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MBBALL Time to Re-Up Travis

B

billingsgriz

Well-known member
We have had some great men's basketball coaches@ The University of Montana: Heathcoate, Brandenburg, Montgomery, Morrill, Taylor, Krysko, and Tinkle, not to mention the all-time winningest GRIZ skipper, George " Jiggs" Dahlberg, who coached our team through The Great Depression, World War II, and The Korean War in two tours of duty, 1937-42, 1944-55 and went 221-223 during those periods, briefly coached our football team for one year in 1945, and was also our AD from 1954-61--it's no wonder the arena is named after him !!!

But now, Coach Dahlberg is about to be eclipsed by former great GRIZ point guard, all-time assists leader, and All Big Sky Guard Travis DeCuire, 1990-94, and who currently sits @ 220-132. Coach DeCuire, mentored by great GRIZ coaches Blaine Taylor @ Old Dominion and Mike Montgomery @ Cal as their assistant coach, has been our HC since 2015, won regular season Big Sky titles in 2015, 18 and 19, won the Big Sky Conference tournament in 2018 and 19 and advanced to The Big Dance those two years, to the NIT in 2015 and The CBI in 2016 and '24 and was The Big Sky and District 6 Coach of The Year in 2018 and only lags Weber's great retired Coach Randy Rahe in the number of Big Sky Conference wins. And Travis has coached such great GRIZ hoopsters as All Big Sky Josh Bannan, Annan Moody, and our current excellent point guard Brandon Whitney who is closing in on Coach DeCuire's all-time GRIZ assists record.

In the classroom, Coach Decuire's has graduated 100 % of his seniors, and his team has had a 3.0 or better GPA for the last 4 years, including a 3.3 team GPA in 2020-21.

For all of these reasons, it is time for our AD Kent Haslam to offer Coach DeCuire a new 4 year contract with a generous raise for him and his assistants, especially long-time assistant head coach Chris Cobb and longtime assistant Jay Flores !!! And anyone that doubts this should just take a look around The Big Sky and identify the other Big Sky coaches that have 11 consecutive winning seasons and whose kids perform as well also in the classroom--This is a rhetorical question: there aren't any !!! As we look look at the Shi__y Kitties struggle since Danny Sprinkle left and Weber State flounder since Coach Rahe retired, the success Travis has lef his alma mater to is very rare in The Big Sky !!! Did I mention that if our 19-8 team wins one or more of its remaining games, this will be the 5th time in 11 years Travis' GRIZ teams have won 20 or more games ?

While I hope Travis remains in Missoula until he retires, becoming the men's coach equivalent to LG legend Robin Selvig, I and I think most of us will understand if Travis leaves like Krysko and Wayne did for a fat pay day, but until then and that happens, we need to do everything possible to keep this good man and great GRIZ past player and current HC in Missoula @ his alma mater, The University of Montana !!!
 
Griz til I die said:
How about we wait until after the season is over so nobody gets distracted with the task at hand? We still got 4 games to go and anything can happen.
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How about instead we be bold and show confidence in Travis, staff and team right now and by doing so, giving them a big symbolic pat on the shoulder, pat on the team's collective butt heading into the final four games and Big Sky tournament in Boise ?

I have no problem with what you're suggesting, GTID--it's a good answer.

I think the better answer is for Haslam to publicly announce now that he is working on a new four-year contract for Travis and staff now that will be rapidly finalized just as soon as whenever our season ends, and that Haslam greatly appreciates the historic tenure of Travis DeCuire. By doing so, Haslam could give the team's sky-high morale a further boost by letting them know now how much UM appreciates Travis. Coach Cobb, Coach Flores, a staff the team respects and loves as well as let any bigger schools eyeballing Travis know that UM wants him to stay at his alma mater PERIOD !!! ( No negotiating distracting details now, but this would let Travis, his staff and team know how much they are appreciated and their efforts will soon be rewarded !!!)
 
