MONTANA @ ARIZONA

[cmtgrizzly]

To me, this year has been very odd with regard to Pridgett. He took off in that first half vs Creighton, I think, and was a one man wrecking crew. Then the 2nd half, nothing. The team seems to be in the same situation. Have we played well since the first half of that game? Kind of weird.

 

[LivingstonNative]

Well, we have one more shot at getting a good OOC WIN. We need a win in South Dakota, to have a chance at a decent seed in the big dance. Of course we’ve got to win the big sky, to get to the dance. We have to break this slump. Not getting much consistency without Akoh.

I hate being a nay-sayer, but SDSU will beat this team but double digits.

You are probably right.

 

[PlayerRep]

The Griz D was good most of the time. Griz will never beat a good team without Akoh. Getting 3-30 shooting out of Moorehead, Falls, Pridgett, Dorsey and Manuel is just not going to get it done. Hey, 9 for 10 from the line. We got more steals than they did. TO's were even at 16.

SFA is playing Baylor on channel 137 on Spectrum. Nicholas playing, but not watching closely.
Edit: game was last night. SFA won by one. Nicholas didn't start. Played 13 minutes. 1 bucket and 5 points. Fouled out.

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1075608632119578625

 

[acehunter65]

I have watched two Griz games on TV and it is generous to say they resemble anything like a decent team.
It will count as a total miracle if they win the Big Sky, Eastern is worse but several other teams are playing far better. The comments about Arizona being a good team are not even close, Baylor beat them and Baylor is nothing this year, Gonzaga totally destroyed AZ in the Maui tournament. The Pac 12 is down this year and Arizona will probably finish in the lower half. Montana has zero inside game and it is almost impossible to compete with good teams without size, looks to me like a very disappointing year ahead.

 

[PlayerRep]

Some positive comments by DeCuire in the Skyline article. The article and DeCuire point out the huge gap caused by not having Akoh in the lineup.

“I don’t think that lack of effort had anything to do with this game and we competed.”

"All of our jump shots were contested and off the dribble and we have those shooting percentages because we couldn’t throw the ball inside.”

"In his post-game interview, DeCuire said Akoh’s wrist was “tight and sore” after practice yesterday. He received treatment before the game, seemed to be ready to go , went through Montana’s shoot around and pre-game warm up only to be removed from the lineup just minutes before the opening tip."

"DeCuire had to alter his lineup to include 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman Kelby Kramer, who ended up playing a career-high 30 minutes. Montana rotated defensively with great effort all game, resulting in an impressive block of Jeter by senior guard Michael Oguine in what was likely the Grizzlies’ highlight of the evening."

“He’s the one guy I knew could handle it,” DeCuire said of Kramer. “There’s a couple of guys if I go to and ask them to start, they might not make it out of the locker room in this environment (laughs).

“If I make a call on offense, a call on defense, drastic changes, he’s good at knowing where to be. He’s the guy who makes the fewest mistakes and can help us the most.”

“I thought we played harder and did a better job of sticking to the script,” DeCuire said. “I thought we played like a coached team a lot better than we have in the past. It’s unfortunate the scoreboard doesn’t say that. But like I told them, I’m happy with their effort.”

 

[AZGrizFan]

DeCuire just gave them all participation trophies.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

I have watched two Griz games on TV and it is generous to say they resemble anything like a decent team.
It will count as a total miracle if they win the Big Sky, Eastern is worse but several other teams are playing far better. The comments about Arizona being a good team are not even close, Baylor beat them and Baylor is nothing this year, Gonzaga totally destroyed AZ in the Maui tournament. The Pac 12 is down this year and Arizona will probably finish in the lower half. Montana has zero inside game and it is almost impossible to compete with good teams without size, looks to me like a very disappointing year ahead.

I agree. The best thing you can do is give up on the team to avoid further disappointment.

 

[Potomac Griz]

I have watched two Griz games on TV and it is generous to say they resemble anything like a decent team.
It will count as a total miracle if they win the Big Sky, Eastern is worse but several other teams are playing far better.

I'm curious what your expert opinion is (after having watched two whole games this season) regarding the "several" teams playing far better in the Big Sky. Which teams? What are their impressive wins? Last year when you said Fab and Akoh wouldn't even play for Montana high school teams you proved to everyone here that you obviously have tons of valuable basketball knowledge to share, so I'm very interested in hearing an in-depth breakdown of which teams in the Big Sky are wowing you so far this season :mrgreen:

FWIW here are the current Kenpom rankings for Big Sky teams:
AdjEM= Adjusted Efficiency Margin, NCSOS= Non Conference Strength of Schedule

