• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts access private forums and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!

LadyGriz Lady Griz Coaching Hot Board

grizzlyjournal said:
gotgame75: I don't recognize a downside of conducting a national search. I've observed basketball coaching, and interviewed hundreds of coaches since my first interview in 1980 and concluded there are no specific, reliable personality "attributes" of an ideal, winning coach, though I thought Don Read came close (a lot of Griz football fans were perplexed when Read was hired!).

So here's my rationale for hiring Harris, Woolley, List, Anderson and Rebich:
1. -- They were asked to stabilize a program mid-season in the midst of extreme crisis... even to the point where some (maybe all) players were traumatized;
2. -- First, they had to gain the trust of players, which was probably a "counselor's" challenge & which also required getting Mack Konig to rejoin the team (I don't know if she quit, but do know she sat-out a game);
3. -- Next, they had to decide how to keep the existing system functional while gradually implementing changes they felt necessary. I saw the changes, initially on defense, and it's my opinion an emphasis on team defense is the main reason this team started to become competitive again;
4. -- Necessary changes in what had become a very stagnant offense under the previous head coach came slowly, but game-by-game we saw the players start to drive lanes with increasing confidence... tough to learn mid-season, but several players started to get the idea. Suddenly, these kids started realizing they had the right to attack the bucket on O.
5. -- Result? Two wins on Montana's road trip to PSU and an improving SAC squad. They started looking like a team. Wow. But there were still setbacks;
6. -- The team still lacked confidence and this is Reason #1 I believe Nate Harris should be head coach. Read every post-game interview on GoGriz and specifically read how POSITIVE Nate was about rebuilding hope, optimism and, finally confidence among the players. It's all there in black and white. Please take the time to read how Harris's extreme support about this team was based on trust and encouragement.
7. THEN: Reason #2... The GrizWBB game started to do a 180. This team became competitive first by a major turnabout in team defense. Defensive strides were paramount. They are clearly why Montana became competitive again. The best example is Montana's tourney dispatching of Idaho, a team that beat them twice in conf. play. Montana defense shut out Idaho's two guards, which neutralized Idaho's guarad-oriented drive & kick offense. BUT more importantly... something the previous coach was very poor at: in-game adjustments.
8. This, in my mind, reason #3 is the significant most important coaching factor in this team's dramatic improvement... IN-GAME-ADJUSTMENTS. Suddenly, Montana coaches were making adjustments in timeouts, at quarter breaks, and in other late-game strategies. Don't believe me? Last night's loss to the Bobcats shows at least 4 distinct strategic adjustments that turned what could have been a MSU blowout to a tense, fantastic game where the Griz played like they could win. MJ Bruno was most instrumental in the belief that the Griz could compete: she hounded Cat star Esmeralda Morales, who scored 25 of MSU's 58 points. Did MJ thus fail? No. When coaches made the specific challenge to MJ to hound Morales was exactly when Montana mounted its final comeback. The Cats were frazzled. Montana 's Dani Bartsch made the final trey to put the Griz ahead. Morales, during the final 5 minutes, did not touch the ball very often. The Cats were forced to go to other players. The final miss & make, unfortunately, was an errant miss that fell right into the hands of the Cat player who had an easy return for the winner.
9. These reasons are not ALL the reasons why I believe these coaches should be re-hired. There are more. However, these coaches were given the opportunity to turn things around, and to PROVE to Montana administrators and fans that they are qualified to remain as head coaches.
THESE, gotgame75, are the reasons why I believe the current staff of the Griz have proven, without a doubt, that they deserve the right to continue as this team's coaches.
------ Please be assured: I am not trash talking. Any decision to hire a new coach is, in some way, a toss of the dice. More than anything or anyone re: this situation, I believe MJ Bruno when she spoke so emotionally regarding Harris and staff. Her willingness to speak out is huge and... in the long run, is testament (and perhaps the most important reason) why this staff should be re-hired: They have already proven their worth as coaches. Drop the national search. Give these coaches a contract to sign.
Click to expand...
Great analysis and I for one completely agree. You mentioned MJ, just wanted to say what a star example of grit! Her intensity on D really is a clinic for most all those who want to impact opposing shooters and Pt guards, gonna miss her!
 