Totally needs to be rewarded. He is Griz thru and thru (I know, cliche). This is greatest recruiting/coaching year ever-which go hand-in-hand. I don't believe I've ever seen a group of Griz players play so unselfishly in his tenure. I think he's grown as a coach. I remember that he used to play the old Montgomery slow down style where it was use the clock up and get it into the post or most player we had dominant player, to some years when we had a few players that were the guys. Now-with the players he and his staff have gotten, there's a totally different kind of play. The ball is shared more this year; the defense is more intense; and there just seems to be more talent and trust among players. As yhe season has gone on, they've built themselves into a better squad. He's gotten this team to believe in each other more than in the past. A kudos to Travis, his staff. and the the players for their work. Now let's kick the Cat's fu&*^ng asses tonight, and win this conference and the tournament outright! Go Griz!!!!
 
Coach DeCuire now tied with former GRIZ great BB Coach and AD George " Jiggs" Dahlberg for all-time wins @ 221--pretty decent chance this record falls within the

Thurs., Feb. 27th @ Sac State @ 8 PM Mountain

Sat., Mar. 1 @ Portland State @ 3 PM Mountain

Mon., Mar. 3, vs. EWU, 9 PM Mountain on ESPN 2

Good chance we go into The Big Sky Conference Tournament with the winningest coach in GRIZ history Travis DeCuire and a little Mo , and we will need it because it will be a tough 2-3 games--hopefully we can win it all this year !!!

Go GRIZ !!!
 
billingsgriz said:
Coach DeCuire now tied with former GRIZ great BB Coach and AD George " Jiggs" Dahlberg for all-time wins @ 221--pretty decent chance this record falls within the

Thurs., Feb. 27th @ Sac State @ 8 PM Mountain

Sat., Mar. 1 @ Portland State @ 3 PM Mountain

Mon., Mar. 3, vs. EWU, 9 PM Mountain on ESPN 2

Good chance we go into The Big Sky Conference Tournament with the winningest coach in GRIZ history Travis DeCuire and a little Mo , and we will need it because it will be a tough 2-3 games--hopefully we can win it all this year !!!

Go GRIZ !!!
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This team is the most balanced team i have seen in quite some time. Good inside play, great guard play, and at least 3 players that can create their own shots.
 
I agree SACCAT,

Coach DeCuire and his staff did really well in the transfer portal with the likes of Joe Pridgen, Malik Moore, Kai Williams and Austin Patterson which has allowed Kai to start and Money Williams to see the game better before he enters the game.

Plus, we have transfers Amari Jedkins, Jensen Bradtke and freshman Jalen Foy providing some needed depth behind Te'Jon Sawyer for our bigs and the option for Coach DeCuire to go with a bigger lineup if he sees the need.

John Woodin, Bobby Knight or Mike Krezyzewski I ain't, but I love this team Coach DeCuire, Asst. HC Chris Cobb and staff have cobbled together: a lot of talent, depth and grit !!!
 
Huge shout-out to billingsgriz for this outstanding tribute to Travis DeCuire and his assistants who have been with him for 11 years... Chris Cobb and Jay Flores in particular. Coach DeCuire didn't stop there, paying homage to all the assistants he's had during his career here... in the GoGriz post-game article that also mentioned the significance of the record being tied with yet one more notch in Montana's 16-5 win record vs the Bobcats under DeCuire. Congrats to coaches DeCuire, Cobb and Flores on this significant achievement.
 
As an addendum on this story, I strongly recommend eGrizzers to follow this link to the game photos by longtime Montana sports photographer Tommy Martino. Outstanding photos throughout, but Marttino has crafted a very "non-verbal" story of the game, in photos. Martino took the time to take solo shots of all the Griz players, then coaches in a story-telling way that's rare to see nowadays (in non-video form). When you get to the action photos, however, Martino took some top-notch, high-impact action photos that should actually get more "exposure." I wish I could cut & paste one to add here, but won't, out of respect to Martino. Do, however, take a look at this excellent photo essay of last night's win.

