Mont. men in rare down year
Commentary by Kellis Robinett
MISSOULA, Mont.
The luster is still there and so is the passion for dominance, but, on the court, Montana basketball just isn’t the same.
Not this year, anyway. The Grizzlies lost just enough from last year’s trip-to-the-second-round super human squad that their reign atop Big Sky basketball just might be coming to an end.
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That realization hit me three days ago when I watched first-year coach Wayne Tinkle, a silky smooth 6-foot-10 giant, walk onto the court of Dahlberg Arena towering above everyone like a Greek god. Fans in the front few rows created quite a scene leaning out over press row just hoping to touch him or catch his eye as he headed to the Montana bench. Many of them got fist pounds and ran back to their seats happy and excited.
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But the game that ensued didn’t produce the same magic.
The Grizzlies looked befuddled by Idaho State’s zone defense and had no plan to stop the Bengals’ oversized guards when they decided to stop settling for jump shots. Most of those same fans who were in a frenzy leading up to the game didn’t even stick around to see the end of it. The Mecca of Big Sky basketball didn’t look too intimidating at that moment.
And it’s not all that surprising that this is happening. Former coach Larry Krystkowiak left for a high-paying assistant job in the NBA during the offseason, and Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews -- two influential leaders during last year’s NCAA Tournament run -- moved on, too. But Tinkle was promoted from within, and the system isn’t much different. Before the season started, Montana was still picked to win the Big Sky, and some extreme optimists talked about the possibility of receiving an at-large invitation to the Big Dance.
With the Grizzlies’ start (8-10 overall, 2-3 Big Sky) that’s not going to happen. True, Montana always seems to start slow, and, because of their experience, few teams will want to draw them in the Big Sky tournament. But no matter how hot they get, they won’t be able to get past teams like Idaho State.
The personnel they currently possess just can’t match up with experienced backcourts. Take what happened three days ago for example. Montana came in with an advantage in the low post, which it does in most games, and needed to look inside on every possession. That way, the Grizzlies could get Idaho State’s big men in foul trouble, and their guards would catch a break on the perimeter, as the Bengals would have to try to win from the 3-point line. But it never happened. Idaho State’s 2-3 zone defense made the team’s equal inside, and, when that’s the case, Montana will never better Dave Schroeder and Akbar Abdul-Ahad.
Cameron Rundles and Matt Martin just aren’t good enough to match up with them. All of Montana’s conference losses this season came because of diminished guard play. At Sacramento State, the Grizzlies just couldn’t keep up with the Hornets’ athleticism. At Eastern Washington, Montana didn’t have an answer for star guard Rodney Stuckey. Against Idaho State, Montana looked lost. (Ditto against Weber State)
The Grizzlies just don’t match up well against those teams this season. The only thing more obvious about them is their desperate need for an improved showbiz-style introduction. And unless it avoids both ISU and WSU, Montana is a real long shot to win another Big Sky tournament this year.
Right now players dressed in maroon and gray warmups wait inside a huge inflatable tunnel until they heard the cue to come running out. Music blares, smoke flares in every direction and the crowd rises to its feet. But the Montana players themselves first reveal themselves looking half drunk.
The ones handling the basketballs fight through it and go on about their business, but everyone else either wobbles around blindly or rubs their eyes almost like someone was back in the tunnel forcing them to put their heads on baseball bats and spin around 10 times.
It’s strange. I’ve seen bad entries — Northwestern football players storming onto the field to the tune of “Now I’m a believer” comes to mind — but they at least seemed psyched about it. The Grizzlies just looked miserable. Like they genuinely hated the entrance. Like it was some sort of gimmick used only to excite the crowd and bum them out.
But that won’t last forever. With Montana’s resources and top-of-the-league-facilities, the Grizzlies will be back contending before too long. And that will make any introduction look cool.
Team’s around the league need to take advantage of this down period while it lasts. Because no Montana team stays down for long.
