nevada in the NCAA tourney he goes and beats the Spurs in his NBA head coaching debut. This is great.
Gus Chase will not return to Grizzlies
There had been some rumor and speculation floating around that forward Gus Chase would not be returning to the University of Montana for next year's hoops season due to how this year went. After having a brief exchange with Gus, I can confirm that he will not be coming back to the Griz.
He didn't say why but one can only assume it was due to disappointment after not getting very much of an opportunity to contribute this season.
Many have doubted his size, but I have always been a huge Gus Chase fan. When he does get into the game, rarely does another player put forth more effort on the court. Yes, he is small for the front-court positions but often times he manages to out-rebound players who are a few inches taller. Then he'll put up shots that look hideous because of all the trees around him but many will somehow fall through.
Along with Gus, I really think he should've been given more of an opportunity. Ah, as I look through which image to toss up I just get more frustrated that he won't be here next year. I can't recall which game but remember when he came in and scored like 10 points in five minutes? This blows.
UPDATE: There's more information on Gus' departure in this morning's Kaimin.
“I feel as though I wasn’t given a fair chance to play,” said Chase, who said he considered leaving at the beginning of the season. “I ain’t getting better by sitting on the bench.”
Larry Krystkowiak: media backgrounder
Larry Krystkowiak has been hired as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and I realize many of you may have found your way here in hopes of finding out who he is and what he's done. Well, below is a growing list of some information on LK:
- Coached here at the University of Montana for two seasons, going 42-20, not 42-40 as the Milwaukee Bucks Media Guide indicates. He led the Griz to two consecutive NCAA Tournaments and won one tournament game. His biggest wins come over Stanford and Nevada.
- Big Man on Campus. This is the best article I've found on Krystkowiak. It describes the emotion and fire he brings to a team. Just read the first couple paragraphs and tell me he won't be good for an underachieving Bucks team.
- Krystkowiak to guide UM men's basketball. Story on his return to Missoula as a coach instead of a player. Should be taking the same approach to turning the Bucks around.
- "A lot of it has to do with being prepared and finding the right approach. Experience is fantastic, but I think you can get a lot accomplished by being organized and efficient. I think I have what it takes in terms of being organized and getting the program back on track."
- Old school battle: Krysko, Griz have tussled with these Dawgs before. In the '05 tournament, the Griz had many bracketeers on edge has the Griz hung with the Washington Huskies for most of the game. This was largely due to Krysko's coaching. He plays like he coaches and this article describes how he played — and brawled — against the Huskies in 1985.
- Griz basketball wrapup — More than imagined. A reflection piece on LK's best season as a head coach.
- Awakening The Griz: Basketball coach helps restore pride. Another great article on the huge impact Krystkowiak had on the UM program. Before him, the Griz program had no swagger, confidence or pride. The point is: he's come into a situation like the one and done what was needed.
- Quote on his practices and how he managed players dealing with a new coach from the Billing Gazette.
- "Changes can be hard. It's not easy for the players. This was the third head coach for some of them,'' said [former Griz assistant] Huse. "Larry allows the players to be their own person, but when they step between the lines, he expects a full effort � whether it be games or practice.''
- Sky's the limit for Montana. A preview article on the Griz/Husky game in the '05 tournament. Also includes how he has been doubted before, starting as a college player, and an interesting story on his pro career.
- "We're not flashy. We try to get it done the old-fashioned way."
Kind of like their coach once did. Krystkowiak played the game with a chip on his shoulder, motivated by slights like the one from former Washington State coach George Raveling. Krystkowiak says that as a high school player in Missoula, he attended a WSU camp and was told that Raveling said he was "not big enough to be a post player, not skilled enough to be a wing."
Despite that, he won Big Sky MVP honors three straight times. Then he played 420 games in the NBA, including one year alongside Michael Jordan with the Bulls. But symbolic of Krystkowiak's career, that year happened to be 1995, which Jordan began on the retired list before returning at midseason, only to fall short of the NBA Finals.
"We kicked a field goal between the two three-peats," Krystkowiak jokingly said.
- "We're not flashy. We try to get it done the old-fashioned way."
- Several good players missed '84 Olympic cut. LK did have his doubters but he was good enough to be considered for the 1984 Olympic team. He got the chicken pox and never made the cut.
- Interesting note: he was coached by Del Harris, one of the most respected coaches in the league, for five of the ten years he spent in the NBA. LK was even brought in to play for Harris during his Lakers days; this was the last year of Krysko's career. Del is also the father of Bucks GM Larry Harris.
- He was punched by Shaq.
Larry Krystkowiak to coach Bucks
With this being the fourth entry on whether or not Larry Krystkowiak will be head coach somewhere, it seems like this whole thing has really dragged on. In all actuality, in only took the Bucks eight hours to find a new coach as reports say LK will be the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks are expected to make a formal announcement about Krystkowiak's promotion Thursday morning.Lawyers for Bucks' owner Herb Kohl worked all of Wednesday afternoon in Milwaukee constructing a new contract for Krystkowiak. Krystkowiak then agreed to the terms and conditions of the contract early Wednesday night. The guaranteed contract is for the remainder of this season -- the Bucks have 18 more games remaining -- and the following two seasons.
Yes, that's right. In a year, he went from coaching the University of Montana Grizzlies to a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack to being an NBA head coach. Well, after he pulled off that upset, probably his best hoops accomplishment to date, he had to face Boston College. The team he faces following his most recent accomplishment will be a bit tougher. Krystkowiak's first game as an NBA head coach will be against the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 13 straight. Yeah, good luck with alllll that.
To all you Bucks fans, congrats. I'm sure LK will get this team heading in the right direction. You may have to invest in more clipboards seeing has he tends to break them when he really gets going. In an earlier post I compared him to Lou Piniella and I really can't think of a better analogy.
Last year at UM, Krystkowiak had a talented but not great team and led them to upset victories over Stanford early in the season and Nevada in the tournament. Had a few things gone his way — namely, the double OT Boston College/Pacific game — he likely would've had Montana (!!) in the Sweet 16.
I know it's always a bit disappointing when an assistant gets elevated to head coach — I know, it happened to us after LK left — instead of grabbing an established head coach. Try not to fret, Krystkowiak is your prototypical head coach, not someone used to being an assistant. Look for LK to really take charge and start having this team playing at or above their talent level.
Lady Griz face Utah tonight in WNIT
In other Montan Grizzlies and Utah Utes news, the Lady Griz face the University of Utah tonight in the WNIT. The Lady Griz are looking to get past the disappointment of not making the NCAA tournament and face a team with stifling defense.
However, it seems as though most of the team is still pretty bummed about being left out of the field of 64:
“To be honest, practice (on Tuesday) was less than inspirational,” said UM coach Robin Selvig. “I hope it's because it was in the morning. Obviously, it's been a scramble. But at least we got on the floor and got a little sweat up.”“Like I told the team, there's a couple 100 teams out there sitting around not playing,” Selvig added. “This is a good deal for us, and we need to take advantage of it.”
Let's hope they don't pull a Drexel and prove the selection committee right.
Krystkowiak saga goes on as Bucks fire Stotts
The idea that former Montana Grizzlies head coach Larry Krystkowiak will take over as the next coach is starting look more and more inevitable. After news that the Bucks front office met late last night to discuss making Krystkowiak head to keep him from leaving, current head coach Terry Stotts has been fired.
Here's Krystkowiak's comments on Utah's efforts to land him:
"I'm not going to talk about that at all," Krystkowiak said earlier today of published reports linking him to the Utah job, vacant since Ray Giacoletti resigned on March 2. "I'm an assistant coach with the Bucks; that's what I can say.
"I'm looking forward to finishing the season out (with the Bucks)."
This sounds kind of similar to what he said when there were rumors swirling that he would be leaving the University of Montana.
After all that's happened in this situation so far, it would be hard to imagine anyone other than Krystkowiak taking over as the head coach of the Bucks.
No, he's mine! Bucks consider replacing Stotts with Krystkowiak
The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that Larry Krystkowiak interviewed yesterday for the Utah Utes head coaching position and is their top candidate. Because this was mentioned yesterday by ESPN (they probably stole another scoop), the most interesting news in this story is that it has ignited a bit of chaos in the Milwaukee Bucks organization as they ponder making LK their head coach before the Utes can.
Athletic director Chris Hill and other university officials interviewed assistant coach Larry Krystkowiak of the Milwaukee Bucks for the position Tuesday in Milwaukee and they are believed to have offered him the job, sources told The Salt Lake Tribune.
The interview ignited a series of meetings involving high-ranking Bucks officials, sources said, which endured into the night and included U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the team owner. The Bucks were grappling with whether they plan to fire embattled head coach Terry Stotts and replace him with Krystkowiak - a move that presumably would keep Krystkowiak from joining the Utes.
However, if Krystkowiak were to quickly accept an offer from the Utes, an announcement conceivably could come today, before Hill is due to attend the NCAA Tournament games Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.
Wow. For all of you that thought Krystkowiak was curiously hired by the Bucks to eventually become their head coach, it's looking like you were right. He's like some hot prospect they don't want to bring up to soon but wouldn't dare let go because they know he'll be good. Ladies and gentleman, Larry Krystkowiak is the Felix Hernandez of 2007. And Terry Stotts is Jamie Moyer.
More information on the Krystkowiak/Chris Hill meeting here.
UPDATE: AD Chris Hill says he has met with Krystkowiak but has not officially offered him the job. Another meeting is planned. Here's an interesting clip from that article regarding the Bucks' perspective:
Highly regarded in both college and pro basketball for his engaging personality and basketball knowledge, Krystkowiak is widely known as a favorite of Kohl, one of the most respected owners in the NBA. However, Kohl is said to be torn over what to do about Stotts, who has led the Bucks to a 23-41 record this season but endured a series of devastating injuries.
It always helps when the owner is on your side, just ask Joe Girardi.
Larry Krystkowiak reportedly close to Utah Utes job
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At the end of last season, Larry Krystkowiak said he would never leave the Griz for another college coaching job. Apparently that didn't mean leaving for an NBA team for most of a season then heading back to the college realm.
Michael C. Lewis' Utes Basketball Blog, done in association with the Salt Lake Tribune, has been on this story for quite some time but big news comes courtesy of ESPN.
According to Andy Katz, reporting via a source close to the situation, LK has met with Utah athletic director Chris Hill and is very interested in the job.
Hill, meanwhile, is on the NCAA Tournament selection committee and would probably like to wrap up the search rather quickly since he must be in Sacramento this weekend and will be busy with the tournament the rest of the month.
The source told ESPN.com that if Krystkowiak is offered the job he is likely to accept and a decision could be made within days.
Of course I'd be happy to see a LK, who has done so much for the program, succeed at any level. However, I really couldn't help but be extremely jealous and wonder what could've been here in Missoula if he goes on to lead the Utes to any semblance of hoops prominence.
Play-in game observation: tell me again why Weber isn't in this
There's been a bit of controversy surrounding the NCAA Tournament selection committee; most of which surrounding the snubbing of Syracuse and Drexel. Well, there is a lesser known controversy: Niagara is stuck in the play-in game and they're not happy.
This "opening round game" is supposed to include the two worst teams in the dance, normally based on RPI. Well, Niagara was ahead of four teams in terms of RPI; one of them was Weber.
Selection committee chair Gary Walters basically said he did this to avoid claims of racism as he thinks some out there believe the play-in game is reserved for predominantly black schools.
"First of all, I think we are, as you know, sensitive to the historically black colleges..."
If this is the case, I still can't grasp why Weber isn't in this game. Aside from one guy, Niagara is a team comprised entirely of African American players. Weber is from Utah. Robin Williams once called Utah "the whitest f***ing state in the union."
When a team has player who has overcome gang violence to become conference freshman of the year, you can't play the race card.
Walters also said Niagara is in this game because they won the conference tourney, but not the regular season title but honestly, if you're going to bring up race at all — which you probably shouldn't — Weber should be in this game.
Weber State Gets a 15-Seed
It looks like NCAA tournament history — by both Weber and past Big Sky teams (us) — played a factor in the committee's decision on where to seed the Weber State Wildcats.
Many saw Weber as a 16 seed playing 1 seed UCLA; well, these teams will be playing each other but with different seeds. Weber received a 15 seed and UCLA got the 2.
Weber has some bizarre amount of tournament appearances, something like 14; it's pretty crazy for a Big Sky team. As much as I dislike these guys I hope they have a decent showing and help UM out next year when they're looking for a decent seed after going something like 15-1 in conference play.
UPDATE: It looks like they have a shot to not get completely blown out of the water. ESPN's new NCAA frame just stated their two most recent tournament victories came as a 14 seed, with one as recently as the mid-nineties.
Lady Griz face NAU for bid in Big Sky Championship
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks — Lady Lumberjacks? Lumberjills? (that would be a tight name for a women's team) — stomped Montana State last night and now are looking to beat the other Montana team in tonight's semifinal game.
NAU beat the Cats by a total of 21 points and come into tonight's game with a bit of swagger. Well, at least the NAU coach doesn't sound too afraid in this article in the Montana Kaimin.
“Come to conference tournament time it doesn’t matter if you’ve won 27 games or if you’ve won 15,” said NAU coach Laurie Kelly, whose team entered the tournament with a regular season record of 18-11. “That’s what the tournament’s all about, the feeling that every game could be any team’s last game.
They do have reason to show a bit of confidence; the Lumberjills (come on, it's perfect) have played the Lady Griz close in both meetings this year and beat UM in a semifinal game last year.
Email interview with Cameron Rundles
Well, the season is over and it's time to grab the reaction pieces. There's a pretty good one in the Kaimin today that mentions how a few guys went straight to the gym for some hoops only a few hours after getting home from Ogden. Maybe they worked on free throws a bit.
