Next year

[MrG]

Rotation:
I agree about the 7-8 man rotation. At the high school level it is considered deep. Used to using six or seven kids most competitive games, and a keeping no more than 10.

I think this year was unique in that those 7 or 8 worked so well as a collective unit, you didn't need to have 5 guys replacing 5 starters.

I see the same versatility next year, with the added bonus of going personnel groupings (which I love). So Traivs could play roughly the same 7-8 guys he did this year and not miss a beat.

I was thinking about how to increase the rotation and this team is an interesting swiss army knife type element for next year. That is provided everyone is coming back. they have answers (maybe not great answers, but answers none the less)...

Here are some scintilating pairings...
Existing Rotation: Rorie, Oguine, Moorehead, Pridgett, Akoh
Flash: Rorie, Oguine, Falls, Moorehead, Dorsey (if healthy) or Nicholas
Thunder: Rorie/Oguine, Dorsey, Akoh, Besovic, Kramer
Length: Oguine, Pridgett, Dorsey, Moorehead, Nicholas
Bombs Away: Rorie, Oguine, Moorehead, Bevins, Espe/Falls

Rotation #1: Rorie, Oguine, Moorehead, Pridgett, Akoh w/ Dorsey???
Rotation #2: Espe, Falls, Bevins, Nicholas, Besovic

THe point, is those units can do just about anything. That is a diverse population of players. I don't know how deep it is really after Nicholas on the bench for next year, but he'll have 13 guys (with Spoja, Kramer, and Jones as well). A lot of those guys are really unknowns Kramer, Besovic, Jones, Bevins, but the depth seems absurd for a mid-major program.

:clap: :clap:
Well constructed and presented.

 

[AZDoc]

Watching buffalo play, this is exactly what people mean when they say the Griz need shooters. If they had 2 guys that bury the 3 ball at a great percentage, this team will be dangerous.

 

[IdaGriz01]

Watching buffalo play, this is exactly what people mean when they say the Griz need shooters. If they had 2 guys that bury the 3 ball at a great percentage, this team will be dangerous.

Buffalo is hanging pretty well with Kentucky (down to 5 points) ... plenty of time left.

So far, a nice change from the early games, which ended up as blow-out. Also, it's getting close to the half and Loyola-Chicago is leading Tennessee, 29-23.

 

[LivingstonNative]

Life, business and sports are all moving targets. You have to adapt, you have to change, and no matter our considerable success this year, these are the changes I'd like to see next year.

OFFENSE: I once had a girlfriend who knew nothing about sports, which made her uncomfortable around my sports buddies. But I said, "No problem. In any conversation, just listen. Then, at an appropriate moment, say "DEFENSE!" It worked every time. Everybody immediately agreed! She knew her stuff! She was one of us! She loved me for it. We always laughed about it.
And it's true, good defense always levels the playing field. As horrible as that ten minute drought was against Michigan, we came out of it only three possessions down, still in the game, because our defense was terrific. And YET! Games are won and lost on the scoreboard; to win consistently, you have to have the ability to put up points, in bursts at times. Somehow, some way, we have to develop, steal, recruit, find or build in a biology lab one or two guys who can shoot the damned ball. Yes, I know, even the best teams can go cold, and even a Steph Curry can have one or two bad shooting nights. But when it happens with us as often as it did this year, especially against the Power Five teams like Penn State, Stanford and Michigan, you have to say, it's not just a team gone cold--it's a team that at the very least has to have better shooters. UMBC won that game last night against Virginia because they were in a shooting zone, and kept pouring it on relentlessly late when you expected they might suddenly collapse. They just kept putting that damned ball in the basket, especially the three-ball, the shot that has changed the game. We did not, and could not. If we had, we could have taken down Michigan. The game was ours for the taking.

POST PLAY: Finally, in the fourth year of the DeCuire regime, we got some legit bigs--Akoh and Nicholas. What a relief! At the same time, all our bigs had flaws, and those really showed up against Michigan. Where Oguine and Rorie, arguably the best guard tandem ever had at Montana, were more than up to the challenge against Michigan, our post play was embarrassing, almost comically inept. Krslovic got blocked once and seemed timid after that. Akoh rebounded okay, but disappeared offensively, as if the ball had been greased. If we'd had better post play, it would have opened up a lot more driving lanes for our guards as well.
On this score, help may be on the way. Nicholas will improve, and hopefully Akoh as well. Kelby Kramer brings legit height and a redshirt year to the table, so he should contribute. If Mack Anderson can contribute anything as a true freshman, it would be helpful as well. You could conceivably have four legit bigs in a conference not known for bigs--and ones who could compete against Power Five post players. Fingers crossed.

