mtgrizrule
Well-known member
First of all, John feel free to start your own post game threads. The readers like your work. It was nice meeting you. Also, enjoyed seeing the Gregorys, and meeting the Martins. Hope you all made it back home safely, and enjoyed watching your sons play.
As I mentioned after I got home from the game, the officiating was pathetic and extremely one sided. Yes, CSU had their fair share of bad calls against them too. It certainly did not decide the outcome of the game, but did take away great efforts from both teams. I have never seen such a badly officiated college game. The GRIZ are not the foul prone team the officiating made them look like. I seen no more than 3 legit fouls against any one player. A few of the calls took away would be change of possessions from the GRIZ. The last foul on Ward, the baseline call (not sure on who, maybe Coleman), and the would be jump ball call on Gregory come to mind. The GRIZ literally could not make any contact without the whistle, and it did take away from their intensity, especially in the 2nd half. When Ward got called on his last foul, I commented, "There are 3 zebras missing from the zoo." One CSU fan, made a comment. I commented back, "You all know the officials are bad." Another CSU fan commented back, "Can't argue with that". Thank you to whoever that fan was. The one obvious call there was, they missed. For the 1st time that I can recall, Tinkle tried to get a much needed technical to fight for his team. He was 7-10 feet on the court, tie undone, threw something on the court, the crowd was screaming "T". Yet he could not even draw the "T". He calmly picked up whatever he tossed on the court, went back to the bench, mad, yet surprised he did not draw the T.
Onto the the game. It was a frustrating game from a coaching stand point very early. It started on the 2nd or 3rd CSU possession of the game. The GRIZ had a rather amazing defensive stand, which went for not. CSU got 6 or 7 offensive rebounds on one possession, many rebounds were just guys not boxing out, or CSU (Hornung) out hustling us to the ball. Tinkle was pissed, and rightfully so. Shortly there after, he called a time out. Hutch got a mouthful, and benched. The others got a pretty good butt chewing too. Andy Martin got about 5 minutes of time for that. Martin runs the court really well for a big man. Defensively, he was solid with help defense, and patrolling the paint. He found his man on rebounding. Unfortunately for him, his strength is not there yet, causing rebounding and post up mismatches. We did not get him the ball, so I have no idea what his offense is like. When he came out, Tinkle came to him on the bench, gave him some encouragement and advise. It really looked to me Wayne is very committed to building Andy Martin up. Physically, Andy could have used a redshirt season. I have a feeling he will become a very good defensive player as he matures. All he needs is experience and more strength.
CSU dominated the boards, and the main reason for the GRIZ loss. I guarantee, the GRIZ will not again a see a front line like CSU's all year. CSU looks like a very good NCAA tournament team to me. Iverson is a beast, likely will have a match up edge against most teams inside. Considering his size, I am surprised he did not have bigger numbers. Smith is tough and athletic too. Hornung is flat out amazing for his size. That guy might be the best inch for inch, pound for pound rebounder I have seen in a long time. I do agree with the fan that commented (feel free to take credit and post here) get film on Hornung for everyone to watch, they will see how rebounding is supposed to be done.
With such a rebounding disadvantage, questionable officiating, Ward/Jamar in foul trouble and Cherry out, the coaches and players have to be proud of their game. Under those circumstances, one would think this would have been a blowout for CSU. Quite the opposite, despite the loss, this has to be confidence building game. The GRIZ were in position to steal this game, despite the most adversity they will face all year in a game. Every player contributed except Emerson, I wanted to see him play. For a few it was a learning experience (Wiley and Martin), and at the very least gives them an idea what they need to work on. Martin-some bulk, and Wiley learning the game (he was a little lost on both ends of the court). Other players stepped up big time, built confidence, and proved they belong (Gregory, Deshields, Henderson, Coleman, and Weisner.)
Overall, the GRIZ executed well on both ends of the court, and have a lot of composure. The offense and defensive execution was very crisp for the beginning of the season. Rebounding has to improve, a healthy Coleman will help a lot with that. Post up defense will be a challenge, Hutch is the only one built to do defend post up games. His problem comes after the ball is in the post. I do think Hutch did a solid job with post up d against the beast Iverson (we will not see a stronger post player than him this year). I do have a feeling the GRIZ will be using their athleticism and quickness as the year progresses, with more traps and double teams, swarming to the ball. That will take more practice and continuity. The coaching staff has great personnel toward this, and I seen some strategic hints of things to come. This is the most athletic team top to bottom, the GRIZ have fielded in Wayne's time here. It showed in transition defense too. There was only 2 transition defense break downs all game. There will not be many transition points given up this year. Also teams will have to work the ball around very well to get consistent 3 point looks. Defense looked great with switches, and perimeter defense. I look forward to seeing what the defensive wrinkles will be as the year progresses.
