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Why I Like Our Recruiting Class

citygriz

Well-known member
Okay, we are what we are--a small conference mid-major. Ain't gonna get the 4- and 5-star recruits; three-star is probably our limit. Instead, we're looking for that unheralded or overlooked kid with big upside, a la Micheal Ray Richardson, who was a 6'3" high-school forward, but became a legend both here and in the NBA as a 6'5" point guard. Another Micheal Ray is a stretch, but I think we've got some definite upside among our recruits, so here's what I like most:

HEIGHT: Nuff said! We've got two shots at a reasonably talented seven-footer, Kramer and Besovic. It'll take time, but two or three years down the road, one or both should develop nicely. The downside to DeCuire's tenure so far: Only two legit bigs in three years. C'mon! That's about to change.

LARS ESPE: Great untold story here. A guy clearly on the Bobs radar screen, yet we get him. How did that happen? We're mum, Bobs too. But if he's a Harold Frey talent, this story will emerge. Plus the fact we recruited a European talent. Love that. So many mid-majors have built solid programs on international talent, most especially St. Mary's with their Australian pipeline. Hope we can snag a few more international players in the future. Foreign talent: It's one of the great stories of basketball, both at the collegiate and pro levels, over the past thirty years.

KARL NICHOLAS: Super excited to have him aboard. I think he's a late bloomer, with huge upside potential. I just hope he finds the freedom here to play his game, not get trapped in a "system" that squelches him. You put him on the floor with Rorie, Dorsey, Oguine and Pridgett, and Montana has its own version of Phi Slamma Jamma. This unit can fly! Please, Travis. Turn 'em loose.

TIMMY FALLS: Haven't seen enough of his game to tell for sure, but it seems to me he's patterned himself after Steph Curry--smooth, quick, good handle, excellent shooting range. After all, he's come of age in the Bay Area during the "Curry Era" here; tons of kids are stylin' their game after his. Curry is a phenomenal player; his shooting skills overshadow his incredible handle and passing abilities. If Falls is one-tenth as good, we've got a steal.

Hey, when do we get next year's schedule? When do they update the roster on GoGriz? And how about one of them clocks that counts down to our first game? Huh?
 
citay said:
Okay, we are what we are--a small conference mid-major. Ain't gonna get the 4- and 5-star recruits; three-star is probably our limit. Instead, we're looking for that unheralded or overlooked kid with big upside, a la Micheal Ray Richardson, who was a 6'3" high-school forward, but became a legend both here and in the NBA as a 6'5" point guard. Another Micheal Ray is a stretch, but I think we've got some definite upside among our recruits, so here's what I like most:

HEIGHT: Nuff said! We've got two shots at a reasonably talented seven-footer, Kramer and Besovic. It'll take time, but two or three years down the road, one or both should develop nicely. The downside to DeCuire's tenure so far: Only two legit bigs in three years. C'mon! That's about to change.

LARS ESPE: Great untold story here. A guy clearly on the Bobs radar screen, yet we get him. How did that happen? We're mum, Bobs too. But if he's a Harold Frey talent, this story will emerge. Plus the fact we recruited a European talent. Love that. So many mid-majors have built solid programs on international talent, most especially St. Mary's with their Australian pipeline. Hope we can snag a few more international players in the future. Foreign talent: It's one of the great stories of basketball, both at the collegiate and pro levels, over the past thirty years.

KARL NICHOLAS: Super excited to have him aboard. I think he's a late bloomer, with huge upside potential. I just hope he finds the freedom here to play his game, not get trapped in a "system" that squelches him. You put him on the floor with Rorie, Dorsey, Oguine and Pridgett, and Montana has its own version of Phi Slamma Jamma. This unit can fly! Please, Travis. Turn 'em loose.

TIMMY FALLS: Haven't seen enough of his game to tell for sure, but it seems to me he's pattered himself after Steph Curry--smooth, quick, good handle, excellent shooting range. After all, he's come of age in the Bay Area during the "Curry Era" here; tons of kids are stylin' their game after his. Curry is a phenomenal player; his shooting skills overshadow his incredible handle and passing abilities. If Falls is one-tenth as good, we've got a steal.

