grizzlyjournal
Well-known member
Couple of intro notes: Though I covered the Lady Griz for 10+ seasons for the Missoulian, I confess to have never focused on the team's comparative strengths or weaknesses vs. Big Sky opponents. Now... as a fan, I like to think the GrizWBB can win every game. Hence, there are several others on this forum more capable of talent evaluation than me. I enjoyed the 20 minutes of hoops I watched & this -- for what it's worth -- is a collection of first impressions.
P.S. -- I am no longer on Twitter/X. I have a page on Mastodon, but haven't yet learned how to activate those images here on eGriz. You CAN, however, view the photos I have posted at Mastodon by clicking the (safe) links at the bottom.
So... the Lady Griz scrimmage rock n' rolled at a very fast pace for just 20 minutes. It was great fun, but probably not a good way to get an accurate picture of the team for this year.
1. -- Depth. The addition of three transfers, three freshmen and a redshirt frosh gave two huge impressions: 1-depth and 2-a very well-balanced and very competitive roster. In my view, any of the transfers and two of the frosh could well play lots of minutes... perhaps even start as the season goes on.
2. Coach Holsinger has a lot to prove this year and he knows it. He said so in comments to the crowd. He spoke for about 5-10 minutes post-scrimmage and said quite candidly that it's his responsibility to ensure that this team plays defense at a much higher level than last year.
3. The OFFENSE took off at top speed and didn't slow down. Sort of hard to pin down, but it looks like the guards pushed the early O into the key more aggressively than last season. It seemed pretty clear that Mack Konig and Libby Stump worked very hard on their ball-handling skills. In fact, I felt that Libby showed the most visible improvement of any returning starter. Secondly, Carmen Gfeller looks to be 100% healed, has trimmed down, and also looks to have worked on ball-handling skills. The irony is that she's fifth tallest player on the Griz this year. It was too early to get a good impression of 6-4 transfer Imogen Greenslade. She's tall, but did not seem to have the strength of sophomore post Alex Pirog.
4. The DEFENSE. The one thing I noticed was that it looks like they've been working on fine-tuning their full court pressure defense they employed last season. I guess we'll see pretty quickly. If there was any improvement on defense, it came from transfers M. J. Bruno and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw. Bruno, in particular, played very physical defense. Rebounding? -- Dani Bartsch was clearly the best on the floor... so that left some questions for me. Pirog and Greenslade are big, but they're going to have to prove themselves as rebounders. There were some hints of a kind of half-court jump-trap double teaming defense on the wing. Not certain if that's a specific defensive play though.
5. Most Encouraging: Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw is the real deal (senior transfer from Iowa State) and I think she'll step into Sammy Fatkin's role as starting wing. She's only 5-10, but has a long upper body and really mixed it up in scrums. She's a good ball handler, has a great first-step and has a very good shot at all distances.
6. Here are a few other things that really excited me about this team.
A. -- Gina Marxen seems sort-of settled as a team captain (despite that Mack will be the returning pg) and seems very happy in that role. She racked up about 6 assists in 20 minutes without even hinting at shooting. She wants others to shoot the ball. I think that's pretty cool from a senior who is not the starting pg.
B. Alex Pirog: Alex and Carmen look like they spent time in the weight room. Alex is particularly strong, didn't fall once, and showed some great high-post passing skill. I can't guess who the starting C and PF will be. Alex will probably still foul a lot, but has the potential to take over the C position. I say that knowing that Greenslade was recruited for that job... and that Dani took the job over the last several games of the season.
C. Libby Stump: Maggie, I think, was the scrimmage high scorer, but Libby was next. I confess, I believe Libby has made huge strides... though it's probably too early to know for sure. Her ball-handling skills have clearly improved and she's developed a dribble enter hesitation-drive that defenders couldn't handle. She's very smooth. Again... not sure, but I think she could really give the Griz some in-paint offensive explosive impact.
D. There were two returning players who just did not make an impact... but it was, I realize, a short scrimmage. Keeli Burton-Oliver and Haley Huard. It was difficult to get a read on their roles for the season.
If I were to list a top 10-player rotation... a loose kind of first-second team alignment, it would be this:
STARTERS: C-Pirog, PF-Carmen Gfeller, Wing-Maggie Espenmiller McGraw, PG-Mack Konig, Shooting guard - Libby Stump. I think, however, that Gina will start at 2.
SECOND TEAM: C-Imogen Greenslade, PF-Dani Bartsch, Wing:Haley Huard, PG-Gina Marxen, Shooting guard-MJ Bruno. OR: PG-Libby and 2-guard MJ Bruno.
***** All that said... IF coach Holsinger puts incoming frosh into the lineup, I would put money on frosh Macy Huard and Adria Lincoln. Those two are clearly as good as older players. I would not be surprised to see... first Macy and then Adria start earning -- and keeping -- more and more floor minutes as the season progresses. Or, they could redshirt. Notice that I did not mention Draya Wracker... she didn't play mutch, but looks to be pretty good. I just couldn't get a solid reading.
There. Those are my initial impressions. This team is clearly better than last year. But, like most prognosticators, I'd put them at a pre-season 3rd/4th behind Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona and Montana State.
