The Grizzoulian : Montana Grizzlies Sports : Football, Basketball, Track & Field, Soccer, Cross Country, Volleyball, Golf, Tennis, Lacrosse : Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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