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The Cavalry Has Arrived!

citygriz

Well-known member
A year ago, I took my brother and nephew to the Montana-Portland State game in Portland. Yes, it was a good competitive game, but we lost, mainly because they were bigger, springier and quicker, and controlled the inside. Our only legit big was Krslovic, and he might as well have been holed up in the Alamo. But we knew help was on the way--Dorsey, Nicholas and Akoh. I couldn't wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Yesterday, they came to rescue. The minute you walked into the gym and saw Nicholas and Akoh, you had a hunch this game would be different. (Oh, what a team this would be with Dorsey!) But once the game started, another "big" arrived for us too in the person of Bobby Moorehead. He is long out of his sophomore slump, and contributing big-time in all aspects of the game, including the boards. Yes, our guard line is fabulous, we all expected that. But the arrival of the bigs has made this a complete team.

Going in I had two concerns: Their relentless press, and their three-point shooting. I mean, I remember the Loyola Marymount team of Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and I've always loved that style of play. And yet, as my brother said more than once, "Montana is really well prepared." We pretty much took apart their press with a variety of schemes; in fact, when our coaching staff looks at the tape, I'm sure they'll find more ways to exploit that press. As an example, in one scheme, the outlet man is Akoh at side-center court. Any number of times when he was thrown the ball, the weak side was wide open for layups or lob dunks. I'm sure we can exploit that next time.

And our three-point defense was outstanding. At one point in the second half my brother said, "Portland State has no offense." Yes, it's tough to play consistently good defense, especially when you woke up at six that morning for a game. But when our kids are into it, they have the schemes to make life miserable for any opponent. Our defense is a thing a beauty.

Dot 'n dash hash: Biggest crowd I have seen for a Montana game in ages. We filled one entire section, and when we cheered or booed in unison, the echo rumbled through the gym...After the game, as we cheered the players, they seemed surprised, as if not knowing what to do. A few waved or started over, but then departed for the locker room opposite our section. If I were DeCuire, I would revive the football tradition of going over and singing the fight song. Why not? When you're building a program, God is in the Fight Song...I see a lot of criticism on this board of the refs, but I thought they did a good job. Can't argue we got homered when we shot 47 free throws to their 22. Plus this was a tough game to ref, with pressure all over the court, bodies flying up and down, and swarms under the basket contesting every rebound or diving on the court for loose balls. I personally liked this crew...Speaking of free throws. Well, we made them when we had to, eight of ten down the stretch, with the crowd stomping and booing, the gym shaking, the backboards seemingly moving. And for the game we shot 70% which is decent. Still, I'd continue to work on them. We took probably ten points off the board in the first half with missed free throws, a couple of them front ends of a one and one...Finally, to my fellow Griz fans, especially GrizRule, who worries about the rough schedule ahead: Carpe Diem, my friends! Enjoy the day! Live for the moment! Because as we've watched DeCuire re-build this program, this seven game stretch, starting with the Washington game, has been stupendous. It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.
 
:clap: :clap: :thumb:

citay said:
A Biggest crowd I have seen for a Montana game in ages. We filled one entire section, and when we cheered or booed in unison, the echo rumbled through the gym...After the game, as we cheered the players, they seemed surprised, as if not knowing what to do. A few waved or started over, but then departed for the locker room opposite our section.
. . . Finally, to my fellow Griz fans, especially GrizRule, who worries about the rough schedule ahead: Carpe Diem, my friends! Enjoy the day! Live for the moment! Because as we've watched DeCuire re-build this program, this seven game stretch, starting with the Washington game, has been stupendous. It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.
 
I could definitely HEAR ya! That is so cool. It was also like that in Sacramento, with Griz fans' group cheers very audible on the broadcast.

I know that coach DeCuire recognized the fans. Riley Corcoran said he personally thanked some Griz fans for attending... but the Griz fight song for Montana fans after road wins is a good idea.

Below is a snap that Riley took of the Montana cheering section. Carpe Diem! Go Griz.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/VoiceoftheGriz/status/952296959682818048[/tweet]
 
grizzlyjournal said:
I could definitely HEAR ya! That is so cool. It was also like that in Sacramento, with Griz fans' group cheers very audible on the broadcast.

I know that coach DeCuire recognized the fans. Riley Corcoran said he personally thanked some Griz fans for attending... but the Griz fight song for Montana fans after road wins is a good idea.