“Basketball is my life and I love it,” said Cam in the article. Who doesn't want to hear what this kid has to say about this and next season? Well, here is my email interview with Cam:
Grizzoulian: When you came to this team it was coming off a 24-7 season where they were a win away from the sweet 16; did the team meet your expectations and did you reach your own goals this season?
Cam: No the team didn't reach my expectations at all, we went to the final 32 and personally I think we were a better team this year even though cris and virg were huge, and we didn't even make it to the big sky ship. Personally I reached some goals but not the ultimate goal. I wanted to play a lot minutes and contribute right away for the griz. but i also personally wanted to make it to the ncaa tourney and that was disappointing that we didnt.
Grizzoulian: I understand you spent a lot of time working on shooting this past offseason (it's definitely shown); what aspects of your game do you hope to improve on during this coming offseason? What other plans do you have for the offseason?
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Cam: I plan on focusing on 3 things....ballhandling, getting stronger and quicker, these 3 things take time and consistent hard work so ill be busy...I also plan on going home this summer to play in some leagues and work out with my best friends (Jamar and Treasure).
Grizzoulian: Many Griz fans believe you have the potential to be the leader this team needs. What do you believe your role will be on this team next year?
Cam: I believe my job will continue to be the energy man on the court and the bench and the floor general and an extension on coach Tinks on the floor...I might have to score a little bit next year because we're losing a key scorer in Matt D.
Grizzoulian: Many Griz fans are disappointed at where this year's hoop season ended. Where do you see this team going next season? Any specific goals?
Cam: Well next season is a long time away and right now the griz are just focusing on getting better day by day...But with the tradition U of Montana holds, a goal every year is to host the big sky tourney and advance to post season play.
Wayne Tinkle is ready and willing to save your life
An article in USA Today points out some interesting contractual obligations and incentives presented to college hoops coaches across the nation. The first one on the list belongs to Montana Grizzlies head coach Wayne Tinkle.
Montana's Wayne Tinkle and his staff must have CPR certification and first aid training, which is mandated by the school and recommended by the Big Sky Conference.
Yep, that's right. Tinkle is certified to give you mouth to mouth if the need be. It's really interesting when you look at some of the things on other coaches' contracts.
Ohio State's Thad Matta has use of a private plane for recruiting and other business trips — a private jet when he's traveling more than 200 miles from Columbus, Ohio — up to a cost of $65,000 annually. He also gets 10 hours of private use of a personal jet each year.
You really can't help but think "Well, that's why we're Montana and they're Ohio State."
Why the Griz are done: leadership
Going into this season many fans expected this talented Griz hoops program to continue its upward trend. This really didn't happen as the Griz season ended in a BSC semifinal loss to NAU. I thought I would take a look at a couple reasons why this team fell short of high expectations.
Note: Yeah, Danny Davis did something similar but I did start first.
This season started with the Griz hoops program returning almost everyone from a team that finished as one of top 32 teams in the country. Returners included the Griz's best player and all-conference performer Andrew Strait as well as freshman stud and Big Sky Tournament MVP Jordan Hasquet. Things weren't looking too bad after losing guards Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews. Most Griz fans thought we'd still be fine even though Larry Krystkowiak left for the Association. Well, as we know now, it didn't go smoothly.
Seems like we should've known after all the previews pointed to these things as a reason we wouldn't be as good. However, it wasn't Criswell and Matthews' 26.1 combined ppg or Krysko's X's and O's that led to a subpar season. It was something you can't teach. It was leadership.
After the jump I'll take a closer look at the leadership on this team.
Continue Reading...Weber State will represent Big Sky in NCAA Tournament
From what I saw of this game, which wasn't much because it filled me with a jealous rage, it was eerily similar to the Griz game last night. NAU was down by 21 (19 in the second half!) and came back to get it within 4. Sure, they never went up like the Griz did but it was pretty close before they let it slip at the end.
I really don't want to describe it much more because it's really kind of frustrating. Watching Weber State get their dance tickets was probably only comparable to how one feels they walk in on their significant other in bed with someone else. "These guys are going instead of us?!"
And where were our beloved Grizzlies when all this was getting underway? OK, I don't know where all of them were but I saw a couple guys at the Food Zoo. THE FOOD ZOO! DURING THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. I pray to God this never happens again because it was honestly one of the saddest sights I have ever seen.
Lady Griz hoping they break nationwide trend
It's really hard for anyone, a UM fan especially, to imagine a scenario where the 25th ranked Lady Griz don't roll through this conference tournament. The Lady Griz are far above the rest of the conference, right?
Well, that doesn't mean they can't lose. Kellis Robinett, whose coverage of Big Sky hoops has been excellent this year, points to what other dominant teams have done in their respective conference tournaments.
Three Division I teams — Duke, Uconn, Tennessee — went into their respective conference tournaments without a conference loss, and one team (Ohio State) only had one conference loss. All of those teams, however, were upset in their tourney semifinals.
However, he does point out that "The Zoo" may be very good at aiding this Lady Griz team:
One thing that will make the task of taking out the Griz so daunting is the crowd factor. This season, Montana women's basketball nearly outdrew the men's team's crowds. The Lady Griz average just about 4,000 per game, and they are fans who know when to cheer, when not to, what to yell and how loud to yell it.
The complete article offers some good insight and opinion. One opinion LG fans may not agree with: he thinks the MVP award should've gone to Idaho State's Natalie Doma, not Mandy Morales. He also has an interesting take on Missoula.
Why the Griz are done: free throw shooting
Going into this season many fans expected this talented Griz hoops program to continue its upward trend. This really didn't happen as the Griz season ended in a BSC semifinal loss to NAU. I thought I would take a look at a couple reasons why this team fell short of high expectations.
Poor shooting from the foul line was one of the most frustrating aspects of watching the UM basketball team throughout this season. The final NAU game was probably as sickening as any: the Lumberjacks outshot the Griz a full by a full 23% from the line.
The Lumberjacks made 24 of their 30 free throws; the Griz made 7 of 13. Obviously, getting to the line is also a problem but a team should put up better than Ben Wallace type numbers from the stripe in the biggest game of the year. It's easy to see that there is a problem, the bigger issue is finding the cause.
Griz hoops season comes to disappointing finish
It's really hard to adequately describe just how this game felt. I don't know if I've every really experienced anything like it. The ride this game took Griz fans is really only comparable to how this
whole season felt.
The Griz were down by 22 early in the game and I really can't describe how much I hated the team at this point in the game. Most fans know what I'm talking about. You know; those moments when you can't help but wonder why they can go out and not give a damn while you have so much emotionally invested in them. You can't help but wonder why the players can't get up for a game that decides their season. You have to ask how a coach can't get his team pumped the most important 40 minutes of the season.
Then they go and remind you why you've never been more obsessed with any sports team by playing like their hair is on fire and making up a deficit you thought was far too large. At one point the Griz couldn't be beat on the defense end and could not be stopped when they had the ball. Things were looking up and it appeared as though I would be hopping on a bus tomorrow morning to go watch our Griz get their passes punched for the Big Dance.
Then things started to slip a bit. The lead decreased and Drew headed to the line before a media timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the world was thrown off its tilt for all Griz fans as it seemed like the nothing was right on Earth.
The time out ended and the game was over. The music cued on the radio broadcast for the game to come back but it just wasn't right as the cheesy techno-ish music cut out for a few seconds only to be replaced by cheesy country music and someone announced that they were having technical difficulties.
As the technical difficulty break went on I tried to convince myself that when the game came back we would be up but I couldn't help but be afraid that when it did come back we would be down by some insurmountable margin. Mick came back on what sounded like an old Nokia cell phone and we were down by 9. I had a feeling this was going to happen but had no idea how it did.
The roller coaster went up again as the Griz cut the lead to 5 on a big trey with less than thirty seconds to play. Then it shot downwards for good as the Griz turned it over and the Lumberjacks made two free throws.
It was the story of the season with a poor showing in preseason play then showing strong signs in early conference play.Things dipped after a couples losses but we picked it up again and at one point it looked like we were going to host the tournament. Then we lost a couple big ones and didn't even get a bye. Now it ends in a disappointing loss that we should've won.
That rant is all I have on the game for not but more analysis on the game is sure to come.
Lady Griz finally ranked in Top 25.
The University of Montana Lady Griz basketball team has been on the cusp of making their way into the Top 25 for quite some time. Well, they finally broke through.
Take a look for yourself: The Lady Griz are the 25th best women's team in the land according to the AP Top 25.
Congrats ladies and coach Selvig, hope more recognition is on the way.
Griz home to Big Sky's best outside shooter
After beating Idaho State, the Griz advance to play the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona. Whenever one talks about the 'Jacks, they have to mention the great shooting of guard Stephen Sir, who has been in Flagstaff since around the time when Limp Bizkit was popular. It's interesting to note that Sir, who led the nation in 3-point field goal percentage last year, did not grab the regular season Big Sky crown.
This is from a preview of the Griz/ISU game:
With his five 3-pointers Monday at ISU, Rundles qualified for the league leaders in 3-point percentage and finished first in the league at .481, just ahead of NAU’s Stephen Sir.
Sir has jumped back ahead of Cam, .479 to .471, with Cam's 2-6 performance in the quarterfinal game. This matchup will be an interesting one as outside shooting could play a big role in deciding who goes on to play Weber or Portland State.
Welcome to the Zoo
Throughout the year, I'd always been a bit disappointed at the student sections' inability to really get going and affect games. It's just frustrating that many students fail to realize that in college basketball, the fans probably have a bigger impact on the game than in any other sport. Saturday night was not one of those games where I walked away wishing the students did more.
This is from a Kellis Robinett article in the Idaho State Journal:
Late in the game, with Montana surging back against Idaho State, the crowd at Dahlberg Arena became a legitimate distraction to the Bengals. That might sound a little odd considering Idaho State spent much of its preseason playing at Illinois, Marquette, BYU and Oregon. But on one possession John Ofoegbu held onto the ball without worry while the shot clock expired.“When they made their run, the crowd definitely got back into it,” Schroeder said. “The atmosphere definitely changed, and it was hard to communicate.”
It was good to see the Dahlberg crowd finish the men's season on a high note. Lets hope it not only carries over into the Lady Griz playoff run, but also into next season.
So glad we beat these guys
The Griz advanced to the Big Sky semifinals with a victory over the Idaho State Bengals last night. It's just nice when we don't get beat by teams with fans like this:
Yeah, and those DUI chants worked real well at affecting Chavy's game.
Come playoff time, there's no keeping Cam Rundles down
The more I see Cameron Rundles play, and the more and more I hear about him, I can hardly believe we got this kid playing out here in the Zoo. Cam led De La Salle High School (of Minneapolis, Minnesnowda) to back to back state championships and was a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Basketball his senior season. However the most impressive thing on Cam I've seen is an article from his team's playoff run last year.
I can't get a link to the actual article but the complete text can be found in a comment on this blog. Here's a longish excerpt:
Cameron Rundles walked off the court following DeLaSalle's 61-56 victory over Minneapolis Henry wearing a smile that somehow looked out of place with the large bandage wrapped around his head.
The senior guard had just led the Islanders to a victory in a Class 3A, Section 5 championship game at Osseo so brutally physical that shoulder pads would not have seemed odd.
Rundles took the biggest hit of the game, colliding with Henry's Al Nolen Jr. while going for a rebound with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first half. The two banged heads and Rundles landed hard on the floor.
The result was a dislocated left shoulder and a nasty gash over his right eye. The shoulder was popped back into place, but he left the court for the remainder of the half and, presumably, the rest of the game.
However, Rundles came back into the game with four minutes gone in the second half, and he didn't miss a beat.
He scored all nine of his points in the second half and dished out five of his game-high seven assists as the Islanders rallied from a 12-point deficit with a 19-6 run.
"I've been in Minnesota since 1986 and I've seen a lot of basketball," DeLaSalle coach Dave Thorson said. "And I've never seen a player as tough as Rundles. He may not be the best player I've seen, but he is the toughest."
Are you kidding me? This is insane. If having his arm being popped out of its socket doesn't prevent this kid from taking over a game, Big Sky defense sure as hell isn't. This is like Dwayne Wade-esque, minus the tears and being carted off in a wheelchair.
The Idaho State pizza party, er, playoff game, is all set
Yeah, it sucks that the Grizzlies will not be receiving a bye for the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, but at least we get one more chance to see our team in the Zoo. And for the first time all season, we have to pay! Well, not me, but you people who don't show up an hour early when the arena is empty. Yeah, you guys have to pay.
This is from, of all places, some ads on Facebook:
The first 100 students IN THE DOOR at Saturday's Griz vs. Idaho St. basketball game (7:05pm) will get in FREE! Student tickets are $5.00 & can be purchased at the student entrance.100 FREE medium pizzas will be given away to UM students showing up early to the Griz vs. Idaho St. game on Saturday at 7:05pm! Pizzas will be handed out starting at 6:30.
So we can afford pizza, but not free admission for everyone. I'm down. Seriously, the student section isn't even crowded until 10 minutes into the game.
EVERYONE COME TO THE GAME.
Bryan Ellis: an incredible story
This Saturday will be Bryan Ellis' final game here in Missoula, the end of an incredible and trying career. Sure, his basketball career is coming to a close but BE will definitely go on to do some incredible things. I came across this truly unbelievable article in the Detroit News and am completely astounded at what Bryan has done in his life, academically and otherwise.
I really can't describe the story or pull out interesting quotes because they really all are good. Take a look for yourself at this really great piece.
