Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

Alright, some notes and analysis from the first half of Montana's quarter-final matchup against the ISU Bengals.

• Griz came out and started like I haven't seen them start all season. Griz came out, ran with the ball, and pushed it to an 11-2 lead. Then they gave it all back. But it was good while it lasted.
  • Most important thing: they withstood the Bengal run, didn't freak out, then they took the lead right back. Griz go into the half up 6 because they didn't panic.
• Why the #@&! can't we rebound. HUGE front-line that sometimes features Strait, Hasquet and Qvale and we get out-rebounded 21-11. ISU has 11 offensive rebounds.
  
• Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's offense has been great. Jumping in passing lanes and just gunking things up for the opposing offense.
  
• Cameron Rundles loves to take statement shots: whether it's after a big make by the opposing team or poor play by him, he will always be there to take that shot.
• The three-ball has been there, at times. Griz are shooting 46.7 percent from behind the arc. There were times in the first half when it wasn't there at all but Staudacher and Martin made shots at the end that, at this point, are probably the difference in game. Both Martin and Staudacher make three treys in the first half.
  
• Mick has repeated this several times: Idaho State has only won one game when they trailed at half. Griz need to come out fast and push this lead.
• Speaking of Mick, how lucky are we to have him? Really. We could have some crummy J-school student but no, we have Mick. As good as there is. As good as any hoops play-by-play guy I've ever heard. Keep it up.

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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.

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Alright, more running commentary for the second half. Plenty of room for improvement.

• "We'll be right back. Key game between two teams battling it out for sixth place." Ugh.
• Griz start second same way they started the first, by shooting the long ball. Hasquet and Staudacher make a pair of threes.
  
• Then Drew gets an offensive rebound and puts it back. 8-0 run to start the half. Well done. Good pep talk.
• Griz need to reign it in as Sharp and Hasquet huck up a couple long ones that don't fall.
• 32-30 at first media timeout.
• Pace picks up as EWU hits a pair of threes while the Griz get a couple plays off penetration. 36-36.
• The Griz just shot their first FT. There's 12:36 left in the second half.
• Staudacher hits another trey. 13 points. 5-5. How good can he get in two more years?
• 42-41. As Mick would say, we're not at crunch time right now, but you can almost see it from here. OK, normally he says it with like 6 minutes left, little early. I just don't want this to be another close game.
• Broadcasters calls this a "beautiful game." I disagree.
• Martin penetrates and kicks to CET, who makes a three. Nope, that isn't backwards.
• Staudacher drains one with a hand in his face. 6-6.
• 46-45 Griz. 9:00. Please, get a bigger lead.
• EWU gets two offensive rebounds. Bald guy gets basket and goes to the line for 3-point play. Come on fellas.
• Great give-and-go on what looked like an impromptu pick-and-roll between Qvale and Staudacher. Brian gets a dunk. My favorite play of the game.
• 50-48 Griz. 7:10.
• "Couple of baskets while we were away." Um, what? 52-50 Griz.
• Staudacher misses his first but hustles for the rebound, forces a foul. Griz ball. Great play. These are the type of hustle plays that win close games... unless you fail to score on the ensuing possession. Which is what happened.
• 52-51 Griz. 3:28. Martin just chucked a long 3 early in the shot clock. Need smarter play down the stretch.
• And there it is. Great penetration by Martin. Lays it off to Drew for a lay-in and 3-point opportunity. Makes it.
  
• 55-51 Griz. 2:30. Push it guys. Make it 6.
• Ahhh. Matt dribbles around with an open CET on the wing. Keeps it. Griz don't even get a shot off as EWU comes down and cuts it to two. 1:17 left. 55-53.
  
• Griz really need to prove they can win a close game.
• Jordan makes a very tough shot just inside the FT line. Ball bounces around as I nearly pass out then finally falls through.
  
• EWU misses a forced 3-pointer. Time to make FTs. Jordan makes a pair, 59-53, :26. Yes. Finally.
• CET misses the front-end. 59-57, :7.6. Come on. Ball has to go to Martin or Staudacher on this inbound. Be smart, don't try to make a risky pass.
• Martin does go to the line, misses the first. EWU runs down then DeLeon loses the handle doesn't get a shot off. Jesus. I was about 95% sure he was going to make a 3 for the win. Everyone shoots a 1,000 FTs tomorrow.
• Alright, Griz finally get a close win, even though they tried to give it away. I'll take it.

