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MBBALL G Williams transfer portal
- Thread starter GrizWin99
- Start date
I’m not surprised. He really lacked production this year. I thought he was a steal when we got him out of the portal last year, but he really underachieved this year. I wish him the best
StumptownGriz
Well-known member
This makes room for Rollie Worster to transfer in I suppose.
There is a huge blind spot in Montana’s game plan that leads them to believe they need a 6’4 195lb starter to be successful.
The staff saw Williams from summer workouts through practices up until the first game and their analysis was he gives them the best chance to win (over guys, namely Vazquez that was beginning his 5th season with the program).
The same thing with Martin, Jr. He comes in from a 2nd division JC program and starts right off the bat. He was a below average BSC player that shot 34.2% from the field his first year. It was worse than that before he was finally removed from the starting lineup.
It’s not a mandatory requirement that you try to match up defensively. Because the other team also needs to match up with you. Martin’s 2 years at Montana he had a significant negative net rating which is another way of saying Montana was almost always outscored by the other team when he was on the court.
The Moody/Whitney/Vasquez perimeter was far more effective than any perimeter combo that included Martin, but yet for some reason he wanted Martin playing a lot of minutes.
They are probably hyper focused on 6’4 195lb players in the portal as we speak.
The staff saw Williams from summer workouts through practices up until the first game and their analysis was he gives them the best chance to win (over guys, namely Vazquez that was beginning his 5th season with the program).
The same thing with Martin, Jr. He comes in from a 2nd division JC program and starts right off the bat. He was a below average BSC player that shot 34.2% from the field his first year. It was worse than that before he was finally removed from the starting lineup.
It’s not a mandatory requirement that you try to match up defensively. Because the other team also needs to match up with you. Martin’s 2 years at Montana he had a significant negative net rating which is another way of saying Montana was almost always outscored by the other team when he was on the court.
The Moody/Whitney/Vasquez perimeter was far more effective than any perimeter combo that included Martin, but yet for some reason he wanted Martin playing a lot of minutes.
They are probably hyper focused on 6’4 195lb players in the portal as we speak.
I would argue that the missing piece the last few years has been a 6’4-6’7 athletic freak that can shoot. I absolutely support the staff trying to identify this player (we might have it with Tyler Thompson or if Nap can improve). Regardless, looking for that player isn’t the problem, we just haven’t had luck finding one that can be consistently productive. Other Big Sky schools have, for example, Saint Thomas, Battle, Coward, Kyman, Steel Venters, Goracke, Saterfield, McLaughlin, Hamoda all fit that mold albeit with different skill sets.
Your point is well taken. Yes, if you can get those guys you get them. But Martin and Williams aren’t those guys or even close (I would quibble with a couple of names).
My complaint was based on over-valuing a certain type of player to the detriment of actually playing winning basketball. Montana would rather play with a below average 6’4 190 pound guy than an above average 6-2 or 6-3 guy because of some ideology that says you always need that player and continue playing that player when any sort of rudimentary analytics would tell you otherwise.
Citay and others have pontificated that Montana needs an offensive coordinator. I would also argue they need some sort of analytics specialist. I guarantee they could get some PHD candidate somewhere in the U.S. to do it for free (but would the coaching staff even consider any recommendations?) Because over the last 4-5 years they have given a significant amount of time to combinations of players that literally should never see the court at the same time.
StumptownGriz
Well-known member
Rollie Worster is listed at 6'4" 204lbs lol
Lol. No problem with this. He is an all-BSC caliber talent.
Bummer on Giordan, he maybe had his best game as a Griz in the PSU tourney game where he showed good versatility. Did think he needed to progress a lot further to be starting material for the Griz though.
Man, the 2025 Griz roster right now is tiny. Trav is gonna be busy in the portal
Man, the 2025 Griz roster right now is tiny. Trav is gonna be busy in the portal
So the question becomes, was recruiting these guys a reach or is the portal so rich with talent that they are forced to settle with D2 schools?
oldrunner
Well-known member
Those are really good questions. To my perspective, the portal talent was weak overall this year. There was more players in it, and some high major talent, but about 80% of the players were marginal, at best. Percentage wise, there was as much talent moving out of D2. There will be a large number of portal entrants who will not end up with a home to go to. There will also be some good HS talent scrambling to find anything suitable for their skill level. That is a big reason why the post grad prep schools are doing so well, and why the talent level at JCs has been on the rise.
Last year there was a potential high major PG at a prep school, who was getting recruited by multiple high major programs. They kept telling him to hold on until their rosters had settled after the portal fray. He ended up not having an offer from any of them, due to thier filling their rosters with portal guys. He went from being a high major prospect to scrambling for a JC spot. Part of the problem has been the 5th year COVID guys. This will be the last year of that. Things may get a bit more normal.
Agree with Oldrunner. This year’s portal class was very weak.
Next year’s recruiting cycle will be very interesting. I saw something that estimated next year 45% of D-1 players will exhaust their eligibility (Covid guys + regular seniors). The scales could tip back hard to HS recruiting.
Regarding Williams, I don’t think he was a reach. I think you have to take chances when you can get guys from higher level programs. However, he was coming off of a knee injury and hadn’t played the year before, so Montana was never able to see him play post surgery.
Next year’s recruiting cycle will be very interesting. I saw something that estimated next year 45% of D-1 players will exhaust their eligibility (Covid guys + regular seniors). The scales could tip back hard to HS recruiting.
Regarding Williams, I don’t think he was a reach. I think you have to take chances when you can get guys from higher level programs. However, he was coming off of a knee injury and hadn’t played the year before, so Montana was never able to see him play post surgery.