He overcame losing his parents to AIDS early in life and has transformed from a struggling student to one on the Dean's List. He went from getting a 9 on the ACT to now being a 3.7 student who will graduate with a major in Sociology.
Keep it up BE.
Griz need to win big game vs ISU
It seems like the Griz have been playing big game after big game -- with the exception of Northern Colorado -- and this is what happens when you're playing from behind in the standings. Tonight's game is big because a win means they get a home game in the conference tournament. Just one of many games with implications, the Griz haven't done so well in these games.
Here, in my opinion, are the three biggest games of the year for the Griz:
- vs Idaho State. The Griz came into this game at 2-2 in conference play and had a shot re-establish themselves as a contender by beating hot-starting ISU. The Bengals entered the game 4-0 and went on to throttle UM by ten in the Den.
- vs Weber State. Weber came into the Zoo in first place and the Griz needed wins to scramble back into the conference picture. The Griz were trailing by double-digits in the second half before apparently turning the season around with a 90-86 victory.
- @ Weber State. This was arguably the biggest game of the year. It was first place versus second place and the winner would control where the conference tourney would be played. The Griz fell in a close one: 73-67.
- vs NAU. The Griz needed this one to help secure their shot at the 2-seed after it no longer it looked like they would be able to host the tournament. Griz came out slow and were fighting from behind the entire game. They never made it all the way back and lost 88-81.
Montana Grizzlies basketball commercial on the way
Pictured to the left is a cameraman spotted at tonight's game against Northern Colorado. Some may notice it's not your basic TV guy as he's got a bit more complex set-up. This is actually one of the guys UM used to shoot their great football ads. I asked him about it and a similar ad (possible intro) is on the way for the basketball program. Good to hear seeing as attendance has dropped off quite a bit this year. Wonder if they called this in after attendance was poor or just waited until senior night because that's when they figured to get some shots of an arena that's a little less empty than it normally is. Either way, it's good to hear. Can't wait to see the final product.
Special note: Also pictured, top leftish in the UM shirt, is Krista "whatcha gonna do?!" Paul of the marketing department.
Griz vs NAU
I don't have any real in depth previews; if you want some check out the links after the entry. So I tried to get as many people to come as possible but did have some troubles. Seems like a lot of people would rather stay in and watch The Office or Grey's Anatomy. I'm not gonna lie, I have seen every single Grey's, I've become a fan after my girlfriend bought seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and we watched all of those. OK, the point is I like the show too but YOU CAN SEE IT ON ABC.COM TOMORROW! You can check out The Office on iTunes too. Yeah, it costs $2. If you're staying home to save money, you're ridiculous. You pay $6 for a football game but not $2 to go to a basketball game?
Then there's the other reason: some people have a test tomorrow. The games are an hour and a half long and I know I don't start studying until like 9 for most nights. Even if you start studying earlier, 90 minutes isn't too much to spare. Come on, support your team.
A couple previews:
Significant showdown - Grizzlies-Jacks matchup could decide tournament No. 2 seed [The Missoulian]
Griz, NAU battle for second-place seed in Big Sky Tournament [Montana Kaimin]
Don't listen to 'good Wade'
Here's a great new Gatorade ad I saw last night while watching some hoops. It really sucks that he got hurt in last night's game. Hope Wade's shoulder injury isn't as bad as it looks.
I really wish we had one guy who could do this. I know not a lot of teams have a Dwayne Wade, it'd just be great if the Griz had someone who could take it to the rim. I mean Cam, Dlouhy and Hasquet have the ability but how many GREAT finishes have you seen this year?
Note: Youtube is kind of down right now so the rest of the videos in the "Youtube clips" tag may be temporarily unavailable.
Griz Hoops album cover
Well, many of you may have noticed that the site hasn't been updated too much lately. One of the reasons is a fair amount of homework. One of these things was creating a design for an album cover/CD/ and back. Of course, I chose Griz hoops. The results are below and after the jump.
Weber State vs UM: It shouldn't of ended that way
It's taken me this long to recover from the sock to the stomach that was last night's game against Weber State. Last night's realization that I've been here at UM two years and will likely have to wait another season if I want to see the Griz clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament here in Missoula.
I'm not going to gripe a bunch or provide a ton of analysis, i just want to toss out a little insight and disappointment over the way the most important possession of the season was handled.
It came with under 2 minutes left and the Griz trailing by between 4 and 6. Yeah, I'm sorry I don't have exact figures for what I'm calling the "most important possession" but anyone who listened to the broadcast last night knows it was tough at times to get the correct score.
Back to the game, the possession happened immediately following a time out. Coming out of the break, Weber State went into a zone and totally confused the Griz. They really didn't have anything to match it. There was no solid play and it sounded like the Griz just panicked.
The possession ended with the ball in the hands of Bryan Ellis. He took the shot and was stuffed, the ball went the other way and WSU got some easy points. Then the game was over. BE was having the game of his life but he just shouldn't be taking this shot. He's just not a shooter. It's the only knock on his game; he's good at driving and dishing as well as an incredible defender but on top of all that he has the worst shooting percentage on the team.
In situations like this, when teams go to a zone and things break down, I'd say give it to Hasquet. You don't give it down low to Drew (he hasn't been able to finish when guys collapse on him) unless he is absolutely going to kick it out.
My point is Bryan Ellis just isn't a Steve Kerr or John Paxson type point guard. He took the shot at the end of regulation in the first WSU game and it clanked off pretty badly. Keep doing your thing Bryan but stay within yourself. He played a great game but I just don't have him taking, arguably, the biggest shot of the season.
Why the Griz are better on the road
It'd be hard for one to make an argument that this year's Griz team is not the most talented team in the Big Sky Conference so it's easy to understand why so many fans were frustrated when the team was struggling. Many questioned the coaching and team chemistry with no definite answer ever found. This morning's Missoulian has some interesting information on team chemistry and why the Griz seem to play better away from the Dahlberg Den.
Here's an interesting quote by Wayne Tinkle from the article mentioned above:
"...It was one of those deals where the 20 or so of us in the room said let's buy in and stay together.“That's been an issue with us a little bit. We have so much depth that we've had some guys with frustration with playing time and it's caused us problems, especially at home. Here on the road lately guys are swallowing their ego and buying into putting the program first and it's paying off for us.”
I've mentioned before that this team is almost clogged with talent. They are loaded in the back and front-court but if their bench players don't get any time because of others in front of them, they can't get in a rhythm and play to their potential. It's odd that these players only voice their frustration at home. What, they need to impress the femininas?
Important stat: During the preseason, the Griz were 0-6 on the road but during BSC play they're 4-2 away from home, the same record they have in the Zoo.
Sure the 'brick' chant is good but...
Griz fans have been pretty weak so far when it comes to trying to distract free throw shooters with the exception of a couple raucous young men bringing a painted box to a few games and chanting the word "brick."
That's been ok when it worked but imagine how much better it would be if we practiced the routine above. The whole arena would be silent and sitting while one guy yelled and flapped his gut around. Can anyone think of something more perfect for our relatively lazy fans?
Applications are being accepted now and I think every Griz hoops regular knows who the ideal candidate is.
RELATED: The Most Effective Free Throw Distraction In NBA History (The Fanhouse)
First look: Weber State
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Going into Wednesday night's big 1 vs 2 matchup, Weber State(17-10, 10-4) reminds me a bit of the state they reside in: pretty bland. Sure Utah has some great skiing and Ty Detmer while Weber State is in first place but that's pretty much where the overwhelming excitement ends.
If you take a look at their schedule, there aren't many really big wins or disappointing losses, at least not in conference play. They're just out there doing their thing and rockin the purple attire.
Glancing at their preseason schedule it's almost as if they played two conference schedules: one against the Big Sky and one against the Great Salt Lake Conference. They played Utah State and Southern Utah twice and BYU and Utah once. They went 1-6 in that stretch, beating only Southern Utah, who is dying to get out of the fictional Great Salt Lake Conference and into the Big Sky. Their biggest test came against the University of Washington and of course they failed worse than Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football.
When it comes to Big Sky play, the Wildcats have been consistent, with three of their four losses coming to teams they had a reasonable chance of losing. The four losses came at home to Idaho State (back before they rolled over) early in the season, back to back at Montana and at Montana State then by 15 on the road to EWU. The Montana loss was a of the OT variety as the Griz came from 11 down in the second half to beat the Wildcats. This was a major turning point in the Griz season as that game sparked a stretch of 6-1 ball with the only blemish being the PSU incident, which really shouldn't be brought up here ever again.
This game will likely determine who hosts the BSC tournament as the Wildcats only have lowly Sac State left on their schedule following the UM game. The Griz have a NAU and UNC at home and ISU on the road.
Griz still second in Big Sky Power Rankings
I mentioned before that there are two sets of power rankings for the Big Sky Conference. One may ask why I don't put out a set out of power rankings and here's the answer: no one cares where the bad teams rank and if you want to know who I think is the best team in Big Sky, look at the theme of the blog. I don't see any Weber guys up in the banner. Plus who's gone dancing two years straight? Yeah, that'd be us.
Back to the power rankings. Ian Ruder's (Vikings Blog) came out today and he has the Griz firmly at second behind Weber and in front of Northern Arizona. Another thing about power rankings is that there relatively worthless when who actually is number one will be decided on the court in only a couple days.
For his rationale for putting everyone where they are and the complete rankings, check them out at his blog.
It could be us
This is the scene from a high school (my alma mater) basketball game on Bainbridge Island, WA. Yeah, a high school game. Seriously, why can't we have hoops fans that are anywhere close to this? It's in a 2,000 seat gym on an island with a population of around 20,000.
Sure, it helps that the player in the foreground is Gonzaga commit Steven Gray and the team is ranked #1 in WA 3A ball but you think we could be somewhere near half as spirited as these guys. Come on, we're I-A college hoops and we can stand and cheer for an entire game?
An important point is that when I went to school at BHS, only two years ago, the atmosphere was not even close to what is pictured here. Hopefully the UM crowd can turn it around and transform Dahlberg into a place as intimidating as the tiny Paski Gym on Bainbridge.
Interesting note: one of the BHS's biggest hoops fans and a friend of mine may be coming to UM. I really hope he does seeing as it only takes a couple people to inspire the rest.
Lets start next Saturday with the 'white-out' and really turn Dahlberg into a place teams hate to play. Lets bring back The Zoo.
Lady Griz continue to play fundamentally great and make it 5-0 UM in two major sports
With the Lady Griz's 84-70 win over the Cats on Sunday night, they completed a season sweep of the Bobcats in the two major sports: football and basketball.
The points were distributed pretty well: Rogers, who went off in the first half and finished with 16. Morales was once again very impressive as she went for 16 as well and tacked on 8 assists. She really is an incredible passer. As soon as she gets the ball going the other way she'll look up for a long pass, which she completed a couple of in the game. Johanna Closson led the Griz with 17 points.
It's really amazing how fundamentally sound the Lady Griz are in comparison to the men's team. I don't mean to bash the men's team but they really trail pretty far behind the women when it comes to the basics. The men do not have a great passer like Morales; Ellis and Rundles are kind of close but neither have the awareness she does.
The Lady Griz also run much cleaner and effective set plays. They work the picks and hustle for open shots. When they get those open shots, they seem to always knock them down, especially open treys.
Hustle is also a huge part of the Lady Griz's success. Sonya Rogers was great at chasing down fast breaks. Once she nearly picked a ball clean but there was an iffy foul. Another team she pressured a girl into missing a layup.
The Lady Griz also knock down their free throws. Come on fellas, they're free points. There's really nowhere to point for the reason the men's hoops team isn't as fundamentally sound as the Lady Griz.
There were a couple guys from the men's team at the game tonight and they probably should've brought a notebook, they have a lot to learn from the ladies.
Griz-Cat hoops: live blog
First off, I will never call it a glog. I've done this live blog thing once before so if it's a little off or not
updated enough, let me know and I'll work on making it better.
Most people know what's going down but here are a couple previews.
Griz's most dominating force, Andrew Strait has been sick all week and no one really knows if he can play and if he will, how much. The Cats have won six of seven and haven't lost in Boz Angeles in conference play. However, they've lost the past four matchups with the Griz, including a 73-65 game in Missoula.
Well I just ate a big bowl of chili and watched th end of Au Pair so I know I'm pumped.
Lets do this, live blog is after the jump.
Griz, Cats: The same but different
Yeah, Yogiisms tend to be a bit cliche when used in headlines but this one fits pretty well when describing the basketball teams at the University of Montana and Montana State University. They both come into this game at 7-4 in conference play and in a tie for second-place but they've done so very differently.
Fans of the two teams come probably come in in with very varying opinions on their respective seasons. First off, the Bobcats. This team came into conference play looking pretty talentless and like a team that would go pretty quietly into the abyss. That hasn't happened.
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Head coach Brad Huse has this Bobcat team playing way over its head and right in the thick of the Big Sky race. It was them who ended Idaho State's undefeated stretch and sent the Bengals into chaos. The Cats also beat Weber State at home. It hasn't been this way throughout all of BSC play as they started 1-3. Then it started. They beat Weber at home and won six of seven.
The Griz are sitting a little differently. They also are 7-4 in BSC play but they arguably have the most talent, top-to-bottom, in the entire conference. This means they;re doing the exact opposite of the Cats and playing below their talent level.
When a team appears to play below its talent level, fans start questioning coaching. This has happened as several Griz hoops fan aren't has happy about Tinks as Cats fans are about Huse. I don't agree with this. Many fans expected this team to continue on its upward track but are disappointed to find them in a transition year. No matter who the coach was, this team was going to be in transition after losing the chemistry it had this year. This is more due to the loss of seniors Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews.