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Griz play like the Griz in the second half and lose to NAU 72-64. Here are notes from the second half:

• I thought the second half against MSU was the worst I've ever seen. This one comes close.
• The Griz got away from what they did in the first half. The offense was horrendous. I can't think of a single good offensive possession that stands out in the entire second twenty minutes. Just horrendous. In the first half the Griz ran a patient yet purposeful offense.
  
• Shooting wasn't there. The Griz were not getting Staudacher the ball. He also wasn't getting the same open looks. As I'm typing this in what are essentially garbage minutes, Staudacher hits a fadeaway three. Inside offense should be run around Jordo and Drew while outside game points toward him. Great personnel for an inside-out offense and we're not taking advantage of it.
  
• Free throws weren't good. The turning point in the game was probably with about six minutes left when the broadcasters said it would come to free throws. I knew we'd have a tough time from there.
• Cam fouled out really early on some terrible calls. The charge that sent him out was awful as the defender really slid in front of him. While it was going downhill before that, once he went out, the offense didn't have much flow.
• I don't know what else to say. It was your typical Griz second half. It was awful. As it was happening I wanted to tell myself that this would be different, that NAU would make a run and we'd make one and pull away. Didn't happen. They made a run, tied it, then got a few good possessions and some breaks, then it was over.
• Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's foul trouble hurt bad.
• This team doesn't have it. Not right now, probably not this season. They cannot play forty minutes. There is zero composure. None. No one—coaches, upper-classmen, not anyone—is holding this team together. No composure. Cam picked up a ticky tack charge to foul out then Jordan Hasquet drills someone and gets an intentional foul. Game was pretty much over after that.

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I decided not to to the full live blog and just enjoy the fact that the Griz are on TV. That doesn't mean you're not getting content during the game. Here are my notes from the first half.

• And I thought we didn't get enough fans. There is no one at this game. Based on TV it looks like there's less than 500 people there. No, I'll be honest. Based on TV it looks like there are less than 100 people at the game.
  
• The University of Montana needs to find a way to get on TV more. This is too good. Get on FSN Rocky Mountain. "They have professional hockey, basketball and baseball though! And bigger colleges!" So does FSN AZ. This is great. Look at how many people are at this game.Griz games would get at least three times as many viewers.
  • NAU's commercials blow.
• The offense looks good. Not great, but good. Hell, when Ryan Staudacher is in and CET is running the point, I'll give it a "very good."
• CET: He is the starting point guard and should get most of the minutes at that spot. He can't shoot. Sooo, that's why he's not a shooting guard. He's great at distributing and driving to the basket. Not great at finishing but just driving opens up so much on offense.
• Ryan Staudacher should be getting star minutes. Jordan Hasquet-like minutes. He is great. The knock on Ryan is that he can't "create his own shot." I've said it myself and I don't think it's wrong either. The thing is, he is the very best person on the team at getting open shots. He comes off his screens harder than any other Griz. Once he gets the looks, he knocks them down. The hustle is the best part though. Watch him. No one gets as open as him.
• Martin is a shooting guard. That's just the way it is. The offense slows down a bit (not a ton) when he's at the 1. He's better filling in as a shooter.
• Griz are killing NAU on the boards. It's 19 to 10. Not even close. NAU is not boxing out at all and the Griz are taking advantage.
• Griz are making the extra pass. It's happened a couple times. Both times I recall had the pass going to Drew. One where the shot clock was winding down and Cam found him for a layup. Another time, Jordo was close to the basket, went up for a shot against a double team then laid it off to Drew as he was going up. Drew finished easily.
• NAU is not a very good team. At least not right now. They're not making their shots and are getting killed on the boards. A win here could do a lot of good to the Griz's confidence considering NAU's success in past years. This year, they're a bad good team. Yes, I meant to type both words.
• Griz need to play 40 minutes. If they do, they'll pull away and the 'Jacks won't even be there at the end. That's been the knock on the Griz to this point. This is there chance to rid themselves of it.
• They showed a graphic saying the Lady Griz were down 26-3 at half to NAU. They had it wrong, it's the other way around. Ahahahahaha.

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There are some problems I wish the football and basketball programs shared, such as selling out tickets too quickly while not having a big enough stadium to hold all the fans. Having an inept offense is not one of them.

When it comes to the Griz, there's one thing a lot of things fans are complaining about. One of the most prevalent is the Griz's inability to run a efficient moving offense. A lot of fans are saying there's too much standing around. The bigs aren't getting the ball and we're not going to the line. Here's a solution: run a very basic pick and roll offense.

