Improving the program

[get'em_griz]

So what will it take to get this program to the point where it can have a legit shot at winning a few games in the tournament on a more consistent basis? Would scheduling more tough opponents in the preseason help this team? Would a tougher conference help? What do we need to get this program to the next level?

 

[Umista]

Same old story. We need better players. One good big man in the paint will help a ton. Recruit out of the country? Bribe players to come (joke)? Trying to recruit great players from the next and higher level is difficult simply because we are not a top team in the country.
Travis will give it hell but he has a very tough job getting great players to come to Montana!

 

[GoldStandardGriz]

3* & 4* recruits. While pulling in a 4* recruit is a big stretch, 2* & 3* are not.

 

[GoldStandardGriz]

A more realistic approach may be the transfer market. Lots out there to choose from, & they would likely be easier to lure up here.

 

[Silvertip]

It's "deja vu all over again." You don't prepare to meet a Joe Frazier in March by training for three months with a bunch of Doogie Howsers. Nothing is gonna work until the Griz somehow
GET THE HELL OUT OF THE BIG SKY and into a competitive situation. Maybe Engstrom could become a Jesuit priest or an LDS elder and get us into the WCC. If there's no room at the MWC inn maybe an interim move to football-only membership a la Cal Poly and Cal Davis might work.
Just sayin' - anything but the current treading water status quo arrangement.

 

[MT Jack]

Big Sky teams best approach is finding under the radar guys (a la Stuckey, Lillard, Cherry), transfers (your monster in the paint Breunig, for example) and foreign markets (Bliznyuk, Jois, etc.).

Dookie Vitale's diaper dandy, all-American 4 and 5 star recruits aren't going to Flagstaff, Missoula, Cheney, Pocatello, Grand Forks, etc. That is unless ESPN starts broadcasting BSC games...but we know the likelihood of that happening.

For those in the move-up to the MWC crowd....is a simple move to the MWC a fix? Will it change recruit perceptions of the U of M to the level that you think it will? I definitely see the higher end MWC teams being a step up but the there are some weak links there as well. Has the MWC made any noise about rounding out to an even number and expanding? Does the Montana Legislature mandate that is U of M leaves then MSU has to follow suit?

 

[citygriz]

there are "structural" issues and "routine" issues. structural is stepping up to a better conference. water seeks its own level ya know.

as for the more routine issues:
--get bigger up front. texas a&m totally dominated the paint. i'm just amazed at the size and quickness of today's bigs. this is the major difference between big sky ball and major-college ball, the quality of the bigs.
--get quicker out front. just exasperating to me to see us walking the ball up the court against bigger, tougher teams. if you're small, ya gotta be quick. get that ball upcourt before that defense can get set! last night early it was almost like, "okay, you guys. we want to be good sports. let us know when you're ready, and we'll initiate our offense!" i'm
hoping oguine and wright will bring the jets. pell-mell open court efficieny, that's the equalizer against superior opponents. watch warrior tapes! that's the way to play basketball.
--recruit, recruit, recruit. notable to me that eastern washington has opened up fertile recruiting grounds in australia and central europe. did we lose our australian connection with tinks's departure? in football, we have a built-in edge--in-state recruits. our homegrown kids are terrific football players, and they fly beneath the national radar. but basketball, different story, at least for now. decuire and bone are both good recruiters, and i like what i've seen so far. but we have to maintain the recruiting edge that tinks established for us in the big sky conference, against a host of other great recruiters now in the conference.

"mini" adjustments:
--breunig, so valuable to us, must stop the stupid fouls. last night he ran into a guy in the backcourt like he was out to make a football tackle. beneath the basket, he thinks his athleticism can stop anything, but there times when he just has to back off and concede the bucket. he has to be smarter on defense.
--speed everything up. we were a tired team against eastern and texas a&m, and it showed. i excuse our lethargy. but next year everything needs to get speeded up. judging from decuire's recruits, things will move faster next year.

 

[WSUWALDO]

Big Sky teams best approach is finding under the radar guys (a la Stuckey, Lillard, Cherry), transfers (your monster in the paint Breunig, for example) and foreign markets (Bliznyuk, Jois, etc.).

Dookie Vitale's diaper dandy, all-American 4 and 5 star recruits aren't going to Flagstaff, Missoula, Cheney, Pocatello, Grand Forks, etc. That is unless ESPN starts broadcasting BSC games...but we know the likelihood of that happening.

For those in the move-up to the MWC crowd....is a simple move to the MWC a fix? Will it change recruit perceptions of the U of M to the level that you think it will? I definitely see the higher end MWC teams being a step up but the there are some weak links there as well. Has the MWC made any noise about rounding out to an even number and expanding? Does the Montana Legislature mandate that is U of M leaves then MSU has to follow suit?

Great points by Mt. Jack...

