Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

Like the past two years, hopes and expectations were high going into this basketball season. But unlike last year and the year before that, the Griz were supposed meet those expectations.  Tinkle gave the team a new attitude, the cancerous players were gone and we had depth and skill at every position. What a joke that was.

In one game, all the optimism I had for this supposedly changed team has been completely erased. Sure there may be more talent but it's the same damn team. Same slow start, same poor shooting, same lackadaisical defense, same shoddy rebounding and the same ability to roll over at the first sign of resistance.

This team is every bit as heartless as the squad that got destroyed by Portland State on Senior Night. Where's the leadership and fire we were supposed to see? Jesus, McGillis got his first field goal more than halfway through the second half, with the Griz down somewhere around 25. Hasquet goes 3 for 11 from the field and 0 for 4 from the line.

You feel like you have to blame someone but it's tough to know where to look when there were absolutely no positives to draw from this. Why even get on the bus guys? There's not much more to say than it's about time this program got it's act together. Recruit all you want but there's no difference between a good recruit and a bad one when neither shows up on game night. Teams across the Big Sky Conference are smirking tonight. If I were them, I would be too.

The notion that this would be the team that brings Montana basketball back to a state of prominence was cute while it lasted. Well, there is the fact that hardly anyone here follows Griz basketball at this point so maybe no one at home will hear about the drubbing and we'll still get the same terrible crowd down at Dahlberg for when we barely beat Western. Games like this—which are becoming all too frequent—make me wish I wasn't one of the few people who invest so much in Griz basketball.

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It was bound to happen. How could a potential employer possibly look past all the transgressions that took place this past season under Hauck's nose? It's unsure whether or not this reason comes straight the administration or it's an assumption from the press but odds are if it's in the local paper, the administrators are factoring it into their decision-making.

Here's the excerpt from The Coloradoan:

Another potential successor — Montana’s Bobby Hauck — appears to be a longshot. Even though Hauck, a former University of Colorado assistant, has won five consecutive Big Sky Conference championships, his program has been criticized for a series of off-the-field incidents involving his players. At least seven players have faced a variety of charges within the past year, including murder, armed robbery, assault and DUI.

Whether Hauck is hired this year, next year or some year following, what happened in Missoula during the '07 football season will stick with him wherever he goes. When Hauck was hired for the UM job, it was supposedly due to an incredible interview. Imagine the type of interview he's going to have to give after this.

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With all this Zoo talk, it's easy to forget that there's going to young men playing basketball on Friday night. Then this scary thought may cross your mind: what if the atmosphere aspect all goes as planned, everyone comes out, gets into it, and then we lose? I'm not saying there's no chance of us losing, but if the experts are right the odds are looking pretty slim.

Here are some rankings from Rivals.com:

108. Montana
Big men Andrew Strait (6-8) and Jordan Hasquet (6-9) combined to average 28.0 ppg and 12.8 rpg last season.

250. Colorado State
Rams have a new coach (Tim Miles) and an almost entirely new lineup from a team that went 17-13, 6-10 in the Mountain West.

There are more teams between Colorado State and us than there are between us and North Carolina.

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Just don't get called for charging. There's more clips like this.

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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.

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