Henry David Thoreau said, "The world is far wider than our view of it."
Never was that more true than for the Lady Griz.
The program was built from the ground up by a man from Outlook, Montana. He built it mostly with Montana kids, mixed in with a few recruits from small towns in the Pacific Northwest.
Because he was a great coach, good with people, from a state that for its population has produced way more than its share of skilled women players, the program flourished--especially when women's basketball was in its infancy, overlooked by many of the bigger schools.
The program became a Montana institution, a source of pride for all Montanans not affiliated with the Cats.
But then other Big Sky coaches made links to the wider world. They recruited other states, urban schools, even internationally.
And so the hated Bobcats built a program that overshadowed the Lady Griz. As did two or three other schools in the Big Sky,
So any new coach, to be accepted, had to understand the history the tradition of the Lady Griz. Had to understand how Montanans want Montana kids first. Had to pay deference to the man from Outlook.
But at the same time, knew that if this program is to stay at the level Griz fans have come to expect, he had to recruit talent with a wider view of the world.
Listening to the press conference, I think Holzinger fully understands both imperatives.
The "Outlook" remains bright.
Never was that more true than for the Lady Griz.
The program was built from the ground up by a man from Outlook, Montana. He built it mostly with Montana kids, mixed in with a few recruits from small towns in the Pacific Northwest.
Because he was a great coach, good with people, from a state that for its population has produced way more than its share of skilled women players, the program flourished--especially when women's basketball was in its infancy, overlooked by many of the bigger schools.
The program became a Montana institution, a source of pride for all Montanans not affiliated with the Cats.
But then other Big Sky coaches made links to the wider world. They recruited other states, urban schools, even internationally.
And so the hated Bobcats built a program that overshadowed the Lady Griz. As did two or three other schools in the Big Sky,
So any new coach, to be accepted, had to understand the history the tradition of the Lady Griz. Had to understand how Montanans want Montana kids first. Had to pay deference to the man from Outlook.
But at the same time, knew that if this program is to stay at the level Griz fans have come to expect, he had to recruit talent with a wider view of the world.
Listening to the press conference, I think Holzinger fully understands both imperatives.
The "Outlook" remains bright.