However, all Griz and Cat fans would have to agree: this game is big and the rivalry only adds to it.
Bobby or Krysko?
Just like Larry Krystkowiak at the end of last basketball season, it feels like (not just feels like, it is) Hauck's departure from Zootown is inevitable. However, I believe their own aspirations for taking their coaching to careers to the next level are a bit different.
When LK was about to leave, he didn't seem quite as desperate to get out. He did put his name in for
the job at Pepperdine before seeing all the good that he had right in UM and getting out. He saw that UM had a great program on the rise. They just beat Nevada to get to the second round of the NCAA tourney and, before he was mentioned as a candidate, I didn't even know Pepperdine had a basketball program.
So he got out of it. He told his players he would not take any other college job. He wanted to build the Griz program into one it had the potential to be. He wanted to make this school love its hoops program again and he was well on his way.
What would be said if Hauck had a similar chat about his aspirations with the Griz football team?
"Listen guys, I know when I recruited you I asked that you dedicate the next four to five years of your life to this football program but... I'm not gonna lie, as soon as something decent opens up at the next level and they're willing to hire a I-AA coach to run their program, I'm taking the next overpriced non-direct flight out of here."
I'm not blaming him or calling him a bad guy, it's just kind of disappointing that he's such a lame duck. He needs to go elsewhere to take his game to the next level and wants to do so as soon as humanly possible.
The question I have for you is this: who do you think is the better coaching prospect, Bobby Hauck or Larry Krystkowiak?
Griz athletes warned of Facebook. Really?
According to this morning's Montana Kaimin, Griz athletes have been warned about the hazards of posting on Facebook, a social networking site like Myspace but I have to say the the warnings, for the most part, haven't been heeded.
Tinkle's quote on the matter: “We told them that if they are representing Grizzly basketball, they don’t need to be clowning around on there and putting stupid pictures up.”
No, they really don't. This article could've been reported a little better seeing as it wouldn't take much to expose a couple key athletes. Well, not so much 'expose,' just make them look really stupid. I considered doing a big story on this last year but didn't feel like tearing down anyone and I don't blame the reporter of this story, Amber Kuehn, for not doing so.
It would take me about eleven seconds to grab and throw up a couple Kyle Orton-esque images but I wouldn't think of it seeing as I don't want anyone to get in trouble. Even so, these athletes shouldn't put themselves in such a vulnerable position.
I have to say that there is one major positive to having athletes on Facebook. This is messaging opposing ones after a game. Nothing beats harassing some guy all game then leaving him a nice note to read a few hours later.
We better not get swept by a team with a MySpace
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You know a marketing department really has no sense of self respect when they decide to come up with a Myspace page for their athletic program. Seriously, we already lost to the almost last place Hornets once, we better not do so at home.
I wonder what they're like as a Myspace friend. Odds are Hornets Nation lives on Myspace, putting up bulletins filled with quizzes and view trackers. Seriously, you know the people at Hornets Nation fall for those things. Come on guys, there's no way you'll ever be able to see who actually has been visiting your page or find out what Laguna Beach star you're most like.
Griz hang in BSC race with win over EWU
Last night's game had its ups and downs but the Griz came out with a win over EWU and stayed in second place, two games back of Weber State.
The game's two best player's had to be Jordan Hasquet and Stu Mayes. Jordan was great on the offensive end, scoring 26, and getting to the basket for some big shots when the Griz needed them most.
Stuart Mayes was great on the defensive side of the ball, spending most of the second half inside Rodney Stuckey's shirt. Mayes, with help from Matt Dlouhy, held Stuckey to only 19 points.
The Griz needed this win, coming off a home loss to PSU. Things could be worse, but they're still in the thick of the BSC race with home game left against the first place Wildcats.
Shades of 'The Zoo'
Last night's game sucked but there were a couple positives, one of which was the improvement of the environment inside Dahlbergh Arena. The fans at the game were some of the best I've seen all year and the Montana Kaimin has an article containing a lot of good quotes about the raucous student section.
From PSU head coach Ken Bone:
“It’s hard to win on the road,” he said. “Let alone win on the road here at the University of Montana.”“First and foremost, they’re good,” Bone said of the Grizzlies. “Second of all, usually there’s a really great crowd here. If the crowd really gets fired up it’s like the sixth man approach.”
“They’re fun,” he said. “There’s some nut up here that yells and screams and thinks he’s funny. They’re fun and they’re great, that’s what college basketball’s about. I wish we had crowds like this.”
From Anthony Washington:
“I like the crowd (in Missoula),” said Vikings senior center Anthony Washington. “No offense to our fans at Portland State, but I wish we had more of a presence.”“I think for the opponents it can make some of them frustrated,” he added. “Especially the freshmen that have never heard anything like that before, but for the most part you block it out.”
From Juma Kamara:
“They’re just regular old fans,” he said. For Kamara it was the first time in his career that he had won in Missoula.“It’s a nice environment for basketball,” Kamara said. “Especially in this conference, to me it’s like the best gym in the conference – nice crowd, nice everything.”
From Griz head coach Wayne Tinkle:
“Well it’s great,” he said. “Once we hit some shots and we started showing some hustle, they rewarded us by cheering and making some noise. That’s awesome, but we can’t wait for them to get us going. We need to get ourselves going.”“Hopefully we can come out Saturday night and we’ll have even a bigger crowd.”
This team really thrives when Dahlberg is loud. The more students that come and make noise, the better this team will do.
We got f***ed
There's really no other way to say it. I hate to sound like a whiny Seahawks fan -- which, athough I'm from Seattle, I'm not -- but the officiating tonight was absolutely horrendous.
The calls were really awful all night but lets just cut to the chase because I have just enough patience to prevent myself from ripping the screen off my laptop. There's somewhere around 45 seconds left, tie game, and a PSU player with some of the worst hair I've seen -- this guy was more done up than Sandra Dee in the closing scene of Grease --is driving to the basket and Jordo Hasquet just absolutely
stands him up. The block was cleaner than a dentist's office and the refs wait to see who gets the the ball; the Griz grab it and a whistle is blown shortly after. Foul on the Griz. Shocking!
David Beckham Paul Hafford knocks down his foul shots and the Vikings are up by two. The Griz's last possession was not great. Drew put up a pretty ugly and desperate hook with about 6 seconds left. It rimmed out to Ellis about halfway between the basket and the arc. He tossed up a last second shot and that missed. Then pandemonium broke lose.
I swear to God, the Vikings just acted like they just beat Duke to go to the goddamn Sweet 16. I'm surprised assistant coach Bucktooth Blush didn't grab a fucking ladder from the storage closet and start cutting down the nets. Players and coaches alike tried to taunt fans as they made they way to the locker room, where they bounced around, apparently looking for a crate of Cristal champagne.
What happened to acting like you've won before? The little respect I had for this program was completely erased tonight.
Bracket Buster: Griz get Pacific in matchup that's been waiting to happen
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As announced yesterday, the University of Montana will face Pacific as part of ESPNU's BracketBusters series. Both teams probably wish this game would've come sooner, after each time had actually busted some brackets.
These two teams almost met last year as the Griz pulled off the 12-5 upset over Nevada and Pacific was close to pulling off an even bigger upset over 4th seeded Boston College. The Tigers were up 6 in overtime before losing in a second OT, which was forced by a controversial call.
The Tigers led 74-72 with five seconds to play in overtime when Christian Maraker fouled Boston College's Craig Smith. Smith, a poor foul shooter who was 3 of 7 on the day, made two free throws to send the game into double overtime. Thomason insisted Maraker hadn't committed a foul and later said video replays provided proof, but the call stood.
This was the second time the Griz and Tigers almost faced eachother in the second round of the tournament. In 2005, the Griz hung with 1 seed Washington for a bit before eventually getting beat by double-digits while the 8th seeded Tigers beat 9th seeded Pittsburgh before losing to UW in the next round.
Many Griz fans see this game as kind of a letdown, as they play a struggling team in a non-televised game but the Tigers are a better foe than most realize. I know they lost a lot of players after last year but this team has made the tournament the last three seasons, and advanced the second round twice in the span. This team is one to be reckoned with, and head coach Tinkle knows that.
"Yesterday, when we walked out of the office, the last thing I said is, 'I sure hope we don't get Pacific,' " Tinkle told reporters Tuesday in Missoula. "My first year here, I think in '01, they beat us by 20 (actually 77-64). They've gotten better. They're just a great, great program."I know they're a little down this year. Their record reflects that, but they're still a very, very talented team, and it's going to be a big challenge for us."
This matchup also means the Griz will have to face Pacific on the road next year. They could combine this with a game or two against a couple good California foes to make an exceptional road trip.
Griz floor gets recognition.
In ESPN columnist Pat Forde's most recent Forde Minutes column he discusses his dislike for giant cartoon animals planting themselves on college basketball courts across the country. The University of Montana has a giant Griz on their court but Forde says there an exception to the "animal gigantism" rule: "The Grizzlies get a pass because their Grizzly bear looks semi-authentic, and because he's indigenous."
The image above is a cell phone picture taken on the court after the Stanford upset. Good times.
Andrew Strait named Co-Big Sky Player of the Week.
Last week I mentioned that Andrew Strait is really pulling things together; the BSC office has noticed, as they named him Co-Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
A big part of this was his 11-11, 23 point performance in the great road win over Northern Arizona. Drew also had 13 and 8 in the blowout win over Northern Colorado.
Awards like these are a good sign as when Drew is going good, the team usually is as well. Check out the previous entry for more opinion and some great comments on Drew's contribution to this team.
Griz ranked second most powerful in BSC
It seems that "power rankings" have reached almost Livestrong bracelet caliber trendiness amongst sports sites with just about everyone with an opinion ranking select group of teams by, um, power.
The Big Sky Conference will now have two sets of power rankings, with Ian Ruder over at Vikings Blog throwing his first set of rankings up today. Kellis Robinett also does BSC power rankings over at his blog in connection with the Pocatello Journal.
In Ian's rankings, the Griz sit at second, behind Weber State and in front of Northern Arizona and Idaho State. This definitely is a bit iffy (the very goal of "power rankings" is to stir up discussion) seeing as the Griz beat WSU last week and are tied in the loss column after road wins over NAU and Northern Colorado.
Here's the caption next to UM's ranking: "If Krystkowiak was still coaching, this deep, talented group would run away with the league. As is, the team seems to be jelling under coach Wayne Tinkle."
I would've agreed with this statement earlier in the season, but I'm not so sure now. This is a very talented team, but they also are team filled with diverse personalities and no real leader. It has taken a lot for this team to come together and I'm not so sure it would've happened any faster under LK.
Andrew Strait gets Griz playing their way
Andrew Strait's performance against NAU makes two strong showings in a row for the big fella. No, it wasn't a Hibachi game filled with spectacular plays and a game winner. It was just Drew quietly doing what he does, which is getting the ball and consistently making baskets. Strait was 11-11 from the field, leading all scorers with 23.
The Griz came out and forced their game plan on the Lumberjacks like a teacher forcing students to do a lesson plan they don't want to do. Andrew Strait score 7 of UM's first 10 points and 11 of their first 23. The Griz fed him down low continuously and he kept putting up points.
Not only did Strait have UM back on their style of play, he was also playing his by getting to the basket and not settling for jumpers or hooks. Nine of Strait's 11 field goals came on either layups or dunks.
Force feeding drew down low is essential for the Griz to play at the level their capable of. In many of their losses they, Strait wasn't getting enough attempts and guards were jacking up threes. It's good to see them playing the way the team is suited to play and once again taking advantage of their most talented player.
Jovanni Sims transfers to JuCo
There has been some question about just what happened to freshman Jovanni Sims; I haven't heard anything about what happened besides what was in Tuesday's Montana Kaimin, which I'll gladly type up for everyone because it wasn't online. Thanks guys.
Freshman Jovanni Sims has left the University of Montana men's basketball team. Sims, a 6-foot-4-inch guard from Milwaukee was expected log some playing time this eyar for the Griz, but because of issues regarding his high school transcripts, had not been cleared to play by the NCAA.UM head coach Wayne Tinkle said Sims transferred to Midland College, a junior college in Midland, Texas.
"He just wanted to go somewhere he could play," said UM head coach Wayne Tinkle, who did not close the door on Sims possibly returning to Missoula in the future.
It's a shame Jio never found his way onto the court. This whole things sounds pretty complicated and unfair; I really hope he hones his skills and gets his grades squared away in Junior College and comes back to contribute in the future.
Jordan Hasquet's big treys save Griz.
Last night's Griz-NAU game was UM's most complete game of the year, but that doesn't mean there weren't a couple iffy stretches. The Griz almost lost the game before they ever even had a chance to win it but Jordan Hasquet made sure they were in it when it mattered.
Throughout the season, the Griz have had trouble finishing the first half. They seem to always come out playing well for the first 5-10 minutes; they came out playing very strong and were up 5 with 15:00 left in the half before things evened up for the next ten or so minutes.
Between the 5:14 and 3:28 mark the Lumberjacks went on a 7-2 run to take a 6 point lead. I was afraid the Griz would fall into old tendencies and the lead would be pushed to double digits before half.
Jordan Hasquet was crucial in the time period when the Griz had previously suffered the most. With the Griz down 6, Hasquet came out after the media timeout and knocked down threes on consecutive possessions. Hasquet also had the two points during the 'Jacks run.
I know games are decided in the second half, and this one on the final shot, but Hasquet made sure the Griz would be in it the whole way. The Griz had been playing from behind in far too many games and Hasquet's big plays during this stretch allowed them to go into the half with a lead and play from the front in the second period. The Lumberjacks led only once in the second half, and this was by one with more than 17 minutes remaining. This gave the Griz the confidence needed to pull off the huge road win.
