Tonight, womens all-star teams from Montana and Wyoming will play each other in an annual game of hoops. Wyoming has won three of the last four but Montana leads the overall series--which is in its twelfth year--by four.
The Montana team will feature five Division I players, including future Lady Griz Ali Hurley. The Billings Gazette has a profile on Hurley, along with her thoughts on coming to UM and playing in the all-star game.
The Montana Grizzlies basketball team has yet to add an assistant coach after Brian Marso resigned following a rough, yet chalupa-filled season. Well, here's a candidate: former Griz great Micheal Ray Richardson. It's something I touched on in my podcast with Jim O'Day, now let me lay out my reasons.
Credibility
Micheal Ray Richardson was drafted fourth overall in the 1978 NBA Draft. Two spots later, the Celtics drafted Larry Bird, who had led the Indiana State Sycamores to the NCAA Championship game. Yeah, a Griz going ahead of Larry Legend. Whenever there's a scuffle or disagreement between player and coach, "I played so great in college I was drafted ahead of Larry Bird" has to trump all.
Not only did Micheal Ray play hoops at the highest level of competition, but he excelled at that level. In his second season in the NBA, he became the first player to lead the league in both assists and steals. This was during an era when the NBA was as good as it's ever been and probably every will be.
This part of his past gives him instant respect from players.
Experiences
Micheal Ray was banned from the NBA for life in 1986 after three failed drug tests. Then, he got another chance. He proceeded to fail two more drug tests (for cocaine). He knows how badly stupid off-court mistakes can mess up your game, career and life. There isn't a more suitable person to preach to players on the subject.
Apart from his troubled past, Richardson also has experience as a head coach. While it was in the CBA, we know it helps. He coached the Albany Patroons and Oklahoma Cavalry.
Style
Micheal Ray Richardson is a fiery guy. He yells, he talks, he isn't afraid to speak his mind. It's gotten him in trouble at times but I'd rather have a coach or player who talks too much than one who talks too little. With the talk came a certain attitude. He had a swagger about him. He had confidence. Last year's Griz team had next to no swagger.
His style of play would also be greatly valued. He hustled on both sides of the ball, always looking to make a steal and go the other way or make the extra pass for easy points. This attitude is something the current team sorely lacks.
A minority hire
Race is a weird issue. No one should ever be hired or not hired because of the color of their skin. But let's face it, Montana is very very white. Having one African American coach on the staff may make coming to this place seem a little less daunting to some recruits.
Aside from recruiting, this seems like the perfect candidate. Tinks, please consider it. Great highlight reel after the jump.
The posts haven't been as frequent as we sink into the offseason and the Missoula weather starts to change but here's something new: the first ever Grizzoulian podcast. I hope to do one more this month then make it a more consistent feature in the fall.
My guest on the first one is University of Montana Athletic Director Jim O'Day. We start by talking about next years hoops team then move onto football scheduling, the draft, the expansion and more.
There'd been rumors floating around about where Cameron Rundles would end up transferring to, with the initial thought being Wayne State. That doesn't appear to be the case.
It looks like Cameron Rundles is headed to Wofford, the same tiny school that upset us in football. Wofford plays in the SoCon, a Division I conference. So, I believe he will have to sit out a year.
Well, good luck as a Terrier.
While it's not completely official, both Anthony Johnson and his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson will be playing hoops for the University of Montana next year.
It's been a long trip to this level for both of them, especially for Anthony. At one point, he was completely out of organized basketball; then he met Shaunte. For their incredible story, read this article in the Tacoma Weekly.
At Stadium [High School], Johnson wasn’t much of a standout on the court or in the classroom. As a senior, he averaged just more than 12 points per game while the Tigers went 6-15 and finished in seventh place in the Narrows League Bay Division. Not exactly the kind of performance that gets you noticed at the next level.
On his report cards, things were even worse. Not showing up for class on a regular basis, Johnson saw his cumulative grade-point average during his time in high school come out as a 1.6. Needless to say, there weren’t a lot of opportunities awaiting him after graduation.
In 2005, though, while he was spending the year at home helping his mom and brother around the house, the most important event of his life happened. He started dating Nance. After that, things just started to change for him.
Not sure what he was doing or could do with his life, Nance was there as someone who believed in him. She pushed him to become better not only as a basketball player but as a person as well.
“She noticed something in me,” Johnson said. “She figured in her mind that I could play college basketball while at the time I was ready to give it up.”
Nance, then playing basketball on a full-ride scholarship to Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), watched Johnson play at the YMCA and knew that his time on the hardwood wasn’t over.
“He had an amazing shot, it was something I envied,” Nance said. “His dedication to the game was a big thing. I knew once he put his mind to it, the sky was the limit for him.”