Offense was very crisp also. I hope the coaches see what I seen, which we need to work on. The GRIZ really missed Derek Selvig's passing, especially on the lob pass. Henderson and Coleman seen this, and the majority of their turnovers were from not being to execute what the defense gave them. Martin had the back door open a few times, and we just could not see it or execute it. I am not sure who can effectively go get alley oops, if we find a few guys that can execute lobs, it will help a lot. For the lack of an offensive paint presence, the GRIZ have the personnel to still get points, while we develop a post game.
Last year we seen some glimpses of having athletic penetrating players in Cherry, Deshields, Henderson and Jamar to draw fouls and create for others. It was great so see the 3 healthy guys do this multiple times, they made it look easy against a very good CSU team. A lot of fouls were drawn, or open shots created with this. Gregory has the build to do this too. I hope penetrating is a staple in this years offense. All the GRIZ rotational guards can do this well. Expect a lot of clear outs this year, when we need an offensive boost. We also have a lot guys who can consistently knock down the 3 with Gregory, Weisner, Deshields, Jamar, Ward, Coleman, Cherry, and Emerson (from what I hear).
The points of emphasis moving forward need to be rebounding, post play (offense and defense). If Hutchison can stay out of foul trouble, I feel he is the key on defense and rebounding, we don't need a lot of offense from him. Martin will get better, and should be very solid post player as he matures. I think he might be a year away though. Coleman was very impressive despite a bum ankle. This guy can do a bit of everything, with more size and upside game than Steward. Coleman will add a lot to this team, especially rebounding and post scoring as he gets healthier and familiar with the system.
I expect there to be a lot of defensive wrinkles added this year. By the way, Gregory, Deshields, and Henderson are all very good defenders to go with Will Cherry. These guys will create a lot of loose balls. I am surprised they did not go for more picks. Then again, with our foul trouble, and bad officiating, I can see why they did not go for more steals.
I admit, overall I am pretty impressed with this team, and the weaknesses are pretty easy to see. Unfortunately we cannot add size, but there is a lot this team can do to help disguise and minimize it. This team is young, and missing it's true leader. Things can only get better. The GRIZ have the staff to figure this out, and the players to execute everything. What really stood out to me in this CSU game was the overall depth and athleticism. This will be a fun team to watch mature this year. Overall, I am not very worried, our perimeter players will be a nightmare for opponents to defend this year. I don't see many Big Sky teams having enough perimeter defenders to stop all our penetrating type players, or the depth to handle a lot of half court pressure. Sorry we don't have the consistent paint presence to do full court as often, as our guard depth dictates.
Great game GRIZ, sorry about the outcome. Nothing to hang your heads about. A few less calls and who knows what the outcome would have been. :thumb:
As I mentioned after I got home from the game, the officiating was pathetic and extremely one sided. Yes, CSU had their fair share of bad calls against them too. It certainly did not decide the outcome of the game, but did take away great efforts from both teams. I have never seen such a badly officiated college game. The GRIZ are not the foul prone team the officiating made them look like. I seen no more than 3 legit fouls against any one player. A few of the calls took away would be change of possessions from the GRIZ. The last foul on Ward, the baseline call (not sure on who, maybe Coleman), and the would be jump ball call on Gregory come to mind. The GRIZ literally could not make any contact without the whistle, and it did take away from their intensity, especially in the 2nd half. When Ward got called on his last foul, I commented, "There are 3 zebras missing from the zoo." One CSU fan, made a comment. I commented back, "You all know the officials are bad." Another CSU fan commented back, "Can't argue with that". Thank you to whoever that fan was. The one obvious call there was, they missed. For the 1st time that I can recall, Tinkle tried to get a much needed technical to fight for his team. He was 7-10 feet on the court, tie undone, threw something on the court, the crowd was screaming "T". Yet he could not even draw the "T". He calmly picked up whatever he tossed on the court, went back to the bench, mad, yet surprised he did not draw the T.
Onto the the game. It was a frustrating game from a coaching stand point very early. It started on the 2nd or 3rd CSU possession of the game. The GRIZ had a rather amazing defensive stand, which went for not. CSU got 6 or 7 offensive rebounds on one possession, many rebounds were just guys not boxing out, or CSU (Hornung) out hustling us to the ball. Tinkle was pissed, and rightfully so. Shortly there after, he called a time out. Hutch got a mouthful, and benched. The others got a pretty good butt chewing too. Andy Martin got about 5 minutes of time for that. Martin runs the court really well for a big man. Defensively, he was solid with help defense, and patrolling the paint. He found his man on rebounding. Unfortunately for him, his strength is not there yet, causing rebounding and post up mismatches. We did not get him the ball, so I have no idea what his offense is like. When he came out, Tinkle came to him on the bench, gave him some encouragement and advise. It really looked to me Wayne is very committed to building Andy Martin up. Physically, Andy could have used a redshirt season. I have a feeling he will become a very good defensive player as he matures. All he needs is experience and more strength.
