It's long been my contention that the success of our football program has derived from the quality of high school football in Montana. Back in the early days of the move-up argument over on the football board, it was said we didn't have the in-state talent to compete in the WAC. I argued vociferously we did. But a glance at the current NFL rosters confirms my point--Brock Coyle, Chase Reynolds, Colt Anderson, Marc Mariani, Dan Carpenter and Kroy Biermann, with Jordan Tripp hovering for a roster spot somewhere. Not to mention the ones that played at Montana State, or got away--Dwan Edwards, Matt Miller, Brock Osweiler. For a state with a population of one million, I think that's a pretty good representation at the highest echelons of the football universe.
Basketball? Not so much. Krysko, yes, but you have to go back fifty years to Wayne Estes and Mike Lewis to find truly great players Montana has produced. While football has contributed chapter and verse to our success--including our all-time best, Dave Dickenson--basketball has depended on out-of-state talent. Other than Krysko, our greatest players have been Tinks from Spokane, Micheal Ray and Derrick Pope from Colorado, Ken MacKenzie from Canada, Travis DeCuire from Washington, Brian Qvale from North Dakota, and Kareem Jamaar and Will Cherry from California. You can certainly name some very good players from Montana, but you can't make the case that our basketball program would have had the same success as the football program by concentrating on Montana players, as Robin Selivg has done for the women's program. (A policy, by the way, that has produced great results in the Big Sky, but disastrous results post-season.)
Enter Travis DeCuire. While Tinks reached out-of-state to get some great talent, I don't think he had the quality of pipeline that DeCuire has in two areas: western Washington, and the Bay Area. Next year, we will have three players on our roster from Tacoma--Rorie, Moorehead and Anderson. Of the three, two will have been bona-fide three-star recruits coming out of high school, from a city with a population of only 200,000. And a third player from Tacoma, Jaylen Nowell, Anderson's teammate and now a junior, looms as a four-star recruit out of Garfield High in Tacoma. (Could we go for a four-star?) After personally speaking to Rorie's Mom at a game last year, then reading of Travis's ties to Ed Haskins, the coach at Garfield, it's little surprise to me this pipeline is so strong. And of course, having been the Associate Head Coach to Montgomery at Cal, it's no surprise DeCuire knows the Bay Area so well. LIttle wonder we're seeing unprecedented talent coming to Missoula.
All of which raises one more issue. Tacoma has produced all this talent from a population one-fifth the state of Montana. Oakland has produced legendary talent over many years from a population of about 500,000. I think you can make the case, basketball is largely a city game, while Montana is largely a rural state. If we're to aspire to higher levels of excellence at Montana, it's essential we have recruiters of the caliber of Travis DeCuire and his staff.
Basketball? Not so much. Krysko, yes, but you have to go back fifty years to Wayne Estes and Mike Lewis to find truly great players Montana has produced. While football has contributed chapter and verse to our success--including our all-time best, Dave Dickenson--basketball has depended on out-of-state talent. Other than Krysko, our greatest players have been Tinks from Spokane, Micheal Ray and Derrick Pope from Colorado, Ken MacKenzie from Canada, Travis DeCuire from Washington, Brian Qvale from North Dakota, and Kareem Jamaar and Will Cherry from California. You can certainly name some very good players from Montana, but you can't make the case that our basketball program would have had the same success as the football program by concentrating on Montana players, as Robin Selivg has done for the women's program. (A policy, by the way, that has produced great results in the Big Sky, but disastrous results post-season.)
Enter Travis DeCuire. While Tinks reached out-of-state to get some great talent, I don't think he had the quality of pipeline that DeCuire has in two areas: western Washington, and the Bay Area. Next year, we will have three players on our roster from Tacoma--Rorie, Moorehead and Anderson. Of the three, two will have been bona-fide three-star recruits coming out of high school, from a city with a population of only 200,000. And a third player from Tacoma, Jaylen Nowell, Anderson's teammate and now a junior, looms as a four-star recruit out of Garfield High in Tacoma. (Could we go for a four-star?) After personally speaking to Rorie's Mom at a game last year, then reading of Travis's ties to Ed Haskins, the coach at Garfield, it's little surprise to me this pipeline is so strong. And of course, having been the Associate Head Coach to Montgomery at Cal, it's no surprise DeCuire knows the Bay Area so well. LIttle wonder we're seeing unprecedented talent coming to Missoula.
All of which raises one more issue. Tacoma has produced all this talent from a population one-fifth the state of Montana. Oakland has produced legendary talent over many years from a population of about 500,000. I think you can make the case, basketball is largely a city game, while Montana is largely a rural state. If we're to aspire to higher levels of excellence at Montana, it's essential we have recruiters of the caliber of Travis DeCuire and his staff.