ROTATION: I'm not a big fan of the seven-man, or even eight-man rotation, for two reasons. First, injuries. Luckily, we went an entire year with no major injuries--a rarity, frankly. By playing ten, you develop deeper talent as you go, as the big schools know. Remember when North Carolina went the first seven minutes without a bucket against Miami in the ACC tournament, Roy Williams benched all five starters, and brought in his next five, and they turned the game around. Depth is always good, and for as second reason as well: You don't want to burn out your starters. DeCuire was masterful at the way he shuffled players in and out, yet Rorie still played tons of minutes every game. And when you're expending as much energy on defense as our kids too, it's also going to wear you down on the offensive end. So I believe a deeper rotation would lead to better shooting.

FAN SUPPORT: I see it coming back, I do. More fans at road games, even a sellout at Dahlberg. The beauty of this year's team is, most of them will be back--with promising players in Kelby Kamer and Mack Anderson joining the party. Thus I think the enthusiasm we created this year will carry over to next year, and beyond. DeCuire has got this program rolling.

DEFENSE Loved it! LMAO :lol:
I too am favor of a 10 man rotation.
Great write up!

 

[1Iron]

It is important to not forget that before the season even started we lost Donavan Dorsey who was expected to provide not only depth but a legitimate scorer as a starter.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Montana wasn’t built to be a 3-point shooting team, as evidenced by the fact they shot the 2nd fewest # of 3’s in the conference last year. Sadly, they also had the 2nd worst 3-point percentage in the conference, which points to our need for a couple pure “shooters” (who also have to be able to play lockdown defense...is that too much to ask?) :lol:

The result of that is the need/ability to score a ton of our points in the paint. You’d think that would drive up the FG%, yet Montana only finished 5th in the conference in overall FG%...now sure, some of that is related to the poor 3-point shooting, but it still comes down to the bigs being able to consistently make the 6-footers & in shot. When your two “Bigs” go a combined 3-11 with at least 10 of those shots being within 4 feet of the rim, that’s just not gonna win games against better competition. You HAVE to have a way to stop the bleeding on a 9+ minute scoring drought, and that’s to get the ball inside for a “gimme”. Only against Michigan those gimmes were’t gimmes.

As good as our guards are (and they’re VERY good), without a legit threat in the post or a couple pure shooters to shoot OVER the defense effectively we’re just not gonna get to that next level. Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for our lockdown defense, that game on Thursday night had the makings of another Wisconsin or Syracuse game....because offensively we looked pretty much identical.

 

[Spanky2]

Montana wasn’t built to be a 3-point shooting team, as evidenced by the fact they shot the 2nd fewest # of 3’s in the conference last year. Sadly, they also had the 2nd worst 3-point percentage in the conference, which points to our need for a couple pure “shooters” (who also have to be able to play lockdown defense...is that too much to ask?) :lol:

The result of that is the need/ability to score a ton of our points in the paint. You’d think that would drive up the FG%, yet Montana only finished 5th in the conference in overall FG%...now sure, some of that is related to the poor 3-point shooting, but it still comes down to the bigs being able to consistently make the 6-footers & in shot. When your two “Bigs” go a combined 3-11 with at least 10 of those shots being within 4 feet of the rim, that’s just not gonna win games against better competition. You HAVE to have a way to stop the bleeding on a 9+ minute scoring drought, and that’s to get the ball inside for a “gimme”. Only against Michigan those gimmes were’t gimmes.

As good as our guards are (and they’re VERY good), without a legit threat in the post or a couple pure shooters to shoot OVER the defense effectively we’re just not gonna get to that next level. Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for our lockdown defense, that game on Thursday night had the makings of another Wisconsin or Syracuse game....because offensively we looked pretty much identical.

Good post. The bigs simply were ineffective. Another poster used the word timid. Intimidated, timid? I don’t know the answer. It was dreadful when you consider the two guards played great and can compete with any team.

 

[Gaeilge1]

I too was disappointed in the front line play against Michigan. But I thought that the front line play over the last three to four weeks had been lackluster. Particularly Akoh's play fell off after the road trip to Eastern and Idaho. It seemed to me as if he started rushing things and not establishing the position he had gotten earlier in the season. He just seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

Going into next year i would like to see one of the reserve big's take over in the middle with Jamaar playing more in a power forward (4) slot. If he works on developing his 10 to 15 foot jumper he could be a monster at the 4 slot.