Lets be honest here...if Idaho couldn't get an invite to the MW, Montana probably isn't going to be getting one. Not trying to disparage the Griz faithful (I'm sure I'll get a bunch of hate mail still) just being honest. Geography and tv sets are driving moves. Also, the MW is staying at 11 in the hopes that BYU comes back eventually. No moves will be made by the MW until the Y decides on their next step. If not the Y, then they are merely waiting for Boise to leave. Everything hinges on the Big 12. I wouldn't get my hopes up.

 

[Spanky]

Each of you have valid points. However, even if by some miracle, we start recruiting top players, they won't develop as a Gonzaga type of team until we get the hell out of the Big Sky and play good teams every week.

 

[ISUguy]

Each of you have valid points. However, even if by some miracle, we start recruiting top players, they won't develop as a Gonzaga type of team until we get the hell out of the Big Sky and play good teams every week.

Gonzaga's NCAA tournament (under)performance seems to suggest the WCC doesn't do a great job of preparing them for the Big Dance, either.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Great subject and great suggestions. What more can be changed and done? I do remember speaking to Travis at team camp this past summer. He said he really wanted to get in state talent back to producing DIV 1 players. Hearing that was music to my ears. That would make a huge impact for the state, both U of M and MSU would benefit a lot by this. Unfortunately, how to build the instate talent has yet to be figured out. I feel it starts with touching base with athletic directors and head coaches all over the state to get feedback from those sources. Getting enough feedback would provide to start laying the foundation in the state.

I will give an example. I recall when I was in elementary school getting visits from a GRIZ player and/or a coach at my school. I remember the 1st GRIZ I met in person at our school was Blaine Taylor. Blaine signed autographs, interacted with the kids, and gave most the elementary kids a time to remember and cherish. Prior to that, I just remembered MR Richardson play for the GRIZ. I got to see him live in person a few times. His play drew me to him. Meeting Blaine Taylor got me to know what GRIZ basketball was. At that point, I was a true GRIZ Basketball fan forever. I also remember meeting Derek Pope, Larry McBride, Doug Selvig, Marc Glass, LK, WT, Scott Zanon, etc through the years.

The GRIZ made the efforts to have their players and coaches introduced at various schools around the state, usually at the small basketball camps. These days, for way too long kids only get to experience the GRIZ by them coming to the University, which is easy for local kids, but not so easy for kids 50 plus miles from Missoula. Players and coaches need to be exposed to kids all over the state. Coaches need to make it clear if kids want to be GRIZ, they need to be playing basketball every day. To make it easier, have the GRIZ coaches draft a drills brochure, chart, etc to disperse to all the schools in the state for youth coaches to use and give out to parents. This would show schools, coaches, and young kids they are wanted for Montana GRIZ basketball. Have a facebook page and/or website dedicated to youth basketball, with GRIZ player videos, introductions, players demonstrating individual drills, Q/A session for players to ask the GRIZ for players or coaches to address.

How cool would it be to have our youths go to a griz youth website to learn shooting drills from a Jordan Gregory or Brandon Gfeller, learn post moves from Krslovic and Breunig, dribbling drills from Dunn? Show the players individual drills all the way to full team drills (12 to 15 player drills).

Post daily, weekly, and/or monthly motivational quotes and encouragement from players and/or coaches. Have former GRIZ post at the website/page, etc. Seriously , compared to football, Montana's youth has no idea what GRIZ Basketball is, who the players and coaches are.

Hell, back when I was a young kid, we did not have the technology we do these days, yet my youth knew who and what MT GRIZ Basketball was!!!!! There is no reason in the world why today's youth cannot be exposed to this experience as well.

That is the only thing I thought to add to the already great suggestions. GO GRIZ!!!!!

 

[get'em_griz]

Each of you have valid points. However, even if by some miracle, we start recruiting top players, they won't develop as a Gonzaga type of team until we get the hell out of the Big Sky and play good teams every week.

Gonzaga's NCAA tournament (under)performance seems to suggest the WCC doesn't do a great job of preparing them for the Big Dance, either.

Gonzaga is at least competitive when they make it to the tournament and aren't typically blown out by 20, 30, 40 points. The WCC might not be as competitive to help Gonzaga get over the hump, but it's by far light years ahead of the Big Sky in competitiveness.

 

[grizindabox]

Big Sky teams best approach is finding under the radar guys (a la Stuckey, Lillard, Cherry), transfers (your monster in the paint Breunig, for example) and foreign markets (Bliznyuk, Jois, etc.).

Dookie Vitale's diaper dandy, all-American 4 and 5 star recruits aren't going to Flagstaff, Missoula, Cheney, Pocatello, Grand Forks, etc. That is unless ESPN starts broadcasting BSC games...but we know the likelihood of that happening.

For those in the move-up to the MWC crowd....is a simple move to the MWC a fix? Will it change recruit perceptions of the U of M to the level that you think it will? I definitely see the higher end MWC teams being a step up but the there are some weak links there as well. Has the MWC made any noise about rounding out to an even number and expanding? Does the Montana Legislature mandate that is U of M leaves then MSU has to follow suit?

