Grizbacker1
Well-known member
ratso47 said:
UM was voted as one of the most beautiful campuses in the US, so perhaps it was getting away from pushy parents and sunshine that attracted her.
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Transfer to LG
- Thread starter bigtyme
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UM was voted as one of the most beautiful campuses in the US, so perhaps it was getting away from pushy parents and sunshine that attracted her.
I take it you have never been to the UCSB campus. There is no comparison. I travel to Montana almost every year and love the Northwest corner of the state but if I were a college student, it would be an easy choice. I saw Montana play 3 times last year and UCSB once. The teams were comparable. PSU beat Montana 3 times and UCSB once.
HighLineGRIZ
Well-known member
Montana has a much much better women's basketball program than UCSB and and even better program than PSU. Enjoy those victories from last year because it was the largest rebuilding year we've had in a long long time. I'm not going to speculate on why she picked them over us, but I highly doubt its because she felt it was a better program.
Mslacat
Well-known member
Folks there are a lot of reasons to pick a college and the pick of Santa Barbara was the best choice for Tilleman. Tilleman is a very intelligent person, as evident by her finishing a four year degree in only three years with honors. I believe their were a lot of factors that went into her choice, not the least of which were most likely graduate school opportunities. We do not know what all went into her choice but my money is that it was the best choice for her and her future, and that future extends well beyond basketball.
Look, none of the teams in the big sky are powerhouses. Even when Montana had Morales and Rogers they got smoked at the NCAA tourney. Montana has an average women's basketball program. They cannot compete with premier teams in America and neither can any other Big Sky program. It was interesting to see the Montana fans reaction at the tourney.
Sadly, I have to agree. There was a time when UM was a real player in women's bball but it was a window that shut quickly. I don't think any team disappointed me more than the Lady Griz when they collapsed playing Pittsburgh whose coach accurately descibed the Lady Griz style as "plodding"...they appeared to never have seen anyone trap the ball or press and that is coaching....I gave up, just as they seemed to...I am no longer even a fan of UM womens' bball....it is simply a glorified high school game and not very exciting. Hard to maintain interest there...I wish it were different, alas...ratso47 said:
yes, exactly. thanks to good coaching, a sensational homegrown recruit (shannon cate) and a legion of passionate fans, the lady griz were w-a-y ahead of many of the major schools when it came to women's basketball. after that one ncaa tournament where we beat wisconsin on their home court in the first round, and then went down to the wire against u.s.c. and lisa leslie in los angeles, it appeared we might be a presence on the national scene. but you can only go so far with almost exclusively montana (or maybe northwest) talent, and that place is "big sky power." montanans have accepted that, as well as a coach who has been loyal to the school, and has run a great program. i've accepted that too.
what's amazing is the quality of women players montana has produced. even without j.t., next year's team will be very good, and the core will be several incoming freshmen from montana. i'll be rooting for them, as always, but holding my breath again next time they take on a high seed in the first round at the big dance.
the men's side...now that's a different story. u.c.l.a.? can hardly wait.
what's amazing is the quality of women players montana has produced. even without j.t., next year's team will be very good, and the core will be several incoming freshmen from montana. i'll be rooting for them, as always, but holding my breath again next time they take on a high seed in the first round at the big dance.
the men's side...now that's a different story. u.c.l.a.? can hardly wait.
GrizBBIsKing
Well-known member
there is a lot of difference between now and back in the 90s. Womens basketball has grown up. Schools with much more bucks poored money into their women's basketball program. Montana started out fast but really didn't have the funds to keep up with those schools with more money. Compare Lady Griz with Gonzaga. if your a player deciding between Montana and Gonzaga would you choose the program that can only afford to bus or take commercial flights to games or a school that can afford to send their players on a private charter and have better locker rooms and be related to a strong mens basketball team that gets to the sweet 16 providing more evidence that the womens team can also do it. I think they would choose Gonzaga.
Back then, Montana has received much better seeding. But then it is easier to earn a better seed when there were fewer women's basketball programs back then.
I still say some of the lady Griz basketball teams were every bit as good as say maybe the 93-94 team or even the team Cate was on,or even the 94-95 team which the last team to win a NCAA tournament game. But Lady Griz have not received the kind of seeding they earned back in the 90s. 12th is the best so for the past 10 years. Skyla Cisco and Greta Koss's last season, the year they lost to Texas Tech by 2 and should have won it, they were seeded 9th. That is the seed the Lady Griz usually earned back in the late 80s and 90s after it became a 64 team tournament. 87-88 team had the highest seeding of any but it was a 48 team tournament.