And it was. Anthony was further motivated by his freshman season at Yakima Valley Community College—Shaunte got him a tryout there— where he averaged 18.3 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting. The next season, he was NWAAC east region MVP as he led his 7-man team to a conference title.
Next season, the Griz will look to play a more up-tempo, quicker offense. With that goal in mind, they're tailoring their recruiting accordingly. One player they're targeting: Anthony Johnson of Yakima Valley Community College. He was in Missoula today visiting campus.
Here's a little information on Johnson, who was East Region MVP of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.
"He's a scorer," Funk (his coach) said. "He can get to the basket and the free throw line, but he's also got a canny mid-range pull-up shot that you don't see much anymore. And the knock on him all year was that he had no three-point shot, but he was 7-for-14 from three in the (NWAACC) tournament. He's really quick, long-armed, and a great on-the-ball defender too."Over the course of the season, Johnson saw his recruitment steadily rise and now a number of schools all throughout the Pacific Northwest are looking at taking the next step.
"Anthony is getting looked at by a lot of Division I schools right now," Funk said. "Montana is coming in to see him tomorrow and Eastern Washington and Portland State have been recruiting him and would like him to visit. Idaho and Weber State also came to see him play this year and I've talked to one of the Boise State coaches about him."
Funk also noted that many of the schools in the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference have been recruiting Johnson all season long. The high-scoring guard is considering all options and is essentially looking at taking as many official visits as he can before making an educated choice.
"I think he's basically looking for that best fit," Funk said. "It's everything from academics to the level of play to the playing time situation to what his role would be on the team to the chance to get to the (NCAA) Tournament. He's married, so he's got his wife to consider as well."
Wow. He has to figure out if Montana is the right fit from him, but based on his skill-set, he's the perfect fit for Montana: quick, athletic guard who can get to the rim but still keep defenders honest with a dangerous mid-range jumper. Although he showed he's capable of making a 3-point shot, it's great to know that is not something he depends on. With a player like this—combined with the additions of Selvig, McGillis, Taylor, Stockton and Ward—it's very likely the Griz will have the most talent in the 'Sky. As we know, talent is not everything, but when you get versatile talent like this, it goes a long way.
The Northwest Shootout is a high school all-star basketball game between a team from Oregon and a team from Washington. For any runners out there, it's the Border Clash of hoops. The Griz had a couple recruits playing in the game in Mathias Ward and Shawn Stockton. I was not at the game, but Portland State blogger Ian Ruder was and his impressions on the Griz recruits are below.
On Stockton:
Easily the player I was most excited to see and easily the most disappointing player in the game. Some of the disappointment is a product of hype, when you're NBA-legend John Stockton's nephew and are coming off a record 58-game winning streak, well, that's part of the deal.But hype aside, Stockton looked over-matched in his 18 minutes on the floor. He finished with a team-low four points and three turnovers. He did a nice job pushing the ball at times but didn't show the court vision other point guards did and had an awful looking shot. He was 2-5 from the floor and missed both three-pointers he attempted.
On Ward:
He didn't stand out amongst his talented teammates but showed a nice stroke, three-point range and good rebounding instincts en route to eight points and five rebounds. He's not a huge dude, but has a solid frame and above-average athleticism that should make him a solid Big Sky contributor.
Being completely honest, some of what I've heard on Stockton scares me a little. He's a gritty guy playing at a skill position, getting by on effort and toughness. But then I read something on his style of play and he sounds like exactly what the Griz need: a strong, quick point guard who can get to the rack and put pressure on the defense. Ruder calls him overmatched but in the article linked to above, DeAngelo Casto—who Ruder justly raves about—says everyone notices his strength. It should be easy to see early, with Stockton going up against the likes of Hasquet, Qvale and Selvig in practice, if his style of play translates to this level.
Look for Robin at about the :45 mark.
Two straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006 should've been enough of a base for the Montana Grizzly basketball program to build upon. It was not.
The legacy Larry Krystkowiak left behind before leaving for the NBA fizzled over the next two seasons, Wayne Tinkle's first as a head coach, as the Griz went 31-31 over that stretch. Only two seasons after Krystkowiak's departure, just a couple of his recruits remain with the program as numerous players transferred to play their hoops at schools in lower divisions, a sign to many that they couldn't cut it at this level.
Through the strife, clashes in chemistry and failure to meet expectations, Tinkle has found the team's foundation: a pair of near 7-footers ready to put the program on their backs. Continue Reading...
Idaho State fans, turn on CBS (or go to their website and check it out because you probably have the WSU game) and take a look at who's running the baseline in tonight's premier matchup between USC and Kansas State. Hell, Mayo vs Beasley might be the best matchup in the entire first round. It's the one, the only, Eric Curry. This man wreaked havoc on Big Sky teams, the most blatant error occurring in a game between Montana and Idaho State where Hasquet pulled a Chris Webber and Curry let it slide. He got suspended and now, amazingly, he's doing his thing in the dance.