717s7e said:
My opinion as a Lady Griz hoop club member is that if Kent doesn't hire Nate, most of the public, the players, and the Hoop Club members that I know would be pissed. There will be hell to pay from nearly every angle if Nate isn't hired. Kent should stop screwing around. If he isn't going to hire Nate, just say so and let Nate and the players move on with their lives. As much as Kent knows about Nate, if he continues with a national search it will send the message that he is uncertain about the guy he has watched for years. If that is the case, announce that Nate isn't going to get the job. Nate and the players deserve as much.
Click to expand...
Who was the catalyst in recruiting for the Lady Griz? Question that I don’t know the answer to. If it was all on Holsinger’s recruiting connections and Harris & the other assistant coaches being recruiting roll players, then I can see Haslam being very careful with his decision. If Harris and Woolly have all the connections to be successful, then the current chemistry seems great to retain them. But if there is any question regarding recruiting prowess, better think long and hard. Best coach in the world can’t win without dude-etts.
 
Art Spooner said:
Who was the catalyst in recruiting for the Lady Griz? Question that I don’t know the answer to. If it was all on Holsinger’s recruiting connections and Harris & the other assistant coaches being recruiting roll players, then I can see Haslam being very careful with his decision. If Harris and Woolly have all the connections to be successful, then the current chemistry seems great to retain them. But if there is any question regarding recruiting prowess, better think long and hard. Best coach in the world can’t win without dude-etts.
Click to expand...
Nate was our upper Mid-West recruiter. His trip to Minnesota brought home two very good recruits. So far, the report from Nate is that they are holding to their commitments.

I don't know how much Nate was involved in the recruitment of Waddington, or if he could take credit for her commitment. But I did hear him say he made numerous trips over Lookout Pass to watch her play.

Wooley came on board in about June, so he was late to the recruiting game. He did make a great effort, tho, to bring in many Montana High School coaches for campus visits to try to regain that connection.
 
Last edited:
grizzlyjournal said:
gotgame75: Not trying to be snarky here... I thought I answered your question, but I'll re-phrase. I do NOT think there is a downside to any kind of extensive national search and interview process. From what I can gather, that's exactly what's happening and most likely a significant number of qualified prospects are interested. So be it. I hope the results are better than the hires of the last two Montana coaches were.

However, it is my opinion that Harris, Woolley, List, Anderson and Rebich have -- under extreme circumstances -- demonstrated their qualifications by taking a team in absolute trauma and chaos mid-season, and coached/counseled/encouraged/supported them into the 2025 Big Sky Conference Championship game... the FIRST time it's been done since 2015, 3 coaches ago. If, when the coaches are interviewed, and they are asked to illustrate their qualifications to be Montana's next coach, I would assume they could detail Montana's game-by-game route to the championship game under their direction. But why? It's ALL THERE in video game footage, written press accounts and interviews. It's literally all there! the game streams, the Montana Sports 406, Skyline Sports and GoGriz accounts of this coaching staff's and this team's accomplishments. Are we all idiots for NOT recognizing this?

Skip the unnecessary and drawn out search and interview process. Hire this staff of coaches who coached Montana to the 2025 Big Sky Championship game, a split-second away from the title. Montana fans could not ask for anything more out of this group of coaches.
Click to expand...
How can you unequivocally say Harris is the best man for the job though if you don’t know who the other candidates are?

This is my point. Not that Harris hasn’t earned the job, which you keep trying to reinforce with a long-winded explanation I didn’t ask for and already mostly agree with.
 
gotgame75 said:
How can you unequivocally say Harris is the best man for the job though if you don’t know who the other candidates are?

This is my point. Not that Harris hasn’t earned the job, which you keep trying to reinforce with a long-winded explanation I didn’t ask for and already mostly agree with.
Click to expand...
How? Easily. He and his staff have proven they're qualified to lead this team. No need for a "long-winded" search process.
 