Below is a snap that Riley took of the Montana cheering section. Carpe Diem! Go Griz.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/VoiceoftheGriz/status/952296959682818048[/tweet]

Is that Rorie's mom in front row waving?
 
citay said:
... And our three-point defense was outstanding. At one point in the second half my brother said, "Portland State has no offense." Yes, it's tough to play consistently good defense, especially when you woke up at six that morning for a game. But when our kids are into it, they have the schemes to make life miserable for any opponent. Our defense is a thing a beauty.

... It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.
You bet your bippy! :)

PSU was/is shooting 37% percent for the season on treys. For this game, they went 5 of 24 (20.8%).
Go Griz! :egriz: :egriz:
 
Great write up Citay. Unfortunately, I too often analyze from a very critical coaching point of view. I am elated that the GRIZ have started the conference the way they have. I still need to be sold on how they respond against teams that can force the GRIZ to rely on 3 pt shooting more often. Then again, forcing the GRIZ to do that is difficult when they have multiple players who create well from penetrating. Rorie, Oguine, Falls, and Pridgett all do that well. Moorehead is capable of doing so, just doesn't need to do so.

Also, we aren't used to seeing a GRIZ team go on the kind of run they have so far in conference play, since Tinkle left. Can this team maintain the high level of play? Defensively and rebounding wise, I see no reason why they cannot. Offensively, can they put it all together? That is where my main concerns are, right now.
 
In the photo, the woman in the front row in the pink is Ahmad Rorie's mom (Reggie I think) - she is a computer tech from Tacoma who works with hospital/medical software. She makes most of the Griz home games and sits in the front row to the right of the basket at the Griz end of the court.

The blonde behind her (I think - can't see too clearly) is Timmy Falls' mom - she travels the Northwest for Dr. Pepper and also makes many of the home games and sits with Reggie. Her name is (I think) Deana or Deena.

Stop by and introduce yourself in that quiet time after the game ends and the guys haven't yet returned from the locker room.

Two classy gals.
 
717s7e said:
In the photo, the woman in the front row in the pink is Ahmad Rorie's mom (Reggie I think) - she is a computer tech from Tacoma who works with hospital/medical software. She makes most of the Griz home games and sits in the front row to the right of the basket at the Griz end of the court.

The blonde behind her (I think - can't see too clearly) is Timmy Falls' mom - she travels the Northwest for Dr. Pepper and also makes many of the home games and sits with Reggie. Her name is (I think) Deana or Deena.

Stop by and introduce yourself in that quiet time after the game ends and the guys haven't yet returned from the locker room.

Two classy gals.

Thanks. I thought I recognized her, having met her briefly in Missoula. It's cool that she gets to so many games in Missoula. Do you come to games too?
 
citay said:
A year ago, I took my brother and nephew to the Montana-Portland State game in Portland. Yes, it was a good competitive game, but we lost, mainly because they were bigger, springier and quicker, and controlled the inside. Our only legit big was Krslovic, and he might as well have been holed up in the Alamo. But we knew help was on the way--Dorsey, Nicholas and Akoh. I couldn't wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Yesterday, they came to rescue. The minute you walked into the gym and saw Nicholas and Akoh, you had a hunch this game would be different. (Oh, what a team this would be with Dorsey!) But once the game started, another "big" arrived for us too in the person of Bobby Moorehead. He is long out of his sophomore slump, and contributing big-time in all aspects of the game, including the boards. Yes, our guard line is fabulous, we all expected that. But the arrival of the bigs has made this a complete team.

Going in I had two concerns: Their relentless press, and their three-point shooting. I mean, I remember the Loyola Marymount team of Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and I've always loved that style of play. And yet, as my brother said more than once, "Montana is really well prepared." We pretty much took apart their press with a variety of schemes; in fact, when our coaching staff looks at the tape, I'm sure they'll find more ways to exploit that press. As an example, in one scheme, the outlet man is Akoh at side-center court. Any number of times when he was thrown the ball, the weak side was wide open for layups or lob dunks. I'm sure we can exploit that next time.

And our three-point defense was outstanding. At one point in the second half my brother said, "Portland State has no offense." Yes, it's tough to play consistently good defense, especially when you woke up at six that morning for a game. But when our kids are into it, they have the schemes to make life miserable for any opponent. Our defense is a thing a beauty.