galleries

Montana beat Montana State 89-85 for their ninth straight win and a sweep in the series in Bozeman, Mont., on Feb. 22, 2024.
gogriz.com gogriz.com
 
rocklobster said:
Totally needs to be rewarded. He is Griz thru and thru (I know, cliche). This is greatest recruiting/coaching year ever-which go hand-in-hand. I don't believe I've ever seen a group of Griz players play so unselfishly in his tenure. I think he's grown as a coach. I remember that he used to play the old Montgomery slow down style where it was use the clock up and get it into the post or most player we had dominant player, to some years when we had a few players that were the guys. Now-with the players he and his staff have gotten, there's a totally different kind of play. The ball is shared more this year; the defense is more intense; and there just seems to be more talent and trust among players. As yhe season has gone on, they've built themselves into a better squad. He's gotten this team to believe in each other more than in the past. A kudos to Travis, his staff. and the the players for their work. Now let's kick the Cat's fu&*^ng asses tonight, and win this conference and the tournament outright! Go Griz!!!!
Click to expand...
Let us not forget the all important aspect of getting the ball up court .....fast breaks for this he gets it all.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
As an addendum on this story, I strongly recommend eGrizzers to follow this link to the game photos by longtime Montana sports photographer Tommy Martino. Outstanding photos throughout, but Marttino has crafted a very "non-verbal" story of the game, in photos. Martino took the time to take solo shots of all the Griz players, then coaches in a story-telling way that's rare to see nowadays (in non-video form). When you get to the action photos, however, Martino took some top-notch, high-impact action photos that should actually get more "exposure." I wish I could cut & paste one to add here, but won't, out of respect to Martino. Do, however, take a look at this excellent photo essay of last night's win.

galleries

Montana beat Montana State 89-85 for their ninth straight win and a sweep in the series in Bozeman, Mont., on Feb. 22, 2024.
gogriz.com gogriz.com
Click to expand...
great pic of Pridgen's clean block that was called a foul...
 
grizzlyjournal said:
As an addendum on this story, I strongly recommend eGrizzers to follow this link to the game photos by longtime Montana sports photographer Tommy Martino. Outstanding photos throughout, but Marttino has crafted a very "non-verbal" story of the game, in photos. Martino took the time to take solo shots of all the Griz players, then coaches in a story-telling way that's rare to see nowadays (in non-video form). When you get to the action photos, however, Martino took some top-notch, high-impact action photos that should actually get more "exposure." I wish I could cut & paste one to add here, but won't, out of respect to Martino. Do, however, take a look at this excellent photo essay of last night's win.

galleries

Montana beat Montana State 89-85 for their ninth straight win and a sweep in the series in Bozeman, Mont., on Feb. 22, 2024.
gogriz.com gogriz.com
Click to expand...
You are right about those pictures, journal, as I love the little GRIZ fans in their GRIZ gear in Bozeman, our cheerleaders doing their routine in front of a mainly hostile crowd, and especially the game pictures which I think really show this team's talent and grit--that determination to leave it all on the court last night really comes through !!!

And the team pictures in the locker room to me show the team's love and respect for Coach DeCuire, including the Gatorade bath !!!

My favorite of them all is Coach looking @ Brandon Whitney, our great point guard. Without those two engines--the general on the sidelines and our floor general-- we are not sitting @ 20 wins, and completing a regular-season sweep of our rival !!!

And now, we have more work to do, and no one needs to tell our blue-collar team there is still more work to do, as they are hungry and focused !!!
 
billingsgriz said:
How about instead we be bold and show confidence in Travis, staff and team right now and by doing so, giving them a big symbolic pat on the shoulder, pat on the team's collective butt heading into the final four games and Big Sky tournament in Boise ?

I have no problem with what you're suggesting, GTID--it's a good answer.

I think the better answer is for Haslam to publicly announce now that he is working on a new four-year contract for Travis and staff now that will be rapidly finalized just as soon as whenever our season ends, and that Haslam greatly appreciates the historic tenure of Travis DeCuire. By doing so, Haslam could give the team's sky-high morale a further boost by letting them know now how much UM appreciates Travis. Coach Cobb, Coach Flores, a staff the team respects and loves as well as let any bigger schools eyeballing Travis know that UM wants him to stay at his alma mater PERIOD !!! ( No negotiating distracting details now, but this would let Travis, his staff and team know how much they are appreciated and their efforts will soon be rewarded !!!)
Click to expand...
I’m all four Travis getting a new and improved 4 year contract. Trav and the assistants deserve it. But wait a minute……..if I’m Haslem I vividly remember not that many years ago when Kent was faced with the same quandary. He went and verbally told Shannon he was working on her new contract. Or so the story goes. Maybe Kent’s learned his lesson? To the tune of $350,000?
But when all is said and done Travis does deserve an extension.
 
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