It sounds dumb, doesn't it? It's right there with the Princeton Offense as one of the most basic gameplans in all of basketball. Opponents should be able to pick up on it and defend easily, right? If this were the case, why would the Phoenix Suns, possibly the NBA's most effective offense, continue to go to it?

Imagine, Jordan Hasquet could be a whiter, hairier and slower Big Sky version of Amare Stoudamire. It'd be great. Toss in Cam Rundles or CET as a de facto Steve Nash and you have it. Why can't this work? Let's take a look at the possibilities while running a basic, top of the key, Cam/Jordo pick and roll:

• Cam gets pick, drives down lane and lays it up and in on sleepy defense
• Cam gets pick, defense recovers too late and he's fouled
• Defense swarms, Cam kicks it to Staudacher or Martin for wide open three
• Cam drives down lane, help-side D comes, Cam lays it off to Drew for a dunk.
• Defense tries to jump under screen, Cam hits jumper from the elbow
• Both defenders jump on Cam, bounce pass to Jordo for thunderous dunk
• Cam passes to Jordo off screen, Jordo gets fouled.
• Griz run pick and pop. Cam gets screen, D follows him down the lane, he passes back to Jordo for three.

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Tonight the Griz play the 6-3 Broncos of the West Coast Conference. The Griz have lost three straight and come into the matchup at 5-5 looking to get a win before finishing off the road trip against Cal State Fullerton.

As always, the grizzlyjournal has an excellent preview on the game.

Tonight I'll be running a live blog on the game. I've done this before, but never without TV. I'll be listening to the radio broadcast over the web and offering up any comments and insight I have. On top of that, Glenn Junkert, author of the grizzlyjournal, will be chiming in as well.

It all starts after the jump. Feel free to add whatever comments you have.

Pregame

Colin: Obviously, the Griz need a win bad. Picking up these next two would be huge for the Griz's confidence heading towards conference play. Everyone knows this. Anyway, here's the lineup I'd start if I ran the show:

1-Cam Rundles
2-Ryan Staudacher
3-Jordan Hasquet
4-Andrew Strait
5-Brian Qvale

The Griz need to go big to battle huge John Bryant (6'10", 305 lbs, 20.7 ppg) and Martin would be great coming off the bench. I'm not saying Stads is more valuable out there. I just think Martin's fire and swagger would be perfect coming off the bench. Second guy off the bench: probably Sharpie to help out on Bryant. Third off the bench: Graves. This kid needs minutes like the Chicago Bears need a new quarterback. No, I won't let MNF be a distraction during the game. Graves needs minutes because quick guards killed this team in their loss to Pacific (see video).

Glenn: Ok. Before this game even starts, my hope is that Brian Qvale gets the opportunity to match up against the Broncos' 310 lb, 6'10" center John Bryant. I firmly believe Griz are a couple pieces away from cementing into a solid team heading toward conference play. One of them is more game experience from Qvale. The more minutes he gets, the more opportunities he'll get to show what he can do. Waging battle with Bryant is an ideal opportunity for Qvale.

Colin: Agreed. I think this matchup is going to be a great test for Qvale. It'll be interesting to see how their styles of play factor into this. Qvale is a quick, agile big who goes for a lot of blocks. I do not know for sure but going in, I'm imagining Bryant as a player similar to UCLA's Kevin Love, except 50 pounds heavier. Not really quick but more powerful. He can back you down so that your head is touching the net then lay it up and in. It'll be interesting to see if Qvale can get some points and rebounds down at the other end of the court.

Colin: Still waiting on the audio feed.

Colin: Alright, here's an alternative to the audio feed because the one from MontanaGrizzlies.com isn't up yet. Heard tinks Briefly mention he wanted to run. That'd be great. Hope he has the personnel in there to do it.

Colin: Broadcasters point out we gotta make Bryant run. He's only playing 25 minutes a game so endurance is obviously an issue... woah, wait, Tinks car got broken into. Wow. Talk about a bad omen.

'Squets injury is going to be interesting. As they noted, Griz did not practice yesterday.

Glenn: Former Griz Mike Warhank, a guest color analysis commentator for Mick Holien, made a good point on the pre-game show. If the Griz can push the pace with every chance they get, they might have success in the low blocks. Andrew Strait runs the floor well, and can be very effective in the early offense. If the Griz can force the Broncos into a "faster than normal" transition game with sideline entry passes to Andrew, they could open the game up a bit.