Hey, when do we get next year's schedule? When do they update the roster on GoGriz? And how about one of them clocks that counts down to our first game? Huh?

interpretation: chinatown dumpster discards have been showing improvement lately, and while the number of spectacular dishes making their way to the alley is way down since the 70's, there seem to be more pretty-good ones recently, as compared to the last few years?
 
:clap:
citay said:
Okay, we are what we are--a small conference mid-major. Ain't gonna get the 4- and 5-star recruits; three-star is probably our limit. Instead, we're looking for that unheralded or overlooked kid with big upside, a la Micheal Ray Richardson, who was a 6'3" high-school forward, but became a legend both here and in the NBA as a 6'5" point guard. Another Micheal Ray is a stretch, but I think we've got some definite upside among our recruits, so here's what I like most:

HEIGHT: Nuff said! We've got two shots at a reasonably talented seven-footer, Kramer and Besovic. It'll take time, but two or three years down the road, one or both should develop nicely. The downside to DeCuire's tenure so far: Only two legit bigs in three years. C'mon! That's about to change.

LARS ESPE: Great untold story here. A guy clearly on the Bobs radar screen, yet we get him. How did that happen? We're mum, Bobs too. But if he's a Harold Frey talent, this story will emerge. Plus the fact we recruited a European talent. Love that. So many mid-majors have built solid programs on international talent, most especially St. Mary's with their Australian pipeline. Hope we can snag a few more international players in the future. Foreign talent: It's one of the great stories of basketball, both at the collegiate and pro levels, over the past thirty years.

KARL NICHOLAS: Super excited to have him aboard. I think he's a late bloomer, with huge upside potential. I just hope he finds the freedom here to play his game, not get trapped in a "system" that squelches him. You put him on the floor with Rorie, Dorsey, Oguine and Pridgett, and Montana has its own version of Phi Slamma Jamma. This unit can fly! Please, Travis. Turn 'em loose.

TIMMY FALLS: Haven't seen enough of his game to tell for sure, but it seems to me he's pattered himself after Steph Curry--smooth, quick, good handle, excellent shooting range. After all, he's come of age in the Bay Area during the "Curry Era" here; tons of kids are stylin' their game after his. Curry is a phenomenal player; his shooting skills overshadow his incredible handle and passing abilities. If Falls is one-tenth as good, we've got a steal.

Hey, when do we get next year's schedule? When do they update the roster on GoGriz? And how about one of them clocks that counts down to our first game? Huh?


Love the Post Citay!
 
argh! said:
citay said:
Okay, we are what we are--a small conference mid-major. Ain't gonna get the 4- and 5-star recruits; three-star is probably our limit. Instead, we're looking for that unheralded or overlooked kid with big upside, a la Micheal Ray Richardson, who was a 6'3" high-school forward, but became a legend both here and in the NBA as a 6'5" point guard. Another Micheal Ray is a stretch, but I think we've got some definite upside among our recruits, so here's what I like most:

HEIGHT: Nuff said! We've got two shots at a reasonably talented seven-footer, Kramer and Besovic. It'll take time, but two or three years down the road, one or both should develop nicely. The downside to DeCuire's tenure so far: Only two legit bigs in three years. C'mon! That's about to change.

LARS ESPE: Great untold story here. A guy clearly on the Bobs radar screen, yet we get him. How did that happen? We're mum, Bobs too. But if he's a Harold Frey talent, this story will emerge. Plus the fact we recruited a European talent. Love that. So many mid-majors have built solid programs on international talent, most especially St. Mary's with their Australian pipeline. Hope we can snag a few more international players in the future. Foreign talent: It's one of the great stories of basketball, both at the collegiate and pro levels, over the past thirty years.

KARL NICHOLAS: Super excited to have him aboard. I think he's a late bloomer, with huge upside potential. I just hope he finds the freedom here to play his game, not get trapped in a "system" that squelches him. You put him on the floor with Rorie, Dorsey, Oguine and Pridgett, and Montana has its own version of Phi Slamma Jamma. This unit can fly! Please, Travis. Turn 'em loose.