Griz hoops pull off huge win over NAU.
Not only did the Griz avoid a major setback loss, they came out and played their most complete game of the year in a 74-71 victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
Andrew Strait was very huge for the Griz hitting all eleven of his shots from the field and scoring a game-high 23. Jordan Hasquet hit some big shots and BE led the offense. I've said it before but everyone.png)
is beginning to find their role on this team. Hell, even Big Dave Vanderjagt got a minute or two and was able to get his first points.
The win puts the Griz a game back of first place Idaho State (5-2) and Weber State (6-3). Those two faced each other tonight in Pocatello and the Wildcats came away with a win. There are currently four teams tied for that second place spot.
I don't have time to go into too much detail seeing as I have to read almost an entire book by tomorrow (don't you miss college?) but I'm going to try to put up a series of posts on all the factors that contributed to this great win after I go to a couple classes.
Griz avoid one 'devastating' loss but do face the potential for another one.
A Missoulian article by Bob Meseroll says the Griz season "hung in the balance" in Saturday's WSU game and the Griz were able to avoid a "devastating loss." The problem is that the potential for another one looms tonight in Flagstaff.
Yes, the Griz won probably their biggest game of the season on Saturday night but tonight's game at NAU good be just as bad as Saturday's game was good.
This morning's Kaimin says both NAU and UM are looking to turn their season's around, and even though the game is big, this headling doesn't really seem right. NAU is 5-3 in BSC play and that's not bad considering how rough conference play for just about everyone this year. After the WSU game it looks like the Griz have turned their season around, they just need to keep it going the right direction.
This feeling was of having everything on track is not new to this season as most fans felt the same after the win over PSU on the road to open BSC play. Following that, they lost to EWU in a big test before falling to Sac State to make it two in a row.
If the Griz win tonight, they will get closer to WSU or ISU as those two face each other tonight in Pocatello. If the Griz win and ISU loses, the Griz would be only a game back of both the Bengals and Wildcats, who would be tied for first.
These two games are huge. The Griz need this one for the standings and themselves. They need to prove they can win big games on the road. Last year's team won in Flagstaff to get the Griz dancing, so lets hope this year's team can win another big one.
Cameron Rundles has potential to be the leader Griz need.
This morning's Kaimin had a pretty decent article about Cameron Rundles that I was able to read before Terrorism class; no, it's not what it sounds like.
The article itself is about how he's a "mama's boy," which I guess is kind of interesting, but more importantly, there are some great quotes in there on his capabilities as a leader.
I can't get a link because the Kaimin's site isn't updated but here are the typed up quotes:
"I'm not leading any of the categories or anything," he said, "but I'm OK with that. I just want to help us win. I try to be the vocal man.""First I look at myself as an extension of a coach on the court. I'm a great communicator and a leader, so I try to communicate what coach Tinks says to us, on the other players."
Tinkle, in his first year as head coach agrees that Rundles' effectiveness lies in "intangibles" such as aggressiveness and leadership.
I've been on the Cam Rundles bandwagon from the very start and these quotes just further my belief that he can and probably will have a significant impact on this program. This young team is in desperate need of a strong leader. Cam may be too gain the respect of all his teammates right now, but over the next three seasons he will become a dominant coach on the court; a Peyton Manning for Griz hoops, if you will.
On top of the intangibles, Cam has all the essential tools to be a great guard in the Big Sky Conference. He's been working on his shooting and it's shown this year as he's hit some big shots from three point range. He also has the athleticism to get to the basket but still needs some work on finishing. It will come in time and Cam Rundles may go down as one of the better guards ever to play for the Griz.
Griz hoops on ESPN, why not?
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Yes, this makes two entries in a row containing media from Deadspin, but I'm not going to talk about how great it was to see Tennessee head coach going topless or how Tinks should do the same. Instead, take a look at the bottom line: Gonzaga @ Portland. Yes, I know you and pretty much everyone didn't care about this game but for some crazy reason it was shown on the 'family of networks' Monday evening.
I watched this game and it was pretty awful. I don't understand why ESPN sends a crew to the tiny gym in Portland but can never bring one to the Zoo. I often watch these games and wonder how all these other schools can have such great fans but I've started to see what's going on. A majority of these big schools consistently have great fans but a lot of these other places have fans who are getting up and coming out for the game because it's being brought to you by the mightiest four letters in sports.
How great would it be to have ESPN in Missoula for a basketball game? I know I want to see painted fans and an absolutely packed Dahlberg. Seriously, ESPN and ESPN 2 do not have much better to show at some of these times so they might as well take a chance on a BSC game. They have billiards, darts and ping-pong on sometimes, why not some college hoops from out in the boonies?
And if we can't see Wayne Tinkle painted and shirtless then how 'bout Robin Selvig?
Big Sky Conference standings all clogged up.
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A series of "upsets" over the weekend have made the race for the BSC regular season title much closer and put the Griz right back into its peloton.
The Griz lost to ISU last Wednesday night, another big road win for the Bengals, and gave up and assumed the Big Sky tournament would be played in Pocatello. Then the Cats decided to mess things up a bit.
Montana State beat ISU Saturday when Akbar Abdul-Ahad missed a three at the buzzer. Normally I wouldn't care at all who did this but I made fun of this guy for talking to the cheerleaders in Missoula before inbounding a pass and he responded by saying he'd knock down a three for me, which he did a couple seconds later. A little after that he turned it over and the Griz knocked down a three and now this. Karma.
More importantly, this game puts the Griz only two games back of the Bengals so if they manage to win in Pocatello, they only need to make up one more game elsewhere.
The Griz also sit only a game and a half of Weber State and Northern Arizona as WSU lost to Matt Martin the Griz and NAU lost the Portland State.
This comes with a couple huge games coming up this week: Griz vs NAU and WSU @ ISU.
Related: Around the Big Sky [Vikings Blog]
Why I almost got kicked out.
Outside of last year's upset win over Stanford, Saturday's overtime win over Weber State was probably the most enjoyable Griz game I've been to. The game was definitely great, but it did entail a male cheerleader getting hit in the back of the head with a Perkins mini-ball. Details after the jump.
Lady Griz still not that far out of rankings.
Going into this past weekend, many Griz fans thought there was a good chance the Lady Griz could be ranked sometime in the upcoming weeks. That was before their disastrous loss to Weber State.
The Lady Griz had won twelve straight, with their only loss coming to Ohio State before falling in Ogden.
Even with the loss the Lady Griz are still receiving votes for the women's rankings. The Lady Griz received only three votes in AP Top 25, with a lot of teams ahead of them, but in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll, the Lady Griz received 24 votes with only Mississippi having more votes and not being ranked.
Lady Griz get some national recognition.
They haven't cracked the Top 25 yet but someone has finally taken notice and it happens to be the big ol' ESPN. Mechelle Voepel wonders if the Lady Griz should be in the Top 25 or if they're just a good team playing a relatively bad conference.
Griz get ISU at home and chance to jump into BSC picture.
Tonight the Griz go up against the first-place Bengals of ISU in a game that has all they hype of beer league hockey game.
The Griz and Bengals split the matchups last year with UM winning by 4 at home and losing by 25 on the road. Yes, I find that a little scary too seeing as this year's team is probably better than the previous season's.
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ISU beat Utah Valley State, Sac State, and Eastern Washington while the Griz lost to all three of those teams. The Griz beat Boise State while ISU lost to them.
The Bengals come to the Zoo with one of the best defenses in the BSC, allowing only 65.6 points per game and holding opponents to a 42.3 shooting percentage.
This game is going to be challenging but a lot of intangibles could come into play. This weekend in Missoula may be the biggest of the year as first place Idaho State and second place Weber State both come to town. The Griz need to show that they are still contenders and potentially favorites in the conference.
A home sweep would do a lot for the Griz's confidence and show the league that the road to the BSC's spot in the NCAA tournament still goes through Missoula.
Cameron Rundles, he's a diaper dandy baby.
You know what, I hate Dick Vitale and I'm sorry for any reference to him. I hate Joe Buck too but that's not the point. The point is that Cam Rundles is a stud.
The Griz won a grinder over the rival Cats with a lot of help from their frosh. Rundles scored 15 big points in the second half. It was like he just decided that after going scoreless in the first half, he was going to carry this team.
However, it wasn't the normal way someone carries a team by making spectacular plays and obviously playing superior to everyone else on the court. Instead, he just made shots when he needed to.
I remember once when the Cats made a big basket to cut it close, Cam got the ball behind the three point line with no less than 25 seconds on the shot clock and just decided he was going to knock down a three. He rose up with a defender all over him and knocked down like he was just shooting around after practice.
Does anyone know where the ceiling is on this kid? Seriously, a freshman that runs the point and is possibly the most dynamic player on the best team in the conference. I don't think he'll ever reach the Stuckey stratosphere but Cam is good, damn good.
Fellow freshman Ryan Staudacher also played well as hit three big threes coming off the bench. As did Mike Chavez. Stads is finding his spot in the rotation but Chavy is really fighting for more playing time. That's kind of scary seeing as this team needs role players but it's great to see his effort.
The Griz are starting to find out who they are. Good timing too with league leaders Idaho State and Weber State rolling into town this week.
Krystkowiak on Huse and Tinkle.
Fawkward. It means more than just awkward, or f***in' awkward.
Tonight may be a little fawkward for the Griz as they face off against the Cats, coached by former Griz assistant Brad Huse. There are articles on the idea of facing a former friend here and here so I'm not going to go too in depth on that issue.
Instead, here's what former head coach Larry Krystkowiak had to say about these two coaches.
LK on Huse:
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, what he's gone through and how he goes about his business,” Krystkowiak said. “He's one of those people you can tell he's constantly observing and assessing. He's not full of a lot of talk. Ask Brad about a team and he wasn't going to overwhelm you with 10 bullet points. He'd have it narrowed down to two, maybe three things. With as many things as you have on your plate as a head coach, that was valuable to me.“He gets the big picture.”
LK on Tinkle:
“He'd probably be the first to tell you we had a good cop-bad cop thing going on,” Krystkowiak said. “I didn't have to be a nice guy. A certain amount of fear has to be instilled in the players. Wayne will differ from me in that way, but he may actually harden over time. I don't know too many head coaches who are good cops.“That's the way I did it, but just because I did it that way doesn't make it right. He could probably do a great job being a nice guy too.”
I overheard someone at the bowling alley last night talking about Tinks and LK and they were saying what I'm kind of thinking after seeing this. Maybe Tinkle is still too much of a "good cop" and needs to learn how to get in his players heads.
Big Sky Power Rankings: Griz sit at sixth.
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According to this week's BSC Power Rankings, which are done by Kellis Robinett of the Idaho State Journal, the Griz are the sixth best team in the Big Sky Conference.
Normally I would think this is a total farce but the Big Sky Conference is all over the place this year. Just look at NAU's ranking and caption. While you're at it, check out Northern Colorado's as well.
3. Northern Arizona (8-7, 3-1) With a trip to Northern Colorado coming up, move NAU to 4-1.9. Northern Colorado (2-14, 0-4) One RPI service ranks the Bears last among all Division I teams.
Well, in this year's BSC conference, guaranteed wins are a sure thing like Ohio State rolling over Florida was a sure thing. Tonight, NAU fell to UNC on a layup with ten seconds to play.
Most of the other rankings held true as Idaho State beat EWU, moving to 3-0 in conference, and Weber State beat Sac State. Weber State is now sitting pretty after wins on consecutive nights and a 5-1 record in conference play. It is kind of odd that WSU has played six games while some teams have only played three.
Lady Griz make it 12 straight with Griz-Cat win.
The Lady Griz beat the Cats tonight 86-67 in a somewhat easy game over in the Bozone.
I don't really know what to say on this victory as it was a somewhat easy win over a subpar team. Mandy Morales, of course, led all scorers with 20. According to the Bobcat announcers, she also went Michael Vick on the MSU crowd. Junior forward Johanna Closson notched an impressive 17 points and 9 boards.
I don't know how possible this is, but if the Lady Griz just do not get beat the rest of the season, can they make it into the top 25? If so, how high?
I don't care what sport you're in or what gender it is but if your only loss of the season comes to an Ohio State team, you're pretty damn good.
Griz-Cat week.
As evidenced by this season's attendance level at basketball games, I'm assuming that many of you will not care about this Griz-Cat week as much as you all did about the last one. You should.
The Griz men's team come into this week needing a win pretty bad. They are 1-2 in conference play and Weber State just jumped out to 4-1 with their win over Portland State so the Griz come into the weekend a game and a half back.
It's not like this lowly Montana State team is a guaranteed win. There are no guaranteed games in the BSC this year. Just ask anyone who's played Northern Colorado (yeah they're 0-4 in conference play but most of the losses have been close) or maybe Eastern Washington. EWU lost at home by a buzzer beater to MSU, pulling off the victory in Cheney that the Griz couldn't grab.
The Lady Griz game isn't quite as enticing with the likelihood them blowing out MSU and the fact that the game is in Bozeman. Even so, they come in with an 11-game winning streak and a box full of BSC player of the week awards.
Lady Griz play at 7 on Thursday and the Griz men play Saturday at 7 so bust out that Tivo if you want to see Reggie Bush and Drew Brees tear up the Iggles.
Sonya Rogers grabs Lady Griz's sixth POW award.
For most of this season, Lady Griz guard Mandy Morales has dominated the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week Award like Michael Jordan did with the NBA MVP in the 90s but this week is the first in six that the award hasn't gone her way.