First Half

20:00 0-0

Colin: Cameron sits to start again. Same lineup as last game. Qvale-Strait-Jordo-Martin-Stads.

19:00 4-0 Broncos

Colin: Qvale apparently got a bad call on a block and picked up a foul. Hopefully the officiating is better than last game. This isn't a great start. Looks like Broncos are willing to foul and be physical.

Glenn: Good to hear that Jordan Hasquet is starting, playing on his gimpy ankles.

4-3 Broncos after Hasquet 3, good call by Glenn

Colin: Arena seems very dead. Not much atmosphere whatsoever. I believe attendance is close to what it was at Pacific but sounds much more quiet. Students must be gone.

17:02 6-3 Broncos

8-3 After a Dunk

Colin: Really would prefer to see the Griz take control of a game. Seems as though it always starts out like this with a medium sized deficit.

10-5 with 15:12

Colin: Hopefully the Griz can come out of the break with some fire. Look to see Cam or Graves (PLEASE). Need some fire. This is where you need the Chavez.

Colin: Cam does come in. Hopefully he can give the Griz what they need. Sharpie comes in as well. Still 10-5.

Glenn: Single-shot possessions won't do on the road. Griz will need to get some offensive boards for second shots.

Colin: Agreed. We need some offensive boards. That as Qvale checks back in. Going to be tough with Bryant.

10-6 as Ceylon Elgin-Taylor checks in

Colin: Griz seem to be drawing quite a few fouls. Hopefully someone important is getting in trouble.

11-8 after a pair of Sharp FTs

Glenn: An aside on the game: Mike Warhank is an excellent color commentator. Great observations.

Colin: Agreed. I have a terrible memory, I believe Mick was all alone last year. Mike is filling in great with the color.

It's now 11-10 with 11:00 to go, hopefully the Griz can come out of the break and make a run. One Chavez candidate is in in: Spurgetis.

Glenn: Correct with your earlier post suggesting that Zach Graves & Greg Spurgetis get more playing time. Both have energy & can help the Griz in important areas of the game.

Colin: Dave is checking in. This should be interesting. We'll see what type of minutes he can earn against possibly the best center we've seen this year.

19-10 Broncos after a pair of threes and a layup

Colin: Wow, exactly what we weren't supposed to do. Johnson has ONLY made three point shots. It's not like all 4 of his makes. It's all 15+ of the shots he's made. Amazing. Get Graves to chase that kid around.

Glenn: The three-point bugaboo is biting the Griz again.

Colin: That and missing easy shots. Come on fellas. Cannot do that when the Broncos are shooting so well.

Now 22-10 after another trey with about 8:00 to play

Colin: Boy does this seem familiar. Griz let medium lead grow due to three pointers for them and missing open shots. We need to come out on fire. Revamped. Come on Tinks, toss in something else if this isn't working. Insanity: trying the same thing over and over while expecting different results. The Griz need to show they're not insane... that'd be a good start.

Glenn: I think Mike lives in the area and is just serving as a guest for these two games.

Colin: We could use him full-time. Great insight.

22-11 after Strait makes a FT... then fouls someone on the other end

Colin: This is pretty much echoing Mike, the Griz are pretty much letting Santa Clara run their offense however they want. Get Graves in there. We need someone to get in passing lanes and screw them up a bit.

Lead is all the way up to 13 after FTs

Glenn: Disappointing start against an opponent I figured would be a decent mark. It's obvious the Griz aren't handling the Broncos inside-outside game.

Lead down to 11

Now 9 after Hasquet jumper

Colin: It's looking like Hasquet might have to carry us again. Who knows if he can on those ankles. Why Martin is still in there with this lead is beyond me. He is a great offensive player. We need a little D with the way the Broncos are shooting.

Lead all the way back to 13 after missed Martin 3 and Bryant layup... Strait gets a lay-in to move it back down to 11... but then someone rolls down the lane again.

Colin: What the hell. Get someone in there who can prevent people from walking down the lane. This is kind of a joke. The only way our D up the middle gets worse is if we put down a trampoline around the free throw line and they can just jump over us and dunk it.

Glenn: Can't see it, but it appears the Broncos are getting high post screens for easy penetration by their guards.

Colin: Yep. Mick says there's no real sense of purpose... or something close. BRING IN THE BENCH GUYS. We need some fire. We've done this over, and over, and over again. We need quick or passionate guards. Someone rip Graves' and Greg's sweats off and shove them in the game.