Well, Beasley has two fouls less than five minutes in. America, meet Eric Curry.
Click on it for a better look so you can, you know, actually read the team names.
Well, it all starts tomorrow. For Portland State, it'll probably be over before it even starts as they kick off as one of the early games at 10:25 our time. I know I should have a little Big Sky pride—and I will be rooting for PSU as best I can—but I do hope Brandon Rush absolutely destroys Scott Morrison at least once.
Alright, a little explanation: I despise Gonzaga and Davidson has hung in there with some of the best teams in the land so there's one upset. Western Kentucky over Drake because it's 5/12, Courtney Lee is good and when it's mid-major vs mid-major all reason goes out the window. Marquette because they may have the best guard play in the country and have shown they can shut down bigs by beating the Gody monster in the Big East Tournament. There's that and in a perfect world, I'd spend three of the next four years of my life going to school there. That's a sleeper/heart pick. Tennessee's wins it all because they're fast, I don't know, they're fun to cheer for and Pearl is a nut. If I'm going to root for a team for almost a three weeks, I might as well liked them. Plus after last year, when my bracket was all but destroyed in the first round when there were almost no upsets, Tennessee almost resurrected it so, yeah, we have a history together.
Feel free to discuss in the comments. Leave your picks, talk about what's going on, whatever. I have a ton of stuff to get done tomorrow but most of it will be done sitting in front of the tv. Anyway, I'll probably be updating the Twitter page with running analysis so feel free to drop in there as well.
It's been speculated for a while now—especially with Zach Graves and Cameron Rundles—but as of Tuesday evening, it's official: these three players will not be returning to play basketball for the 2008-2009 season.
Most Griz fans never got a chance to see what "Big Dave" or Zach could do. Everyone raved about Graves' athleticism and Vanderjagt's potential presence inside but it was never realized. With Cam, it was different.
Cameron Rundles was recruited by Larry Krystkowiak as a point guard, a gritty floor general. But the point guard spot already had depth in senior Bryan Ellis and junior Matt Martin. At the beginning of the season, these two started at the guard positions but by the ninth game Rundles made the starting lineup. In a December 9th, 72-65 win over UC Riverside, he scored 13 points in 32 minutes.
By conference play, he was a major contributor. He earned Freshman of the Year honors and was the Big Sky's best three-point shooter, beating out Stephen Sir with a .481 clip during the regular season.
On top of the numbers, there were all the intangibles. From the beginning, it seemed as though he would inevitably become the leader the Griz needed. Maybe that had something to do with his downfall. Every time I spoke to him, he referenced being a leader, a coach on the floor. It'd be near impossible to get upper-classmen to listen to a struggling sophomore.
The slump was bad, no one can deny that, but I never thought it'd do him in. This kid once re-entered a high school playoff game and rallied his team from a 12-point deficit after suffering a concussion and gashing his face but he can't overcome a run-of-the-mill sophomore slump? Come on.
To him, it's undoubtedly more than that. There's probably some tension between he and Coach Tinkle over playing time and the like. To this Griz fan, that complaint seems unwarranted. Unlike some other players—see: Zach Graves, Matt Martin—he got minutes when he played well. You don't need to look any further than end of the last regular season match-up against Idaho State and the two games that followed to see this is the case.
Fans will bash his sometimes immature ways and poor decisions but no one can deny that he played with a lot of passion and tried to spread it to others. It usually looked like he was having some fun. He always took the big shots, the daggers. When a statement was needed, he'd try to make it.
I'm not going to lie, I think it's a terrible decision. I do not know what goes on behind closed doors so my judgement could be far, far off but I believe if he averaged 15 and 5 (assists) in limited minutes in the early games next season, a starting guard spot would his before Thanksgiving.
In summary: his freshman season was amazing, the slump was too much and both sides will regret this happened.
It wasn't just the wins. It was the way the Lady Griz played the game that drew outstanding support from the community.
The way the Griz played and the atmosphere this past weekend made those two games some of the best Griz sporting events I've ever attended. Honestly, they're up there with the Stanford upset, "The Zoo" night and Bagley's catch against EWU. The actual number of people was great—4,265 for the Portland State game and 5,016 for MSU—but it doesn't do an ounce of justice to what it was like in the D on Friday and Saturday night.
The Lady Griz were having fun and so were the fans. There were times when the Lady Griz would make a series of hustle plays—someone would dig out a rebound then kick it out for a dagger three from Cote, Mandy would give a little shimmy and knock one down right in someone's grill, Ena would bang her way to the rim before getting the hoop and the harm—and the whole crowd would stand and cheer in agreement that what they were seeing was amazing. That's how they played: filled to the brim with confidence and completely devoid of all selfishness. They supported one another and wore the Lady Griz uniform with pride.
