New Lady Griz

[Spanky]

68....you ask a good question. I should say, I don't believe that we are recruiting the best student-athletes we can get.

 

[browningmontana]

mtgrizrule

Are you saying that when the Title IX inspectors show up from the feds, they check for equality in the number of assistants, the pay of the assistants, the pay of the head coach, practice time, travel money, number of cheerleaders, number of times Monte shows up for men versus women, media advertising, locker equality (and on and on) but they don't check for recruiting budget equality? Seriously? Would one of you who is buddy buddy with Haslem ask about this?

 

[mtgrizrule]

mtgrizrule

Are you saying that when the Title IX inspectors show up from the feds, they check for equality in the number of assistants, the pay of the assistants, the pay of the head coach, practice time, travel money, number of cheerleaders, number of times Monte shows up for men versus women, media advertising, locker equality (and on and on) but they don't check for recruiting budget equality? Seriously? Would one of you who is buddy buddy with Haslem ask about this?

I am pretty sure Title IX does not cover what you are wanting it to cover. It is only there to allow females the same athletic and educational opportunities as males. There are very few NCAA programs which allocate the expenses and salaries the same for mens and womens basketball. My guess is only elite women's programs have even close to the same kind of budget as men's basketball does. Title IX does not oversee any of that.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

mtgrizrule

Are you saying that when the Title IX inspectors show up from the feds, they check for equality in the number of assistants, the pay of the assistants, the pay of the head coach, practice time, travel money, number of cheerleaders, number of times Monte shows up for men versus women, media advertising, locker equality (and on and on) but they don't check for recruiting budget equality? Seriously? Would one of you who is buddy buddy with Haslem ask about this?

Title IX does not make all things equal between male and female sports. What it does is give females athletes the same number of opportunities as male athletes, hence the additional sports so that the number of athletes are similar. It in no way makes money between male and female sports equal, if it did how could any college football coach be paid 7 figures.

 

[Spanky]

Recruiting talent of a level to enable the Lady Griz to compete outside of a weak Big Sky just does not happen. Perhaps the objective given by our AD is to be competitive in the conference only. If that is true, Selvig is doing a good job. If the goal is to advance in the NCAA, we aren't prepared with the necessary talent. Can we recruit better athletes? Of course, but without direction from Kent Haslam, we can expect to see more of the same.

 

[grizindabox]

Recruiting talent of a level to enable the Lady Griz to compete outside of a weak Big Sky just does not happen. Perhaps the objective given by our AD is to be competitive in the conference only. If that is true, Selvig is doing a good job. If the goal is to advance in the NCAA, we aren't prepared with the necessary talent. Can we recruit better athletes? Of course, but without direction from Kent Haslam, we can expect to see more of the same.

Spanky, if that is your criteria, then the men's team better start recruiting better athletes also.

 

[Spanky]

grizindabox.......I don't think you can compare the two programs. If you believe the Lady Griz have the talent to compete on a national basis, fine with me. If the direction is to limit Selvig in his recruiting area, there isn't anything I or anyone else can do about it, but I don't have to voice approval. Do I? I have stated that, in my view, it is difficult to recruit talented student-athletes given the conference that we continue to represent as a member school. And I have stated that I think Robin Selvig is an excellent coach, so don't unload on me about that.

 

[grizindabox]

grizindabox.......I don't think you can compare the two programs. If you believe the Lady Griz have the talent to compete on a national basis, fine with me. If the direction is to limit Selvig in his recruiting area, there isn't anything I or anyone else can do about it, but I don't have to voice approval. Do I? I have stated that, in my view, it is difficult to recruit talented student-athletes given the conference that we continue to represent as a member school. And I have stated that I think Robin Selvig is an excellent coach, so don't unload on me about that.

Spanky, pretty sure if you go back through the thread, my point was that Selvig recruiting black athletes was not an automatic upgrade in talent, no more. Most of the BSC schools have black athletes on their roster...and for some reason they seem to keep losing to UM. Are there better athletes and basketball players than what Selvig recruits...of course, but I believe that Montana, no matter the coach, is not going to get the big fishes. The women's college basketball landscape is far from balanced...schools like UCLA and Oregon are almost as far from UConn as is Montana.

 

[Agent G]

I've never met Selvig or Citay but I don't think either of them are racist. That being said, it is unusual that a D1 team has had so few black players. Just because someone points out this fact, that doesn't make him racist either.

While many think it's not PC to say "black" over "African American"...that's not true. "Black" isn't the same as saying "colored". Just ask any black/African American.

I also don't buy the argument that the budget has anything to do with the reason few blacks have played for the Lady Griz. The other women's sports have black players & I bet most of them have less money than the basketball team.