TIMMY FALLS: Haven't seen enough of his game to tell for sure, but it seems to me he's pattered himself after Steph Curry--smooth, quick, good handle, excellent shooting range. After all, he's come of age in the Bay Area during the "Curry Era" here; tons of kids are stylin' their game after his. Curry is a phenomenal player; his shooting skills overshadow his incredible handle and passing abilities. If Falls is one-tenth as good, we've got a steal.

Hey, when do we get next year's schedule? When do they update the roster on GoGriz? And how about one of them clocks that counts down to our first game? Huh?

interpretation: chinatown dumpster discards have been showing improvement lately, and while the number of spectacular dishes making their way to the alley is way down since the 70's, there seem to be more pretty-good ones recently, as compared to the last few years?

Hey, everybody. Ya still with us?
 
.... Sorry, dozed off there for a bit. Nice post, citay.

I believe you could add Admir Besovic as an international student because -- even though he attended H. S. in Virginia -- he is listed as a native of Sarajevo, in Bosnia And Herzegovina. I also am very encouraged by the international look of Montana basketball.

I listened to the lengthy radio interview with coaches DeCuire and Cobb, very well conducted by Gus Tootell of Missoula ESPN radio. Great transparency and honesty by the coaches about Montana's just completed season and what they hope to accomplish going into next fall.

Regarding Montana's 2017 non-conference schedule... Coach DeCuire said that all but three non-conference games for next season have been confirmed (not all dates are set). Of the three yet unscheduled games, two will likely be home games against non D1 opponents, with the intent to schedule one with a D1 opponent.

Otherwise, the non-con schedule will be played roughly in the following order:

• Home opener v.s. a D1 opponent, yet to be determined (in Missoula)
• Games 2 & 3. Home games v.s. two non-D1 schools, yet to be determined.
@ Penn State in game 1 of the east regional of the LEGENDS classic at State College, PA.
@ Pittsburgh in game 2 of the east regional of the LEGENDS classic at Pittsburgh, PA. (Montana will NOT play in any games at Barclay Center).
@ Pepperdine University in game one of the west regional of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• AGAINST Oral Roberts University in west regional game 3 of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• AGAINST University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) in Missoula.
• University of California UC Riverside in Missoula.
@ Washington
@ UCLA
@ Stanford

I want to stress that I'm going on verbal info from the radio program and -- though I believe it's accurate -- can't be absolutely certain of the chronological order of the above schedule.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
.... Sorry, dozed off there for a bit. Nice post, citay.

I believe you could add Admir Besovic as an international student because -- even though he attended H. S. in Virginia -- he is listed as a native of Sarajevo, in Bosnia And Herzegovina. I also am very encouraged by the international look of Montana basketball.

I listened to the lengthy radio interview with coaches DeCuire and Cobb, very well conducted by Gus Tootell of Missoula ESPN radio. Great transparency and honesty by the coaches about Montana's just completed season and what they hope to accomplish going into next fall.

Regarding Montana's 2017 non-conference schedule... Coach DeCuire said that all but three non-conference games for next season have been confirmed (not all dates are set). Of the three yet unscheduled games, two will likely be home games against non D1 opponents, with the intent to schedule one with a D1 opponent.

Otherwise, the non-con schedule will be played roughly in the following order:

• Home opener v.s. a D1 opponent, yet to be determined (in Missoula)
• Games 2 & 3. Home games v.s. two non-D1 schools, yet to be determined.
@ Penn State in game 1 of the east regional of the LEGENDS classic at State College, PA.
@ Pittsburgh in game 2 of the east regional of the LEGENDS classic at Pittsburgh, PA. (Montana will NOT play in any games at Barclay Center).
@ Pepperdine University in game one of the west regional of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• AGAINST Oral Roberts University in west regional game 3 of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• AGAINST University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) of the LEGENDS CLASSIC hosted by Pepperdine U.
• Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) in Missoula.
• University of California UC Riverside in Missoula.
@ Washington
@ UCLA
@ Stanford

I want to stress that I'm going on verbal info from the radio program and -- though I believe it's accurate -- can't be absolutely certain of the chronological order of the above schedule.