Colin: Mike points to lack of effort. This is unbelievable. We need new guys if this continues. The end of bunch guys are starving for minutes. STARVING. You think effort will be a question of effort there? I doubt it.

Glenn: Andrew is playing the post well tonight. But the Griz won't make any headway without someone stepping up to make some threes. Hasquet just collects his third pf.

Colin: Agreed. Don't want to see us get too dependent on that though. And they get a rebound on a free throw. Yeah, effort is definitely an issue.

1:35... 31-19

Colin: Mike says "there are driving lanes to the basket." Really, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me Graves shouldn't be in this game.

Glenn: Hmmm. Mike Warhank suggests the Griz guards have lanes to the basket. That suggests tentative play by Griz guards.

Colin: Wonder if the injury is affecting Cam. Last season he'd drive without abandon. He's been more of a shooter this year. Significantly hinders what used to be a very dynamic style of play.

33-20 at Half

Colin: That really couldn't have gone a whole lot worse. It was exactly what we've seen in our bad losses.

Colin: "Tell me what you're up to Mike"... "Well, I'm actually talking to O'Day about getting my old job back. Tinkle said he'd be fine moving back to assistant." Maybe he just takes over for one half. I'm not normally one to rail on a coach but I don't like the way this first half has been handled. The same thing keeps happening and we keep trying the same faulty solutions.

Glenn: Don't have to go any farther than the stat line: Santa Clara is shooting 52 percent from the field and 100 percent from three-point range with 22 rebounds. The Grizzlies are shooting 29.2 percent from the field, 14.3 percent from three-point range, and have 10 rebounds. If the Bronco hadn't turned the ball over six times the margin could be even greater. I don't like to think this, but the Grizzlies are starting to show the same pattern of logging disastrous halves of play much like they did last year. This is the fourth time this year they've shown this pattern.

Second Half

Colin: Griz need to come out and play a totally different game while hoping the Broncos do the same. We need a great pep talk and some phenomenal adjustments.

Colin: Mick says "you can see the energy on offense"... great... until Strait misses a lay-up.

Glenn: The Griz are shooting 55 percent from the free throw line, which is another puzzling up & down stat.

Lead is 16 after a 3 point play... then Staudacher makes a trey.

Colin: Really sounds like the Griz have some fire now. Still not making their shots though. Sounds like they are trying to run it and get to the rim. You can hear Marso screaming 'GO!'

40-25 with about 16 minutes left

Colin: If the Griz don't make a big run this will go down as an L. Chipping away is just not going to work. We need a series of stops and a lot of makes.

Lead is 16...12 after solid plays by Sharp and Rundles...13:57

Glenn: Judging by the audience, it sounds like the Griz have pretty good crowd supporting them.

Colin: Hopefully we can show them a win. Nothing like walking out of an opposing arena with a win while dressed in garb from the visiting team.

One FT pushes lead back to 13

Colin: Mick says Jordo's ankle isn't bothering him at all. Good to hear. Don't want any lingering injuries.

Colin: Seems like we're forcing put-backs a little too hard. Need to reset more. We did on the last possession after getting a second offensive rebound. Good to see the Griz hitting the glass after an abysmal first half in that category.

Glenn: Even Mick Holien is making critical comments about the Grizzlies' tentative, "lazy" play. Ouch.

Colin: He also points out that we are not picking up getting any momentum and cannot make two shots in a row. The Broncos travel on two consecutive possessions. Need to capitalize on TOs like these.

Stads puts down a 3 as the Griz cut it to ten with close to 10:00 left

Colin: Here's the goal for rallying. Just be calm, try to keep it so you're down that fewer points than minutes left.

Glenn: Would love to see Ryan Staudacher have a "break-out" game from long range.

Colin: We need it. We need someone to be there.

Lead is back to 12 after Bryant basket

Goaltending as it's back to 14

Staudacher missed 3 and Broncos run down and get to the line

Colin: This is awful. Griz make the tiniest run then give it all back and then some. No rhythm, confidence, momentum.

Lead is at 16 with 8:18 left

Colin: Running out of minutes. Pace is way off. Down twice as many points as minutes. Great.

14 after Cam FTs about 8:00 left... Cam hits a 3 and it's 11

Colin: Real risky shot by Cam. Lucky it goes down. Now Graves comes in. This should be interesting.

