Maroon Silver Scrimmages

[grizzlyjournal]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

 

[LivingstonNative]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

Great write up! Got any predictions on who will be the starting five? Or, anyone else that saw the game have any predictions on the starting five.

 

[vettert49]

Did the Lady Griz Scrimmage? I'm interested in how they looked as well.

 

[grizzlyjournal]

Did the Lady Griz Scrimmage? I'm interested in how they looked as well.

I watched the GrizWBB scrimmage. I'll post some impressions later today.

 

[UncleRico]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

Excellent write up as always!

 

[fanofzoo]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

Excellent write up as always!

Thanks but still not holding breath on an up tempo game, tough to change your spots.

 

[grizonbob]

Want to add my thanks too for the analysis, Grizzlyjournal. Helps make me a lot more jazzed about the upcoming season.

One of the things that jumps out at me is Mack Anderson's double double. And looking at the stats, I see he had a couple blocks and a steal. Mack really came on strong at the end of last season, so he seems to picking up where he left off last year. We Grizzly fans regularly bemoan the lack of an inside game, but could that weakness finally be coming a strength? Especially with the addition of Blakney? And DCH hopefully bouncing back?

Another great sign: The development of Cam Parker and Brandon Whitney -- two guys who can control the tempo of the game and get the ball to the right man at the right time. Not only that, but it sounds as if our stable of shooters is deeper, more seasoned. The news on Bannan, Vasquez, Martin and so on is exciting. Owens, Whitney and Beasley didn't have the greatest scrimmage stat-wise, but we know from their performances last year that they have the potential to take over games.

Looking forward to a great season from the Griz.

 

[Mousegriz]

Did the Lady Griz Scrimmage? I'm interested in how they looked as well.

Fun watching "Coach" Tinkle watch "Coach" Tinkle coach!

Pushed the pace a bunch with some good finishes but plenty of mistakes. Passing in particular seemed a little haphazard....forced passes that weren't there. But overall lots of energy and some good play. I was impressed with both Bartsch and Huard. Both will contribute this year. Bartsch has good quickness and took it to hole from the wing area pretty effectively. A little more challenged on defensive end against Anderson and Gfeller but she also held her own on the boards all night. Huard looks athletic and has excellent looking and quick release 3. She's a scorer and seemed pretty composed on both ends. I was impressed with Fatkin's ability to take it hard to the basket and finish. A few out of control drives but she's quick athletic and not afraid to score. The other newcomers a mixed bag. One of the Greek's (Katerina) played point opposite Stiles and appeared quick on both ends but a little sloppy with the ball. The other "Greek" (Lamprini) seems a 3 point shooter and made a couple but also took a couple that seemed way too early in shot clock. I was also impressed with size/athleticism of German Lisa Kiefer. Three pretty good freshman bigs with a chance for "Coach" Tinkle to make an impact.

Anderson, Gfeller and Stiles showed their experience. Took awhile for Gfeller to get going (she had trouble against Anderson's "D") and seemed she was a bit out of the pace. But she'll be a force. Anderson blocked lots of shots and ran the court well. Stiles seemed steady and played well on both ends. Froehlich and Albrecht didn't suit up.

Nice to see Ann Lake, Jean McNulty, Meghan Harrington and Krista Redpath watching the scrimmage. Didn't see Player Rep as apparently there was a UM Western scrimmage in Dillon last night too!

 

[GrizBall]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

Great write up! Got any predictions on who will be the starting five? Or, anyone else that saw the game have any predictions on the starting five.

I think Anderson, Bannan, Beasley and Whitney are givens with Owens, Vasquez and Martin for the 5th spot which also could change just be based on which matches up best with the other team’s personnel that particular night.

I think the above 7 plus Parker and Blakney make up the 9-man rotation. Not sure what is wrong with DCH or how long he has been out (and maybe not practicing) as someone mentioned on an earlier thread that he also didn’t play in the WSU scrimmage. but could be tough for him to make the rotation as I don’t see Travis playing a 10 man rotation.

Will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

 

[GrizBall]

Excellent write up as always!

Thanks but still not holding breath on an up tempo game, tough to change your spots.

If my understanding is correct, the halves were 15 minutes long, so if you project the game to a normal 40 minute the score would have been approximately 59-56 (if my math is right). Granted, some people played that will likely play little or not at all during the season, so hopefully that would project to a little higher score.

