grizzlyjournal
Well-known member
Just back from the game. A few impressions, since MtGrizRule did a great job of capturing game flow...
1. The officials crew -- Big Sky Conf. regulars -- was so dramatically better than Monday night's Big Sky crew that... well, this game was a blast because the refs were in game flow with the players. Great job, Robert Lehigh, Dennis Flannery, and Scott Holland.
2. Major improvement on defense. It wasn't noticeable early, but the Griz steadily wore down St. Martin's. With about 14 minutes left in the 2nd half, St Martin's was gassed. Turnovers started piling up, the Griz hit the gas & blew the game open... if expanding a 20-point lead to 30+ can be called that. Rebound is still spotty, but I saw dramatic improvement in positioning from Chris Kemp, and frosh Fabian Krslovic is also solid, though he had a quiet game.
3. Offensive game flow. I'm used to hearing coaches say, "We have to establish our inside game, which will then open up things on the perimeter." Well, this year's Griz did the opposite tonight, with devastating efficiency. Early in the second half St. Martin's could not stop the outside game (four straight treys by Brandon 3Feller off of feeds from Dunn and Gregory, 5-of-7 from the field -- all treys). Which opened up the inside game, or will. St. Martin's was too gassed to really move to the perimeter, but Montana's inside game tonight showed hints of power as well. Expect some lob & dunk fireworks by mid December.
INDIVIDUALS -- A lot of improvement across the board, but a few impressions.
1. Michael Weisner -- The refs let Weisner play his game and he responded with three smooth treys early. He still got into foul trouble, but played a solid offensive game, strong rebounding game and spidermanish defensive game. He was everywhere.
Was MOST impressed by the confidence and production of Chris Kemp and Riley Bradshaw, however.
3. Chris Kemp is relaxing, not pressing, and finding his game. Wow. He's a force, but not very tall, and not much of a jumper. But he got 2-3 offensive boards and -- When he didn't try any fancy dunk moves -- had some solid offensive production. Six-of-7 shooting from inside the paint, 15 points. Four rebounds. His rebounding positioning was very good. His best-ever game as a Griz.
4. My "Most-improved" honors go to Riley Bradshaw. He also played relaxed, and as the game progressed, he became more confident. Then, dazzlingly effective. Point guard is in good hands this year. Bradshaw truly lived up to last year's expectations, in grand fashion. There's absolutely no reason why he can't continue on this upward arc, which will be very, very good for Montana. His point production didn't quite match up to his overall floor game, but I feel that will come around soon. Three assists, one steal, 0 turnovers. Drove the lane with quickness and power. Played very well at the two in the first half as well.
5. Lastly, Mario. Flashes of brilliance in all aspects of the game. He shot very well, giving solid evidence he'll keep defenses honest... they won't be able to back off on him to cover other players. It was 2-3 perimeter jumpers from Dunn that catapulted Montana to its early 1st half 20-pt lead. Mario directed Montana's balanced attack: Four of the five starters finished with 15-or 16 points. He had seven assists. Three rebounds. One steal. 16 pts. One turnover. Solid floor game.
6. Lastly, Jack Lopez showed signs of being an imortant bench player. Rebounded well. Defense much improved. He's still a quiet, slightly hesitant player, but seems to be relaxing.
Granted, this was just St. Martin's. But it was fun watching the Griz systematically dismantle them.
DeCuire was more active tonight than the first game. Interesting to note that the Griz are NOT making the transition from defense to offense fast enough for him. He spent quite a bit of time shouting for a much faster transition from defense to offense.
So, now the going gets tough. The Griz have six days to get their Div. 1 game in order. Next Saturday they open the 2014-15 season at Colorado State and three days later visit a tough Boise State Broncos team.
Go Griz.
1. The officials crew -- Big Sky Conf. regulars -- was so dramatically better than Monday night's Big Sky crew that... well, this game was a blast because the refs were in game flow with the players. Great job, Robert Lehigh, Dennis Flannery, and Scott Holland.
2. Major improvement on defense. It wasn't noticeable early, but the Griz steadily wore down St. Martin's. With about 14 minutes left in the 2nd half, St Martin's was gassed. Turnovers started piling up, the Griz hit the gas & blew the game open... if expanding a 20-point lead to 30+ can be called that. Rebound is still spotty, but I saw dramatic improvement in positioning from Chris Kemp, and frosh Fabian Krslovic is also solid, though he had a quiet game.
3. Offensive game flow. I'm used to hearing coaches say, "We have to establish our inside game, which will then open up things on the perimeter." Well, this year's Griz did the opposite tonight, with devastating efficiency. Early in the second half St. Martin's could not stop the outside game (four straight treys by Brandon 3Feller off of feeds from Dunn and Gregory, 5-of-7 from the field -- all treys). Which opened up the inside game, or will. St. Martin's was too gassed to really move to the perimeter, but Montana's inside game tonight showed hints of power as well. Expect some lob & dunk fireworks by mid December.
INDIVIDUALS -- A lot of improvement across the board, but a few impressions.
1. Michael Weisner -- The refs let Weisner play his game and he responded with three smooth treys early. He still got into foul trouble, but played a solid offensive game, strong rebounding game and spidermanish defensive game. He was everywhere.
Was MOST impressed by the confidence and production of Chris Kemp and Riley Bradshaw, however.
3. Chris Kemp is relaxing, not pressing, and finding his game. Wow. He's a force, but not very tall, and not much of a jumper. But he got 2-3 offensive boards and -- When he didn't try any fancy dunk moves -- had some solid offensive production. Six-of-7 shooting from inside the paint, 15 points. Four rebounds. His rebounding positioning was very good. His best-ever game as a Griz.
4. My "Most-improved" honors go to Riley Bradshaw. He also played relaxed, and as the game progressed, he became more confident. Then, dazzlingly effective. Point guard is in good hands this year. Bradshaw truly lived up to last year's expectations, in grand fashion. There's absolutely no reason why he can't continue on this upward arc, which will be very, very good for Montana. His point production didn't quite match up to his overall floor game, but I feel that will come around soon. Three assists, one steal, 0 turnovers. Drove the lane with quickness and power. Played very well at the two in the first half as well.
5. Lastly, Mario. Flashes of brilliance in all aspects of the game. He shot very well, giving solid evidence he'll keep defenses honest... they won't be able to back off on him to cover other players. It was 2-3 perimeter jumpers from Dunn that catapulted Montana to its early 1st half 20-pt lead. Mario directed Montana's balanced attack: Four of the five starters finished with 15-or 16 points. He had seven assists. Three rebounds. One steal. 16 pts. One turnover. Solid floor game.
6. Lastly, Jack Lopez showed signs of being an imortant bench player. Rebounded well. Defense much improved. He's still a quiet, slightly hesitant player, but seems to be relaxing.
Granted, this was just St. Martin's. But it was fun watching the Griz systematically dismantle them.
DeCuire was more active tonight than the first game. Interesting to note that the Griz are NOT making the transition from defense to offense fast enough for him. He spent quite a bit of time shouting for a much faster transition from defense to offense.
So, now the going gets tough. The Griz have six days to get their Div. 1 game in order. Next Saturday they open the 2014-15 season at Colorado State and three days later visit a tough Boise State Broncos team.
Go Griz.