Even with the non D-1 teams, I like that schedule. Will have them battle tested before conference. Thoughts?
 
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.
 
AZGrizFan said:
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.

I put it at the door of the three-point shot. Yeah, bigs can do damage inside, but only two points worth, while there are pros making better than 40% on trey's, and even college kids shooting better than 50% from downtown. A mastodon like Charles "Upchuck" Barkley huffs and puffs and makes a two, and wham! here comes a trey right back in your face.

Also, remember game four of the Cavs-Warriors two years. Dubs down two games to one, in a big hole, in Cleveland, and what do they do? Go small. Big gamble--recommended by their video guy, of all people. And to start the game, it didn't appear it'd pay off. But then the Warriors get on a role, the Cavs bigs simply couldn't keep pace, and the series switched back to the Warriors. If you're flying up and down the court today, the bigs just can't keep up.

Meantime, many of the European seven-footers got the message a long time ago. Many of them are deadly from three. Notice too the impact on American bigs. Mo Buckets (Spaeghts) is now shooting three's, as is Marc Gasol in Memphis. He's not American, but he never shot three's till his new coach urged him to.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

P.S. This is why, with so few bigs on our roster last year, I was hoping DeCuire would really open our offense out, but it never really happened. Still walking the ball up the court. True, you can't run if you don't get that rebound, but I'm hoping we play faster this year. We'll have the talent.
 
Oops! Forgot one of the recruits I'm most excited about: Niko Bevins.

NIKO BEVINS: Love that name! (Don't ask me why.) Maybe, finally, we have a reliable three-point threat. Boy, would that be nice! And--we have him for three more years.

One of the things people miss about the Warriors is, their three-point shooting really frees up the middle, opening up those beautiful cuts to the basket. Maybe it was just our lack of a solid post presence, but the middle seemed really clogged up for us this year. That will change with Mr. Bevins.

And thank you, Niko, for giving me an excuse to mention the Warriors again. I swear, that's it!
 
AZGrizFan said:
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.

They play in the NFL now....as guards, tackles and centers....lol.

Actually the Celtics do just fine with their bigs. Brad Stevens prefers to run plays through his, and the are not 3-point shooters.
 
citay said:
Oops! Forgot one of the recruits I'm most excited about: Niko Bevins.

NIKO BEVINS: Love that name! (Don't ask me why.) Maybe, finally, we have a reliable three-point threat. Boy, would that be nice! And--we have him for three more years.

One of the things people miss about the Warriors is, their three-point shooting really frees up the middle, opening up those beautiful cuts to the basket. Maybe it was just our lack of a solid post presence, but the middle seemed really clogged up for us this year. That will change with Mr. Bevins.

And thank you, Niko, for giving me an excuse to mention the Warriors again. I swear, that's it!

With the changes to the circle and allowing contact if a defensive player is straight up, the middle of the lane is going to remain clogged in most mid-major leagues. That will continue unless teams play 5-out forcing bigs to come out to the perimeter. Then you have to balance how you attack the offensive glass and how you get back to limit transition. ... This is different in the NBA -- and high-major college basketball -- because you have guys who can attack 7-footers at the rim. You don't have that in the Big Sky.
That said, Nico should improve the consistency of Montana's outside shooting.
 
ordigger said:
AZGrizFan said:
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.

They play in the NFL now....as guards, tackles and centers....lol.

Actually the Celtics do just fine with their bigs. Brad Stevens prefers to run plays through his, and the are not 3-point shooters.

Everybody but Jerebko and Amir Johnson shoot 3s for the Celtics. It's central to their offensive schemes
 
kyle_sample said:
ordigger said:
AZGrizFan said:
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.

They play in the NFL now....as guards, tackles and centers....lol.

Actually the Celtics do just fine with their bigs. Brad Stevens prefers to run plays through his, and the are not 3-point shooters.

Everybody but Jerebko and Amir Johnson shoot 3s for the Celtics. It's central to their offensive schemes

Not really....Horford throws leads all big men with 1.4 tpg. Thats not lightening it up from outside to me. Stevens still likes the pick and roll per a quote from his own lips.
 
ordigger said:
kyle_sample said:
ordigger said:
AZGrizFan said:
How is it that we can't seem to find a single decent American big man? And we're not alone in that....it seems they've gone the way of the dinosaur or white cornerbacks.