My other thoughts are, it looks like there were only 6 FTs attempted the entire game (which would also be very unusual for a college game). More FTs also would have added to score. In addition, I often wonder is it harder to score in intrasquad games than in normal games due to the fact you are never going to know another team’s offensive plays and personnel as well as your own?

So I am going to try to project that they should be scoring in the low 70’s which isn’t uptempo but should be noticeably faster than last year.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

I agree with everything. It definitely looks like there is a light green light collectively for 3 pt shooting. They weren't hesitating to put up open 3s, that were turned down in prior years. I think, Vazquez and Martin are full bright green lights. They were shooting a few contested 3s. They didn't even look toward the bench for a DeCuire reaction. Both those guys have quick releases. They need very little space to shoot. Hell, Vazquez even attempted a fadeaway 3, which was his only miss from 3. Those 2 just looked comfortable and confident.

To add, what's with Bannan and his waist high sling like hitch from the perimeter? I never noticed it before. Some reason, that little thing bothers me. Then again, I've always loved breaking down and coaching shooting.

 

[grizzlyjournal]

Did the Lady Griz Scrimmage? I'm interested in how they looked as well.

I watched the GrizWBB scrimmage. I'll post some impressions later today.

I've covered & watched the Montana GrizWBB team for a long time & confess that any analysis at this point, given the huge transitions in coaching and players, is almost impossible for me. There is no doubt that coach Brian Holsinger has already installed an entirely new program manual for Montana women's basketball and last night he opened the first page. The best place to start would be to read these two stories first, https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/montana-lady-griz-show-shooting-promise-in-maroon-silver-scrimmage-wednesday/article_8234b549-1337-564c-8956-1b333a23d924.html
https://gogriz.com/news/2021/10/27/womens-basketball-scrimmage-ends-in-46-46-draw.aspx because they give a strong clue about coach Holsinger and how he'll run/manage his Griz (hint: some strong similarities to one not-named great former head coach).

Here's why: Read these quotes from the GoGriz story: "We're nowhere near where we need to be defensively. That was the biggest thing for me," said Holsinger. "It's not unusual but it's something we have to improve. "We have to establish a culture of every day grinding out the defensive end and understanding what that feels like and just continuing to understand what it takes to be a great team." The new head coach left no doubt that he will demand a defensive intensity from his players that started at last night's scrimmage (he could be easily heard throughout the scrimmage).

There were also HUGE differences evident early on. The first pre-game warmup drill was so utterly unique to Montana women's basketball, that I feel it's important to stress. For a full 10 minutes, the players ran through a drill where every player shot a 3-point shot (receiving a pass from a mid-key player) from six different spots on the floor (baseline, baseline, wing, wing and two centeer positions beyone the tip of the key). Only one player, Abby Anderson, stepped inside the arc to shoot. I've seen teams run this drill, but never a Montana team.

Secondly... Montana's offense: One scrimmage is not enough for me to describe it fully, but this team's "motion offense" will have a lot more motion and a lot less standing with the ball held high in a "passing game" set. Holsinger's offense employs a continual flow from the tip of the key to the baseline where the point guards maintain their dribble and force dribble penetration into the key. When that happens, the posts and wings then rotate from low to high post positions in a way that keeps them from being double-teamed by opposing players. If the point guard is stopped, they'll often make a quick pass to a wing or rub off of a high screen for a quick 15-18 foot jumper, depending where (or if) any low post player is double-teamed. It was ragged, but I could see that Holsinger's offense will combat double-team defense against its post players. I'll leave it at this, because I need to study it more to get a better look at it. I'll say this: it looks similar to the offenses I've seen run by Gonzaga and Idaho State. Just a shot in the dark at this point, though.