The Lady Griz put on a show and gave the fans a good deal of entertainment, but when Lady Griz needed something themselves, the fans provided it. The fans didn't only respond to great plays, they helped cause them. When the Griz needed a stop or a run, they were there. They were there because they knew the Lady Griz would respond. When the Lady Griz were down, there was no doubt they'd make a run; whenever there was an opening, they'd stomp their collective foot on the chest of the opponent as they buried any doubt over the final outcome.
But it wasn't all like this. It wasn't all smooth. No one knows if they needed it but Coach Selvig kept them grounded. I'm damn-near 100% convinced that the reason he walks with a small limp is because he stomps so much.
There was a time in the MSU game when the Lady Griz were up comfortably by somewhere around 15 and Sonya Rogers made an ill-advised pass into the post on a fast break. It was picked off and as Sonya hustled back on defense, Robin stared into her back and screamed "SONYA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" It was terrifying. Sitting front row in the student section, his scream and stare were so intense I almost felt like I messed up. But these girls are tough. They don't get flustered, they don't think it's all a show. They know they screwed up and do not want to do it again.
There are so many things that went into this amazing season that's it's impossible to accurately describe even 1/8th of what it was like. For those of you who missed it, I'm sorry.
I'm also sorry for giving very little recognition to this great team here on The Grizzoulian. They should've gotten many more entries than the few written about them.
The Montana Lady Griz will face the Vanderbilt Commodores (23-8) in the NCAA Tournament's opening round. The game will be played in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Vanderbilt comes into the game ranked 21st in the latest coaches' poll. They are coming off a loss to Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. In the regular season, they finished 11-3, third behind LSU and Tennessee.
The last time the Griz made the tournament, which was following the 2004-2005 season, they also faced Vanderbilt in the opening round. The 12-seed Lady Griz lost 67-44 to the 5th-seeded Commodores.
More on the Lady Griz later.
Tonight, the Lady Griz face a dangerous Portland State team who beat them by 10 less than a week ago. Lady Griz will play the second game tonight at about 7:45 with Montana State and Northern Colorado playing in the first at 5:30.
Mandy Morales sprained an ankle in the last game so this should be interesting. I'll be there, hope everyone else can make it out.
Contrary to what I was hoping for, Portland State did not choke. They beat Northern Arizona 67-51 for their first tourney appearance.
I tried to watch what I could of the Big Sky Tournament but it was tough. I always need a break from sports after my team loses. To be honest, during the semis, I was catching up on LOST. The title of episode that came up: Not in Portland. Swear to God. I couldn't even make that up. Too fitting.
This is the second year in a row I've had to write one of these posts, it better not happen next year. Apologies for the lack of updates lately. Been a busy week with midterms and papers. In the next week or so leading up to another hiatus (Cabo), I'll be writing a series of posts titled What I want to see next year. So, yeah, look out. Also, LG coverage. I'll try to make this nonstop joyous celebration a little more bearable for those of us who aren't doing it.
Notes and analysis from the second twenty of the quarter-final game. We're going live this half.
Alright, some notes and analysis from the first half of Montana's quarter-final matchup against the ISU Bengals.
Up until this point, this men's basketball season has been a total wash. It is near impossible to extract any positives from a season in which this Griz basketball team fell well short of all hopes and expectations.
Several Griz hoops fans are questioning Wayne Tinkle's head coaching ability while multiple players are taking very serious looks at transferring and playing ball elsewhere next season.
In the eyes of this Griz fan, there is only one way the Griz can salvage what, up to this point, has been an embarrassing season: win the conference tournament and make the dance.
There shouldn't be any excuses. None of this "we don't have the guys" or "PSU is going to make the Sweet 16" or any of that crap. It's been a joke so far.
It seems as though no one even took conference play seriously. Where the hell was the effort or fire? When you're a fan, and you feel like you care twice as much as the players do, that's not good.
When you watch the biggest front-line in the conference consistently get out-rebounded, it makes you want to punch someone in the ear. When the back-court's idea of an offense is to dribble out the shot-clock then huck up a 23-footer you just want to grab the guys by the shoulders and shake them until they wake the hell up. When your team gets beat by half-a-hundred on Senior Night, you wonder what happened to this program and why the hell you care anymore.
Really, everyone needs to wake up. Let's buy into something, even if it's just that they're going to tolerate their teammates and coaches for three more games. It's time to focus. No more bitching about playing time or touches. No more thinking the coaches are out to get you. Just shut up and go out there and play. Play like your hair is on fire.
Because if we win three straight, the rest of the season will be forgotten. The 5+ last possession losses, the total inconsistency, the drubbing by PSU, all of it. Gone. All that will be remembered is that this will be the third Griz team in four years to make it to the dance. And while it doesn't seem like it—at all—that's a dynasty fellas.
