Talk about inflection points in a basketball program.
Flash back to 2005-06. Under Krysko, the Griz had just come within one half of reaching the Sweet 16. But in one of the worst kept secrets, Krysko's wife was not happy in Missoula, and we all knew he was destined for bigger and better things, probably in the NBA. Likely one of his two assistants, Brad Huse or Wayne Tinkle, would ascend to the head coaching position. But, lo! The Bobs swooped in and grabbed the guy I thought was the better choice, Brad Huse. Huse was smart, disciplined, and more than anything, had the enduring respect and friendship of Krysko. My first thought? Rats! We lost the better guy. Now we're stuck with Tinks. Good luck to us.
But life is full of surprises, no? When I saw Tinks pre-game in the lobby at the USF Gym, talking to a couple of key AAU coaches in the Bay Area, I changed my mind. He had a commanding presence, and undiluted charm. You could see these AAU coaches genuinely liked him. He connected. And once Bill Evans arrived with his bag of x's and o's, the Griz were set for some wonderful success, the while the Bobcats floundered under Huse's rigidity, and evident lack of recruiting success.
But a decade later, it appears the Cats have their guy in Brian Fish. The guy can recruit. He got a guy we were reported to have wanted, Mandrell Worthy. Tyler Hall is destined to be one of their best ever. To go on the road and be competitive at Washington State and at Utah has caught my attention. And I say--great! While we've pretty much owned them for a decade, this isn't really what you want in a strong rivalry. You want an enemy, a formidable foe, because there's nothing like an enemy to rally Griz fans. Looks like the Cats are getting there. And given what we know DeCuire is doing with our program, this should be fun. I'm looking forward to some packed arenas when these two programs meet.
Flash back to 2005-06. Under Krysko, the Griz had just come within one half of reaching the Sweet 16. But in one of the worst kept secrets, Krysko's wife was not happy in Missoula, and we all knew he was destined for bigger and better things, probably in the NBA. Likely one of his two assistants, Brad Huse or Wayne Tinkle, would ascend to the head coaching position. But, lo! The Bobs swooped in and grabbed the guy I thought was the better choice, Brad Huse. Huse was smart, disciplined, and more than anything, had the enduring respect and friendship of Krysko. My first thought? Rats! We lost the better guy. Now we're stuck with Tinks. Good luck to us.
But life is full of surprises, no? When I saw Tinks pre-game in the lobby at the USF Gym, talking to a couple of key AAU coaches in the Bay Area, I changed my mind. He had a commanding presence, and undiluted charm. You could see these AAU coaches genuinely liked him. He connected. And once Bill Evans arrived with his bag of x's and o's, the Griz were set for some wonderful success, the while the Bobcats floundered under Huse's rigidity, and evident lack of recruiting success.
But a decade later, it appears the Cats have their guy in Brian Fish. The guy can recruit. He got a guy we were reported to have wanted, Mandrell Worthy. Tyler Hall is destined to be one of their best ever. To go on the road and be competitive at Washington State and at Utah has caught my attention. And I say--great! While we've pretty much owned them for a decade, this isn't really what you want in a strong rivalry. You want an enemy, a formidable foe, because there's nothing like an enemy to rally Griz fans. Looks like the Cats are getting there. And given what we know DeCuire is doing with our program, this should be fun. I'm looking forward to some packed arenas when these two programs meet.