I think it boils down to a comfort level...for the coaching staff & prospective players. Most mens programs have at least one or two black coaches. Since the assistants do the upfront recruiting, etc. many players identify with the assistant more than the head coach.

Even after players make it to a team those assistants often become a big voice for those players when it comes to communicating with the head coach on strategy, playing time, etc. It's common nature for those assistants to promote or pull for a player they took the lead in bringing to the program.

As more & more time goes by without black players going to UM it makes it more difficult to get players to commit. Selvig may really want blacks but this fact alone makes it a lot tougher. A black assistant would be a big step toward correcting that.

The goal really should be to get the best basketball players possible, regardless of race. If that is actually put into practice, a team should have a good mix of kids. With few exceptions, the best teams are hardly ever all black or all white.

To quote one of the first rap groups from the early 80's, "Blacks & whites don't realize they're really pink & brown." ...we're not as different as we might think!!

If anyone can tell me the name of the song & group who said that (without google), I'll send you $20!! Just post your address!!! Haha

 

[rocklobster]

Robin Selvig is an excellent coach and a quality person. He has been successful for years in the Big Sky Conference which is a weak conference, at best. Selvig could do much better in terms of the talent level of his recruits, however, perhaps our current and past Athletic Directors haven't given him that mandate? We have an excellent university located in a good college town. Yes, there is a problem with the conference as many talented athletes will refuse to compete in the Big Sky Conference and that is likely one of the reasons Selvig hasn't been successful recruiting better talent. I do object to Selvig handing out scholarships on a willy nilly basis when, with more effort, he could improve our talent. By the way, I am not just talking about black players as I don't care if they are black, white or pink, just more talented.
Many of you complain every year about our seeding and results in the NCAA, however, this will continue as long as we attempt to compete with the talent level of Robin's teams. It may be a good decision to stay home and save UM some money?

:clap:

This should be a thread welcoming a new player. Start another thread questioning a coach and his integrity. It's stupid! Why doesn't Calipari recruit more white players? It's dumb! Robin recruits the best players he can get, regardless of race.

 

[GrizLA]

I believe the real problem we have is defining what is a good bball and what is a very good bball player. To lay this at the foot of a racial issue is degrading to everyone, and reflects poorly on UM and Montana. The issue, as I see it, is not black players or Indian or Latino. Basketball, as most people see it, is an URBAN game and Montana and most of the Big Sky schools are most definitely NOT urban. Women's basketball in the Big Sky is simply not good and the ADs seem content with that. But, to make a racial issue of talent as it applies here, is not productive. I know a few high school girls I see playing at courts in the LA area and they are aware of Montana but roll their eyes. It is not a style they want to play, apparently. A lot of schools play the boring and dull style UM does but they don't get far in the tourney. Since there is no cry for more from fans and alumni, then that is good enough. But, it is an urban game, whether we like to admit or not.

 

[Spanky]

LA........I generally agree with your comments regarding basketball being an urban game. However, I would point out that many of the talented players in the cities are black. Does that make it a racial issue? I don't think so. My ancestry is German and Germans have been known to be good soldiers and composers. Does that mean all good soldiers and composers are German? No.
What will UM do about improved recruiting of talented basketball players for the Lady Griz? We will see......

 

[GrizLA]

LA........I generally agree with your comments regarding basketball being an urban game. However, I would point out that many of the talented players in the cities are black. Does that make it a racial issue? I don't think so. My ancestry is German and Germans have been known to be good soldiers and composers. Does that mean all good soldiers and composers are German? No.
What will UM do about improved recruiting of talented basketball players for the Lady Griz? We will see......

yes, that does make it a racist oriented outlook. There are also Australian players, Turkish players...Sadly the color thing is so embedded in our culture it is now taken for granted. By the way, Austria also produces good composers, as do the French, Italian,etc....the sooner we move away from racial stereotypes and ethnic divisions, the better off humanity will be. I doubt we will see that in our lifetime. As for the Lady Griz, they play the best they can in a conference of peers and do ok...Perhaps, the NCAA could do for women what they are seemingly doing with men and that is create a super conference, and let the Mid majors, like the Lady Griz and other peer institutions, compete on their level.

 

[Umista]

For all of you racist folks wanting Black over White players your answer might be in contacting noted authority and the author of many books: Krakauer.
I am certain he is your answer as he can create a book on it and win over a team of the correct color and the Lady Griz will be rewarded....

 

[OlPonyQB]

"Better" so we can get a better seed in the NCAA tournament and/or in general be a better "program." OR, we remain committed to Montana Kids primarily and win year in and year out.

Along the same lines, should we re-commit to more Montana kids in programs that finish middle of the pack constantly, as it has the feel of not giving our "own" the same chances to train and develop while getting an UM education.