 

[cmtgrizzly]

I think offensively Akoh and Krslovic struggled. Defensively I think they played very well. They were playing against legitimate Big 10 players that were bigger than them and had won the Big 10 tourney I think. Not easy to score against. Akoh has to work on his hands-catching the ball in the post, taking it up to the hoop and finishing. He loses the ball alot and frequently it seems the ball is not securely in his hands when he goes to put it in the basket leading to misses.

I dont know how much playing time he had prior to coming to Montana but maybe it wasnt alot and he wasnt as developed as he otherwise would have been. Either way I think he had a great year for us overall and I think he has a ton of potential for next year. Nicholas and Dorsey really make our front line interesting for next year and I think one of them will start and one will push for alot of playing time.

There was nothing lucky about how our guards played. They are that good. With experience they got this year including against Michigan they will be ready to compete against P5 teams and be dominant in the BSC. They just have to keep working hard, keep the chip on their shoulder and dont buy too much into people like me talking them up.

I really do expect, with experience gained, our front court will be significantly better. Bobby just needs to keep hustling for rebounds and playing D. It would be cool if he made 3-4 threes per game too! I do think a roughly 40% 3 point shooter maybe what we are missing but I think we can be successful anyway given what we have. Maybe Bevins or Espe can shoot the lights out if given a role. Maybe Tfalls can as well. He should be great next year.

 

[GrizLA]

I too was disappointed in the front line play against Michigan. But I thought that the front line play over the last three to four weeks had been lackluster. Particularly Akoh's play fell off after the road trip to Eastern and Idaho. It seemed to me as if he started rushing things and not establishing the position he had gotten earlier in the season. He just seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

Going into next year i would like to see one of the reserve big's take over in the middle with Jamaar playing more in a power forward (4) slot. If he works on developing his 10 to 15 foot jumper he could be a monster at the 4 slot.

I think you are only partly right. But, you overlook that Krislovic, Akoh, and Morehouse managed to get Michigan's biggest "big man" and one of the top players in the country in foul trouble and he played just a little over 8 minutes. It was the failure to score under the basket and missing the shots when they were open that cost this game. Sometimes, it seems Akoh is simply not in the game, and this was one of those times. He should be more comfortable next year.

 

[putter]

I really thought that playing Penn St, Pitt, and Washington would have given this team a taste of playing Michigan. The physicality should not have been a surprise nor the size. I did not think they would dominate at all but I did expect a better offensive showing because of the OOC schedule. Hopefully Travis has another challenging one for this team this winter.

 

[GrizLA]

I really thought that playing Penn St, Pitt, and Washington would have given this team a taste of playing Michigan. The physicality should not have been a surprise nor the size. I did not think they would dominate at all but I did expect a better offensive showing because of the OOC schedule. Hopefully Travis has another challenging one for this team this winter.

Montana did not back down from Michigan. In fact, it was a lot closer game than it appears. If you look at the stats, it looks like Montana won the game. It was 10 minutes of not being able to hit shots, many of them wide open, under the basket, and in the paint, that cost the game. The Griz did not look like they were intimidated at all. I'd like Travis to schedule Pac 12, Big 10, ACC, and maybe SEC, or get into a Holiday tourney with them. I'd also like to see Gonzaga and Nevada. A schedule that includes the power conferences might be tougher to get as they have nothing to gain by playing a Big Sky school, at least, that is the general consensus.

 

[AZGrizFan]

I really thought that playing Penn St, Pitt, and Washington would have given this team a taste of playing Michigan. The physicality should not have been a surprise nor the size. I did not think they would dominate at all but I did expect a better offensive showing because of the OOC schedule. Hopefully Travis has another challenging one for this team this winter.

Montana did not back down from Michigan. In fact, it was a lot closer game than it appears. If you look at the stats, it looks like Montana won the game. It was 10 minutes of not being able to hit shots, many of them wide open, under the basket, and in the paint, that cost the game. The Griz did not look like they were intimidated at all. I'd like Travis to schedule Pac 12, Big 10, ACC, and maybe SEC, or get into a Holiday tourney with them. I'd also like to see Gonzaga and Nevada. A schedule that includes the power conferences might be tougher to get as they have nothing to gain by playing a Big Sky school, at least, that is the general consensus.