Glenn: Sure is nice that Cam's playing with energy once again. It might be a sign he's getting past his foot injury. Your guy's subbing in, Colin.

Colin: Not gonna lie, I'm kind of nervous.

Lead is back to 13 after a pair of FTs

Colin: Real young line-up down the stretch. This will be very very interesting. Wow, missed front end of one and one by Hasquet. FTs kill us and whatever momentum we have. It happens in almost every game.

Cam throws one away and Broncos get 2 more... back to 15... then makes a runner at the other end.

Colin: Maybe Cam should be taking/making more shots early. Didn't he do this the other night in Portland?

Strait picks up fouls on the offensive and defensive ends... lead goes to 16 as Bryant makes a pair of FTs then Stads hits a 3, it's 12.

Colin: We're getting homered again. Not that it'd help that much but come on. Can't put us down even further.

Down by 10 with 4:01 left..now 8... Griz get a stop and over-the-top foul on Santa Clara

Colin: Not sure if we're shooting FTs coming down but we NEED points. Either two makes at the line or a big shot. A three would be beyond massive. If Stads makes it his starting spot is cemented.

Glenn: A good late-game run, fueled by Cameron. I'm reading some stuff into this, but if Cameron's taking control, that's a good sign.

Colin: I agree. He's turned it over a couple times but made up for it on following possessions. We need him to play this way the entire game.

Jordo misses the front end of a one and one again... 3:00 left and still down 8... 10 as Bryant gets another one.

Colin: Tough basket there. Leads to an MT miss.

Still 8 with less than 2:00 left

Colin: It was there for the taking. I'm not sure it is anymore. Mike Montgomery even left.

Griz get a couple of turnovers but cannot convert.

Colin: That's game. I think. Another Griz miss.

Another turnover by Santa Clara leads to zero Griz points

Colin: The game was there and we didn't go out and take it. Just needed to make a fun more shots run a few better sets and we're right there.

Santa Clara 60, Griz 49   Final.

Postgame

Colin: The Griz lose their fourth in a row and fall below .500 for the first time with a record of 5-6. Just not a good game whatsoever. There were a few extremely short stretches where we played well but never could put together enough solid possessions. There was certainly a time in the second half when the Griz could've got back in the game but they didn't jump on it. There didn't seem to be the clutch mentality and determination to pull out a come-from-behind victory.

Glenn: The best game plan in the world won't work when your team shoots 33 percent from the field and 53 percent from the free throw line. Am I correct? -- The Griz get two 1-and-1 opportunities with the lead down to 8 points and they can't convert.

But still, they play the Broncos even in the second half. But another 20-point first half (the last time they did that was at home against the Portland Pilots) is a tough hole to crawl out of.

Colin: Agreed. The Griz didn't have what was needed to jump on a team when they had a chance. I don't know if it was effort, endurance or what. You can't play all your games at home and you can't get long breaks between every game. I don't know why the broadcasters are blaming the legs at times when the Griz played great in the final two days of the Spokane tournament. Just poor shooting, poor effort.

Glenn: I was pretty encouraged after the Grizzlies battled to overtime against Pacific. This game's a big setback. It'll be interesting to hear what coach Tinkle has to say. Of course it doesn't get any easier on Thursday.

Glenn: Did Tyler Hurley suit up? Was he even there? The official statistics indicate Hurley was suited up.

Colin: Not sure. I didn't hear anything about that.

Tinkle sounds pretty somber. Said he found a combination that might've worked... when was that? Graves maybe. I'm not going to say that. We came back for like two minutes. Tinkle sounds pleased with the play of Spurgetis and Graves. We'll see what that does. We're going to have to toss everything we have at Fullerton if we don't want to go to 5-7.

Well, that's it for me. The game was a major disappointment with very little positives. I want to thank Glenn Junkert for helping me out and sharing his thoughts on the game. Check out his blog, the grizzlyjournal.

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I realize Monday morning is a tad late to write about a game from Friday night but what the hell, here's my opinion anyway. Here's the AP story for those who missed it.

After the wins in Spokane, I was hoping this team wouldn't even sniff .500 until they started out the '08-'09 season at 0-0. After three straight losses, the Griz are back there for the first time since November 11, when they lost to Gonzaga.

I don't know if it was lack of endurance or what but the Griz locked up bad down the stretch. There were very few solid offensive possessions towards the end of regulation. I believe we freed up Staudacher for a wide open 3 in overtime but he missed it. That's the only good offensive set I can remember.

