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Program woos players with success
Lady Griz coach hopes team’s achievements will outshine low profile of Big Sky Conference in eyes of recruits
Story by Amber Kuehn | April 19, 2007
Montana Kaimin
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a four-part series looking into the recruiting aspect of University of Montana athletics. The series will wrap up on Friday.
It hangs on a wall in his office, serving as an everyday reminder of the successful program he’s built at the University of Montana.
Robin Selvig, head coach of the Lady Griz basketball team for 28 seasons, rises from his desk to proudly point out a copy of the 2006 issue of the sports annual “Street & Smith’s.”
“It lists the top 10 basketball programs of all time,” he says. “And there’s Montana at seven, in a national publication.”
Montana is listed in the magazine alongside teams like Stanford, Connecticut and seven-time national champion Tennessee. It’s items like this that put the Lady Griz in the national spotlight, and gives the program the recognition necessary for recruiting. UM sends a copy to out-of-state athletes it is trying to recruit, in hopes that the magazine will give the recruits another reason to become a Lady Griz.
“Certainly our tradition has helped us,” he said, “but it still doesn’t mean we’re going to out-recruit one of those schools.”
Selvig wishes it did, but the reality of the situation can be spelled out in three words: Big Sky Conference. Despite Montana’s success, which includes 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Sky doesn’t receive the same attention that other conferences get.
Charli Turner Thorne knows how difficult recruiting in the Big Sky Conference can be. Before becoming head coach of the Arizona State women’s basketball team in 1996, Turner Thorne coached at Northern Arizona University for three seasons.
“I definitely have more resources at Arizona State, almost at every level,” she said. “There’s a lot more we’re able to do here … not to mention it’s the Pac-10.”
The lure of a big-time conference was even too much to keep Montana’s current best player from originally leaving the state.
UM sophomore guard Mandy Morales, who played high school basketball in Billings, was recruited by Montana but eventually signed with Arizona State. She said the idea of playing for a Pac-10 team is what drew her to ASU.
“I thought the Pac-10 was a huge thing to get recruited by, and they offered me a full ride,” Morales said. “With that big of a program, it was hard to pass up.”
With her grandfather ailing back home, Morales eventually transferred to Montana without actually stepping on the court for the Sun Devils. Morales redshirted the 2004-2005 season but has been stellar in her two years for the Lady Griz, winning the conference MVP award this past season.
Morales said she doesn’t regret her decision, but she said while watching the NCAA Tournament, she was reminded of the Pac-10 school that recruited her.
“They were going to the Elite Eight, so that made me think about it,” she said. “But I’m glad to be part of UM. You go to other schools and they’re averaging 500 fans, and we get like 5,000.”
Over the past 30 years, Lady Griz teams have largely consisted of in-state athletes. According to the UM Media Guide, 77 of the 114 Lady Griz who have lettered hailed from Montana. Of the 37 players from out of state, 25 were from the Northwest region.
“We try to get the best kids we can,” Selvig said. “Montana high school women’s basketball has been very good, so we’ve been fortunate.”
Selvig said he would recruit athletes from anywhere if he could, but financial restraints limit him to recruiting in the Northwest.
“We don’t have the type of budget to recruit all over the country,” he said. “You’ve got to zero in on areas and do a good job there.”
But recruiting in certain areas often limits a team’s diversity. In its history, the Lady Griz have had only one African-American player on the team – Vicki Austin, who played from 1988 to 1990 after transferring from Long Beach State.
“We don’t have a big minority population here, but we try,” Selvig said. “We make a lot of home visits to black kids and we try to get them to come play for us.”
But what the Lady Griz have had, in terms of minorities, is a large portion of American Indians. The Lady Griz currently have two American Indians on the team and just signed another, Dvera Tolbert, out of Hardin High School.
“There haven’t been many Native Americans play D-I ball, and we’ve had five or six, greater than any team in the nation by far,” he said.