Jim Bate/Seattle Times
When it comes to Griz basketball, there are not a lot of positives to be drawn after last night. One could be that Griz commit Shawn Stockton (pictured far right) won his second straight class 4A Washington state title.
Stockton plays point guard for the Saxons, who not only won back-to-back state titles, but also finished consecutive undefeated seasons.
Congrats Shawn.
I cannot imagine how that could've possibly gone any worse. Here are Tinkle's words with reporters. Sorry for the low volume. As could be expected, everyone was a little quiet tonight. The second question is about Jeremiah Dominguez.
I'm sorry I don't have more tonight. Rough game.
I did catch one thing that was disappointing to hear. Overheard one Griz player talking to a couple guys about what happened following the game. Supposedly Tinkle comes in yelling, tearing things up, maybe tossing stuff around. You know, how a coach probably has a right to act after his team gets blown out by 52. Well, a couple guys started chuckling as they were getting ready to leave and while this was going on. Tinkle gets mad and I believe they are suspended for the next practice. Not a good thing to hear; for the coach or for these players.
Next up: Idaho State in Pocatello. Should be a very intense rivalry game after what transpired a week ago. While I'm not completely sure, I believe I will be there with a few other students.
At it again. Live photos and comments straight from the student section.
Photos can be found at flickr.com/grizzoulian. Not guaranteeing that I'll have as many as some previous games but I'll try to toss a couple up there.
Live updates can be found at twitter.com/colinokeefe. Also available in the flashy thing below. Use arrows to scroll through.
This post can also work as a live thread for the game. If you have any comments or questions, leave them. While I may not respond in the comments section, I'll get them and may respond in the Twitter feed.
Also, if you have anything you want me to ask coaches and or players after the game, leave those in the comments as well. Not guaranteed that I pose the suggested questions but I will take a look at them and strongly consider it.
Two years ago, the Montana Grizzlies played Northern Arizona in the final game of the regular season. The Lumberjacks had already wrapped the conference title up earlier in the week and rendered the game mostly meaningless. The Griz rolled over them and sparked a run that left the Grizzlies as one of the last 32 teams standing in the country.
This game is not meaningless because if the Griz win, they will likely get the four-seed and a home game against Idaho State. Sorry fellas.
On top of that, a win here would go a long way towards establishing confidence in this team and putting a bit of fear into others. Giants-Pats serves as another great example. Right now, the Griz are considered the top team in the conference's second tier, behind the trio of PSU, WSU and NAU. A win wouldn't necessarily put them in that group but it would make them very wary of playing a Grizzly team that could be peaking at the right time.
Oh, and a heads-up: Drew broke his nose in practice yesterday, good start to Senior Night.
Coach Wayne Tinkle speaking to reporters following the Griz beating Northern Colorado 81-66.
Editors Note: Heh, I thought I'd toss this in there as some sort of retro homage to Danny Davis. I wrote this article for a class, so for a bit I had to pretend not to be the biased blogger who spent the entire game yelling from the student section. Enjoy.
With two games left in the regular season, the Montana Grizzlies—who were favored by the media to win the conference—had yet to clinch a spot in the Big Sky Tournament. Thursday night they kicked down the door with an 81-66 victory over the University of Northern Colorado.
"This is a game to clinch," said sophomore guard Cameron Rundles, "it doesn't matter if we're playing Duke or Northern Colorado, you have to be fired up because if we lose this game or lose Saturday, it's possible we don't make it into the tournament."
Rundles, who finished with 16 points in 21 minutes, was part of an overwhelming opening run that put the Grizzlies up by as many as 22 in the first half. After the game's opening 20 minutes, the Griz (14-14, 8-7) were on pace to score 96 points.
"I made some shots on Saturday [against Idaho State] in overtime and I was making some shots in warm-ups so I just thought, 'what the heck, I'm going to put some up and see what happens,'" Rundles said.
Early in the first half, it seemed as though no matter what the Griz did with the ball, it would end up going through the hoop. At one point, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor made a crisp pass to junior forward Kyle Sharp, who wasn't ready to receive it. The ball ricocheted of Sharp's flat hands right to Andrew Strait, who laid it up and in for a 20-4 advantage.
Both Rundles and head coach Wayne Tinkle credited Elgin-Taylor's play with getting the Griz going early. The junior point guard had 10 assists in the first half and finished with 8 points and 11 assists for the game.
"I knew he was getting guys involved," said Tinkle of Elgin-Tayor, "but then I saw the stat sheet at half-time and told him to go out and get 10 more in the second half...Maybe that was a mistake because we stopped running offense and it looked like he was just trying to make plays out there."