You do realize that Bliznyuk has lived in Western Washington since he was 7...unless Federal Way is a foreign market...

 

[grizindabox]

Each of you have valid points. However, even if by some miracle, we start recruiting top players, they won't develop as a Gonzaga type of team until we get the hell out of the Big Sky and play good teams every week.

Gonzaga's NCAA tournament (under)performance seems to suggest the WCC doesn't do a great job of preparing them for the Big Dance, either.

I don't think Gonzaga under performs, I think they are over-hyped most years due to a gawdy record in a decent but not great conference.

 

[grizindabox]

It's "deja vu all over again." You don't prepare to meet a Joe Frazier in March by training for three months with a bunch of Doogie Howsers. Nothing is gonna work until the Griz somehow
GET THE HELL OUT OF THE BIG SKY and into a competitive situation. Maybe Engstrom could become a Jesuit priest or an LDS elder and get us into the WCC. If there's no room at the MWC inn maybe an interim move to football-only membership a la Cal Poly and Cal Davis might work.
Just sayin' - anything but the current treading water status quo arrangement.

Not sure why people suggest the WCC as an option....

 

[AZDoc]

Each of you have valid points. However, even if by some miracle, we start recruiting top players, they won't develop as a Gonzaga type of team until we get the hell out of the Big Sky and play good teams every week.

Gonzaga's NCAA tournament (under)performance seems to suggest the WCC doesn't do a great job of preparing them for the Big Dance, either.

Gonzaga is at least competitive when they make it to the tournament and aren't typically blown out by 20, 30, 40 points. The WCC might not be as competitive to help Gonzaga get over the hump, but it's by far light years ahead of the Big Sky in competitiveness.

and now they do play some more competitive OOC games as well. Back when Gonzaga was just starting this run, though, the rest of the conference was garbage. Generally the WCC is much better, especially the top 4-5 teams. What has happened is many years of dominating the conference and winning some games as a lower seed has bumped them up in the national scene (obviously). what MT really needs is 5-6 straight seasons of nearly undefeated conference, an upset preseason win, and occasional first round (second technically) upset in the dance. that will give the team some viewership as well as regional clout. That may get us consistent 2 and 3 star recruits. If we have 7-8 of those, that's how we improve the program! :lol:

 

[MT Jack]

You do realize that Bliznyuk has lived in Western Washington since he was 7...unless Federal Way is a foreign market...

Whoops! I stand corrected. I heard in a pregame interview that he was from Ukraine. I implied that it meant more than just being born and going to grade school there.

My memory of Federal Way is .....that it's right next to Tacoma. That's about it.

 

[Buttegrizzle]

Even from within the BSC, the top 1/3 of programs could do better at scheduling their out of Conference schedule. No more Carroll colleges and Simon Freaking Fraiser. Get a couple PAC 12s, couple MWC and at least a couple other power conferences. Sure we may be 1-8 or something heading into conference but being 6-2 with only two tough games doesn't help anyway. That said, it seems that our OOC had got a little better under Tinkle and now with TDC I'm sure he will keep it as tough as possible.

 

[Potomac Griz]

Even from within the BSC, the top 1/3 of programs could do better at scheduling their out of Conference schedule. No more Carroll colleges and Simon Freaking Fraiser. Get a couple PAC 12s, couple MWC and at least a couple other power conferences. Sure we may be 1-8 or something heading into conference but being 6-2 with only two tough games doesn't help anyway. That said, it seems that our OOC had got a little better under Tinkle and now with TDC I'm sure he will keep it as tough as possible.

Our OOC schedule was ranked in the top 25 for strength of schedule this year (best in the Big Sky by far). It sounds like it's going to be very difficult again next year too, so the scheduling is already pretty good. It does take a beating though once we get into the Big Sky and a good chunk of the Big Sky usually have horrible out of conference strength of schedules which just drags the conference as a whole down further.

Our out of conference schedule could still get better of course (like Long Beach State usually in the 10-20 range) but that'd be very difficult to get much better than the 20-25 range consistently without sacrificing a lot of home games. Long Beach State has the benefit of actually getting big time programs to travel to play them at home occasionally. We haven't been that lucky lately. It'd be nice if we could get some bigger programs to occasionally play in Missoula, like when we got Stanford here years ago.

The lower division games actually don't hurt too much to be honest. Yeah, they take up a slot where another game could be scheduled but they don't count against RPI or Strength of Schedule. Many very good mid major teams schedule one or two of those. For example Long Beach State had the 12th toughest non conference schedule this year and played 2 lower division teams.

Will be interesting to see the full schedule next year. So far it sounds like it's going to be a very tough one. Hopefully we keep it up with having very good non-conference schedules. That can only help! An upset here and there and all of a sudden you're getting the attention of some recruits that you might not otherwise have had a chance at. Plus, when you get to the tournament and play one of those big time programs it hopefully won't be a shock how physical teams from bigger conferences are.