I'm sure she doesn't mind seeing as the Lady Griz pushed their winning streak to 11 and the award went to fellow Lady Griz teammate, Sonya Rogers.
Rogers went 11 points over her career-high as she dumped 27 on EWU in a blowout victory. She shares the award with Idaho State's Natalie Doma.
With 11 straight victories and 6 POW awards, can anyone in the conference stop the Lady Griz? Also, just how much damage can this team do in the NCAA Tournament?
The Lady Griz received 6 votes in the most recent women's college basketball rankings.
Griz basketball faces Sac State
Tonight the Montana Grizzlies take on Sacramento State in the Tree City as they look to win two of three on the road to start conference play.
The Griz are coming off a 74-71 loss to Eastern Washington. Winning two out of three on the road to start conference play would be great but imagine if we would've had a shot at 3-0. It'd be like starting off 20 meters down the track in a 100 yard dash seeing as the Griz only lost one game in Dahlberg last year. A road win over probably their biggest contender could have been very influential in deciding where the BSC tournament is hosted.
That game's over though and going into this game, the Griz come in looking once again like BSC contenders. They are ranked second on Idaho State Journal writer Kelis Robinett's BSC power rankings.
This doesn't say too much seeing as it's the second week of conference play and only one team has come out of it unscathed. This team is Weber State, who beat the Northerns and if NCAA Tournament selects were made today, ESPN says they'd be a 15 seed. Needless to say, the BSC is about as wide open as Joakim Noah's teeth.
We are who you thought we were!
With last night's road victory over the Portland State Vikings, Wayne Tinkle moved within 872 wins of Bobby Knight.
In more important news, this Griz team is starting to play like they're supposed to and Cameron Rundles is the future.
The Griz came to the Stotts Center, where PSU was 6-0, and won a game that was far more important to their confidence than their overall record. They go into conference play and another big game against the Eagles knowing that they are not a flop but potentially the most talented team, top to bottom, in the Big Sky Conference.
True freshman PG Cameron Rundles showed that this will not only be his team in the future, but right now has as much of an impact as the players with more seniority. Cam finished with a career high 20 as he led all scorers. He also made this team run and flow. Once last night he got a defensive rebound and just took off for the opposing team's basket, not stopping until he was fouled in the lane.
Stu Mayes, who earlier this season was kind of in the dog house with Tinks, played great off the bench as he scored 10 big points including a tip-in with 13 seconds left that sealed the win.
This team is completely coming together as everyone is finding out what their role is and going out and doing it. Like I sort mentioned before, this team is finding it's identity as a team that can go out and run.
Next up is EWU on Saturday. They were shocked by MSU at the buzzer so Rodney Stuckey -- this kid needs a nickname, like Mamba and Agent Zero -- is going to be pissed.
A win in this could be just as big as the PSU win, except this time for the standings. Two road wins in the conference would be a great jump start. And because I thought this was hilarious when i saw it on TV last night, another great jump start after the break.
Show me.
Tonight the Griz face Portland State in their first Big Sky Conference game. It's only the first game in conference where many are predicting a deadlocked race where the BSC regular season champ might be only a few games above .500.
That doesn't matter, this game is huge. It is. I wish I could get the Donald Trump impersonator screen thing from Conan just so I could get him to say "it's huuuge" and then you might really understand.
This team needs to figure out exactly who it is, a talented flop or returning BSC contender? They go into the game with a long list of things to prove. Some of those are after the jump.
Continue Reading...PSU preview: six questions with Ian Ruder of Vikings Blog
About a week ago, Ian Ruder, the publisher of Vikings Blog, approached me with the idea of exchanging a series of questions on our respective teams. Well, not our teams, but you know, the ones we write
about.
I've been trying to network a bit more and thought this was an excellent idea. Ian has a very well run blog over at OregonLive.com, which is very up-to-date on the whole blogging scene with a blog for just about every local team.
The interview is after the jump, with questions on their impressive preseason, the return of Anthony Washington and the Cameron Indoor Stadium of the West -- The Stotts Center.
If you want to see his questions and my answers, head over to his blog.
LK doing his thing in the Association.
Take a look at this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article and tell me you don't miss Larry Krystkowiak a little bit. Yes the program will be just fine in the giant paws of Wayne
Tinkle but I have to say these second half runs/adjustments were what made last year's Griz team as good as it was.
Lost in the hoopla surrounding guard Mo Williams' first career triple-double in Wednesday's victory over Miami at the Bradley Center was the fact that assistant coach Larry Krystkowiak deserved an assist for the victory.Krystkowiak entered the halftime locker room and reminded the Bucks - a team that likes run for a living - that they had exactly zero fast-break points at that stage of the game.
Asked about Krystkowiak's halftime message, guard Michael Redd said, "That was shocking to us. We were scoring but we didn't get any fast-break points and we were like, 'Wow.' So we made an effort in the second half to go out and push it."
The Bucks only ended up scoring 7 fast break points in the game but the change to the offense was drastic.
How dramatic was the change in style from half to half?
Let's put it this way. In the first half, the Bucks scored 53 points on 44.2% shooting. In he second half, the Bucks scored 68 points - two shy of their season high for a half - and shot 61.5%.
Miami, on the other hand, scored 56 points in the first half on 55% shooting. In the second half, the Heat scored 39 points on 35.1% shooting.
The Bucks have been searching all season for an identity and might finally be finding one as an open-court team.
This happened too many times to count last year. If the over/under for years until Krystkowiak is head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks was 2.5, I'd have to take the under.
Update: The Bucks have won five in a row with their win tonight over the Spurs. The game mentioned above was the second in the stretch.
Mandy Morales: Wayne Tinkle's answer to the loss of Cris and Virgil.
This is the first women's basketball post of the season. I'm sorry.
I've been very busy the past couple weeks having fallen behind on a journalism class article and had
finals in other classes but that is no excuse for not covering this year's Lady Griz team, which has won its seventh straight and is 10-1 -- sole loss being to Ohio State, you'll take that in any sport -- after tonight's victory over Santa Clara.
The Griz didn't play so hot in the first half but really turned it on in the second having shot 62% from the field in the period.
This happened as Mandy Morales tossed in a career-high 35 points and shot 18-18 from the stripe. Can we name the Big Sky Conference player of the week award after her already? She's won three straight and has to have Barbaro-like odds for this week's awards.
Next up is Canisius (gesundheit) in the Lady Griz Holiday Classic.
Griz fall to .500 after losing to that team that beat Kansas
The Montana Grizzlies lost third straight road game as they fell to Oral Roberts, whose season will likely be highlighted by their victory over then #2 Kansas in the second game of the year.
This comes after three straight wins, all at home, over teams that my high school (led by Gonzaga commit and sister's ex-boyfriend Steven Gray) could contend with.
The Griz beat the Golden Eagles by 15 last year at home as part of the Bracket Buster series so they had to return the favor. I don't think they know that they just had to play them at home, not return the favor of supplying a double-digit victory.
Continue Reading...I know it's early, but...
What is wrong with the Griz basketball team? Honestly, this team is just as talented, if not moreso, than
last year's team and it just isn't showing. When talent is not meeting expectations, coaching has to come into question.
The following clip is from a recent Bill Simmon's article on Doc Rivers. The Griz players don't give too many quotes after games but if they did I guarantee they would be saying some of the things listed below.
See, it's not hard to tell when your coach stinks. You usually know when your players are constantly saying things like "We just need to sustain that intensity for four quarters," "We need to play the kind of defense we're capable of playing," "We can take big leads, now we need to learn how to keep them," "We're a young team, so we're still learning how to bring the same consistency every night," "We have to start getting stops," and my personal favorite, "We need to learn how to execute down the stretch."
In last night's 81-65 blowout, the Hilltoppers made a run at the end of the first half to go into the break tied after trailing double digits previously. After the half the Griz came out flatter than a Monopoly board and Western Kentucky went on a 22-5 run. This would've never happened with last year's team. Last year the Griz would ALWAYS come out on a high and make a big run to start the second half. These runs were a staple of Larry Krystkowiak's motivational skills.
Coach K's recruiting skills also showed last night as Cameron Rundles looked very capable of running the point. He had 13 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Ex Griz hoops star in jail.
Kamarr Davis, voted the MVP of the 2004 Griz basketball team, is in jail on accusations of assaulting his girlfriend. She says he punched her in head and face and twisted her arms behind her back. Oddly,
assaulting someone in this way is only a misdemeanor. A felony charge of tampering may be tacked on as court papers say he punched the woman when he tried to call 911 then snapped the cellphone.
Here's the worst part of the whole story: "In the police report, police noted that the victim is approximately 5 feet tall. Davis stands 6-foot-7 and weighs nearly 300 pounds."
As humbling as the story on the incident is, the jail log goes one step further as Kamarr's name appears amongst all the other possible felons.
Griz lose two in a row after falling to Wyoming.
I heard from a friend that the University of Wyoming is the ONLY four-year college in the entire state of Wyoming. If this is the case, we definitely should've beat them.
The Griz lost by five after leading by 14 in the first half. I really don't know what the deal is with this team; they're like a bizarro version of last year's team. Last year's team always seemed to start a little slow then blow teams out in the second half. This team starts fast -- the Griz made 4 of 6 three pointers in the opening minutes -- and tends to give it all back.
Bryan Ellis missed a three that would've tied it at the very end of the game, the Griz got the rebound and Jordan Hasquet missed a three of his own. I have no idea why BE was taking this shot, I don't think he is even one of the top three people I'd want taking this shot. I don't know, maybe Tinks was going with the surprise Steve Kerr/John Paxson method.
Matt Dlouhy led the Griz with 18 points. Gus Chase only played 4 minutes, I do not understand his lack of playing time whatsoever.
Here's the AP article.
Griz hoops blown out but at least no one gets slapped.
Last night the Griz men's basketball team fell to 1-1 after a very dismal 74-57 loss to Utah Valley St in Orem, Utah. Aren't we supposed to beat teams with names this long?
The Griz hit their peak about five minutes into the game. Yeah, it's easy to see why they lost. The Griz sank their first eight shots from the field and were still up 21-13 with a little over six minutes left in the half. Things went bad from as they shot 5 for 20 for the remainder of the half to fall to a 31-27 deficit at the break.
It was pretty much over that as the Wolverines ran away to their 17 point victory. Strait finished with a double-double with 16 and 11. Complete stats in the article.
The Griz did play awful but at least Tinks didn't go Bobby Knight on anyone.
School spirit.
Friday night the Griz basketball team absolutely trounced Montana St.-Northern and the students did not care at all. Throughout the course of the entire game, not a single student stood; no one. There was no noise. It really might as well of been a preseason NBDL game.
Not only did one stand or cheer, some students even told others not to stand. My girlfriend (we need to make up some name to refer to her by, like the Sports Gal, except better) was even called a bitch when she and a friend tried to stand through the first couple of minutes.
It's really beyond me that students can stand and yell throughout the course of a 3 and a half our long football game but not stand at all during a basketball game that lasts less than two hours. The Griz basketball finished up last season with advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over Nevada. Nevada enters this season ranked 25th in the nation.
The point is, the Griz basketball team is not I-AA; they're straight up I-A and people, especially students, should start noticing.
Just feeding the [lack of an] addiction.
Every sports fan loves SportsCenter, they do. Many will watch two, three, maybe even six times a day. Then on top of that there's the option of watching ESPNEWS, which is basically SC 24/7. As great as SportsCenter can be, everyone gets that deja vu feeling sometime during the SC binge; you know, where've you've just heard for like the third time in the exact same verbage that Jaromir Jagr scored in some game you do not at all care about and you realize it's not going to change no matter how much longer you sit on the couch
Well, that's the way I am with these Griz basketball previews. Nothing is changing. Even so, there's another one after the jump that follows the same basic formula. This, courtesy of the Portland State Blog.
Oh, and there's a game tonight at 7. The Griz have their first regular season game at home, its against MSU-Northern. I know it doesn't sound like it'd be as much fun as watching Bob Saget on 1 vs 100, but it's the last home game before they take on Western Kentucky on Dec. 6 so you might as well check it out.
Griz basketball redshirts.
The Griz basketball team comes into the 2007 season with a great deal of young talent. The problem with that is that some of these guys are going to have to sit. Seriously, the Griz basketball poster schedule has 17 guys on it. The basketball one only has 12.
At the bottom of this Missoulian article on how the Griz are looking to go dancing yet again, there is a note pointing to just who may sit out. The article itself isn't very interesting, it just has the very basics every team says after success. You know, "we'd love to get back, but we're just looking to take it one game at a time." Anyway, the most interesting part is a note on who will redshirt, here it is:
Tinkle said he has talked to freshmen Zach Graves and Dave Vanderjagt about sitting out as redshirts, but the decision will be up to the players and their families. ... Freshman Jovanni Sims, who played at a prep school last season, has yet to receive the go-ahead to practice from the NCAA Clearinghouse. ... Sophomore Charlie Cox, who transferred from Montana-Western, must sit out this season.
Vanderjagt's parents, who along with Big Dave are from Townsville, Australia, have been coming and watching their son at practice recently.
Graves is from Sacramento, California. He is still working on his shooting touch but he will become, in time, a very explosive player.
Holla at a preview when you see it in the street.
You know, I can't get enough of these Big Sky basketball previews like I can't get enough of my girlfriend making me watch Gray's Anatomy instead of the recent Big East clashes on Thursday nights. Even with the Seattle love, it's still a pretty awful show.
The previews are all the same, the Griz are picked to finish in the top 3, usually two with EWU or NAU in the top spot. Then the preview will start with how LK is gone but the respected and established Tinks has stepped in and taken over a good deal of talent.