121 Montana (6-4) +4.90 AdjEM, NCSOS = 79th (+3.88 NCSOS AdjEM)
150 UNC (6-3) +1.03 AdjEM, NCSOS = 86th (+3.68 NCOS AdjEM)
161 Weber (5-5) +0.00 AdjEM, NCSOS = 76th (+4.00 NCOS AdjEM)
224 SUU (5-3) -5.14 AdjEM, 168th NCSOS (+0.15 NCSOS AdjEM)
228 SAC (6-2) -5.68 AdjEM, 308th NCSOS (-4.49 NCSOS AdjEM)
248 ISU (4-4) -7.02 AdjEM, 36th NCSOS (+5.89 NCSOS AdjEM)
269 EWU (1-9) -8.54 AdjEM, 15th NCSOS (+7.96 NCSOS AdjEM)
271 PSU (5-5) -8.68 AdjEM, 107th NCSOS (+2.59 NCSOS AdjEM)
286 Spuds (3-7) -9.82 AdjEM, 265th NCSOS (-2.92 NCSOS AdjEM)
310 MSU (3-7) -11.78 AdjEM, 69th NCSOS (+4.20 NCSOS AdjEM)
312 NAU (2-7) -12.21 AdjEM, 185th NCSOS (-0.45 NCSOS AdjEM)

So basically the Griz, UNC and Weber are the top of the Big Sky right now and are the only teams in the top half of the rankings. Pretty much the same story in most of the ranking systems (BPI, Sagarin's, T-Rank, NET Rank at ncaa.com, etc). From what I've seen so far with the other Big Sky teams I think that's pretty accurate. If I were betting I'd bet it comes down to the Griz, Weber and UNC with the Griz winning the regular season championship. I could see SUU creeping into the picture too though. Lots of talent on that team.

 

[grizindabox]

"In his post-game interview, DeCuire said Akoh’s wrist was “tight and sore” after practice yesterday. He received treatment before the game, seemed to be ready to go , went through Montana’s shoot around and pre-game warm up only to be removed from the lineup just minutes before the opening tip."

Weird since there were multiple reports an hour and a half before tipoff that Akoh was in street clothes for shoot around and would not play.

 

[cmtgrizzly]

I have watched two Griz games on TV and it is generous to say they resemble anything like a decent team.
It will count as a total miracle if they win the Big Sky, Eastern is worse but several other teams are playing far better. The comments about Arizona being a good team are not even close, Baylor beat them and Baylor is nothing this year, Gonzaga totally destroyed AZ in the Maui tournament. The Pac 12 is down this year and Arizona will probably finish in the lower half. Montana has zero inside game and it is almost impossible to compete with good teams without size, looks to me like a very disappointing year ahead.

I agree. The best thing you can do is give up on the team to avoid further disappointment.

If I remember correctly Acehunter is not a big Griz fan. He is a Gonzaga fan.

 

[AZDoc]

"In his post-game interview, DeCuire said Akoh’s wrist was “tight and sore” after practice yesterday. He received treatment before the game, seemed to be ready to go , went through Montana’s shoot around and pre-game warm up only to be removed from the lineup just minutes before the opening tip."

Weird since there were multiple reports an hour and a half before tipoff that Akoh was in street clothes for shoot around and would not play.

Technically 90 minutes is "just minutes" before tipoff...90 of them... :lol:

 

[citygriz]

One bright spot: Kelby Kramer. Got some valuable playing time last night. Needs to develop a low-post game, but has size and decent quickness. A big improvement from the Creighton game.

Oh, do we miss that low post game! Our offense is, pass the ball around looking for seams or lanes to the basket, and when all else fails, fire up a shot. Hard to believe how errant were so many of the shots we took, yet when you're going all-out on defense, as out kids did, maybe you're too pooped to shoot straight.

I dunno...

And how sad that in our only two shots at national exposure this year, our one good big man is out. It's like showing up for a bar room brawl with one wrist in a sling.

Another bright spot: Bill Walton. I always thought of him as a windy old gasbag, but last night I enjoyed his commentary. Gave plenty of props to DeCuire, Chis Cobb (an unheralded reason for our success), the Forester's Ball, the Payne Native American Center, Missoula, and the Montana basketball tradition, featuring Krysko, Tinks and others (though not Micheal Ray Richardson.) Made Montana sound like the cool place it is.

 

[zengriz]

...walton...
...tie died...
...dead head...

... ...

 

[rosco]

One bright spot: Kelby Kramer. Got some valuable playing time last night. Needs to develop a low-post game, but has size and decent quickness. A big improvement from the Creighton game.

Oh, do we miss that low post game! Our offense is, pass the ball around looking for seams or lanes to the basket, and when all else fails, fire up a shot. Hard to believe how errant were so many of the shots we took, yet when you're going all-out on defense, as out kids did, maybe you're too pooped to shoot straight.

I dunno...

And how sad that in our only two shots at national exposure this year, our one good big man is out. It's like showing up for a bar room brawl with one wrist in a sling.

Another bright spot: Bill Walton. I always thought of him as a windy old gasbag, but last night I enjoyed his commentary. Gave plenty of props to DeCuire, Chis Cobb (an unheralded reason for our success), the Forester's Ball, the Payne Native American Center, Missoula, and the Montana basketball tradition, featuring Krysko, Tinks and others (though not Micheal Ray Richardson.) Made Montana sound like the cool place it is.

Kramer does have size and did get good playing time but I see almost no improvement. Still slow, usually seems lost, weak inside defender, and no nose for the ball.

 

[AZGrizFan]

One bright spot: Kelby Kramer. Got some valuable playing time last night. Needs to develop a low-post game, but has size and decent quickness. A big improvement from the Creighton game.

