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.
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.