Individually, I think it's too early to profile the players, other than to say they were all very nervous. I really liked the balance and vision of Katerina Tsineke, the advanced point-guard skills of Lamprini Polymeni (she doesn't have a classic point guard profile), the lightning quick trigger of Haley Huard's perimeter shot, the low post strength, grit and balance-amid-physical-contact of Dani Bartsch (no redshirt for her!); The excellent balance and defensive positioning of Lisa Kiefer; how much fun it was to watch Sammy Fatkin to play at full speed without an invisible choker collar! Kyndal Keller's ability to post up against guard defenders; and Nyah Morris-Nelson's defensive balance on the perimeter. Sophia, Carmen and Abby are who they are: among the proven top rank in the Big Sky. It'll be fun to see how all the pieces start fitting together. Frankly, I can see Sammy as a 2, but playing wing a lot; I can see Dani as a top level backup; I can see Tsineke in a point rotation with Stiles; I can see Huard as becoming a top-level wing by midseason, and I believe that both Keller and Polymeni will play... I just am not certain how they'll fit in. Of course, Kylie Frohlich and Willa Albrecht didn't play but are still part of the mix. OK This is a jumble. Anyone with other views etc. etc?

https://twitter.com/quartzglen/status/1453772654733774850

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Great scrimmage perspective in all the posts above. Just a couple things to add... Well, 10 actually.
1. Honestly think Cam Parker has taken his point-play up another level. His decision-making on drives into the key is very smooth and markedly more controlled than last season. He had a couple of in-air, left-handed passes from the key to an open wing player that were amazing. Little doubt in my mind that Cam will once again lead the Big Sky in assists.
2. This might sound odd, but... Mack Anderson doesn't look stronger. But his play tonight was significantly more controlled and powerful than last season. This kid has worked hard for the Griz. I wish him well.
3. Josh Bannan looks stronger... and plays stronger. He's significantly broadened his power pivot stance. Appears to have worked hard on developing his post dribble & drive skills.
4. Like mtgrizrule wrote: My first impressions of Lonnell Martin Jr... wow. His man-on vision and defense is focused & he doesn't give up. Quick hands. Martin's three steals were beauts. Plus, he had a couple of seeing eye treys that were deep & beautiful.
5. Johnny Braggs. He does not play like a freshman. Very strong. He's listed as a guard, but strong enough to play defense against wings, though he didn't rebound especially well. He's going to get floor time as the season progresses.
6. Robby Beasley shot poorly and seemed a bit out of synch. He took a scary fall on a drive & sort of disappeared after that. Hope he's ok.
7. Frosh John Solomon played like a freshman, but he's big and very sinewy-strong. He's the kind of kid we've seen grow into a strong body & make an impact by their sophomore season. Very high ceiling.
8. Brandon Whitney had a deceptively quiet game, but has shown maturity in his ball-handling skils and vision. The combo of Parker and Whitney at point is something Montana has seldom had at point (usually a dropoff from the starter).
9. It seemed obvious to me that Josh Vazquez has a mandate from the coaches: shoot it. There were at least three plays that were designed to get Josh a shot after an inbounds. He made two of them. Josh has always seemed happy to play as a secondary/complementary guard. Tonight he played like he has a huge green light in front of him. He shot 7/10 (4/5 from beyond the arc) and scoresd 18 points almost effortlessly. The box score showed Josh as having two steals (both that went for breakaway layups). I thought he had at least two more that were pokes of passes that other players picked up. Hoping for a huge breakout season from Josh.
10. Lastly: There's been some commentary here at eGriz that the Griz are not an uptempo team. I'm not going to specifically argue that, but tonight I saw a Montana team that played the same offense they started developing last season after Michael Steadman left. Tonight the play was sometimes ragged, but there were glimpses of an inside-outside game that could turn into a pretty powerful offensive machine. There was NO hesitation to take the trey from anyone except Mack. Literally: The box score shows a combination of 34 attempted treys, and only Anderson, Parker and Owens did not take a trey. That is not a sign of a slow-tempo style of basketball.
Lot of pieces of the puzzle of this team still all over the floor. It'll be interesting to see how they'll fit into the picture of a contending Montana Griz team. Should be fun.

Great work as always, journal. Thanks for all the great info and insights!

 

[UncleRico]

Great write up! Got any predictions on who will be the starting five? Or, anyone else that saw the game have any predictions on the starting five.

I think Anderson, Bannan, Beasley and Whitney are givens with Owens, Vasquez and Martin for the 5th spot which also could change just be based on which matches up best with the other team’s personnel that particular night.

I think the above 7 plus Parker and Blakney make up the 9-man rotation. Not sure what is wrong with DCH or how long he has been out (and maybe not practicing) as someone mentioned on an earlier thread that he also didn’t play in the WSU scrimmage. but could be tough for him to make the rotation as I don’t see Travis playing a 10 man rotation.