It seems like it's been forever since someone on this team made a game-winning shot. Hasquet had a chance to win the game at the end but missed. From what I heard, this sounded like another jumbled offensive possession. We swung it around for ten seconds before dumping it down to Hasquet and giving him a shot. This came after Pacific came out in a 2-3 zone, something the Griz surely weren't suspecting. Probably wouldn't have hurt to call the last timeout there and reset. We didn't, we missed and it went to overtime.

My guess on why the offensive sets aren't working: having Martin and Staudacher on the court at the same time down the stretch. They have very close to the same game. Neither of these two are particularly quick. They don't quite have the skills required to create their own shots which means they either have to take contested shots or run hard off of screens. It's not a huge knock on them, both are legit spot-up shooters capable of playing the shooting guard position, it's just that we don't need two of almost the same player out there. Staudacher's size gives him an advantage on contested shots—I recall a few occasions where he made a fadeaway with a hand in his face—while Martin has a bit more quickness.

I'm not sure who to plug in there. I've mentioned I few options in an early post: either going big at the three with Hasquet or going with a small three guard set of Rundles, Martin or Staudacher and possible Graves. Basically, the loss of juco transfer Sean Watson hurts and we need to cover up the bald spot he leaves behind as soon as possible.

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This morning's Kaimin has a solid profile by Jake Grilley on one of the big surprises leading into this season: Ryan Staudacher. Prior to these exhibitions, it was looking as though there was a major vacuum at the 3 position with the departure of JuCo transfer Sean Watson. Stads' impressive play in the first two exhibition games has it looking like he'll be the starter at small forward.

Here's part of the Kaimin's article detailing his recruitment and how he almost never made it to Missoula:

After being recruited to Montana as part of the 2004-2005 recruiting class, he decided to decline his scholarship and stay close to home to play for Bellevue Community College where he gray shirted. Unlike players who redshirt, those who grayshirt can join the team midway through the season.

But Staudacher never played for the Bulldogs.

Head coach Wayne Tinkle, who recruited Staudacher as an assistant coach under Larry Krystkowiak, said his backing out was hard to take.

“We took it as a slap in the face at first,” Tinkle said.  “We were disappointed with his decision, but I kept in touch with him.”

When Tinkle was named head coach, he contacted Staudacher about coming to play at Montana.

“I let him know that some of his concerns would be taken care of and that he would be a good fit,” he said. “I knew what he could bring to the table and that I could convince him that this was the place for him.”

Staudacher said after watching the success the Grizzlies were having, such as making it to the NCAA Tournament, he knew he should give playing at Montana another shot.

“Sitting on your couch and watching on TV and you are like, ‘Man I want to be a part of that,’” he said. “I got to know Coach Tinkle really well through the recruiting process; I liked his personality and the way he coached. I just wanted to be part of everything here.”

Staudacher paid his own way last year and earned a scholarship for the 07-08 season.

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I hope to have some media up later and possibly even a little video but for now, here are my impressions from the game. It's a work in progress...

One thing I really liked tonight is that it looked like a completely revamped offense. We weren't jacking up threes or clogging up the tempo by running every play through our bigs. There was a lot of movement and great balance between driving to the basket, taking jumpers and running it through the posts. The shooting could've been better but that's expected this early in the season.
 
Jack McGillis: I know he's not playing this year but tonight he was easily the most impressive player on the court. That's why I'm starting with him. An excerpt of my notes on him read "GREAT...really, really, good." At the beginning of the scrimmage he was going to the basket a lot but as it went on he showed his range of skills. He made 3's, a tough fade-away, layups and a couple dunks. On one of them he was one on one with Greg Spurgetis on a fast break. Both players went up, Jack let Greg fly by before throwing it down. There really should be an exception to the transfer eligibility rule if said player fits so perfectly onto a team.

Brian Qvale: One of our two young (very) bigs. He's a bit more filled out than Selvig. He's a very aggressive defender. On one possession, he went one on one with Drew. Drew made his usual low post move. You know, where he does a bit of a dipsy-do before he lays it off the glass. Well, Drew has him beat with the spin and as the ball kisses the glass, Qvale smacks it off the backboard. Lookin' good. Besides that, he also was great on the boards.

Derek Selvig:  His style, figure and demeanor remind me a bit of Spencer Hawes. He's all arms and legs. He's willing to take the 3. To be honest, I think the only shots I saw him take were from beyond the arc. If he can consistently knock that down and bring a center out to guard him, it'll be good news for our quick guards, especially...