Let's hypothetically say Harris gets the job. What does the roster look like next year? Konig and Waddington are the only 2 starters returning so what does that leave us with for bench players and incoming freshmen?
 
I know this is available elsewhere on eGriz, but feel it's appropriate in this thread. This is the post-game championship game press conf. with Nate Harris, Dani Bartsch and MJ Bruno. The entire 12 minutes -- I believe -- provides eloquent classy, emotive, fact-based evidence in favor of Harris (and full staff) being hired to lead this program forward. The emotional stuff is convincing, no doubt. But the why of Montana making it to the championship game go far beyond emotion. Harris reveals the strategic specifics of how the Griz absorbed every punch & countered the Bobcat attack with a pressure-breaking offensive set that coach Woolley located only this week. Emotional yes, but also evidence that these coaches know the nitty gritty stuff that makes a team better game by game. This video is further evidence why these coaches have earned the right to continue leading this program. P.S. I love Dani casually dropping a Pat Summit quote and applying it directly to an embarrassed Nate! Go GrizWBB!

 
Last edited:
All this argument about a national search is mute because it was already started and possibly completed after the tournament. I wouldn't be surprised if Haslam had a coach already selected before the tournament if Nate failed.

Since Holzinger resigned around february 10th, it would almost seem negligent to not start one right after that because if they waited to see if Nate succeeded or failed, it would have lead to a delay until near April to select a new coach. The tournament wasn't the national search, it was Nate's interview and I, along with many others, feel he passed it with flying colors. For the short term, it would stabilize the program and help keep all or most of the players and commitments. For the long-term, who knows. Haslam has to think of the long-term, too and may have found a better coach for that but it is all a crap shoot anyway.
You can always look at what happened after the last national search but your relying on hind sight. Interviewing is tough. You never know when you could be interviewing a serial killer or something like that. Even a serial killer could have a clean background check and great references until he is caught, but that may be after a 2 or 3 players are already missing. If Holsinger never displayed the reported bad temperament before, how can you tell if he has one.

Lady Griz won 5 of the first 7 games and 4 of the last 6 games under Harris. There was a 4 game losing streak, but Konig had to wear a splint which affected her ball handling and shooting during that period. Not sure when she started having to wear the splint but it was after the first Griz-Cat game. Aby Shubert also went on the disabled list during this time. Aby Shubert showed how valuable she was during the first 6 games until she went on DL.

The fact that BigSkyBreakdown, who brings a lot of good info to this board, says the new coach should be announced early next week, indicates to me the national search was already completed possibly before the tournament.
 
Last edited:
gotgame75 said:
But I didn’t ask why Harris has potentially earned the job. I understand all these factors and agree for the most part.

My question is what is the downside of doing a thorough search?

People on here act like Harris should be handed the job because the team got on a hell of a roll for 3 tourney games, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that they lost 4 straight before the tourney and were blown out in 2 of those games.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Nate is an excellent candidate worthy of the position, but without knowing who the other candidates are, we simply cannot automatically assume he is the best option.
Click to expand...
The downside is Trish Binford is out watching the girls tournaments right now occurring across the state, and she probably has her assistants doing the same not only in Montana but other NW states as well, and the girls and their parents she is watching know she is the long-term MSU coach and will be back next year. When Coach Binford talks to a prospective recruit, she acts as the MSU HC for the 2025-26 season and can tell this to the girl and her parents if she wants to offer a girl.

If Nate Harris and Linday Woolley are out watching the Montana high school girls tournaments, what do they tell a girl and her parents when the girl and/or her parents ask them if they'll be the LG coaches next year ?

" Definitely maybe !"

" Don't know "

" Don't know but if I am not the Lady GRIZ coach next year, I am sure you'll like whomever is named our next head coach."

It's Coaches' Christmas 🎄 right now with divisional and state high-school bball tournaments not only in Montana but across the Pacufic NW. Haslam needs to move with a sense of urgency and remove the interim tag by naming Nate Harris our LG next head coach ASAP !!!
 