The next step in the preview process is laying down Strait's stat line, then following it up with a little information on Jordo Hasquet. Next is always Cris. Every preview says the loss of the Grizzlies' backcourt, Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews, will really hurt and Tinks will be looking for Matt Martin and/or BE to step in. Depending on the length of the preview, JC transfer Gus Chase may or may not be mentioned.
Even so, there's another one after the jump; this courtesy of MontersandCritics.com.
Continue Reading...Griz debut at #19 in Mid-Major poll.
The Montana Grizzlies came in at #19 in this year's first Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
They come in one spot behind conference foe Northern Arizona, who they beat in the BSC tournament last season. The Griz also come in behind Oral Roberts and Loyola Marymount, who they also beat last year. It looks like voters are really punishing them for losing their backcourt and coach.
Also of interest: Western Kentucky, who the Griz play on Dec. 6 in the Zoo, are ranked 10th.
For a summary of all the preseason previews, check out this entry on the Portland State Blog.
Another interesting tidbit: Griz forward Andrew Strait was named to the Mid-Major All American team.
Complete Mid-Major top 25 after the jump.
Continue Reading...Griz hoops face Concordia in exhibition tonight.
The Griz open their exhibition schedule tonight at 7:05 with a scrimmage against Concordia of Portland. Here's what Tinks had to say on tonight's lineup:
Tinkle said Strait, the Grizzlies' leading returning scorer (16.6) and rebounder (6.4), will start along with sophomore Jordan Hasquet and senior Matt Dlouhy, who both started last season. Sophomore Austin Swift will start at a wing, with either junior Matt Martin or freshman Cameron Rundles at point guard. Martin has had a flu bug that has bitten about half the team in the last week or so, Tinkle said. Senior Bryan Ellis, who saw plenty of minutes at the point last season, tweaked an ankle in practice and will suit up, but his minutes may be limited.
It's really good to see some of the younger guys in Swift and Rundles make it into the starting lineup. Swift, a sophomore, is one of the most improved players from last year's team and Rundles is a freshman out of Minneapolis, Minnesnowda who is very capable of running the point.
From what I've heard at practice, the Griz will have a size advantage and will be looking to really control the glass. With the size advantage, look for Gus Chase and Andrew Strait to put up some numbers. Also, look for Kyle Sharp and big Dave Vanderjagt to get in there for some major minutes if the Griz get up. Greg Spurgetis is another player to watch; he shot the ball exceptionally well in the Maroon Silver scrimmage last week.
A whole lot of basketball.
I've been busy the last couple days doing a story on the proposed Missoula County Charter (it's a hoot) so I'm kind of backed up on all the basketball information coming out. There's really a lot with the scrimmage, season previews and polls so I'm going to try and toss it all up in one post.
Silver/Maroon Scrimmage
There was a lot of coverage on last night's scrimmage, with some articles even declaring a winner; this doesn't really make sense seeing as the the scrimmage was split up into two 16 minute games and another 5 minute one with the teams getting changed up after each.
The bigs were probably the most impressive as Andrew Strait and Gus Chase put up 25 and 18 points respectively. Sophomore Jordan Hasquet also looked good as he hit a big fade-away late in the second scrimmage with someone practically inside his jersey. Frosh Cameron Rundles also looked very capable of managing the 1. Interestingly, Matt Martin played a majority of the scrimmages at the 2-spot. If Martin and Ellis struggle I could definitely see Rundles getting some major minutes at the point. Greg Spurgetis, a sophomore, was on fire at one point hitting shot after shot from behind the arc.
Related articles in: Montana Kaimin, The Missoulian, The Great Falls Tribune and on Montanagrizzlies.com.
I wasn't able to stay for the Lady Griz scrimmage but here is the Kaimin article on that.
Season Previews
A couple of season previews have come out from CBS Sportsline and Athlon Sports over the last two days. The Athlon article picks the Griz to finish first in the conference while the CBS Sportsline piece has them all the way down at third with NAU at 1 and EWU at three. The article raves about EWU's sophomore guard Rodney Stuckey, who will be playing the two this year instead of the point.
The Polls
Here are the polls, from a Sac State press release.
COACHES’ POLL
School (First-place votes) Points
1. Northern Arizona (4) 59
2. Montana (4) 58
3. Eastern Washington (1) 54
4. Portland State 41
5. Sacramento State 37
6. Weber State 27
7. Idaho State 22
8. Montana State 17
9. Northern Colorado 8
MEDIA POLL
School (First-place votes) Points
1. Montana (9) 233
2. Northern Arizona (13) 232
3. Eastern Washington (7) 222
4. Portland 149
5. Sacramento State 143
6. Montana State 109
7. Weber State 95
8. Idaho State 93
9. Northern Colorado 30
One last note: Both men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle and women's basketball coach Robin Selvig signed multiyear contracts.
Griz looking to step up defense.
In case you missed it, Griz basketball is back like Jay-Z with five days of practices already in. Here is an excerpt from a preview on the Griz from The Bracket Board:
Tinkle was a Krystko assistant, so fans can expect more of the razor-sharp offensive execution and shooting (#11 nationally in Adj Off Eff) they have grown to love. The defense was only average (#166), but it was good enough to win 24 games. The Griz will need some folks to step up in the backcourt, but the frontcourt is stacked with size and skill, and the bench has some meat on it. The most jarring part for [Hill]Topper fans is that Montana was 13-1 at home last season (including a 19-point pasting of Stanford), and that lone loss was by 4 points to a very good UW-Milwaukee team. It will be tough to come out of Missoula with a win.
Tinks is certainly well aware of the Griz's defensive inabilities last year and has been working hard at improving them this year. A common theme throughout the practices so far is the confidence that the Griz will not have any problems scoring. Tinkle has said over and over they have the weapons to do so but just need to improve on the defense end of the floor. This morning's 7 AM practice was devoted almost entirely to the defensive end of the floor. At the end of practice Tinkle said the Griz D had definitely improved.
Young Griz basketball season looks good so far.
The Griz basketball season officially started this past Friday night with two and a half hours of practice but what most students saw of the team was Stuart Mayes, Matt Martin, Austin Swift and Bryan Ellis running out with the football team at the homecoming game. Yeah, they were the ones prancing around the outside of the field trying to spell out G-R-I-Z with the flags.
These practices are the reason this blog hasn't been updated too much over the past week; I volunteered as one of the managers (pretty much just waterboys) for the Griz basketball team. I have to say that what I've seen so far are very impressive. 
Of the new players, the most impressive I've seen are Gus Chase and Ryan Staudacher. Chase, a top 20 junior college player and top 5 JC forward, has excelled on both ends of the floor in practice on just raw talent alone. Chase is still learning the playbook but has made an effort to speed up the process by making at least one visit to coaches' office.
Staudacher shoots so well I think there may have been a little precipitation in the Western Auxiliary Gym over the weekend. He's like Reggie Miller out at arc. He also has a little Joe Mauer in him having started three years at QB for the Lake Washington High School. For his AAU hoops, Staudacher played for 
Friends of Hoops, one of the best AAU teams in Washington state and the nation. The team was started by now Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl and boasts a slew of alum at some of the best college programs in the country and even one in the NBA lottery.
I'm not gonna lie, losing Krystkowiak really blows but I think we'll be just fine.
UPDATE: There was a great quote by Matt Dlouhy on Chase in today's Kaimin.
“Gus is probably the most raw talent I’ve seen in a while,” Dlouhy said. “He’s almost, like, 95 percent unstoppable on offense – pretty much impossible to guard.”
Is it just me or could you hear Napolean Dynomite saying something along those lines?
Wallpaper.
As a resident of Aber 359 last year, I found that UM poster schedules and trail maps from local ski areas were the most efficient way to decorate the walls of a room that felt more like the hold of a ship than a home. They were free, readily available and somewhat functional.
Here is an image that looks like it could be part of the Griz Basketball poster schedule for this year. This was pulled off of the oh so reliable Facebook. Also saw these guys walking into a local business in their suits while driving down Higgins.
I don't have any real idea if this is actually going to be used for the poster schedule, but if it is, I'm kind of disappointed considering they used pretty much the same theme on their "A Formal Occaison" poster last year.
Then again, they did make it to the second round of the dance last year so I'm all for tradition.
Montana Grizzlies basketball adds Nate DuChesne
MontanaGrizzlies.com reports who will be filling out Tinks' coaching staff:
University of Montana men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle announced this week the hiring of Nate DuChesne to an assistant coaching position. DuChesne, who played for the Grizzlies from 1986-89, most recently served as the head coach at Edmonds (Wash.) Community College.
“Nate has Grizzly blood in him, which was really important to me when I was looking at applicants,” Tinkle said. “He’s a guy that understands our program and the way things are done in the Big Sky Conference.”
“It’s an honor to be a member of the Grizzly coaching staff,” DuChesne said. “The program has great tradition and the last few years it has gotten back on track. I’m looking forward to the challenge of building on the team’s recent success.”
The Griz hoops program continues to reward its own with the hiring of DuChesne. I'm definitely not going to argue with the idea as it certainly worked with LK.
Also on: ESPN (AP)
Montana Grizzlies holiday plans now smell better.
The Missoulian reports that the preseason tournament the Griz men's basketball team is playing in over Thanksgiving weekend will now be called the first annual Old Spice Classic. Does anyone else find it a little ridiculous when the words "first annual" and "classic" are the bookends of some corporate sponsored event? It'll be the same teams, same place, same tournament, just a little less pungent.
The first-ever Old Spice Classic, formerly called the ESPNU Classic, will tip off Nov. 23 at 10 a.m. MST on ESPN2. The inaugural tournament field will feature Montana along with Arkansas, Marist, Minnesota, Southern Illinois, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Western Michigan. There will be four games each day with each team playing daily. The two undefeated teams will face off in a championship match on the final day.Montana will play West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. MST Nov. 23. Other opening games feature Arkansas against Southern Illinois, Marist vs. Minnesota and Virginia Tech against Western Michigan.
It's great to see that the Montana basketball team will finally be getting some television exposure. I was very disappointed when NAU's Bracket Buster game ended up being televised while the Griz were snubbed.
I will be watching this game from a Los Angeles hotel room on the eve of attending the Notre Dame/USC football game; which actually is a classic.
Watch Montana Grizzlies on the web... or not.
Chalk up another use for those many parental funded MacBooks that seem to be as popular as shower sandals and a laundry sack when it comes to dorm supplies.
Yes, you can now watch all Montana Grizzlies football, basketball, and volleyball games by way of the internet says the Missoulian.
SportsCast Network out of Salt Lake City has developed and produced the project, which is at www.bigskytv.org. Prices are $99.99 for all site content (called the Annual Conference Pass), $59.99 for single-school content or for a month-long all-site pass, $39.99 for a monthly single-school pass, and $6.99 if a fan just wanted to watch asingle event. “This will be unlike anything else currently available to fans of collegiate athletics,’’ BSC commissioner Doug Fullerton added. “SportsCast Network possesses some of the best technology available. Plus our nine athletic departments will all benefit from the agreement. When you buy a subscription the revenue will go back to your favorite school.”
To me, this seems a bit steep. Ryan at Big Sky Blog refers to value in his post about the development.
I saw an advance screening of "Lady in the Water", which even for free wasn't worth the price.A bit pricey, but if the quality is TV tantamount, then your money may be well spent. It is well that the Bobcats and Griz have nearly all their games broadcast in Montana, but I never have the opportunity to watch other schools in the conference. A happy fan this would make.
I included his opinion on the movie because the value of Griz games on the internet is every bit as much about value as yet another movie with some paradoxical twist at the end where it all ends up being in the protagonists head. (Is it still a twist if we expect it?)
How much better would this story be if it included a line like "free for students?" At the very least, there should be some kind of variation between how much a student and some wealthy MSU alumn pays for the content. Ok, maybe that doesn't exist, but you know what I mean. Out of staters pay around 20k per semester so aren't the schools getting enough already?
They could do what facebook used to do and verify enrollment using a University email 
address; no @umontana.edu email address and no discount.
Just about every single college student has the high speed connection to watch the games. The problem hardly any have the money to spend. That is unless until if they sell the free iPod nano that comes with the MacBook.
Montana Grizzlies Forward Turns it Around
We have all heard of the off-court tribulations of Montana Grizzlies forward Mike Chavez. Those trials reached their peak on Feb. 4, 2003 when he was arrested for drunk driving. Since then Chavez has used those giant legs of his 6'7" build to take major steps down a path toward redemption that is marked by both academics and athletics.
It is difficult for any is 18 or 19 year old kid to make the transition from living at home, surrou
nded by family and familiar friends, to living almost alone on an alien campus filled with strangers. This passage proved to be much more difficult for Chavez. His story is detailed in a recent article by Jodi Rave:
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Chavez said. “I wasn’t really vibing with the whole university.” He withdrew from school the fall of 2003. He moved to Billings and spent the next few months in front of a PlayStation 2.An otherwise promising basketball career might have ended then. But that’s not how his story ends.
An earlier Kaimin article also mentions Chavez's troubled move:
“Socially, you are out of your element being on a reservation your whole life,” said Chavez, a junior forward on the UM basketball team. “Thrown in with a group of guys from a whole other culture – that along with always being surrounded by family and a huge support system on the reservation – all that together makes it tough.”
According to the Rave article, Chavez's rebound has not gone unnoticed as he was recentl presented a leadership award from officials of the Native American Basketball Invitation tournament.
Continue Reading...Wayne Tinkle Bio on YouTube
Here's a story on Montana Grizzlies head basketball coach Wayne Tinkle, done by Troy Oppie of KECI-TV. Please ignore the part about the donut burgers, your arteries may clog at the sight alone.