Will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

I could see bringing Mack off the bench if Blakney is ready to go. For a few reasons..1) he is just a high energy guy and he could bring a lift off the bench. and 2) keep him out of picking up two quick fouls where he has to sit for 16 minutes of the first half and 3) he has proven already to be a team first guy that doesn't pout if not starting. The same thing with Vasquez coming off the bench. I think it will be hard to keep Martin out of top 5. I also never really thought it was that important as to who starts a game as compared to who ends a game. And I expect Parker to be in a lot of games late. Beasley also because he is such a great free throw shooter. I think Travis just has to weigh how kids respond to coming off the bench etc.. I think this team is really deep and I think a key will be keeping them all engaged when some nights they might not get the minutes they usually do.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Some video of both the men and women scrimmages on KPAX's website:
https://www.kpax.com/sports/big-sky...ams-begin-season-with-maroon-silver-scrimmage

 

[mtgrizrule]

Until conference play is here, I expect a lot of experiments with minutes and line ups. Right now, if it were my decision, I'd start Parker, Beasley, Martin, Bannan, and Blakeney.

Then again I love enetrgy, multiple diversity and versatility off the bench. Whitney and Owens can play multiple positions, and roles. Anderson is a true energy and inside presence. Those 3 give DeCuire much more bench versatility. However, Owens is so valuable defensively. He can defend all 5 positions,. He's never out of position. He always positively impacts the team, with his defense. It's difficult to replace that.

DCH, will be suiting up and expecting to play game 1. They're not risking further injury to him. He'll add to the versatility. Like Owens can do a little of everything. His strength and wing span, make up for his height.

 

[717s7e]

GrizJournal - Could you provide similar thoughful insight on the Lady Griz.? I thought Sammy Fatkin played as well as could be hoped. I liked Abbey Anderson's inside moves - I saw that she went to sideline and gave Nate Colvill a hug - I assume he changed her playing style dramatically. I liked the play of all of the newcomers but can't provide any sophisticated insight.

 

[maroonandsilver]

GrizJournal - Could you provide similar thoughful insight on the Lady Griz.? I thought Sammy Fatkin played as well as could be hoped. I liked Abbey Anderson's inside moves - I saw that she went to sideline and gave Nate Colvill a hug - I assume he changed her playing style dramatically. I liked the play of all of the newcomers but can't provide any sophisticated insight.

I thought Sammy looked like the player we thought we were getting when she first arrived at UM (was it 2, or 3 years ago?) She certainly did not look like someone who was "rusty" from not playing for a long period. That she came back to the team after "retiring", coupled with her comments about playing basketball for Holsinger "made basketball fun again", make a slamming indictment of the unnamed coach who she previously played for.

Dani Bartsch was very impressive. She hustles, she bangs, she can shoot the 3. If I had compare her with our last Lady Griz recruited out of Helena, I prefer Dani. My only regret is that we don't have her sister as well.

Haley Huard is gonna be a great one, And her sister is supposed to be better. Come on girls, make it easy on our parents. If you are on the same team, travel to watch you play is much easier for your parents!

 

[maroonandsilver]

GrizJournal - Could you provide similar thoughful insight on the Lady Griz.? I thought Sammy Fatkin played as well as could be hoped. I liked Abbey Anderson's inside moves - I saw that she went to sideline and gave Nate Colvill a hug - I assume he changed her playing style dramatically. I liked the play of all of the newcomers but can't provide any sophisticated insight.

I thought Sammy looked like the player we thought we were getting when she first arrived at UM (was it 2, or 3 years ago?) She certainly did not look like someone who was "rusty" from not playing for a long period. That she came back to the team after "retiring", coupled with her comments about playing basketball for Holsinger "made basketball fun again", make a slamming indictment of the unnamed coach who she previously played for.

Dani Bartsch was very impressive. She hustles, she bangs, she can shoot the 3. If I had compare her with our last Lady Griz recruited out of Helena, I prefer Dani. My only regret is that we don't have her sister as well.

Haley Huard is gonna be a great one, And her sister is supposed to be better. Come on girls, make it easy on our parents. If you are on the same team, travel to watch you play is much easier for your parents!

 

[fanofzoo]

What is going on with DCH, I hope this is not a repeat of last year.