Turner Thorne said she too values diversity on her team, but said it is the quality of the person and player first and foremost.
“We love to have diversity,” she said. “But they’ve got to be able to do the things it takes to win championships on the basketball court.”
Being a coach in the Pac-10 has allowed her to recruit on a more national scale, but Turner Thorne says every coach tries to recruit the best athletes in their home state first.
Selvig has done just that. Only three players on the Lady Griz team that went 27-4 this past season were from out of state, and Selvig’s primary starting lineup consisted of all Montana products. Selvig said he thinks that has helped boost attendance – Montana had the 27th highest average attendance marks in the nation for the 2005-2006 season – although he said he’s still just as proud of his out-of-state players.
“If there are Montana kids that we think are good enough to be Division I players, then we like to recruit them,” he said. “But again, I would take them from Timbuktu if we could get them.”
Some programs don’t have limitations on the way they spend their money, Selvig said. But Montana does.
“We certainly can’t just jump on a plane anytime we want the day before a game and go watch a kid play in Texas,” he said.
Also making recruiting difficult has been the switch in seasons for Montana high school girl’s basketball. Prior to becoming a winter sport in 2002, the prep girls played during the fall, allowing coaches more time to watch recruits play.
“A lot of the evaluation is done in summer ball now,” Selvig said.
Recruiting makes coaches become salesmen and Selvig hates that. But it helps that his coaching staff has played at UM and has been a part of the program for a number of years.
“We’re selling something we believe in,” he said.
That doesn’t mean everyone is convinced.
“A lot of the top players in the country, you try to get involved with them and really don’t ever get your foot in the door,” he said.
However, with the recruits he has gotten, Selvig has been blessed not only on the court but in the classroom as well. In the past 20 years, 93 of his athletes have made the All-Academic Big Sky team and all but three players have graduated with a degree.
Basketball season might be over, but recruiting goes on. Selvig and his assistants will go from gym to gym, adding names to a roster already filled with talent. Success can speak for itself – the framed publication on his wall says it all.
Lady Griz coach hopes team’s achievements will outshine low profile of Big Sky Conference in eyes of recruits
Story by Amber Kuehn | April 19, 2007
Montana Kaimin
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a four-part series looking into the recruiting aspect of University of Montana athletics. The series will wrap up on Friday.
It hangs on a wall in his office, serving as an everyday reminder of the successful program he’s built at the University of Montana.
Robin Selvig, head coach of the Lady Griz basketball team for 28 seasons, rises from his desk to proudly point out a copy of the 2006 issue of the sports annual “Street & Smith’s.”
“It lists the top 10 basketball programs of all time,” he says. “And there’s Montana at seven, in a national publication.”
Montana is listed in the magazine alongside teams like Stanford, Connecticut and seven-time national champion Tennessee. It’s items like this that put the Lady Griz in the national spotlight, and gives the program the recognition necessary for recruiting. UM sends a copy to out-of-state athletes it is trying to recruit, in hopes that the magazine will give the recruits another reason to become a Lady Griz.
“Certainly our tradition has helped us,” he said, “but it still doesn’t mean we’re going to out-recruit one of those schools.”
Selvig wishes it did, but the reality of the situation can be spelled out in three words: Big Sky Conference. Despite Montana’s success, which includes 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Sky doesn’t receive the same attention that other conferences get.
Charli Turner Thorne knows how difficult recruiting in the Big Sky Conference can be. Before becoming head coach of the Arizona State women’s basketball team in 1996, Turner Thorne coached at Northern Arizona University for three seasons.
“I definitely have more resources at Arizona State, almost at every level,” she said. “There’s a lot more we’re able to do here … not to mention it’s the Pac-10.”
The lure of a big-time conference was even too much to keep Montana’s current best player from originally leaving the state.
UM sophomore guard Mandy Morales, who played high school basketball in Billings, was recruited by Montana but eventually signed with Arizona State. She said the idea of playing for a Pac-10 team is what drew her to ASU.