Dot 'n dash hash: Biggest crowd I have seen for a Montana game in ages. We filled one entire section, and when we cheered or booed in unison, the echo rumbled through the gym...After the game, as we cheered the players, they seemed surprised, as if not knowing what to do. A few waved or started over, but then departed for the locker room opposite our section. If I were DeCuire, I would revive the football tradition of going over and singing the fight song. Why not? When you're building a program, God is in the Fight Song...I see a lot of criticism on this board of the refs, but I thought they did a good job. Can't argue we got homered when we shot 47 free throws to their 22. Plus this was a tough game to ref, with pressure all over the court, bodies flying up and down, and swarms under the basket contesting every rebound or diving on the court for loose balls. I personally liked this crew...Speaking of free throws. Well, we made them when we had to, eight of ten down the stretch, with the crowd stomping and booing, the gym shaking, the backboards seemingly moving. And for the game we shot 70% which is decent. Still, I'd continue to work on them. We took probably ten points off the board in the first half with missed free throws, a couple of them front ends of a one and one...Finally, to my fellow Griz fans, especially GrizRule, who worries about the rough schedule ahead: Carpe Diem, my friends! Enjoy the day! Live for the moment! Because as we've watched DeCuire re-build this program, this seven game stretch, starting with the Washington game, has been stupendous. It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.

I agree with much of what you say, but disagree wholeheartedly with your judgement of Krislovic. Not sure why you miss his contributions which are not small to the present Griz success but he has improved vastly from the rough guy who fouled out easily as a freshman to a very intelligent and strong force under AND around the basket giving UM opportunities that really did not exist under Tinkle. I think you have forgotten that UM was nearly last in rebounding nationally during the Tinkle years, as I recall. Give credit where it's due. UM is solid top to bottom...
I watched many of LMU home games during Westhead's day, and it was fun to see the run and gun but, to be perfectly honest, they were not that consistently successful against the schools that knew how to play them. Having said that, I still remember the game they lost to LSU in one of the highest scoring games ever...
 
GrizLA said:
citay said:
A year ago, I took my brother and nephew to the Montana-Portland State game in Portland. Yes, it was a good competitive game, but we lost, mainly because they were bigger, springier and quicker, and controlled the inside. Our only legit big was Krslovic, and he might as well have been holed up in the Alamo. But we knew help was on the way--Dorsey, Nicholas and Akoh. I couldn't wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Yesterday, they came to rescue. The minute you walked into the gym and saw Nicholas and Akoh, you had a hunch this game would be different. (Oh, what a team this would be with Dorsey!) But once the game started, another "big" arrived for us too in the person of Bobby Moorehead. He is long out of his sophomore slump, and contributing big-time in all aspects of the game, including the boards. Yes, our guard line is fabulous, we all expected that. But the arrival of the bigs has made this a complete team.

Going in I had two concerns: Their relentless press, and their three-point shooting. I mean, I remember the Loyola Marymount team of Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and I've always loved that style of play. And yet, as my brother said more than once, "Montana is really well prepared." We pretty much took apart their press with a variety of schemes; in fact, when our coaching staff looks at the tape, I'm sure they'll find more ways to exploit that press. As an example, in one scheme, the outlet man is Akoh at side-center court. Any number of times when he was thrown the ball, the weak side was wide open for layups or lob dunks. I'm sure we can exploit that next time.

And our three-point defense was outstanding. At one point in the second half my brother said, "Portland State has no offense." Yes, it's tough to play consistently good defense, especially when you woke up at six that morning for a game. But when our kids are into it, they have the schemes to make life miserable for any opponent. Our defense is a thing a beauty.

Dot 'n dash hash: Biggest crowd I have seen for a Montana game in ages. We filled one entire section, and when we cheered or booed in unison, the echo rumbled through the gym...After the game, as we cheered the players, they seemed surprised, as if not knowing what to do. A few waved or started over, but then departed for the locker room opposite our section. If I were DeCuire, I would revive the football tradition of going over and singing the fight song. Why not? When you're building a program, God is in the Fight Song...I see a lot of criticism on this board of the refs, but I thought they did a good job. Can't argue we got homered when we shot 47 free throws to their 22. Plus this was a tough game to ref, with pressure all over the court, bodies flying up and down, and swarms under the basket contesting every rebound or diving on the court for loose balls. I personally liked this crew...Speaking of free throws. Well, we made them when we had to, eight of ten down the stretch, with the crowd stomping and booing, the gym shaking, the backboards seemingly moving. And for the game we shot 70% which is decent. Still, I'd continue to work on them. We took probably ten points off the board in the first half with missed free throws, a couple of them front ends of a one and one...Finally, to my fellow Griz fans, especially GrizRule, who worries about the rough schedule ahead: Carpe Diem, my friends! Enjoy the day! Live for the moment! Because as we've watched DeCuire re-build this program, this seven game stretch, starting with the Washington game, has been stupendous. It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.