My reasoning for Harris/Woolley is this:
Mid Major programs start out at a huge disadvange. The ones who do manage to build winning programs usually, not always, do so with stability. Aaron Johnston SDSU, in his 25th year, Karl Smesko FGCU 23 years before retiring. It took Tricia a long time to build stability and a winning program. Her first 20 win season didn't happen until her 10th season. Nate and Woolley have their roots in Montana, they don't want to jump at the first shiny job offer someone throws at them. They have proven they are good coaches,, with some more time they could become great. I would love to see them given the chance to create a stable environment that also begins to win. I think they can do it.
 
RGRIZ57 said:
Being from Montana or not being from Montana?
typically people from Montana have better values, being from the big city's you tend to think more about yourself. not my opinion, I see it and live it everyday.
Robin Selvig, Montana born and raised, ask your self, what made him a coach that his players would give every thing that they had in them for? that is what makes a team successful on the court and off
I say it was Montana values, he cared more about his players success than his own, he cared if the players were successful in school, in their life, in their game. the proof of this, his record of course but more importanly, is how his players come back and tell their story's of how much they loved their time as a Montana Lady Griz.
He gave them an experience that they can be very proud of and will never forget.
Nate Harris has shown the basketball world that he has those same values, he inherited a team Mid-season a very difficult task, a team in turmoil with all the BS that was going on, after a very tough per-season, a few injuries, he stepped in, brought the team together, showing them that he truly cared about them, and their success more than his.
He gave them an experience that they can be very proud of and will never forget.
Also
What this current coaching staff has done is an unbelievable, keeping this team together! it’s easy for the players to just give up, there is a lot of very hard work that goes into being a player at this level, the coaching debacle, the bad loss to some really good teams, that can demoralize a team, a player and a coaching staff,
the uncertainty of who going to be the coach next season? as a player are you going to have a position next year? or should you just play out the year and look for a new team? but the coaching staff kept them together.
Harris is the coach that provided the play at SAC last year using Espinmiller as a decoy so that MJ could get the ball and the free throws to win that game, and the play that should have beat the Kittens in MSLA this year (if the Refs were doing their job)
The job that was done by the coaching staff and the Lady Griz in the Tournament was unbelievable, The job that was done by the players and the coachs 3 games in 3 days a one point loss again to the kittens in the CHAMPIONSHIP.
Do your national search for a coach, but I vote 110% for Nate Harris his coaching staff as the Lady Griz next Head coach.
Click to expand...
Having been around the Lady Griz in the early to mid-1990s, Robin Selvig is the most humble and most competitive person I know. Nate Harris has many of the same qualities as Robin. It must be a Montana thing.
 
Art Spooner said:
Who was the catalyst in recruiting for the Lady Griz? Question that I don’t know the answer to. If it was all on Holsinger’s recruiting connections and Harris & the other assistant coaches being recruiting roll players, then I can see Haslam being very careful with his decision. If Harris and Woolly have all the connections to be successful, then the current chemistry seems great to retain them. But if there is any question regarding recruiting prowess, better think long and hard. Best coach in the world can’t win without dude-etts.
Click to expand...
I have it on record from a connection in Minnesota that Nate Harris was THE reason for the recruitment of Rae Ehrman from Eden Prairie, Minnesota and also the current recruiting of a couple more girls from big time programs in Minnesota. One of the programs could be the state champions in the largest class in Minnesota. It's the class with high schools with 4,000 students.
 
BigSkyBreakdown said:
Harris was doing this with Haslam before Holsinger even got hired. That's no secret amongst college coaches in the PNW
Click to expand...
How does that work if Holsinger and Harris both were hired in April of 2021? It would stand to reason that Harris was brought on by Holsinger. So you might reevaluate where this inside information came to you from.
 
Allezchat said:
How does that work if Holsinger and Harris both were hired in April of 2021? It would stand to reason that Harris was brought on by Holsinger. So you might reevaluate where this inside information came to you from.
Click to expand...

Across the country as we speak there are hundreds of coaches trying to make moves. It's not unheard of to reach out to ADs, coaches in the mix for jobs, and potentiall candidates putting together potential staff. College coaching is crazy cutthroat business.

We will stick with our info. There were others who were interviewed for the job prior to Holsinger being named the HC.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top