“I thought the Pac-10 was a huge thing to get recruited by, and they offered me a full ride,” Morales said. “With that big of a program, it was hard to pass up.”
With her grandfather ailing back home, Morales eventually transferred to Montana without actually stepping on the court for the Sun Devils. Morales redshirted the 2004-2005 season but has been stellar in her two years for the Lady Griz, winning the conference MVP award this past season.
Morales said she doesn’t regret her decision, but she said while watching the NCAA Tournament, she was reminded of the Pac-10 school that recruited her.
“They were going to the Elite Eight, so that made me think about it,” she said. “But I’m glad to be part of UM. You go to other schools and they’re averaging 500 fans, and we get like 5,000.”
Over the past 30 years, Lady Griz teams have largely consisted of in-state athletes. According to the UM Media Guide, 77 of the 114 Lady Griz who have lettered hailed from Montana. Of the 37 players from out of state, 25 were from the Northwest region.
“We try to get the best kids we can,” Selvig said. “Montana high school women’s basketball has been very good, so we’ve been fortunate.”
Selvig said he would recruit athletes from anywhere if he could, but financial restraints limit him to recruiting in the Northwest.
“We don’t have the type of budget to recruit all over the country,” he said. “You’ve got to zero in on areas and do a good job there.”
But recruiting in certain areas often limits a team’s diversity. In its history, the Lady Griz have had only one African-American player on the team – Vicki Austin, who played from 1988 to 1990 after transferring from Long Beach State.
“We don’t have a big minority population here, but we try,” Selvig said. “We make a lot of home visits to black kids and we try to get them to come play for us.”
But what the Lady Griz have had, in terms of minorities, is a large portion of American Indians. The Lady Griz currently have two American Indians on the team and just signed another, Dvera Tolbert, out of Hardin High School.
“There haven’t been many Native Americans play D-I ball, and we’ve had five or six, greater than any team in the nation by far,” he said.
Turner Thorne said she too values diversity on her team, but said it is the quality of the person and player first and foremost.
“We love to have diversity,” she said. “But they’ve got to be able to do the things it takes to win championships on the basketball court.”
Being a coach in the Pac-10 has allowed her to recruit on a more national scale, but Turner Thorne says every coach tries to recruit the best athletes in their home state first.
Selvig has done just that. Only three players on the Lady Griz team that went 27-4 this past season were from out of state, and Selvig’s primary starting lineup consisted of all Montana products. Selvig said he thinks that has helped boost attendance – Montana had the 27th highest average attendance marks in the nation for the 2005-2006 season – although he said he’s still just as proud of his out-of-state players.
“If there are Montana kids that we think are good enough to be Division I players, then we like to recruit them,” he said. “But again, I would take them from Timbuktu if we could get them.”
Some programs don’t have limitations on the way they spend their money, Selvig said. But Montana does.
“We certainly can’t just jump on a plane anytime we want the day before a game and go watch a kid play in Texas,” he said.
Also making recruiting difficult has been the switch in seasons for Montana high school girl’s basketball. Prior to becoming a winter sport in 2002, the prep girls played during the fall, allowing coaches more time to watch recruits play.
“A lot of the evaluation is done in summer ball now,” Selvig said.
Recruiting makes coaches become salesmen and Selvig hates that. But it helps that his coaching staff has played at UM and has been a part of the program for a number of years.
“We’re selling something we believe in,” he said.
That doesn’t mean everyone is convinced.
“A lot of the top players in the country, you try to get involved with them and really don’t ever get your foot in the door,” he said.
However, with the recruits he has gotten, Selvig has been blessed not only on the court but in the classroom as well. In the past 20 years, 93 of his athletes have made the All-Academic Big Sky team and all but three players have graduated with a degree.
Basketball season might be over, but recruiting goes on. Selvig and his assistants will go from gym to gym, adding names to a roster already filled with talent. Success can speak for itself – the framed publication on his wall says it all.