Things were rosy in the first half, but in the second Northern Colorado (12-16, 5-10) cut what was once a 26-point lead all the way down to 9 with a 26-9 run that stunned but didn't quiet the crowd.
"It's easy to come back, it's hard to come back and win," said Northern Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle, "I told my team I was proud of them for for about 6 minutes of this 40-minute game, but other than that I was really disappointed with our effort and execution. It's just disheartening."
On Saturday night, the Griz will bring a historic lineup into their match-up with first-place Portland State as senior guard Matt Martin's 7 points gives him 1,001 for his career. Jordan Hasquet and Andrew Strait—who along with Martin were part of the 2004 recruiting class—make this year's Griz team the first ever with three 1,000-point scorers.
"We all came in together and we're all in it together, it's pretty neat," Martin said. "The coolest part is that we all played on some really good teams."
Saturday night will be more than just Senior Night and the trio's first appearance as 1,000-point scorers. The Griz will have a chance to clinch the fourth seed in the tournament and a home game in the opening round with a win over Portland State, who blew out Montana State by 28 to ensure that the Big Sky Tournament would be held in the city of roses.
Coach Tinkle made sure that everyone knew there was still work to be done in the regular season.
"We'll see if we can send a message Saturday night...We've got bigger things in front of us and it starts with Portland State."
You know the deal, live photos and comments straight from the student section.
Photos can be found at flickr.com/grizzoulian. Not guaranteeing that I'll have as many as some previous games but I'll try to toss a couple up there.
Live updates can be found at twitter.com/colinokeefe. Also available in the flashy thing below. Use arrows to scroll through.
This post can also work as a live thread for the game. If you have any comments or questions, leave them. While I may not respond in the comments section, I'll get them and may respond in the Twitter feed.
Also, if you have anything you want me to ask coaches and or players after the game, leave those in the comments as well. Not guaranteed that I pose the suggested questions but I will take a look at them and strongly consider it.
Edit: Flash icon below may be a little behind so following on Twitter page is probably best.
Here's a letter from Jim O'Day to the students. It's the second time Jim O'Day has written such a letter. This time the marketing department had to take out a full page ad in the Kaimin.
Students Challenge For East Side Seats in Dahlberg Arena Falling Short
Last fall, I issued a challenge to the students at The University of Montana that would allow them the opportunity to return to the east side seats in Dahlberg Arena for Grizzly men’s basketball games for the first time in a decade. It was a challenge to re-energize the student section like the days of “The Zoo” from the early 1970s through 1999. Our goal was to average at least 700 students per home contests, and create a lively environment that would return Dahlberg Arena to the intimidating home-court arena it had been for the Grizzlies prior to the Adams Center renovation.
I envisioned a scene similar to that at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Kennel at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Instead, the numbers have been rather sporadic. Good student attendance was noted at the Colorado State game (1,140) when we experimented with re-locating the students to the east side seats on Nov. 9 and again for rival Montana State (1,131) when they remained in their current end zone sections on Feb. 9. (Incidentally, both were impressive victories by the home team). Aside from that, the most noticeable crowds were for Cal-State Fullerton (587 on Nov. 30) and the University of Portland (516 on Dec. 7). Since the Intersession break, the largest student attendance aside from MSU was for Eastern Washington on Thursday, Jan. 24 when 492 students went through the turnstiles. In our most recent games, we had 225 students for Sacramento State and 357 for Northern Arizona.
For the 13 home games thus far, we are averaging 432 students per game – or about 25 more per game than last year. For the 10 games outside of the Intersession period, the average is still only 517. That being said, it will take an impressive showing this week for Thursday’s game against Northern Colorado, and again Saturday night for league champion Portland State, for UM Athletics to take a serious look at moving our dedicated boosters away from the east side.
Let me be clear: I’d like nothing more than to re-visit the return of the students to those seats next year, but if they don’t show up now, it doesn’t make much financial sense. It wouldn’t be a battle I’m willing to wage – nor a very smart one. Remember, I’m also being tugged in another direction by loyal boosters who pay significant dollars to sit in those seats, who like the east side and its proximately to the playing floor. It isn’t an easy decision, unless, of course, the students chose not to attend the games.
There are two home games remaining. I challenge you to attend in big numbers, and make our decision tougher. Come out and support your peers, and create an atmosphere that is the envy of the Big Sky Conference. The players will appreciate it, the fans will enjoy it and we’ll all be winners. For those students who have loyally supported the team this year, I thank you – and acknowledge the effort you’ve made to get this challenge off the ground. Let’s hope more follow your lead this week.
Sincerely,
Jim O'Day
Director of Athletics
The University of Montana
Phone: 406.243.5348
The Seattle Times has an interesting profile on 6-foot-5, 235 pound forward Renado Parker of Kentridge High School in Washington.
