cmtgrizzly said:
NCAA selection committee member (not really but just for fun), tell me why I should watch the Griz closely this year when last year they didnt even make the tourney. Why will they win their conference this year? Do you think they can win games in their OOC schedule to warrant a possible NCAA tourney invite even if they dont win the conference tourney (I know silly thought but again just for fun). Overall are they a competitive mid major or are they going to be again inconsistent and lose to teams they really shouldnt?
The Griz have size, athleticism and quality depth such as seldom seen before--possibly in the history of the program. You will immediately wonder: How did the University of Montana EVER recruit such a collection of talent? (I believe this is the result of some extraordinary recruiting, thanks to DeCuire and maybe more especially, Chris Cobb.) Put this team in Dahlberg, with its big new scoreboard, and you're looking at a fun, exciting and hopefully winning environment.
From there it's all questions:
--Can this team shoot, especially trey's? Last year they couldn't. They think they've remedied that problem, but it remains to be seen. This is a must. At the top, Steph Curry has changed the game of basketball. The Cavs now shoot twice as many three's as they did two years ago, and all teams down to the high school and collegiate level have caught the bug. Kids today can shoot. Can we?
--Can we win against this OOC schedule? We play at Pitt, Penn State, Stanford, Washington and UCLA, among others. UCLA is loaded; Stanford is well-coached and brought in one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Washington is Washington, especially on their home floor. As daunting as this schedule is, remember: Problems spell opportunity. If Montana is as good as many of us hope, they will have plenty of opportunity to get noticed.
--A conference championship is not guaranteed, since Weber State and Idaho both will be very good, and it's always tough to win a conference tournament, especially on a neutral floor. But the end result is not a pony-league, second-division playoff. If you win the conference, you are in the big time, playing against the big boys, in my all-time favorite sporting event, the Big Dance. For a school like Montana, that's no longer possible in football, but it is in basketball. That prospect in itself is exciting, at least to me.