1. The Griz lose Rorie, Oguine and Krslovic--three of the elite players in the history of Montana basketball. But for one more season they retain another elite player, Pridgett, and combined with two other quality seniors, Samuelson and Manuel, they keep Montana in the upper echelons of the Big Sky--before Covid hits and shuts everything down.
2. How does our staff respond to the loss of all this talent in two years? They go out and recruit possibly the best back-to-back classes in the history of the school. First Carter-Hollinger, Vazquez and Owens, followed by Bannon, Beasely and Whitney. And let's not forget Eddie Egun, who's taken a redshirt year and is still only a sophomore. That's seven quality underclassmen now in the fold.
3. But now you approach the season. You're Montana. You don't rebuild, you reload. You're expected to be among the top teams in the conference. But you've only got three sophomores and an incoming freshman class that you know nothing about. So what do you do? You fill in with transfers, all with experience: Henderson, Steadman, Satterwhite, Gaskin. If you're citay, you think to yourself, "This team is loaded."
4. But lo! The incoming freshman class is better than expected! First game against Pac12 power U.S.C., Bannon is a suprise starter! And scores 13 points! Another freshman, Whitney, debuts with 17 points! Wow! These kids be good!
5. Now you've got a built-in tension within the program: A group of upperclassmen, one or two with professional ambitions looking for minutes, the while you're trying to develop this fantastic group of young talent. I believe this may be the reason Satterwhite and Steadman left. These young kids were just too good to be denied, gaining minutes at the expense of the transfers. It was like in an earthquake, where two tectonic plates rubbed against each other until there was a jarring rupture in the entire program.
6. Add in bad luck. Gaskin is dismissed from the squad, and Henderson simply does not pan out. And without three of the transfers making ANY contributions--and Steadman a disappointment--Montana is suddenly in real trouble. BUT...
7. Hope remains! All the youngsters are still here, still playing, still getting minutes. They bring size, muscle, athleticism and shooting ability. If there ever was a year to get a bad year out of your system, none better than this year. And don't forget, if these kids want to, they'll all get an extra of eligibility because of Covid. In a way, this year is a practise year for kids that are gonna do special things before they leave this program.
2. How does our staff respond to the loss of all this talent in two years? They go out and recruit possibly the best back-to-back classes in the history of the school. First Carter-Hollinger, Vazquez and Owens, followed by Bannon, Beasely and Whitney. And let's not forget Eddie Egun, who's taken a redshirt year and is still only a sophomore. That's seven quality underclassmen now in the fold.
3. But now you approach the season. You're Montana. You don't rebuild, you reload. You're expected to be among the top teams in the conference. But you've only got three sophomores and an incoming freshman class that you know nothing about. So what do you do? You fill in with transfers, all with experience: Henderson, Steadman, Satterwhite, Gaskin. If you're citay, you think to yourself, "This team is loaded."
4. But lo! The incoming freshman class is better than expected! First game against Pac12 power U.S.C., Bannon is a suprise starter! And scores 13 points! Another freshman, Whitney, debuts with 17 points! Wow! These kids be good!
5. Now you've got a built-in tension within the program: A group of upperclassmen, one or two with professional ambitions looking for minutes, the while you're trying to develop this fantastic group of young talent. I believe this may be the reason Satterwhite and Steadman left. These young kids were just too good to be denied, gaining minutes at the expense of the transfers. It was like in an earthquake, where two tectonic plates rubbed against each other until there was a jarring rupture in the entire program.
6. Add in bad luck. Gaskin is dismissed from the squad, and Henderson simply does not pan out. And without three of the transfers making ANY contributions--and Steadman a disappointment--Montana is suddenly in real trouble. BUT...
7. Hope remains! All the youngsters are still here, still playing, still getting minutes. They bring size, muscle, athleticism and shooting ability. If there ever was a year to get a bad year out of your system, none better than this year. And don't forget, if these kids want to, they'll all get an extra of eligibility because of Covid. In a way, this year is a practise year for kids that are gonna do special things before they leave this program.