Here's what a few people had to say about him:
"Most people don't know him," Washington said. "They think he's all mean or intimidating. But really, he's one of the softest guys."Except on the basketball court, where Parker has been a four-year terror. He became Kentridge's career scoring leader this season and needs 31 rebounds this week to break that career record.
This year, he is averaging 21.9 points, shooting 64 percent from the field, and 9.8 rebounds.
"He's just a monster in the paint," Decatur coach Kevin Olson said. "He always makes big plays. ... Renado's a beast."
The article goes on to say that Montana is interested in him as a non-qualifier, requiring him to sit-out next season. Part of it is grades. Part of it is due to the fact that, at the moment, all our 08-09 scholarships are used up. Strait and Martin go out while Mathias Ward and Shawn Stockton come in. This doesn't mean Parker will not be a Griz for the '08-'09 season. Following last season, the Griz lost two scholarship players: Austin Swift and Gus chase. Speaking of Gus Chase, he was a 6-foot-5, 240 pound forward.
Apologies for the poor image quality.
Saturday night, the Lady Griz blew the Bengals out by 22 at Dahlberg Arena. After the victory, it looks like the conference winner will have to win the championship on the same court. With the win over ISU, the Lady Griz's magic number is one with only three to play. A victory in any of the Lady Griz's final three games (@NoCo, @EWU, @PSU) means the conference tourney will be played in Missoula.
Here's an interesting tidbit on what Selvig & Co. used as motivation going into the game. From the Missoulian:
Doma, who entered the game needing 26 points to pass Montana assistant coach Shannon (Cate) Schweyen as the Big Sky's career scoring queen, finished with her lowest points total (12) of the season. She didn't score at all in the 10 minutes Lohman was assigned to her in the first half.[...] “A lot of her shots weren't falling that maybe might have other nights, but it was nice to hold her to 12. Shannon (Schweyen) has the conference record right now so we were like, ‘We can't let (Doma) beat Shannon's record in our house.' We were talking about that before the game and used that as a little energy.”
Here's some audio from my post-game interview with Coach Selvig.
Idaho State fans may feel a little bit of justification after the three officials who collectively made the no-call on Jordan Hasquet's Webber-esque timeout were suspended for one game. Probably not. Either way, quit complaining. The Bengals blew it.
Anyway, here's a taste of what Bengals fans are saying, straight out of an email a fan sent to me. This fan was too "classy" to leave his name or email address.
Are you kinding me? You think that win was legit? Oh yeah im talking to a grizzly fan! You probably havent seen the footage from the game and ALL the [MESSED] up calls that benefited the Griz! I believe in fair wins. But when a game is given to a team and they dont even have class about it. (as in Mr. Hasquet aka ****) I think it is VERY VERY funny that you guys dont even recognise the Technical foul that should have ended the Game! Griz= Classless Human
Let's start with a couple key sentences. "I believe in fair wins. But when a game is given to a team and they dont even have class about it." Alright, it's one sentence and then another uncompleted thought. Even so, were we "given the game?" Yes, you can argue that. But only because the Bengals gave the Griz the game. Let's look at this...
If we both were to say that the ref looked the other way and let the players decide the game in overtime then all he did was give the Griz a chance to play it out. A chance to win. Well, interesting thing, both teams start with the same number of points in overtime and therefore have the same chance of winning. In that overtime, the Bengals got dominated. Similar to the last 7:30, when the Bengals scored 5 points. If they score 6, the game is over. It didn't happen. Leading up to that call, the Griz put themselves in position to win and the Bengals put themselves in position to lose.
Big game on the road. Griz looking to rebound from a tough loss. Need to move up in the standings. Guess what happened. Yep, they played terrible.
Well, the Griz made it drought (opposite of make it rain?) at the Dee Center tonight. The Griz shot 32 percent for the game, 20 percent in the first half. The Grizzlies shot 30 3-pointers tonight, they made five. Well done. One Matthew Martin led the way, shooting 1-10 from outside the painted arc and 3-13 overall. Fraught naught Gar and Sanchez, I have your Jordan Hasquet numbers: 2-8 from outside and 2-11 overall. 13 points, 0 rebounds. Interesting stat: CET led the scoring with 14.
The Griz trailed by 15+ the entire game and the final score was closer than it should've been. Anyone who takes solace in the fact that we made a run in garbage time is pathetic. I'd rather be a somewhat talented inconsistent team who plays crappy half the time and gets blown out by 10-15 than be the type of team that feels a certain pride when they say "hey, at least we made a run at the end" and still loses by 9.
The Griz need to win out to finish above .500 in conference and overall. Amazing. Who the hell let this happen? I mean you can blame coaches all you want but even if you have a knucklehead coach (I am not saying we do) a player has to step up and lead the guys. Even if your coach is an amazing leader of men, you still need a player to lead. Where has that been?