"There's players overseas that could play in the NBA. There's players in the NBA that couldn't play overseas."
Mid-Majors in the NBA Draft...
Gonzaga's (of course) Adam Morrison headlined the draft for Mid-Majors as he was taken #3 overall by the Charlotte Bobcats. 'Stache had to go in the top 5, he'd proven himself with the numbers he'd put up in Spokanistan, but will we ever see NBA honchos go out on a limb, like they do with many international players, and pick up a "project" Mid-Major guy?
With the 10th overall pick the Seattle Sonics selected Saer Sene; a 7 foot bench anchor (if he ever makes an NBA roster) who has played basketball for less than three years with 4 rpg and 3 ppg in a
Belgian league. Run me off some picks somewhere around the top of the key and could average 4 ppg in some random Belgian league and I've never played competitive basketball in my life. On ESPN's TV draft coverage they said he lacked athleticism and could not rebound nor post up. Um, what is he doing doing in the NBA, let alone getting picked tenth?!
From SupersonicSoul: "Wait a minute, didn't we already draft this guy? Like four times? I guess you can never have too many 7-foot "projects" that no one has ever heard of. Sigh . . ."
How come there are never any 6' Mid-Major guards with great shooting aren't getting drafted as "projects?" The fact that Sene was picked ahead of Duke's J.J. Redick points to how GMs care more about "upside" than basic fundamentals.
Sure, you can't teach height, but is it that easy to teach the game of basketball to someone that can't speak English?
I'm totally convinced that taking Andrew Strait with the #10, had he done something as insane as entering the NBA Draft, at this pick would make as much sense as taking that stiff. I'm not saying it'd be a good pick, just saying it'd be as good as the Sene pick.
Here are the Mid-Major players taken in the draft:
- #3 Adam Morrison, Forward, Gonzaga
- #9 Patrick O'Bryant, Center, Bradley (there we go)
- #16 Rodney Carney, Forward, Memphis (to Philadelphia)
- #17 Shawne Williams, Forward, Memphis
- #29 Mardy Collins, Guard, Temple
- #33 Solomon Jones, Foward, South Florida
- #47 Paul Millsap, Forward, Louisiana Tech
- #58 J.R. Pinnock, Guard, George Washington (to L.A. Lakers)
As strongly as I dislike Adam "Big Vanilla Earthquake" Morrison, this remains the best part of draft night...
Staying Sharp
Montana Grizzlies sophomore forward Kyle Sharp has been keeping himself busy down in the town named after the bizarro Abercrombie, says an article in the Gilroy Dispatch:
Just the basics of his summer and how he's at home in Hollister, CA instead of in Missoula:
It's going good. Just enjoying the weather and the people in Hollister. I've been in town for about a month now. I've just been working out, playing a lot of basketball. I just decided I wanted to come back and be with my family and friends. I felt like I could train here and get better, and then go back to Montana and get ready instead of staying up there. I wanted to be back with my friends after my first year of college.
Should he be in Missoula practicing with the team? A month into my first summer during college, I wouldn't mind being back in the Zoo. Doesn't he have friends on the team?
Definitely. Definitely. Now, when I go back, I have a lot of people that I know and I have my coaches. And my teammates? I'm excited to go back and see them and what they've done. And we've brought in new people. It's like another family up there.
On him putting on the weight with some of his mother's home cooking, I've seen him the Food Zoo and he could use another pass through that line...maybe grab some of that vanilla pudding with the Oreo crumbs in it, you know what I'm talking about.
It is. It is. She'll take a lot of credit for it. I helps out. I have to over-eat. I'm working out hard, so if I don't gain a lot of weight, I'll just gain strength which either one, I would love to do. I'm not trying to gain 40 pounds. I'm just trying to gain 10 pounds at a time. Just getting bigger and stronger and being able to hold my own down there in the post.
More in the article on who he's training with , academics, AND his vacation to Cabo.
Krystko At Home in Milwaukee
He's made it to Milwaukee, signed his deal, and couldn't be happier according to a Milwaukee Journal Article:
"I feel very fortunate, very blessed," Krystkowiak said at a news conference Thursday afternoon at the Bucks' training center. "I'm kind of pinching myself that it's all happening. Missoula, Montana, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are two of my favorite places. To have an opportunity to get into the league as a coach, it's not an easy thing to do."
On when it all went down and the future:
Stotts and Krystkowiak first chatted about the job at the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando. They then met with owner Herb Kohl and after only a short period of time, Krystkowiak was a member of Stotts' staff.
Krystkowiak called the Bucks' roster "solid" and said he was looking forward to working with Andrew Bogut and the Bucks' other big men.
We saw what he did with Strait, I'm looking forward to see how Bogut's game develops under LK.
The best quote I heard out of the whole situation was from Matt (not Max) Martin in a Missoulian article I mentioned in an earler post:
“He called us in and just told us straight out that he would never leave Montana for another college job,” junior Matt Martin said of the team's meeting with Krystkowiak. “It's a chance to coach at the highest level, which he can't pass up and we all understood that. He loves this place ... it was hard for him to let go.
“He's going to be missed, but by the same token I think the guys have a sense of relief and pleasure that Tinks is going to step in and be our leader.”
Tinkering With Success Won't Hurt Griz Hoops
They're not just changing their uniforms. The revamping of the Milwaukee Bucks has hit Missoula, hard. The big Australian tight-wearing #1 pick couldn't turn the team around on his own in his rookie season so they had to go and steal our coach.
Head basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak has resigned to join the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played four years and earlier today signed, of course, a multiyear contract. There will be more griping in this post about how we should have offered more years and more money. Coach K (oh how we loved to call him that) has made his inevitable departure from The Zoo. As AD Jim O'Day said in yesterday's press conference, "We knew we could only keep him so long." Now it's time for the Tinkle Takeover.
After being an assistant for five years and three head coaches, it's finally time for Wayne Tinkle. No
one knew for sure when the Takeover would happen, but everyone knew it would. To return to Jim "cliche" O'Day, this from a piece in the Missoulian:
“Wayne has earned his stripes,” UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day said while introducing Tinkle at a press conference at the Adams Center Sky Club. “This is his time to shine.”
Many will doubt Tinks' promise to "not lose any momentum;" I don't. I stand by him as a fellow Cubs fan (another example of his dedication) and a coach who I know has the respect of both the players and the fans.
Tinks' reputation as a leader has even spread as far as the Missoula Police Department. In May, as part of a J270 Reporting class, I did a ride-along with Officer Pat Malone and Griz hoops became the topic of conversation. He mentioned how whenever one of the players got in trouble they'd neglect to mention LK, it'd always be something along the lines of "Man, Tinks is gonna kill us."
Wayne also stands out to me as a great fans' coach. As an assistant he'd walk along the baseline giving high fives to the student section (I'm calling hit right here; now the "Dahlberg Den") every single game. One game, when I forgot a certain piece of apparel he even remarked "Hey, where's your Cubs hat?" I also exchanged emails with him yesterday congratulating him on his promotion and could not have recieved a better response.
Plain and simple, Tinks has the expertise to keep the program rumbling towards the postseason every season. From Tinks himself in Andy Katz's ESPN article (yes, they know we exist):
"I've had a hand in recruiting every player that is on the roster, as well as the incoming players, and that will help with the transition," he said. "Our players are excited about the direction we are heading. I am humbled and proud to pick up the torch, and we're not going to lose any momentum."
Tinks in the Missoulian:
“I think I have a better understanding of what makes 18- to 22-year-olds tick,” Tinkle added. “How to motivate them. X and O-wise, I have a better understanding of the game. The big thing is, in the five years I've been here I've worn a lot of different hats. Coaching is not just about running a team during a game. It's preparing them in the classroom to become better students, to become better people in their community so that when their playing days are over they can succeed."
What does he not have? Respect, knowledge, leadership abilities, dedication; all there. He doesn't have the glamour that was "Coach K." Not yet.
Changing of the Guards Hurt Griz In One Projection
The Griz will return next season as defending Big Sky champs and a Mid-Major darkhorse coming off an NCAA Tournament win. They'll also play their first game in the den at Dahlberg looking a bit different having lost starting guards Virgil Matthews and Kevin Criswell.
This is the reason they don't show well in an initial projection by CollegeHoops.net:
The backcourt lacks experience and will have to depend on Bryan Ellis and Max Martin. Ellis is a speedy guard who will look to shine after spending last year as a backup. Martin saw his starts decrease as a sophomore and will need to regain his freshman form. The frontcourt, on the other hand, is deep and talented and will be the strength of the Montana team.
Once you stop sauntering down the court and hoisting Jason Williams-esque threes early in the shot clock then they get your name right...but you can do what you want and still have your mug on this site.
The front-court strength, already bolstered by junior Andrew Strait and sophomore Jordan Hasquet (can he play the two?), is only going to get better with incoming recruits.
Coach Larry Krystkowiak is bringing in a very good recruiting class led by junior college transfer Gus Chase. Chase, a 6-4, 245 pound power forward, has a knack for rebounding. The big man is one of the top forwards at the juco level and will compete for a starting job from day one. Incoming freshman Dave Vaderjagt, a 7-0 center, has plenty of experience playing for the youth Australian national teams. Vanderjagt will need some time to gain strength, but with his size, he’ll soon become an impact player for the Grizzlies.
Here's a look at their final projection and I'm going to have to say I disagree.
The backcourt has some cause for concerns, which knock the Griz down to 3rd in the Big Sky. If Ellis and Martin can prove they can be the leaders Coach K needs them to be, and Rundles can develop into a solid option off the bench, Montana can make the NCAA Tournament again and beat a five seed again.
They also were ranked 144th overall by the site.
The Griz have a dominant frontcourt that is only getting better so if the guards can do anything besides making themselves a liability, I don't see them finishing third in the conference. Northern Arizona may or may not maintain the form they showed last year and Stuckey will definitely be a force, but neither team match the talent level of the Griz.
Bracket Busters Impress Heads of Conference
If the clouds opened up and the God of sports, none other than "Superfan" Todd O'Connor, granted us the Ten Commandments of Sports Fanatics, I guarantee one of them would be "Thou shalt pick at least one 12-5 upset when filling out a NCAA Tournament Bracket."
Last year, the Griz basketball team took part in one of these annual upsets as they beat the Nevada Wolf Pack and severely damaged the bracket of almost everyone outside the 406 (the entire state of Montana).
One of the reasons the Griz earned their high (for the Big Sky Conference) seed was their win over Oral Roberts as part of ESPN's Bracket Buster Series. According to an article in the Billings Gazette the Big Sky Conference's presidents are taking a look at these games and discussing their benefits and the effect it had on Montana:
Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton thinks playing BracketBuster games were good for league schools this season, especially Montana.He believes Montana's 88-74 win over Oral Roberts on Feb. 18 and a connection between the BracketBusters selection committee and the NCAA tournament selection committee helped Montana get its No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament.
"Two guys on the BracketBusters committee are on the NCAA committee," said Fullerton, in Missoula for the league's annual spring meeting. "The BracketBuster is designed to improve your ability to get into the (NCAA) tournament, or to get a better seed into the tournament. I think that's what it did for Montana this year."
This game, plain and simple, was a good win over a bad team. These are games that need to be won in order for the Griz, and the Big Sky Conference, to gain any legitimacy. Oral Roberts won 21 games and made the NCAA Tournament as the winner of the Mid-Continent Conference. The fact that they earned a 16 seed and the Griz earned a 12 seed says a great deal about the steady rise of the program and the conference; in 2004, the Griz won the Big Sky and only earned a 16 seed.
If the Griz, and the conference, continue to participate in events like ESPN's Bracket Buster Series then maybe they'll eventually be the bustees instead of busters.
Eagles Turn Down Gift from Griz
The big red bow was tied and the wrapping paper all taped up before the University of Montana Grizzlies decided they weren't going give the game away.
The Griz were up 14 with only 8:30 to play before letting it all slide. These slides and an overall lack of confidence have been a staple of how the Griz play on the road. The Griz cannot repeat this flaw in their Big Sky Championship matchup against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
If the Griz, who were 7-0 at home but only 2-4 on the road in regular season conferance play, want to go dancing they need to win in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks also have not lost at home in conference play, but the last time the Griz visited they should've left a smudge on that record.
The Griz held a 19 point lead in the first half and a 13-point halftime lead in the last meeting between the Griz and Lumberjacks at Flagstaff. The Griz are a more talented team and need show their home swagger on the road.
Look at the stats and it's hard figure out why this game isn't being played in Zoo-Town. The Griz, as a team, are fourth in the nation in assists, sixth in field goal percentage (one back of Duke), and 17th in points per game. The Griz are ranked 22nd in the latest Mid-Major Poll, NAU didn't crack the top 25. The Griz also have two of the the top three scorers in the conference in Andrew Strait and Kevin Criswell. Criswell, along with sophomore sensation Strait, will have to provide major contributions if the senior's career is to continue.
Griz Stuck Playing Stuckey
The Eastern Washington Eagles come into the Big Sky Tournament looking a bit like the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Eagles are not necessarily one of the favorites when it comes to who is getting that NCAA bid but they are a dangerous team with the league's most dangerous player.
EWU guard Rodney Stuckey plays the role of Kobe Bryant for the Eagles. Stuckey averages 24.1 ppg and on Wednesday became the first freshmen in the history of the conference to be named MVP.
Stuckey dropped 38 on Portland State in the quarterfinals, a point off of the league playoff record.
The Griz face the Eagles on tuesday in Flagstaff, Arizona where NAU plays host to the tournament. Stuckey is averaging 25 ppg against the Griz in their previous two meetings, both won by Montana.