Pictured: [media]https://social.vivaldi.net/@GJzootown/111288139090888451[/media]
[media]https://social.vivaldi.net/@GJzootown/111288288635968860[/media]
P.S. -- I am no longer on Twitter/X. I have a page on Mastodon, but haven't yet learned how to activate those images here on eGriz. You CAN, however, view the photos I have posted at Mastodon by clicking the (safe) links at the bottom.
So... the Lady Griz scrimmage rock n' rolled at a very fast pace for just 20 minutes. It was great fun, but probably not a good way to get an accurate picture of the team for this year.
1. -- Depth. The addition of three transfers, three freshmen and a redshirt frosh gave two huge impressions: 1-depth and 2-a very well-balanced and very competitive roster. In my view, any of the transfers and two of the frosh could well play lots of minutes... perhaps even start as the season goes on.
2. Coach Holsinger has a lot to prove this year and he knows it. He said so in comments to the crowd. He spoke for about 5-10 minutes post-scrimmage and said quite candidly that it's his responsibility to ensure that this team plays defense at a much higher level than last year.
3. The OFFENSE took off at top speed and didn't slow down. Sort of hard to pin down, but it looks like the guards pushed the early O into the key more aggressively than last season. It seemed pretty clear that Mack Konig and Libby Stump worked very hard on their ball-handling skills. In fact, I felt that Libby showed the most visible improvement of any returning starter. Secondly, Carmen Gfeller looks to be 100% healed, has trimmed down, and also looks to have worked on ball-handling skills. The irony is that she's fifth tallest player on the Griz this year. It was too early to get a good impression of 6-4 transfer Imogen Greenslade. She's tall, but did not seem to have the strength of sophomore post Alex Pirog.
4. The DEFENSE. The one thing I noticed was that it looks like they've been working on fine-tuning their full court pressure defense they employed last season. I guess we'll see pretty quickly. If there was any improvement on defense, it came from transfers M. J. Bruno and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw. Bruno, in particular, played very physical defense. Rebounding? -- Dani Bartsch was clearly the best on the floor... so that left some questions for me. Pirog and Greenslade are big, but they're going to have to prove themselves as rebounders. There were some hints of a kind of half-court jump-trap double teaming defense on the wing. Not certain if that's a specific defensive play though.
5. Most Encouraging: Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw is the real deal (senior transfer from Iowa State) and I think she'll step into Sammy Fatkin's role as starting wing. She's only 5-10, but has a long upper body and really mixed it up in scrums. She's a good ball handler, has a great first-step and has a very good shot at all distances.
6. Here are a few other things that really excited me about this team.
A. -- Gina Marxen seems sort-of settled as a team captain (despite that Mack will be the returning pg) and seems very happy in that role. She racked up about 6 assists in 20 minutes without even hinting at shooting. She wants others to shoot the ball. I think that's pretty cool from a senior who is not the starting pg.
B. Alex Pirog: Alex and Carmen look like they spent time in the weight room. Alex is particularly strong, didn't fall once, and showed some great high-post passing skill. I can't guess who the starting C and PF will be. Alex will probably still foul a lot, but has the potential to take over the C position. I say that knowing that Greenslade was recruited for that job... and that Dani took the job over the last several games of the season.
C. Libby Stump: Maggie, I think, was the scrimmage high scorer, but Libby was next. I confess, I believe Libby has made huge strides... though it's probably too early to know for sure. Her ball-handling skills have clearly improved and she's developed a dribble enter hesitation-drive that defenders couldn't handle. She's very smooth. Again... not sure, but I think she could really give the Griz some in-paint offensive explosive impact.
D. There were two returning players who just did not make an impact... but it was, I realize, a short scrimmage. Keeli Burton-Oliver and Haley Huard. It was difficult to get a read on their roles for the season.
If I were to list a top 10-player rotation... a loose kind of first-second team alignment, it would be this:
STARTERS: C-Pirog, PF-Carmen Gfeller, Wing-Maggie Espenmiller McGraw, PG-Mack Konig, Shooting guard - Libby Stump. I think, however, that Gina will start at 2.
SECOND TEAM: C-Imogen Greenslade, PF-Dani Bartsch, Wing:Haley Huard, PG-Gina Marxen, Shooting guard-MJ Bruno. OR: PG-Libby and 2-guard MJ Bruno.
***** All that said... IF coach Holsinger puts incoming frosh into the lineup, I would put money on frosh Macy Huard and Adria Lincoln. Those two are clearly as good as older players. I would not be surprised to see... first Macy and then Adria start earning -- and keeping -- more and more floor minutes as the season progresses. Or, they could redshirt. Notice that I did not mention Draya Wracker... she didn't play mutch, but looks to be pretty good. I just couldn't get a solid reading.
There. Those are my initial impressions. This team is clearly better than last year. But, like most prognosticators, I'd put them at a pre-season 3rd/4th behind Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona and Montana State.
Pictured: [media]https://social.vivaldi.net/@GJzootown/111288139090888451[/media]
[media]https://social.vivaldi.net/@GJzootown/111288288635968860[/media]