They play in the NFL now....as guards, tackles and centers....lol.

Actually the Celtics do just fine with their bigs. Brad Stevens prefers to run plays through his, and the are not 3-point shooters.

Everybody but Jerebko and Amir Johnson shoot 3s for the Celtics. It's central to their offensive schemes

Not really....Horford throws leads all big men with 1.4 tpg. Thats not lightening it up from outside to me. Stevens still likes the pick and roll per a quote from his own lips.

Horford shot 3.6 3s per game this year, primarily because that's what Stevens' offensive design requires of him. He did shot 3.1 last year in Atlanta, but there isn't a ton of diversity in how NBA teams run their offense. Prior to his last year in Atlanta his career high attempts per game was 0.5 and he averaged 0.1 or fewer attempts per game in 6 of his 9 years in Atlanta. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's attempting a career high in Boston.
 
kyle_sample said:
ordigger said:
kyle_sample said:
ordigger said:
They play in the NFL now....as guards, tackles and centers....lol.

Actually the Celtics do just fine with their bigs. Brad Stevens prefers to run plays through his, and the are not 3-point shooters.

Everybody but Jerebko and Amir Johnson shoot 3s for the Celtics. It's central to their offensive schemes

Not really....Horford throws leads all big men with 1.4 tpg. Thats not lightening it up from outside to me. Stevens still likes the pick and roll per a quote from his own lips.

Horford shot 3.6 3s per game this year, primarily because that's what Stevens' offensive design requires of him. He did shot 3.1 last year in Atlanta, but there isn't a ton of diversity in how NBA teams run their offense. Prior to his last year in Atlanta his career high attempts per game was 0.5 and he averaged 0.1 or fewer attempts per game in 6 of his 9 years in Atlanta. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's attempting a career high in Boston.

You're talking to the wrong guy about stats. I had this conversation about 3 years ago with PR. Don't ask me though, you're the reporter .... go find what Brad Stevens said about it. He utilizes his big men NOT for the 3 point play, but to run the offense through. Horford also had a career high in assists. But hey thats another stat.

And let's be clear.....I can discuss the theory behind statistics all day long. Stats are nothing more than results that can be used to support speculation, or assumptions. I got that one from the football board! hahaha
 
ordigger said:
kyle_sample said:
ordigger said:
kyle_sample said:
Everybody but Jerebko and Amir Johnson shoot 3s for the Celtics. It's central to their offensive schemes

Not really....Horford throws leads all big men with 1.4 tpg. Thats not lightening it up from outside to me. Stevens still likes the pick and roll per a quote from his own lips.

Horford shot 3.6 3s per game this year, primarily because that's what Stevens' offensive design requires of him. He did shot 3.1 last year in Atlanta, but there isn't a ton of diversity in how NBA teams run their offense. Prior to his last year in Atlanta his career high attempts per game was 0.5 and he averaged 0.1 or fewer attempts per game in 6 of his 9 years in Atlanta. I don't think it's a coincidence that he's attempting a career high in Boston.

You're talking to the wrong guy about stats. I had this conversation about 3 years ago with PR. Don't ask me though, you're the reporter .... go find what Brad Stevens said about it. He utilizes his big men NOT for the 3 point play, but to run the offense through. Horford also had a career high in assists. But hey thats another stat.

And let's be clear.....I can discuss the theory behind statistics all day long. Stats are nothing more than results that can be used to support speculation, or assumptions. I got that one from the football board! hahaha

I agree 100% that they use big men to run the offense through, and when you watch them it's clear they do that -- similar in some ways to how Montana uses its bigs. Sometimes Al Horford even brings the ball up the court. I was just saying that everybody shoots threes for that team and that's a result of the situations the bigs are put in in that offense.
 
AllWeatherFan said:
Sorry, I thought this thread was about the softball recruiting class.

You'd want to look in the basketball threads under the softball forum for that kind of information.
 
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