Seniors, I'm looking at you. Sure, do all you can with the minutes provided but sometimes that's not enough. I mean if I'm a senior, or pretty much anyone in the rotation, I'm legitimately furious as soon as things start dipping south. I start blowing people up and melting faces. Does anyone remember any player being seriously fired up at all this season?
Ohhhh, they have the flu. You know what, I shouldn't know that. This game came with built-in excuses. Players can't have that back-door. The Missoulian's preview article for this game was titled "Ailing Griz look to get back into groove." The lead quote is Tinkle saying people are sick. Why? He doesn't name names, but if you're stubborn enough not to name names, why not just not bring it up?
You know what you do... show them this, tell them to nut up because it's the stretch run then say that when they have a phenomenal game you'd not only say they had the flu but had been randomly experiencing paralysis on the right side of their body. On top of that, they did it for testicular cancer awareness. Hero.
At this point, anything short of making a run into the NCAA Tournament will be a gigantic disappointment. Even if they make the championship game. Because let's be honest, that championship game should've been played in Dahlberg OR after only one playoff game. You put yourself at the bottom of this hill, now climb it.
Alright, going to try to do at least one of these a game. Most of the time it's going to be just one, whether it's a mix of a few, the one with the best quotes or the clip with the best audio quality.
Tonight, there wasn't much to said for the Griz. Not a great showing but you couldn't really point at one particular thing and say "this is why we lost."
So, tonight, we go with the winning coach, NAU's Mike Adras. I stumbled through a couple questions. Also, not a "huge" difference in FT shooting, 63 percent to about 70 percent. I guess it just seemed like they were making everything when we couldn't hit one.
Here's coach Adras on getting a win after a rough stretch, free-throw shotting and the game inside.
Don't get me wrong, I love fan support on the road. Hell, there aren't many things in sports more enjoyable than going into an opposing venue, having your team win then taunting opposing fans on the way out the door. Really, it's a hoot. However, dancing like this should be avoided. I know the Griz tend to have more fans on the road than any other BSC team so I hope that they don't look like this when they celebrate.
This game never felt right. From about Friday afternoon on, it never felt like we were definitely going to win. The buzz wasn't there. I walked in about a half hour before the game and was close to the first student there. Then the game started and the almost-numb feeling stayed. In the early stages the Jacks lead varied but stayed within five points. There was no fire, no attitude.
The Griz made a few runs and even led by as much as 7 (48-41 15:41 left in the second) but they could not get legitimate separation. After the game, coach Tinkle spoke about the Griz's inability to get any momentum.
"It seemed like anytime we got momentum going, it was somehow taken away from us," Wayne Tinkle said.
I hate to do this and I don't want this to be one of those instances where I blame the officiating —the referees did not shoot 71 percent in the second half—but it was definitely a factor. The goal of any officiating crew should be to go unnoticed. If the game is well officiated, no one says anything about it. No one remembers it. Tonight, it lingers.
There were several instances when I thought they controlled the game when they didn't need to, almost as if they felt they needed to be a part of it. After a past game, I asked one player about the officiating and he echoed the same thing, saying "I know he was just trying to control the game."
Even without the poor officiating, the Griz would not have won this game. They were 19-28 from the line (3-11 in the first half) and were out-rebounded 35-24.
Tinkle said the loss of center Brian Qvale hurt on both ends of the floor. "When guys get to the rim, he's there to block shots and we really miss that presence underneath."
Besides Qvale's presence underneath, there was another key barometer for a win missing from tonight's game: Ryan Staudacher's outside touch.
For those who made it to the game, his 2-7 from beyond the arc isn't very telling. He wasn't forcing up shots and he wasn't missing badly. Every time he shot it seemed like there was a piece of plexi-glass about four inches beneath the rim. I counted three or four shots that seemed like they were almost all the way down before popping out. Ryan spoke about it after the game.
"Sometimes you just have those nights, but it was frustrating. They all felt good, I thought they were all in but they just rattled in and out. There's nothing you can do about it."
Just not a very enjoyable game all-around. Weber State on Thursday. One game at a time.
You know the deal. Live comments and photos straight from the University of Montana student section.
Photos can be found at flickr.com/grizzoulian. Most recent ones will be ahead of anything showing last game's final score. Should be recognizable.
Live updates can be found at twitter.com/colinokeefe. Also available in the flashy thing below. Use arrows to scroll through.
This post can also work as a live thread for the game. If you have any comments or questions, leave them. While I may not respond in the comments section, I'll get them and may respond in the Twitter feed. Also, if you have anything you want me to ask coaches and or players after the game, leave those in the comments as well. Not guaranteed that I pose the suggested questions but I will take a look at them and strongly consider it.