Which stats would those be? They shot 39% in the first half, just 25% in the 2nd half, for a combined 32% for the game. Michigans numbers were 48/40/45. Michigan shot 31% from three point range (5-16) while Montana was just 20% (3-15). Montana committed 21 personal fouls, to just 14 for Michigan, which led to a distinct disparity at the line 8 FT to 14 for Michigan. Montana was perfect at the line in the first half but only 4-7 when they needed points desperately. Conversely, Michigan was just 3-8 From the charity stripe in the first half but 11-14 down the stretch when Montana was in desperation foul mode. The only two meaningful statistics the Griz performe better in were steals and turnovers. So, I would conclude the stats very clearly point out who won the game....

 

[mtgrizfankb]

catch 22 on what to do for scheduling. Schedule a bunch of power schools and have chances at resume builders? catch to that is if you do loose them all or all but one or two. then you have a poor OOC record and unless your perfect or near it in conf...you end up with a 15 or 16 seed if you make the tourney. scheduling is very difficult for a true mid major. I think we did enough this year, that if we are able to get an upset in OOC and play another solid conf like this year we could be looking closer to a 11-12 seed. Thats all ifs but I don't see TD slowing down our scheduling at all.

As for the shooting. Timmy Falls should help with the shooting being another year of experience...he has a good shot and quick release from deep. Oguine of course can shoot the 3 as he showed the second half of this year. Bobby needs to be a LOT more consistent. He cant drive or finish at the basket but he plays awesome D. He needs to be that true arc threat on the Offensive end. Dorsey can also shoot which will extend the D more so than Fab was able to do. We will miss Fab down low as far as D goes though

 

[Spanky2]

catch 22 on what to do for scheduling. Schedule a bunch of power schools and have chances at resume builders? catch to that is if you do loose them all or all but one or two. then you have a poor OOC record and unless your perfect or near it in conf...you end up with a 15 or 16 seed if you make the tourney. scheduling is very difficult for a true mid major. I think we did enough this year, that if we are able to get an upset in OOC and play another solid conf like this year we could be looking closer to a 11-12 seed. Thats all ifs but I don't see TD slowing down our scheduling at all.

As for the shooting. Timmy Falls should help with the shooting being another year of experience...he has a good shot and quick release from deep. Oguine of course can shoot the 3 as he showed the second half of this year. Bobby needs to be a LOT more consistent. He cant drive or finish at the basket but he plays awesome D. He needs to be that true arc threat on the Offensive end. Dorsey can also shoot which will extend the D more so than Fab was able to do. We will miss Fab down low as far as D goes though

My Griz....its not a matter of resume building. If we continue to play top teams on a regular basis, we will improve and eventually start beating them. Our tournament seeding will begin to improve at that point. This assumes Travis stays a couple more years.

 

[GrizLA]

I really thought that playing Penn St, Pitt, and Washington would have given this team a taste of playing Michigan. The physicality should not have been a surprise nor the size. I did not think they would dominate at all but I did expect a better offensive showing because of the OOC schedule. Hopefully Travis has another challenging one for this team this winter.

Montana did not back down from Michigan. In fact, it was a lot closer game than it appears. If you look at the stats, it looks like Montana won the game. It was 10 minutes of not being able to hit shots, many of them wide open, under the basket, and in the paint, that cost the game. The Griz did not look like they were intimidated at all. I'd like Travis to schedule Pac 12, Big 10, ACC, and maybe SEC, or get into a Holiday tourney with them. I'd also like to see Gonzaga and Nevada. A schedule that includes the power conferences might be tougher to get as they have nothing to gain by playing a Big Sky school, at least, that is the general consensus.

Which stats would those be? They shot 39% in the first half, just 25% in the 2nd half, for a combined 32% for the game. Michigans numbers were 48/40/45. Michigan shot 31% from three point range (5-16) while Montana was just 20% (3-15). Montana committed 21 personal fouls, to just 14 for Michigan, which led to a distinct disparity at the line 8 FT to 14 for Michigan. Montana was perfect at the line in the first half but only 4-7 when they needed points desperately. Conversely, Michigan was just 3-8 From the charity stripe in the first half but 11-14 down the stretch when Montana was in desperation foul mode. The only two meaningful statistics the Griz performe better in were steals and turnovers. So, I would conclude the stats very clearly point out who won the game....

Talk to DeCuire...I was nearly quoting him, but you forget where in the game most of the fouls were called and on whom. since the steals and turnovers favored the Griz, that is leading to my point that they outplayed Michigan but failed to score when they were getting those breaks but not due so much to Michigan as rushing the shots. I believe Montana did the same against Sac.St, and a couple of other games. This was not a loss to a better team. This was just another loss at the wrong time.