I agree with much of what you say, but disagree wholeheartedly with your judgement of Krislovic. Not sure why you miss his contributions which are not small to the present Griz success but he has improved vastly from the rough guy who fouled out easily as a freshman to a very intelligent and strong force under AND around the basket giving UM opportunities that really did not exist under Tinkle. I think you have forgotten that UM was nearly last in rebounding nationally during the Tinkle years, as I recall. Give credit where it's due. UM is solid top to bottom...
I watched many of LMU home games during Westhead's day, and it was fun to see the run and gun but, to be perfectly honest, they were not that consistently successful against the schools that knew how to play them. Having said that, I still remember the game they lost to LSU in one of the highest scoring games ever...

LA did Citay something about Krislovic in a prior post? He said nothing negative about him in this one. He just said he was outnumbered as the only legit big on the team and that it was good to get some help.
 
cmtgrizzly said:
GrizLA said:
citay said:
A year ago, I took my brother and nephew to the Montana-Portland State game in Portland. Yes, it was a good competitive game, but we lost, mainly because they were bigger, springier and quicker, and controlled the inside. Our only legit big was Krslovic, and he might as well have been holed up in the Alamo. But we knew help was on the way--Dorsey, Nicholas and Akoh. I couldn't wait for the cavalry to arrive.

Yesterday, they came to rescue. The minute you walked into the gym and saw Nicholas and Akoh, you had a hunch this game would be different. (Oh, what a team this would be with Dorsey!) But once the game started, another "big" arrived for us too in the person of Bobby Moorehead. He is long out of his sophomore slump, and contributing big-time in all aspects of the game, including the boards. Yes, our guard line is fabulous, we all expected that. But the arrival of the bigs has made this a complete team.

Going in I had two concerns: Their relentless press, and their three-point shooting. I mean, I remember the Loyola Marymount team of Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and I've always loved that style of play. And yet, as my brother said more than once, "Montana is really well prepared." We pretty much took apart their press with a variety of schemes; in fact, when our coaching staff looks at the tape, I'm sure they'll find more ways to exploit that press. As an example, in one scheme, the outlet man is Akoh at side-center court. Any number of times when he was thrown the ball, the weak side was wide open for layups or lob dunks. I'm sure we can exploit that next time.

And our three-point defense was outstanding. At one point in the second half my brother said, "Portland State has no offense." Yes, it's tough to play consistently good defense, especially when you woke up at six that morning for a game. But when our kids are into it, they have the schemes to make life miserable for any opponent. Our defense is a thing a beauty.

Dot 'n dash hash: Biggest crowd I have seen for a Montana game in ages. We filled one entire section, and when we cheered or booed in unison, the echo rumbled through the gym...After the game, as we cheered the players, they seemed surprised, as if not knowing what to do. A few waved or started over, but then departed for the locker room opposite our section. If I were DeCuire, I would revive the football tradition of going over and singing the fight song. Why not? When you're building a program, God is in the Fight Song...I see a lot of criticism on this board of the refs, but I thought they did a good job. Can't argue we got homered when we shot 47 free throws to their 22. Plus this was a tough game to ref, with pressure all over the court, bodies flying up and down, and swarms under the basket contesting every rebound or diving on the court for loose balls. I personally liked this crew...Speaking of free throws. Well, we made them when we had to, eight of ten down the stretch, with the crowd stomping and booing, the gym shaking, the backboards seemingly moving. And for the game we shot 70% which is decent. Still, I'd continue to work on them. We took probably ten points off the board in the first half with missed free throws, a couple of them front ends of a one and one...Finally, to my fellow Griz fans, especially GrizRule, who worries about the rough schedule ahead: Carpe Diem, my friends! Enjoy the day! Live for the moment! Because as we've watched DeCuire re-build this program, this seven game stretch, starting with the Washington game, has been stupendous. It's a great day to be a Griz fan. Let's savor the moment.

I agree with much of what you say, but disagree wholeheartedly with your judgement of Krislovic. Not sure why you miss his contributions which are not small to the present Griz success but he has improved vastly from the rough guy who fouled out easily as a freshman to a very intelligent and strong force under AND around the basket giving UM opportunities that really did not exist under Tinkle. I think you have forgotten that UM was nearly last in rebounding nationally during the Tinkle years, as I recall. Give credit where it's due. UM is solid top to bottom...
I watched many of LMU home games during Westhead's day, and it was fun to see the run and gun but, to be perfectly honest, they were not that consistently successful against the schools that knew how to play them. Having said that, I still remember the game they lost to LSU in one of the highest scoring games ever...

