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MBBALL Sawyer announces he is returning

5280Griz

5280Griz

Well-known member
If we can add a power forward or center this upcoming season could finally be when a Big Sky team gets an NCAA tournament win. We will need to win games we lost last year against USF and Utah State while also being more competitive against the Oregon and Tennessee level opponents but I think the pieces are falling into place for that to happen and get an 11 or 12 seed which is probably the best spot for the Griz to be for pulling an upset.
 
5280Griz said:
If we can add a power forward or center this upcoming season could finally be when a Big Sky team gets an NCAA tournament win. We will need to win games we lost last year against USF and Utah State while also being more competitive against the Oregon and Tennessee level opponents but I think the pieces are falling into place for that to happen and get an 11 or 12 seed which is probably the best spot for the Griz to be for pulling an upset.
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I agree with everything you're saying 5280, and you're right that we have to be more competitive in the P4 games and win some of those USF type games. The other thing though is we can't play 6 road games against teams ranked in the Top 100 of the NET (5 were Top 50). We have to take a couple easier road games next year. You just can't lose 6 non-conference games and expect to get a 12 seed. You typically have to get out of non-conference with about 3 losses if you wanna have a shot at a 12, then you gotta run the table in league play. DeCuire needs to schedule a slightly easier road slate next year. We can still play two P4s and maybe a winnable Mountain West game, but beyond that any additional road games have to come against mid majors you can beat.
 
HookedonGriz said:
This is literally huge news. Money, Pridgen, Sawyer, possibly Kai and possibly Malik and the MN transfer plus some bench guys who will get more PT….shaping up for another run
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If Kai and Malik are both back next year then just hand us the trophy already. Everybody else in the conference has gotten gutted by the portal. I wonder if returning to UM suddenly looks a lot more attractive for Moore. Shaun Rainey told me on Twitter today that as of a couple days ago, Kai still has not heard back from the NCAA.
 
Slow your roll boys.
The transfer could be very good to other Big Sky teams. Some of these teams that lost 4 or more players will have opportunity to bring decent to very good players.

Don’t get me wrong I have not been this excited about a hoops team since cherry/ Jamar.
 
I feel the Griz have the nucleus for a very good team next year. But, time will tell. I like the fact that Travis has come around to accepting the fact that the transfer portal is vital to our success on the basketball court. I doubt one could call it an epiphany but more a realization that trying to nurture a young freshman into a conference first team player is a 40/60 proposition at best, while going after more seasoned players who have demonstrated their abilities in actual combat is more of a 70/30 success barometer.
Travis will still look to developing younger players but his focus has become more short term oriented. I hope 2024/25 is not an anomaly but a philosophical change of direction.
Now it’s up to us the fans, to get out and make the Zoo the most dreaded arena in the conference.
GO GRIZ
 
That's great news for the Griz. Sounds like you will have a strong team next year.

Doing well recruiting the portal comes down to two things, either have a ton of NIL money or get lucky on some lower cost guys. Weber had a D11 guy in for a visit recently who was demanding a starting bid of $100,000. It's gotten to be a bit of a joke. These guys are hiring agents to get bids for them. Some wont even come for a visit if your bid isn't high enough. A guy like Dillan Darling could have commanded in the high 6 figures. I'm sure that ISU scrounged up something for him, but it was probably a lot less. Malik Moore is likely to get some big offers. It will come down to how much you have and how much of that you are willing to spend on one or two players.
 
oldrunner said:
That's great news for the Griz. Sounds like you will have a strong team next year.

Doing well recruiting the portal comes down to two things, either have a ton of NIL money or get lucky on some lower cost guys. Weber had a D11 guy in for a visit recently who was demanding a starting bid of $100,000. It's gotten to be a bit of a joke. These guys are hiring agents to get bids for them. Some wont even come for a visit if your bid isn't high enough. A guy like Dillan Darling could have commanded in the high 6 figures. I'm sure that ISU scrounged up something for him, but it was probably a lot less. Malik Moore is likely to get some big offers. It will come down to how much you have and how much of that you are willing to spend on one or two players.
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I think your point is well taken. Malik could be an important cog in our success next year. But we still need a big man in the middle. Not necessarily a scorer but an enforcer. Maybe 10 and 4/5 a game to keep the opposition honest and allow our perimeter guys to do their thing. I’m hopeful that Money can get his 3 pt ball close to 40%. Where do we spend our limited dollars, Malik or a big?
 
Sport said:
I think your point is well taken. Malik could be an important cog in our success next year. But we still need a big man in the middle. Not necessarily a scorer but an enforcer. Maybe 10 and 4/5 a game to keep the opposition honest and allow our perimeter guys to do their thing. I’m hopeful that Money can get his 3 pt ball close to 40%. Where do we spend our limited dollars, Malik or a big?
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Malik was a great addition. But I am really excited to see Tyler Thompson this year.
 
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UncleRico said:
Malik was a great addition. But I am really excited to see Tyler Thompson this year.
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Tyler could make us forget about Malik, the question is how quickly that will happen, year 1, 2 or 3, and can we hopefully keep Tyler in Missoula for 3-4 more years after his redshirt.

But on paper right now, I love this team as is, a 6-10 to 7-1 post would be frosting on the cake, and we know Travis, Chris, Jay and crew are looking, searching for him !!!
 
I think GRIZ coaches for both Basketball and Football have done well with the portal. As someone earlier posted they seemed to have adjusted quickly to using the Portal.
Listening to Coach Alford at Nevada whine about the portal just tells me he has not been successful using it.
Lastly The coaches in all sports must be doing something right because their number of Transfers out of Montana is very low.
 
Mavman said:
I think GRIZ coaches for both Basketball and Football have done well with the portal. As someone earlier posted they seemed to have adjusted quickly to using the Portal.
Listening to Coach Alford at Nevada whine about the portal just tells me he has not been successful using it.
Lastly The coaches in all sports must be doing something right because their number of Transfers out of Montana is very low.
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The nation wide average for portal entries right now is 5 players per team. No doubt, some of them were walk ons and many were bit players on their teams. However, many were high level players for their teams and may be trying for greener pastures. Those guys are the most expensive to get and will likely be getting more than they would in the G league or over seas. It's really crazy times we are in right now.
 
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