krysko's recruiting

[citygriz]

i want to enter the caveat here that only one of krykso's recruits has seen action in a real game--virgil matthews. half the kids i'm talking about have yet to play their first game, and another half aren't even on campus yet. but--can krysko recruit? let's count the ways!
1.) brought in a key member of a california state high school championship team (austin swift
2.) brought in a bona-fide 6' 11" big man (not your garden variety big-sky 6'8" guy) who had offers from fresno state, washington state and wisconsin (eric van vliet);
3.) first coach to recruit a seven-footer in the history (i think) of the school;
4.) first coach to recruit an international player not from canada;
5.) first coach to recruit a bona-fide 30 ppg guy in high school (kyle sharp);
6.) first coach to recruit a rivals three-star player (cameron rundles) and apparently has us in the running for another (kalvin bay, the point guard fromarizona
7.) recruited the 48th best junior college player in the country, a guy (gus chase) who looks suspiciously like kamaar davis.

even where we've lost out on kids, we lost out to schools with well established basketball traditions (utah state, fresno state, purdue), an indication to me that krysko has really stepped up the level of recruiting at montana beyond the level even that pat kennedy achieved. will we see the payoff this year? i don't think so, believing that we're too young and too shallow up front. but next year? watch out!

 

[Spokane Griz]

Personally, I'm excited for GRIZ basketball. I know they have had attendence issues for a decade or so. I think how can youu not be excited. If I lived in Missoula I'd have season tix to Hoops also. Is there a buzz around Missoula about GRIZ hoops and do you think attendance will increase? What are locals saying about it?

 

[gotgame75]

Citygriz-I agree with you on all points except one, Kyrsko is not the first griz coach to recruit a bona fide 7-footer. Remember Dan Carter??? He sucked for the most part, but was 7 feet nonetheless.


Also, all this talk of this Aussie 7-footer has me intrigued. There has been plenty of rumor and innuendo from many different directions, but there has been nothing concrete, not even a name. Does anyone have any updates on the status of this Aussie big man? Name, signing status, anything? Although we may have one or two left more next year, the schollies have to be running low....

 

[citygriz]

gotgame: you're right. don carter was one of blaine taylor's last recruits, and in my opinion, it was that class that really sent our program into a tailspin. there was another tall project-type kid in that class whose name i've forgotten, and while he did last four years, he never really amounted to very much.

i say tailspin, because until then montana had recruited mostly high school kids, and given them a redshirt year. by the time a kid was junior or senior, he knew the program and the fans knew him, and he had the maturity and discipline to fit into monty's or morril's disciplined structured offenses. but when holst came aboard, with the pressure to succeed immediately and a gap in our string of successful high school classes, he began to go the jaycee route. not that we didn't get some good players--especially matt williams--but i think relying too much of jaycee players really hurt our program. i'm glad to see that krysko's emphasis seems to be back on high school kids. when the fans get to know a player for four or five years, they take a lot more interest in the team.

 

[MrG]

Scout.com lists Eric as a three star candidate.

seven-footer

Someone mentioned earlier that when international ball players fly over the International Date Line they end up shorter. That is why we haven’t heard anything definite. If he flies home a few times per year, by the end of his carrier he’ll be a point guard.

will we see the payoff this year?

The odds are against it but it is a real possibility. I am anxious to see how all of the new players contribute. By the end of the season this could be an inspired and competitive team.