LA did Citay something about Krislovic in a prior post? He said nothing negative about him in this one. He just said he was outnumbered as the only legit big on the team and that it was good to get some help.
Not sure if he did or not. Citay is not a guy to disparage anyone from what I have seen here. He knows what he is talking about. I just feel Krislovic is not given enough credit by the people on this site. He is as solid a basketball player as anyone we have. His presence on the team will be missed next year. He has matured more than any player I've seen except Oguine.
 
Griz LA: I did not intend to disparage Krslovic in any way. He played a beautiful game in Portland, and bottomed two critical free throws in the final seconds with the crowd jeering and stomping. I did indeed mean that he needed more help underneath. Maybe you weren't clear on my Alamo analogy.
 
Fab does indeed get overlooked, likely because he doesn't stuff the stat sheet every week. But without his defense, the GRIZ couldn't play the style of defense they do. The GRIZ hedge as high as any team in America, and you simply cannot get away with that if you don't have a big man low who is able to take away passing lane and prevent backdoors.

But Citay's point holds true as well: the additional firepower in the post -- especially the scoring ability -- has been huge for this team.
 
EverettGriz said:
Fab does indeed get overlooked, likely because he doesn't stuff the stat sheet every week. But without his defense, the GRIZ couldn't play the style of defense they do. The GRIZ hedge as high as any team in America, and you simply cannot get away with that if you don't have a big man low who is able to take away passing lane and prevent backdoors.

But Citay's point holds true as well: the additional firepower in the post -- especially the scoring ability -- has been huge for this team.
Krslovic's defense is a great complement to Akoh and the play of the Griz guards. Quick feet and uses his hands well without picking up a lot of foolish reach-in fouls. Given the role he has to play, it's kinda surprising that he's only fouled out twice. And on the other end, his ability to block out and create lanes opens the door for Akoh to pile up the inside points.

But here's a question for those who've seen him live: Is he really 6' 8", like he's listed on the roster? :?
I've only seen him on video (and choppy streaming at that), but I swear he looks a good inch shorter than Akoh, who's also listed at 6-8. (Also looks that way in the team photo posted at goGriz.com.) I know roster postings should be taken with a grain of salt, but ... really? :)
 
717s7e said:
In the photo, the woman in the front row in the pink is Ahmad Rorie's mom (Reggie I think) - she is a computer tech from Tacoma who works with hospital/medical software. She makes most of the Griz home games and sits in the front row to the right of the basket at the Griz end of the court.

The blonde behind her (I think - can't see too clearly) is Timmy Falls' mom - she travels the Northwest for Dr. Pepper and also makes many of the home games and sits with Reggie. Her name is (I think) Deana or Deena.

Stop by and introduce yourself in that quiet time after the game ends and the guys haven't yet returned from the locker room.

Two classy gals.

I thought the entire section was classy.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
EverettGriz said:
Fab does indeed get overlooked, likely because he doesn't stuff the stat sheet every week. But without his defense, the GRIZ couldn't play the style of defense they do. The GRIZ hedge as high as any team in America, and you simply cannot get away with that if you don't have a big man low who is able to take away passing lane and prevent backdoors.

But Citay's point holds true as well: the additional firepower in the post -- especially the scoring ability -- has been huge for this team.
Krslovic's defense is a great complement to Akoh and the play of the Griz guards. Quick feet and uses his hands well without picking up a lot of foolish reach-in fouls. Given the role he has to play, it's kinda surprising that he's only fouled out twice. And on the other end, his ability to block out and create lanes opens the door for Akoh to pile up the inside points.

But here's a question for those who've seen him live: Is he really 6' 8", like he's listed on the roster? :?
I've only seen him on video (and choppy streaming at that), but I swear he looks a good inch shorter than Akoh, who's also listed at 6-8. (Also looks that way in the team photo posted at goGriz.com.) I know roster postings should be taken with a grain of salt, but ... really? :)

Depends on whether he stands up straight. He rarely does in games.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Another skill of Fab's....he is a better ball handler than he is given credit for. I was at the game in Portland with two Griz buds and Fab brought the ball up the court a number of times even against some defensive pressure. I was impressed. But Fab buddy....PLEASE don't bring the ball down and dribble when you are in the post! :D
 
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