 

[cmtgrizzly]

catch 22 on what to do for scheduling. Schedule a bunch of power schools and have chances at resume builders? catch to that is if you do loose them all or all but one or two. then you have a poor OOC record and unless your perfect or near it in conf...you end up with a 15 or 16 seed if you make the tourney. scheduling is very difficult for a true mid major. I think we did enough this year, that if we are able to get an upset in OOC and play another solid conf like this year we could be looking closer to a 11-12 seed. Thats all ifs but I don't see TD slowing down our scheduling at all.

As for the shooting. Timmy Falls should help with the shooting being another year of experience...he has a good shot and quick release from deep. Oguine of course can shoot the 3 as he showed the second half of this year. Bobby needs to be a LOT more consistent. He cant drive or finish at the basket but he plays awesome D. He needs to be that true arc threat on the Offensive end. Dorsey can also shoot which will extend the D more so than Fab was able to do. We will miss Fab down low as far as D goes though

My Griz....its not a matter of resume building. If we continue to play top teams on a regular basis, we will improve and eventually start beating them. Our tournament seeding will begin to improve at that point. This assumes Travis stays a couple more years.

I agree with scheduling tough in the OOC period. Maybe we can take a trip to the triangle and play Duke, UNC and NC State. I am sure they all would be eager to make a spot in their schedule for us. Seriously though I think TD will schedule an overall very difficult OOC line-up with some less difficult games in there as well such as an in state NAIA game, though Carroll pushed us really hard this year.

I really want to know if we are good or not by playing good P5 schools (within reason) during OOC. I dont care if it looks like we are good by playing weaker teams in the OOC if we just get drilled in the national tourney.

 

[mtgrizrule]

With the talent the GRIZ have returning next season, and us knowing what is keeping the GRIZ from being a top 25 program, the off season training and development should be pretty easy.

The team has only 1 major weakness. I'd be instructing every player to commit to 500+ mid range and 3 point shots per day, with 25% to 50% of those shots being contested (shooting over tall obstacles). Shooting over a 7' to 10' long pole or broom stick is very effective, that can be done by oneself.

The likes of Oguine and Rorie, focusing on ball distribution as well.

Moorehead to add some ball handling and finishing moves to his offense.

Pridgett to just add a consistent 3 point shot and better FT shooting to his game (he would be the GRIZ most complete player, if he adds those).

Akoh- establish a mid range jumper, defensive footwork, and FT shooting.

Nicholas- FT shooting, perimeter shooting, and add some bulk.

Falls- Just improve on a little of everything, and some strength to finish stronger. I can see him gradually improving each off season, like Jordan Gregory did. I hope Falls and Nicholas train together all off season, rather it be in MT, CA, or TX. I feel those 2 can drive one another, just like Rorie and Oguine drive one another.

Dorsey- just get healthy kid. We will really need him next season. Hell, we needed him this season.

As for the rest of the roster, just bust ass every way possible to compete for valuable rotation time. I would love to see another 1 to 3 players emerge, to force DeCuire's hand to have 10 man rotation that he can rely on. The size of Besovic and Kramer is encouraging as well. I hope 1 or both will develop an inside game, and defensive footwork.

Seriously, if the majority of the returning roster commits 100% to whatever DeCuire wants them to do in the off season, this team could be a major player next season. How many of the players have a Jordan Gregory like commitment to the off season? Who will it be? My bet is Falls and Nicholas as for the guys with a lot to prove still. Yes, I know Rorie and Oguine will improve their games in the off season.

 

[AZGrizFan]

since the steals and turnovers favored the Griz, that is leading to my point that they outplayed Michigan but failed to score when they were getting those breaks but not due so much to Michigan as rushing the shots. I believe Montana did the same against Sac.St, and a couple of other games. This was not a loss to a better team. This was just another loss at the wrong time.

Oh on that we agree. That game was Montana's to win. Better guard play, better defense...but for a couple baskets that had gone in, we wouldn't have had to resort to desperation fouling with 2 minutes to go.

 

[citygriz]

So many wild cards for next year:

--Will Dorsey play?
--Will Mack Anderson contribute as a true freshman, as TFalls did this year?
--How much will Kelby Kramer contribute as a redshirt frosh?
--How much improvement will we see from Nicholas, Falls and others who return from this year's eight-man rotation?
--How much from the bench players we didn't see, especially Espe?

If all those turn out to be positives, next year's team will be off-the-charts Montana good.

Then: Our success this year comes just in time for a bonanza recruiting year, five scholarships open for the 2019 high school class. Other programs are already getting verbals from this class, so let the rumor mill begin. That in itself should be a fun ride.