Oh, do we miss that low post game! Our offense is, pass the ball around looking for seams or lanes to the basket, and when all else fails, fire up a shot. Hard to believe how errant were so many of the shots we took, yet when you're going all-out on defense, as out kids did, maybe you're too pooped to shoot straight.

I dunno...

And how sad that in our only two shots at national exposure this year, our one good big man is out. It's like showing up for a bar room brawl with one wrist in a sling.

Another bright spot: Bill Walton. I always thought of him as a windy old gasbag, but last night I enjoyed his commentary. Gave plenty of props to DeCuire, Chis Cobb (an unheralded reason for our success), the Forester's Ball, the Payne Native American Center, Missoula, and the Montana basketball tradition, featuring Krysko, Tinks and others (though not Micheal Ray Richardson.) Made Montana sound like the cool place it is.

Kramer does have size and did get good playing time but I see almost no improvement. Still slow, usually seems lost, weak inside defender, and no nose for the ball.

Boy, that's not what DeCuire saw, based off his post-game comments....

 

[PlayerRep]

"In his post-game interview, DeCuire said Akoh’s wrist was “tight and sore” after practice yesterday. He received treatment before the game, seemed to be ready to go , went through Montana’s shoot around and pre-game warm up only to be removed from the lineup just minutes before the opening tip."

Weird since there were multiple reports an hour and a half before tipoff that Akoh was in street clothes for shoot around and would not play.

Aren't shoot arounds way earlier than that? Like in the mornings? 1.5 hr before game was not the shoot around, I don't think.

 

[PlayerRep]

One bright spot: Kelby Kramer. Got some valuable playing time last night. Needs to develop a low-post game, but has size and decent quickness. A big improvement from the Creighton game.

Oh, do we miss that low post game! Our offense is, pass the ball around looking for seams or lanes to the basket, and when all else fails, fire up a shot. Hard to believe how errant were so many of the shots we took, yet when you're going all-out on defense, as out kids did, maybe you're too pooped to shoot straight.

I dunno...

And how sad that in our only two shots at national exposure this year, our one good big man is out. It's like showing up for a bar room brawl with one wrist in a sling.

Another bright spot: Bill Walton. I always thought of him as a windy old gasbag, but last night I enjoyed his commentary. Gave plenty of props to DeCuire, Chis Cobb (an unheralded reason for our success), the Forester's Ball, the Payne Native American Center, Missoula, and the Montana basketball tradition, featuring Krysko, Tinks and others (though not Micheal Ray Richardson.) Made Montana sound like the cool place it is.

Stanford law grads tend to be very smart and with it.

 

[grizindabox]

"In his post-game interview, DeCuire said Akoh’s wrist was “tight and sore” after practice yesterday. He received treatment before the game, seemed to be ready to go , went through Montana’s shoot around and pre-game warm up only to be removed from the lineup just minutes before the opening tip."

Weird since there were multiple reports an hour and a half before tipoff that Akoh was in street clothes for shoot around and would not play.

Aren't shoot arounds way earlier than that? Like in the mornings? 1.5 hr before game was not the shoot around, I don't think.

My bad, it was when they came out to warm up 1.5 hrs before game time.

Kyle Hansen
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@khansen406
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Jamar Akoh was not dressed out for warmups when UM came out. Looks like he’ll miss this one. Played on Monday against NDSU and scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. #GrizHoops

4:56 PM - 19 Dec 2018 from Tucson, AZ

 

[Potomac Griz]

One bright spot: Kelby Kramer. Got some valuable playing time last night. Needs to develop a low-post game, but has size and decent quickness. A big improvement from the Creighton game.

Oh, do we miss that low post game! Our offense is, pass the ball around looking for seams or lanes to the basket, and when all else fails, fire up a shot. Hard to believe how errant were so many of the shots we took, yet when you're going all-out on defense, as out kids did, maybe you're too pooped to shoot straight.

I dunno...

And how sad that in our only two shots at national exposure this year, our one good big man is out. It's like showing up for a bar room brawl with one wrist in a sling.

Another bright spot: Bill Walton. I always thought of him as a windy old gasbag, but last night I enjoyed his commentary. Gave plenty of props to DeCuire, Chis Cobb (an unheralded reason for our success), the Forester's Ball, the Payne Native American Center, Missoula, and the Montana basketball tradition, featuring Krysko, Tinks and others (though not Micheal Ray Richardson.) Made Montana sound like the cool place it is.

Kramer does have size and did get good playing time but I see almost no improvement. Still slow, usually seems lost, weak inside defender, and no nose for the ball.

Boy, that's not what DeCuire saw, based off his post-game comments....

Not what I saw either. Kramer did quite well against Arizona's big (who was one of the top recruits in the country out of high school). He got his points of course and there were times the Griz got out of the double team too early so there wasn't as much help as there should have been, but I thought Kramer looked pretty good and didn't get bullied underneath by Jeter even when he was on him with no help. He certainly didn't look lost or weak defending in my opinion. I thought the Griz overall did a pretty good job defensively on Arizona especially in the first half. Defense wasn't the problem for the Griz.