LadyGriz Now Comes the Test

[citygriz]

I was wondering what Harris was going to do and....I think he did well. Very well. Looks to me like a significant upgrade over last year's roster.

Not only that, two players, Lofing and Shippen, both former Gatorade Players of the Year, transfer in as underclassmen, which is even better. And it's always nice to add Montana kids to the roster.

But here's the thing. All three went out to play on a bigger stage, Lofing at Gonzaga, Moore at Wake and Shippen at Columbia. And how did they do?

Granted they're young but you can't say any of them turned in stellar report cards: Lofing 2.2 ppg; Shippen 1.5 ppg; Moore 2.8 ppg. Can they return us to powerhouse status within the Big Sky Conference.

I like our chances.

But is this simply a return to the halcyon days when Selvig dominated the Big Sky but got hammered against the larger conferences? These players do, after all, come in from Selvig's old recruiting grounds, Montana and Idaho.

No question, this is an excellent re-build; I remain optimistic.

I'll be even happier if Harris is able to "open out" our recruiting with future classes.

 

[maroonandsilver]

I was wondering what Harris was going to do and....I think he did well. Very well. Looks to me like a significant upgrade over last year's roster.

Not only that, two players, Lofing and Shippen, both former Gatorade Players of the Year, transfer in as underclassmen, which is even better. And it's always nice to add Montana kids to the roster.

But here's the thing. All three went out to play on a bigger stage, Lofing at Gonzaga, Moore at Wake and Shippen at Columbia. And how did they do?

Granted they're young but you can't say any of them turned in stellar report cards: Lofing 2.2 ppg; Shippen 1.5 ppg; Moore 2.8 ppg. Can they return us to powerhouse status within the Big Sky Conference.

I like our chances.

But is this simply a return to the halcyon days when Selvig dominated the Big Sky but got hammered against the larger conferences? These players do, after all, come in from Selvig's old recruiting grounds, Montana and Idaho.

No question, this is an excellent re-build; I remain optimistic.

I'll be even happier if Harris is able to "open out" our recruiting with future classes.

Shippen was hurt most of the year.

My big test for Nate is what he makes for the pre-conference schedule. He made a major mistake last year making such a brutal schedule, it was his first year as coach and he needed to get some wins in his pocket. He had an almost totally new team who needed to learn to play together and score some wins as well to build confidence. The first games against Oregon, Washington and South Dakota State were embarrassing blow outs, and it went downhill from there. Those games were embarrassing to watch and had to be embarrassing for the players. The total number of home pre-con games was 4, 1 in December. Which meant the team was on the road, with their challenging schedule almost all of the pre-conference. And also meant that those of us in Hoop Club, as well as season-ticket holders, saw little of the team we were supporting financially and emotionally.

Scheduling an Oregon or Washington once in a while might be a fun experience for the players, but how much do you learn in a 30–40-point loss? It would be best to make most of the pre-con schedule with teams you can be competitive with. Nate has an almost totally new team again this upcoming season. Who will he schedule for pre-conference?

 

[Griz til I die]

Shippen was hurt most of the year.

My big test for Nate is what he makes for the pre-conference schedule. He made a major mistake last year making such a brutal schedule, it was his first year as coach and he needed to get some wins in his pocket. He had an almost totally new team who needed to learn to play together and score some wins as well to build confidence. The first games against Oregon, Washington and South Dakota State were embarrassing blow outs, and it went downhill from there. Those games were embarrassing to watch and had to be embarrassing for the players. The total number of home pre-con games was 4, 1 in December. Which meant the team was on the road, with their challenging schedule almost all of the pre-conference. And also meant that those of us in Hoop Club, as well as season-ticket holders, saw little of the team we were supporting financially and emotionally.

Scheduling an Oregon or Washington once in a while might be a fun experience for the players, but how much do you learn in a 30–40-point loss? It would be best to make most of the pre-con schedule with teams you can be competitive with. Nate has an almost totally new team again this upcoming season. Who will he schedule for pre-conference?

Pretty sure they have to return games at BYU and Utah next season.

 

[MTbest]

I was wondering what Harris was going to do and....I think he did well. Very well. Looks to me like a significant upgrade over last year's roster.

Not only that, two players, Lofing and Shippen, both former Gatorade Players of the Year, transfer in as underclassmen, which is even better. And it's always nice to add Montana kids to the roster.

But here's the thing. All three went out to play on a bigger stage, Lofing at Gonzaga, Moore at Wake and Shippen at Columbia. And how did they do?

Granted they're young but you can't say any of them turned in stellar report cards: Lofing 2.2 ppg; Shippen 1.5 ppg; Moore 2.8 ppg. Can they return us to powerhouse status within the Big Sky Conference.

I like our chances.

But is this simply a return to the halcyon days when Selvig dominated the Big Sky but got hammered against the larger conferences? These players do, after all, come in from Selvig's old recruiting grounds, Montana and Idaho.

No question, this is an excellent re-build; I remain optimistic.

I'll be even happier if Harris is able to "open out" our recruiting with future classes.

New players, new dynamics, adjustments, commitments..etc. I wonder how much Nate and coaching staff consider changes and flexibilities in offense/defense sets? Will 5-out continue??

 

[mousegriz1]

00

I was wondering what Harris was going to do and....I think he did well. Very well. Looks to me like a significant upgrade over last year's roster.

Not only that, two players, Lofing and Shippen, both former Gatorade Players of the Year, transfer in as underclassmen, which is even better. And it's always nice to add Montana kids to the roster.

But here's the thing. All three went out to play on a bigger stage, Lofing at Gonzaga, Moore at Wake and Shippen at Columbia. And how did they do?

Granted they're young but you can't say any of them turned in stellar report cards: Lofing 2.2 ppg; Shippen 1.5 ppg; Moore 2.8 ppg. Can they return us to powerhouse status within the Big Sky Conference.

I like our chances.

But is this simply a return to the halcyon days when Selvig dominated the Big Sky but got hammered against the larger conferences? These players do, after all, come in from Selvig's old recruiting grounds, Montana and Idaho.

No question, this is an excellent re-build; I remain optimistic.

I'll be even happier if Harris is able to "open out" our recruiting with future classes.

Thanks for the cliche babble!

 

[5280Griz]

I was wondering what Harris was going to do and....I think he did well. Very well. Looks to me like a significant upgrade over last year's roster.

Not only that, two players, Lofing and Shippen, both former Gatorade Players of the Year, transfer in as underclassmen, which is even better. And it's always nice to add Montana kids to the roster.

But here's the thing. All three went out to play on a bigger stage, Lofing at Gonzaga, Moore at Wake and Shippen at Columbia. And how did they do?

Granted they're young but you can't say any of them turned in stellar report cards: Lofing 2.2 ppg; Shippen 1.5 ppg; Moore 2.8 ppg. Can they return us to powerhouse status within the Big Sky Conference.

I like our chances.

But is this simply a return to the halcyon days when Selvig dominated the Big Sky but got hammered against the larger conferences? These players do, after all, come in from Selvig's old recruiting grounds, Montana and Idaho.

No question, this is an excellent re-build; I remain optimistic.

I'll be even happier if Harris is able to "open out" our recruiting with future classes.

Wake and Gonzaga’s bench warmers are typically better than most of the starters in the Big Sky.