Selvig - The Lone "Montanan"...

[ilovethecats]

It's impossible to say for sure, but I think 20 years ago guys like Matt Miller and Tanner Rodderick probably would have gone the college bball route, as Montana was much more of a basketball state back then. Additionally, D-I men's bball only has 13 scholarships to offer, down from 15 in the 90's. If MSU/UM had 15 schollies, I think you'd see them taking a few chances on some of the in-state kids that ended up taking scholarships at the Frontier level (Garland, Cutler, Tatarka, Pierson...etc)

good point. plus, i'd add that college hoops as a whole is really evolving. there are so many good teams out there that almsot any team can beat even the best teams any given night. the big sky is no exception. people have high expectations and expect every mid-major to be the next gonzaga or butler. i'm not saying i agree with this or not....just how i see things. that's why i maintain that there are some players from montana high schools that played for the cats and the griz in the 80's and 90's that i don't believe would make the cut today. obviously there are some exceptions and there were some good ones too. but our high school hoops haven't evolved at the same rate as our college teams have been expected too.....thus i think we'll continue to see fewer montana kids on our respective teams.

 

[EverettGriz]

Some excellent points made by WBT and ILTC. I would also add that recruiting on a grander scale is so much easier than it used to be. Back in the day, it was fairly rare to see players from states a distance from Montana, because the coaches just didn't have the ability to assess their talent and recruit kids from New Jersey. Now they can do all of that without leaving their desk chair.

 

[temp]

I think AAU and summer recruiting have been a overlooked factor in the decline of Montana D1 kids.

The last three big recruits we have had (Osweiler, Huestis and Bradshaw) all went out of state in the summers to play AAU ball. Osweiler played for a team in Portland, then committed to Gonzaga. Huestis went to Cali and played and attended some big time camps then committed to Stanford. Bradshaw spent a summer playing in Utah and ended up with offers from both USU and Utah. You can see the pattern there. I had the privilege of watching all three of those kids and although they were/are all great and very deserving, I have seen plenty of other kids in the same time frame that I have thought were as good or close to being as good as those three.

I think there is a couple of things in play here. One, the AAU kids are probably a little better, not so much in talent but in knowledge and technique because of the higher level of coaching they can get. Two, and this is the one that gets us I think, I believe the coaches spend their summers looking at these kids and just convince themselves that they must be better than the the in-state kids. I think that they see other colleges talking to the kids at the AAU tourneys and see a higher level of overall skills being played by the teams in general and start to believe that the in-state kids may look good in the winter but they probably couldn't do that against these other good kids. Which may be true in some cases, but I think more often than the coaches like to think the in-state kids could rise up to that level if they had the chance.

I try to watch as many HS games as I can and I have to say I really don't think the level of play in the state has dropped or not kept up with the rest of the country. I think that the lack of exposure is a far bigger problem.

 

[conradgriz]

the griz should take a look at the Howard kid out of Choteau Tribune feejs he can play at the next level

 

[griz8791]

the griz should take a look at the Howard kid out of Choteau Tribune feejs he can play at the next level

When I turned to the second page of that article and saw who that kid's brother was I about fell out of my chair.

 

[wbtfg]

the griz should take a look at the Howard kid out of Choteau Tribune feejs he can play at the next level

When I turned to the second page of that article and saw who that kid's brother was I about fell out of my chair.

Won't let me read it online....who is his brother?

 

[griz8791]

the griz should take a look at the Howard kid out of Choteau Tribune feejs he can play at the next level

When I turned to the second page of that article and saw who that kid's brother was I about fell out of my chair.

Won't let me read it online....who is his brother?

Zach Ramsay. It was a very sad, horrifying, and still-painful child disappearance case up here.

 

[grizaremoregooder]

I think a huge problem for basketball in this state began when the girls and boys seasons where moved together. Kids can't get into the gyms anymore because of the lack of gym time and the number of games played at the K-6th grade and junior high levels has gone way down (especially in the smaller schools). This has led to shorter seasons for these young kids. Kids have to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning to go to practice so that leads to fewer players going out. Funny how football became so popular after the MHSA made this move. Basketball has gone down hill ever since this has happened.

 

[GrizPony]

Well we can thank the Dedens for that. I agree but I think the girls are getting more scholarship opportunities now and that was the point of their lawsuit. They won, girls won, basketball overall suffered I think. Tough to have a strong opinion either way without being sexist. PC wins the day.

 

[bitterrootobserver]

In response to temp. I agree. After watching Bradshaw a few times this season, I'd have to say that he is a more skilled and polished than other kids. However, the Schultz kid from Stevi took him to the rack three times in their last game and drained multiple threes right in his face. The other night against Dillon there were three or four kids on the floor who were more athletic then Bradshaw as was shown by Folsom handling Bradshaw down low and scoring 15 on him, Knox blocking Bradshaw's shot with his elbow and the team quickness takimg multiple charges on Bradshaw. Against BC the Kasperick kid held the volume scoring Bradshaw to 7 of 23 shooting with three of those field goals comimg after the game was out of hand. My point is that I agree that there are a lot of good Mt players out there who are right there with this Bradshaw kid. The other thing that gets overlooked is the intangible of making eveeyone around you better. Bradshaq's Devils are 1 and 6 against teams with winning records this year.

 

[temp]

In response to temp. I agree. After watching Bradshaw a few times this season, I'd have to say that he is a more skilled and polished than other kids. However, the Schultz kid from Stevi took him to the rack three times in their last game and drained multiple threes right in his face. The other night against Dillon there were three or four kids on the floor who were more athletic then Bradshaw as was shown by Folsom handling Bradshaw down low and scoring 15 on him, Knox blocking Bradshaw's shot with his elbow and the team quickness takimg multiple charges on Bradshaw. Against BC the Kasperick kid held the volume scoring Bradshaw to 7 of 23 shooting with three of those field goals comimg after the game was out of hand. My point is that I agree that there are a lot of good Mt players out there who are right there with this Bradshaw kid. The other thing that gets overlooked is the intangible of making eveeyone around you better. Bradshaq's Devils are 1 and 6 against teams with winning records this year.

I am with ya, and that led to my thoughts of in-state exposure problems. If Bradshaw didn't leave the state and head to Utah for AAU there is no way he is going to get to USU. That exposure is everything.