Zach Graves: He's a great Nellie-ball type player. Great bursts of speed. Flies around the court offensively and busts his ass getting to the basket. However, against our defense, he had some trouble. With all the talented bigs, that lane just fills with arms. If someone tries to play small-ball, he's the type of player who can make them pay.

Matt Martin: His shot was falling tonight and he was taking it. He played with a lot of intensity, and rightfully so. He's trying to get his starting gig back. A spot he'll be battling Ceylon Elgin-Taylor for. It was interesting seeing them go head-to-head, easily the most competitive part of the scrimmage. Martin runs a bit slower offense than the other guards. He runs the play and waits for it to set up. It's not a bad thing, he just runs the offense with a slightly different style than Elgin-Taylor or Rundles.

Ceylon Elgin-Taylor: He reminds me a lot of Bryan Ellis. He's a bit bigger. He has that same defensive intensity, he'll take chances and go for the ball. His offense game is somewhat similar to Ellis' as well. More of a distributor than an offensive threat and why not? He's a pure point, exactly what we need.

Cameron Rundles: Cam performs a bit better when there's something on the line, which makes sense. Even so, he still looked good tonight. As far as his offensive style and pace goes when running the point, his is the fastest. It's more improvisational and not as stuck on the play. If he sees something, he'll jump on it. Besides that, he has a great looking shot.

Greg Spurgetis: He was out there, getting bounced around a bit but still working hard, trying to be more than just a "practice player." Made a few shots, hustled on D. The type of player every team needs.

Ryan Staudacher: Pure shooter. He's a big, strong player and that helps him on getting boards. Need him to consistently deliver that dagger 3 and most of the time he does. He must run off screens well because he almost always finds a way to get open beyond the arc.

Michael Taylor: Another guy that won't play this year due to the transfer rule. He's a guard that's in the Steve Kerr/John Paxson mold. A solid shooter who can make passes. Maybe he'll eventually be  a GM too, who knows.

Jordan Hasquet: You know the deal, this Jordo is a beast. He's a leader on the team who can overpower almost anyone you put on him. A lot of other guys were taking shots tonight and it's tough judging any possible improvement in an intrasquad scrimmage.

Andrew Strait: Similar to Jordo. You know what he does. He was going to the basket a bit more of the post up. He was trying to get to the hoop for layups as opposed to settling for the baby hooks. Something I liked to see.

Kyle Sharp: Looked good defensively, didn't do a ton on offense. He grabbed a few boards. He's gotten a lot bigger over the last two seasons.

Tyler Hurley: Didn't get much playing time so I can't really leave any notes. Looked a bit timid. Too early to make any real judgement.

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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.

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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.

First off, the Griz need to show that they can play on the road. They have yet to win a game in an opposing team's gym. Their shooting has been horrendous and they lack the swagger they used to have. They lost to lowly Portland on the road in their last game.

The Griz need to show that they can play with small, great-shooting teams. In this article, Tinks says it's likely the Vikings will have four guards out there most of the time. That's scary considering  the way this team played against small teams earlier this season.

Wayne Tinkle, show me you are ready to coach this team and make the talent match the results. Tinks has yet to put a great spark into this team while LK had these guys playing like their hair was on fire. Unite them and get them pumped to play a good team on the road.

Killa' Cam Rundles, show me you are ready to handle the point. You've shown flashes but still make freshman mistakes. Prove that this team is yours. Put it together and make them run.

Andrew Strait, show that you can not only lay down a good stat line but can also lead your team to a victory.

Matt Dlouhy, show me that you will never ever go out and toss up a goose egg again.

Bryan Ellis and Matt Martin, prove to me that you should earn the #1 point guard spot. You two are older and should have this job.

Jordan Hasquet, prove that those big games last year weren't a fluke and come out with consistent play.

Ryan Staudacher, show me you can do what you came here to do and that is consistently drain threes.

Gus Chase, show me you're as good as you were touted to be coming out of JuCo. Make the most of the minutes you get.

I could go on, but won't. Everyone on this team has something to prove and should be playing like so. Most of all, the Griz need to prove they are as good as they were made out to be. They need to come out with the swagger that a team with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances should have. Play like these guys can't even play with you. Run the court, shoot well and beat them playing small ball. Bang it low, box out, get the boards and beat them playing big. Play with confidence and show me you're still having fun.

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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?

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