CSU dominated the boards, and the main reason for the GRIZ loss. I guarantee, the GRIZ will not again a see a front line like CSU's all year. CSU looks like a very good NCAA tournament team to me. Iverson is a beast, likely will have a match up edge against most teams inside. Considering his size, I am surprised he did not have bigger numbers. Smith is tough and athletic too. Hornung is flat out amazing for his size. That guy might be the best inch for inch, pound for pound rebounder I have seen in a long time. I do agree with the fan that commented (feel free to take credit and post here) get film on Hornung for everyone to watch, they will see how rebounding is supposed to be done.
With such a rebounding disadvantage, questionable officiating, Ward/Jamar in foul trouble and Cherry out, the coaches and players have to be proud of their game. Under those circumstances, one would think this would have been a blowout for CSU. Quite the opposite, despite the loss, this has to be confidence building game. The GRIZ were in position to steal this game, despite the most adversity they will face all year in a game. Every player contributed except Emerson, I wanted to see him play. For a few it was a learning experience (Wiley and Martin), and at the very least gives them an idea what they need to work on. Martin-some bulk, and Wiley learning the game (he was a little lost on both ends of the court). Other players stepped up big time, built confidence, and proved they belong (Gregory, Deshields, Henderson, Coleman, and Weisner.)
Overall, the GRIZ executed well on both ends of the court, and have a lot of composure. The offense and defensive execution was very crisp for the beginning of the season. Rebounding has to improve, a healthy Coleman will help a lot with that. Post up defense will be a challenge, Hutch is the only one built to do defend post up games. His problem comes after the ball is in the post. I do think Hutch did a solid job with post up d against the beast Iverson (we will not see a stronger post player than him this year). I do have a feeling the GRIZ will be using their athleticism and quickness as the year progresses, with more traps and double teams, swarming to the ball. That will take more practice and continuity. The coaching staff has great personnel toward this, and I seen some strategic hints of things to come. This is the most athletic team top to bottom, the GRIZ have fielded in Wayne's time here. It showed in transition defense too. There was only 2 transition defense break downs all game. There will not be many transition points given up this year. Also teams will have to work the ball around very well to get consistent 3 point looks. Defense looked great with switches, and perimeter defense. I look forward to seeing what the defensive wrinkles will be as the year progresses.
Offense was very crisp also. I hope the coaches see what I seen, which we need to work on. The GRIZ really missed Derek Selvig's passing, especially on the lob pass. Henderson and Coleman seen this, and the majority of their turnovers were from not being to execute what the defense gave them. Martin had the back door open a few times, and we just could not see it or execute it. I am not sure who can effectively go get alley oops, if we find a few guys that can execute lobs, it will help a lot. For the lack of an offensive paint presence, the GRIZ have the personnel to still get points, while we develop a post game.
Last year we seen some glimpses of having athletic penetrating players in Cherry, Deshields, Henderson and Jamar to draw fouls and create for others. It was great so see the 3 healthy guys do this multiple times, they made it look easy against a very good CSU team. A lot of fouls were drawn, or open shots created with this. Gregory has the build to do this too. I hope penetrating is a staple in this years offense. All the GRIZ rotational guards can do this well. Expect a lot of clear outs this year, when we need an offensive boost. We also have a lot guys who can consistently knock down the 3 with Gregory, Weisner, Deshields, Jamar, Ward, Coleman, Cherry, and Emerson (from what I hear).
The points of emphasis moving forward need to be rebounding, post play (offense and defense). If Hutchison can stay out of foul trouble, I feel he is the key on defense and rebounding, we don't need a lot of offense from him. Martin will get better, and should be very solid post player as he matures. I think he might be a year away though. Coleman was very impressive despite a bum ankle. This guy can do a bit of everything, with more size and upside game than Steward. Coleman will add a lot to this team, especially rebounding and post scoring as he gets healthier and familiar with the system.
I expect there to be a lot of defensive wrinkles added this year. By the way, Gregory, Deshields, and Henderson are all very good defenders to go with Will Cherry. These guys will create a lot of loose balls. I am surprised they did not go for more picks. Then again, with our foul trouble, and bad officiating, I can see why they did not go for more steals.
I admit, overall I am pretty impressed with this team, and the weaknesses are pretty easy to see. Unfortunately we cannot add size, but there is a lot this team can do to help disguise and minimize it. This team is young, and missing it's true leader. Things can only get better. The GRIZ have the staff to figure this out, and the players to execute everything. What really stood out to me in this CSU game was the overall depth and athleticism. This will be a fun team to watch mature this year. Overall, I am not very worried, our perimeter players will be a nightmare for opponents to defend this year. I don't see many Big Sky teams having enough perimeter defenders to stop all our penetrating type players, or the depth to handle a lot of half court pressure. Sorry we don't have the consistent paint presence to do full court as often, as our guard depth dictates.
Great game GRIZ, sorry about the outcome. Nothing to hang your heads about. A few less calls and who knows what the outcome would have been. :thumb:
