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The forgotten game: Griz vs CSU

G

GrizBBIsKing

Well-known member
Griz lost 62 to 61. Had lead with 10 seconds left but couldn't hold it.

AJ had 19 points which wasn't enough.

McGillis and Selvig both had 10 points.
 
I made the game in person, fashionably late , thanks to the length of the GRIZ/App semifinal game. I came away from this game, not upset, but very perplexed and frustrated of this team.

1st of all, had Qvale been there, the GRIZ win being CSU would of had fewer points. When Selvig went out, they took advantage of us inside, especially on the boards. Mathias is not big and strong enough defensively yet. McGillis is strong and boxes out excellent, in fact is good for getting or keeping a half dozen possessions per game on hustle and heart alone. He also is a nice lob passer. I see why Tinkle likes him on the court, nonetheless he cannot matchup on true power players, ditto Banny. The Qvale/Selvig combination really makes this team great. Without Qvale, Selvig just is not healthy enough to play more than 20 minutes per game consistently. Selvig was limping very bad the last 10 minutes this game.

As for guards, once again, I was impressed with the AJ/Cherry combination. AJ flatout took the game over in the 2nd half, at will. AJ really looked a little off the 1st half and had very little energy. I think he was playing a little sick. Cherry was the most athletic guard hands down on the court. His defense once again made an impact. Unfortunately, he is a freshman and still adjusting to better competition. He made a few boneheaded plays that cost us possessions and scores, I would guess a 6 point swing in the game for CSU. Tinkle was very upset with him for the decisions too, and he rode the pine for a long period. Tinkle has a tough decision in managing him. The best way for a kid to learn is from the bench, yet the team is much better when he is on the court. We have 4 players that the team is better when they are on the court Cherry, AJ, Qvale, and Selvig, and with all 4 healthy, they should get the majority of minutes.

I am very frustrated with this team because they are damn good. Good to the point where you can see they only have 1 weakness and if that is cleared up or even becomes consistent, this team would hands down dominate the BSC. Tinkle has all the pieces in the puzzle as for personnel, attitude, and defense. Unfortunately we really struggle to put the ball in the basket, and it has very little to do with execution either. Simply put, beyond AJ and so far Qvale, we have no consistent scorers. Right now, I would say Cherry, Taylor, and Selvig are on the verge of becoming consistent scorers. I feel Young is the best talent, but really is not doing anything to earn the minutes yet. IF others do not develop soon, Tinkle may have to ride Young and Cherry through growing pains.

I came away from this game knowing the only thing holding this team back is getting a few more shots to fall. At least it is nice to know as fan and coach what needs to be improved. Really there is not a lot a coach can do when it comes to this. The only thing I can think of is dedicating more time to shooting drills, but if you do that too much you risk loosing other things. I have faith the offense will take care of itself. If I am Tinkle, the most obvious solution is Cherry on the court in making teammates better by penetrating. Ride out his mistakes now.
 
I expect Young to be more consistent by end of year. He is JC transfer, and I have yet to see a JC transfer come out with guns blazing. All start out slow, some more than others. Same with AJ but he may be the best JC transfer to date and didn't take as long. Be patient because Young will be good. Already have seen some things Young can do. Things will start working out much better for Young and when it does, Griz will win the Big Sky Conference. I hope it comes sooner, but I just don't think it will happen until mid-conference season for Young.
 
i am stunned that this team did this well without qvale. i had this trip down for two sure losses, when it should have been two wins.

but i believe the team is just like me at this point--it really doesn't know yet how good it is. it just doesn't yet have that winning attitude that our football team has, that swagger, that knack for doing late in a game what it takes to win. i mean, let's put this into perspective. we beat oregon at oregon handily, and were up ten on washington in seattle until the refs took over. i too am looking at cherry, a.j., qvale and selvig and thinking, these guys are not just good, they're scary good. i mean where do you find cherry's athleitcism, or a.j.'s talent, or so much athleticism in such big men as qvale and selvig. we're talking seven-footers here, giants. you just don't see many teams with that talent in college basketball.

i agree though--we need more scorers. we need young and ward to develop, selvig to stay healthy, qvale to get back. some day this team is going to have a game where they all look at each other and say, "wow! we're pretty good!"

that day isn't far off.
 
Speaking of health and Qvale, his dad is getting better as of last night, at least. I was sitting with Taylor's mother and brother, we got to talking abou the team. She has been staying in touch with Qvale's via text message, and apparently they texted her he is getting better.

If things go accordingly for his dad, Qvale could be back in the next few weeks.
 
A.J. shooting 94% at the line going into game. 9-12 in this game. The CSU player who scored the final pts at the line was shooting 87% from the line and shot 5-9 at the line in this game but made the last two. AJ missed his first two and then went 7-8.

Not sure what happened after 9 seconds left. AJ hits side of backboard and MT gets break then with 1.2 seconds to play they throw it into MCGillis and he puts it up and Selvig tips it and then game is over.
 
After CSU's Dorian Green made the second free throw, Montana got the ball into Anthony Johnson's hands and he penetrated down the right side of the lane. He was guarded closely and had to throw up a shot that hit off the side of the board. A CSU player attempted to grab the ball but he had one foot on the baseline and Montana was awarded the ball on the right side of the basket.

Montana then used Selvig to screen for McGillis who crossed from the right side of the basket to the left. He received a bounce pass and immediately shot while being guarded closely by CSU's Pierce Hornung from about 4 feet. The shot rolled off the rim at the buzzer. Selvig may have touched it on the follow but it wouldn't have counted. McGillis' attempt could just as easily have gone in as missed. It was a perfectly executed play.
 
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