Lady Griz will likely never be seeded higher than 12th. Primarily because they are in the Big Sky Conference and have to rely on non-conference strength of schedule. Because of this, Montana being a mid-major team, will pretty much always have to play a team from a major conference which will be way more athletic. 2004 was kind of an exception playing against a WAC team, La Tech and it being played in Missoula. That game could have been a win for the lady griz. If Lady griz had a better point guard off of the bench it would have been a win.
I do not expect things to change in the future to much. If UM moves to WAC it may improve a little but that conference basically has been a conference that gets only one team in.
But, financial difficulties will always hamper lady griz recruiting and schedule. Lady Griz do not play some teams they have played in the 90s because they do not and cannot pay high enough guarantee to bring in some of them. Played Utah home and home every year, but no longer. The Lady Griz home games have become considerably more boring because of this. The financial problems are going play a much larger role in recruiting. More Montana players. Recruiting territory will shrink. It already has.
As for Selvig, he is a great coach. Some may knock him but he is doing a great job here given the resources. Lady Griz do not have the highest budget in the Big Sky Conference but they are at the top pretty much every year. Just wonder if he did leave for a major school (instead of a mid-major) with lots of resources how he would do. Can't prove it, but I think he would create a winner and go much further than the first round.
And No, this is no glorified High School game. But it certainly isn't a major program. It is a mid-major program and that is all it will be. Lady Griz need to move to the MWC to really improve the program but that will never happen. WAC would improve it better than it is now, but even that conference only has two or three teams that are decent. Would still need to rely on non-conference games to improve their seed in the NCAA.
I will always root for the Lady Griz but I have never raised my expectations so high that I would lose total interest in them because they played a really bad second half and last five minutes of the first half against a major womens basketball team.
Back then, Montana has received much better seeding. But then it is easier to earn a better seed when there were fewer women's basketball programs back then.
I still say some of the lady Griz basketball teams were every bit as good as say maybe the 93-94 team or even the team Cate was on,or even the 94-95 team which the last team to win a NCAA tournament game. But Lady Griz have not received the kind of seeding they earned back in the 90s. 12th is the best so for the past 10 years. Skyla Cisco and Greta Koss's last season, the year they lost to Texas Tech by 2 and should have won it, they were seeded 9th. That is the seed the Lady Griz usually earned back in the late 80s and 90s after it became a 64 team tournament. 87-88 team had the highest seeding of any but it was a 48 team tournament.
Lady Griz will likely never be seeded higher than 12th. Primarily because they are in the Big Sky Conference and have to rely on non-conference strength of schedule. Because of this, Montana being a mid-major team, will pretty much always have to play a team from a major conference which will be way more athletic. 2004 was kind of an exception playing against a WAC team, La Tech and it being played in Missoula. That game could have been a win for the lady griz. If Lady griz had a better point guard off of the bench it would have been a win.
I do not expect things to change in the future to much. If UM moves to WAC it may improve a little but that conference basically has been a conference that gets only one team in.
But, financial difficulties will always hamper lady griz recruiting and schedule. Lady Griz do not play some teams they have played in the 90s because they do not and cannot pay high enough guarantee to bring in some of them. Played Utah home and home every year, but no longer. The Lady Griz home games have become considerably more boring because of this. The financial problems are going play a much larger role in recruiting. More Montana players. Recruiting territory will shrink. It already has.
As for Selvig, he is a great coach. Some may knock him but he is doing a great job here given the resources. Lady Griz do not have the highest budget in the Big Sky Conference but they are at the top pretty much every year. Just wonder if he did leave for a major school (instead of a mid-major) with lots of resources how he would do. Can't prove it, but I think he would create a winner and go much further than the first round.
And No, this is no glorified High School game. But it certainly isn't a major program. It is a mid-major program and that is all it will be. Lady Griz need to move to the MWC to really improve the program but that will never happen. WAC would improve it better than it is now, but even that conference only has two or three teams that are decent. Would still need to rely on non-conference games to improve their seed in the NCAA.
I will always root for the Lady Griz but I have never raised my expectations so high that I would lose total interest in them because they played a really bad second half and last five minutes of the first half against a major womens basketball team.
actually, the way womens' bball is developing in most places, I think it is very safe to say that UM women's bball is on a par with the top tier of high school teams...Glad you remain a fan, that is your choice. For me, I did indeed have higher expectations simply because I had seen the LG when they played at SC and should have won, but for an unfortunate turn of events. that being said, my interest in women's bball is limited to occasionally watching the pick up games near a friend's house in Pasadena and trust me, they are good!GrizBBIsKing said:
