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Dear Travis

Pump the brakes! Back away from the ledge! Conference starts tonight. Lets see what happens on this road trip.
 
Big Sage said:
Pump the brakes! Back away from the ledge! Conference starts tonight. Lets see what happens on this road trip.

Conference games for the Griz start tomorrow, not tonight. So, no need to pump the breaks, and still time to jump off the ledge.
 
Big Sage said:
Pump the brakes! Back away from the ledge! Conference starts tonight. Lets see what happens on this road trip.
Good point wait/see. PAC12 v BigSky competitiveness? Wait a minute, Ford v Ferrari?
 
Travis is a good coach and we are lucky to have him. There are other factors here, including a screwed up recruiting year. We have a very young team. Yes, he needs a quality big to round out this roster, but how does he out recruit the P5 for those guys? And yes they need to loosen up on offense.
 
GrizWhiz said:
astutegriz said:
I support Travis even through this low. I'm not jumping ship. I appreciate the winning during his career. I appreciate his discipline, sitting someone when they need it. I appreciate his recruiting and emphasis on defense. I appreciate the team is VERY young and experience means a lot. I appreciate offense and consistency come later, particularly with youth. I could go on. I acknowledge things are not perfect, but choose to appreciate the many great things we have.

It feels lonely here. Anyone with me?

:thumb:

I support Travis and think most people here do as well. He is a good coach and has kept the program very strong in the BigSky. I think the sentiment is less Anti-Travis and more Anti-Stagnation and Settling for a Plateau. We could do far worse then Travis for sure and 90% of programs would love to have what Montana has. That being said, its starting to feel a bit like how the Bengals were for a long time with Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton. He kept that team relevant most years, but at the same time they always had a pretty obvious cap on what they could achieve. I think people want to see some evidence that their is innovation taking place to give the program the opportunity to grow beyond past levels of success.
 
I'm not big on the pandemic excuse because every school in the country has gone through the same pandemic.

And whether we're young (though Owens, DCH and Anderson are juniors) or small, that was not Montgomery's point.

It was: "I could not diagram the Montana offense." Which is to say, regardless of how small or young the team was, he could not identify an offense.

That is the point, as it has been on this board for the past several years, with several different posters having individual complaints about this offense, or lack of it.

Mine, mainly: Very little movement off the ball--cuts to the basket, movement along the baseline, baseline screens, out-of-bounds plays. Not having a set play for your leading scorer to get a field goal until the second half--inexcusable.

So here's another suggestion.

Montana is the not the first school to face a size and skill deficiency. Take Pete Carril of Princeton, the "Yoda of College Basketball." Sure, he was competing against peers in the Ivy League, but not when it got to the post-season where he won several games, including an NIT championship. His offense gave bigger schools fits.

Which makes me wonder.. I work very close to Twitter headquarters. The neighborhood used to be a beehive of activity. But today? A ghost town. Everybody's working from home.

Why couldn't we go get a Mike Montgomery or a Pete Carril (a spry 91 now) to coach offense via Zoom? Why do we need somebody in person? I bet I could come up with a list of a dozen retired coaches who would love to fill this role.

And understand, I am still a big fan of DeCuire. He's a class guy, a wonderful representative of our school. You can't watch a TV broadcast without them mentioning his 100% graduation rate. He can recruit, and his kids play defense with a passion. Plus, they never quit, even down 40. I love that about this team.

It's just that as individuals, if we're to be successful, we have to assess our strengths and weaknesses. Offense seems to be DeCuire's. If he can remedy that deficiency, he'll once again be listed among the rising young coaches in all of college basketball.
 
I may be in the minority, but I don't think half court offense is our biggest issue. Points per half-court possession are actually pretty good and we have one of the lowest turnover rates in the country. Yes, the half-court offense could be better, but I think the biggest issue is that we don't supplement our half-court offense with points from other sources. We are literally last in the country in offensive rebound percentage and last in the BSC in points per game from offensive rebounds. Is this due to placing a high priority on transition defense? I don't know. We are also near the bottom in the country and 10/11 in the BSC in transition points per game. In other words, we pretty much grind for every point we get.

So unless you have a DUDE or a pair of DUDES (which I don't think we have this year) and with no ability to get an easy basket here or there, droughts are going to be inevitable.
 
I think tomorrow’s night game against SacSt will tell a lot about the character of this team and whether or not Travis has lost this team. My expectation is they will win and win comfortably. I do not know what Sac’s record is so I’m going out on a limb here but Travis, the coaching staff and more importantly the team are embarrassed by their performance against Oregon. That’s the short term issue.

The bigger problem Travis and the staff face is the total lack of any inside game. Not just offensively but rebounding in particular. Just finished watching Ohio St upset Duke. Not that we’re in a class with either of these teams but it’s plan to see the offense starts on the defensive end. If your continually bringing the ball up the court and the defense is set you’ve forced yourself into running a set offense that the other team for the most part is prepared for. Watching today’s game (Duke/Ohio St.) it’s balls to the wall. If you can into transition before the defense is set and go to the basket most likely the offense will get the call. There’s no magic here, we’re 10 deep with our bench. If we push the ball and go the rim the other team is going to run out of gas and get into foul trouble but with the depth we have we can run all day.
This just my observation and I may be all wet but we’re seeing now just isn’t working.
 
Buttegrizzle said:
Travis is a good coach and we are lucky to have him. There are other factors here, including a screwed up recruiting year. We have a very young team. Yes, he needs a quality big to round out this roster, but how does he out recruit the P5 for those guys? And yes they need to loosen up on offense.

How do you figure we have a young team?

Owens - Junior
Martin - Junior
Vasquez - Junior
Parker - Senior
Beasley - Sophomore
Bannan - Sophomore
Whitney - Sophomore
Anderson - Senior
Blakeney - senior
Hollinger - Junior

That, to me, does NOT look like a “young” team. 3 seniors, 4 juniors and 3 sophmores.
 
GrizBall said:
I may be in the minority, but I don't think half court offense is our biggest issue. Points per half-court possession are actually pretty good and we have one of the lowest turnover rates in the country. Yes, the half-court offense could be better, but I think the biggest issue is that we don't supplement our half-court offense with points from other sources. We are literally last in the country in offensive rebound percentage and last in the BSC in points per game from offensive rebounds. Is this due to placing a high priority on transition defense? I don't know. We are also near the bottom in the country and 10/11 in the BSC in transition points per game. In other words, we pretty much grind for every point we get.

So unless you have a DUDE or a pair of DUDES (which I don't think we have this year) and with no ability to get an easy basket here or there, droughts are going to be inevitable.

Griz are a terrible rebounding team period. Against D1 teams, they are being outrebounded by nearly 16 boards per game. On the offensive end, they are getting outrebounded 10-5. This is why I find it difficult to believe that this team can finish near the top of the BSC.
 
AZGrizFan said:
Buttegrizzle said:
Travis is a good coach and we are lucky to have him. There are other factors here, including a screwed up recruiting year. We have a very young team. Yes, he needs a quality big to round out this roster, but how does he out recruit the P5 for those guys? And yes they need to loosen up on offense.

How do you figure we have a young team?

Owens - Junior
Martin - Junior
Vasquez - Junior
Parker - Senior
Beasley - Sophomore
Bannan - Sophomore
Whitney - Sophomore
Anderson - Senior
Blakeney - senior
Hollinger - Junior

That, to me, does NOT look like a “young” team. 3 seniors, 4 juniors and 3 sophmores.

Last year we were somewhere near the TOP FIVE youngest teams for starters in the nation. Not one person in the nation lost eligibility from last year due to COVID. So, in terms of eligibility, I believe we have 1 senior, 2 juniors, 4 sophomores, 3 freshmen. We start 3 freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. And before you say we are older, remember that "on average" the players across the nation are nearly a year older than last year. There are a ton of five or six year seniors (redshirt + COVID year) and four or five year juniors playing this year.

Should we be better than last year - absolutely. But so should most everyone else since nobody lost eligibility.
 
I don’t recall Monty having a particularly challenging non-conference schedule. But my recollection ain’t what it was when I had 20 or 30 less years to recall.

I’m with astute. I’m not ready to pull the plug. Jesus, we could end up with another Pat Kennedy…
 
I have not read all the posts, at this point but do have an observation, especially when we play up a notch, seams players on Travis's teams seem to play as individuals and not as a team. PS - run the damn ball, outlet, center, side, key & back if necessary! Yes that was the Kinzer fast break back in the late 60s and early 70s at Helena High! Got him a State Championship in 69-70 and earlier in Gillette WY! Go Griz
 
Sport said:
I think tomorrow’s night game against SacSt will tell a lot about the character of this team and whether or not Travis has lost this team. My expectation is they will win and win comfortably. I do not know what Sac’s record is so I’m going out on a limb here but Travis, the coaching staff and more importantly the team are embarrassed by their performance against Oregon. That’s the short term issue.

The bigger problem Travis and the staff face is the total lack of any inside game. Not just offensively but rebounding in particular. Just finished watching Ohio St upset Duke. Not that we’re in a class with either of these teams but it’s plan to see the offense starts on the defensive end. If your continually bringing the ball up the court and the defense is set you’ve forced yourself into running a set offense that the other team for the most part is prepared for. Watching today’s game (Duke/Ohio St.) it’s balls to the wall. If you can into transition before the defense is set and go to the basket most likely the offense will get the call. There’s no magic here, we’re 10 deep with our bench. If we push the ball and go the rim the other team is going to run out of gas and get into foul trouble but with the depth we have we can run all day.
This just my observation and I may be all wet but we’re seeing now just isn’t working.

Sacramento State will be playing hard, if only to prove that the Coach, who had to resign due to illness, did a good job. Katz will be missed. He was a great coach for a school, that most times, just doesn't pay any attention.
 
GrizLA said:
Sport said:
I think tomorrow’s night game against SacSt will tell a lot about the character of this team and whether or not Travis has lost this team. My expectation is they will win and win comfortably. I do not know what Sac’s record is so I’m going out on a limb here but Travis, the coaching staff and more importantly the team are embarrassed by their performance against Oregon. That’s the short term issue.

The bigger problem Travis and the staff face is the total lack of any inside game. Not just offensively but rebounding in particular. Just finished watching Ohio St upset Duke. Not that we’re in a class with either of these teams but it’s plan to see the offense starts on the defensive end. If your continually bringing the ball up the court and the defense is set you’ve forced yourself into running a set offense that the other team for the most part is prepared for. Watching today’s game (Duke/Ohio St.) it’s balls to the wall. If you can into transition before the defense is set and go to the basket most likely the offense will get the call. There’s no magic here, we’re 10 deep with our bench. If we push the ball and go the rim the other team is going to run out of gas and get into foul trouble but with the depth we have we can run all day.
This just my observation and I may be all wet but we’re seeing now just isn’t working.

Sacramento State will be playing hard, if only to prove that the Coach, who had to resign due to illness, did a good job. Katz will be missed. He was a great coach for a school, that most times, just doesn't pay any attention.

On this I will agree wholeheartedly.......one of the reasons I read this board is our board has one post every 4 or 5 months......Katz is an even better man than he was a coach too....
 
Sport said:
I think tomorrow’s night game against SacSt will tell a lot about the character of this team and whether or not Travis has lost this team. My expectation is they will win and win comfortably. I do not know what Sac’s record is so I’m going out on a limb here but Travis, the coaching staff and more importantly the team are embarrassed by their performance against Oregon. That’s the short term issue.

The bigger problem Travis and the staff face is the total lack of any inside game. Not just offensively but rebounding in particular. Just finished watching Ohio St upset Duke. Not that we’re in a class with either of these teams but it’s plan to see the offense starts on the defensive end. If your continually bringing the ball up the court and the defense is set you’ve forced yourself into running a set offense that the other team for the most part is prepared for. Watching today’s game (Duke/Ohio St.) it’s balls to the wall. If you can into transition before the defense is set and go to the basket most likely the offense will get the call. There’s no magic here, we’re 10 deep with our bench. If we push the ball and go the rim the other team is going to run out of gas and get into foul trouble but with the depth we have we can run all day.
This just my observation and I may be all wet but we’re seeing now just isn’t working.
Think there's a lot to this post and the prior one regarding offensive boards and preventing opponent transition. When you have 4 guys around the 3 point line and not even the weak side corner guy goes after O boards you won't get many. If they looked to push it after a D rebound even once in a while they might get some easier looks in transition but they just don't . Unfortunately Martin looks like the only guy that can take anyone off the dribble in the half court and Blakeney has a bad shoulder so I wouldn't count on much inside. Looked like any contact caused him a lot of pain last Friday. I'm in the choir wishing for an offensive revamp as watching so many possessions end with long jumpers gets old.
 
NOTE: I created a thread for this, but am re-posting it here per request from Buttegrizzle, with correx (Thanks, TrueGriz).

The palpable irony of the facts is clear: Montana’s greatest (statistically speaking) road win over a Power 5 university was its 2002, 70-68 win over the then 19th-ranked Stanford Cardinal. The tiny handful of other historic wins (including Wayne Tinkle’s vs. Oregon in 2009 and vs. UCLA in 2010; Mike Montgomery’s win over Kansas St. in 1978) pale by comparison.

That team’s coach? Pat Kennedy, whose 23-35 (.397) Montana career lasted a mere two seasons. A week earlier, Kennedy’s Griz had given visiting Gonzaga a home-court scare, before losing 75-67. After that game, Kennedy spoke at length about how he planned to turn the Grizzlies into a regional and nationally recognized mid-major power on a level equal to the Zags. Ummm, ok. The more lasting effect: Gonzaga has never played another game in Missoula.

Three years later, then-coach Larry Krystkowiak’s upstart Griz demolished the Cardinal 88-69 in Stanford’s last-ever visit to Missoula. Krysko departed shortly thereafter, making certain to emphasize he was leaving his alma mater because the salaries for him and his coaches were (paraphrase here) grossly insufficient. True. True.

Sadly (I guess… nothing we locals can do about salaries) the Montana Grizzlies and Missoula have been unable to reach the college basketball heights equal to Gonzaga and Spokane, a mere 200 miles west. Nevertheless, Missoula’s fans have fared very well when compared to most very small (and UM is small) schools and environs nationally, with two NCAA appearances by Krysko’s Griz, three (and a CIT home-court appearance) by succeeding coach Wayne Tinkle’s Griz, and two NCAA and an NIT plus a CIT appearance by Travis DeCuire’s Griz teams. Those 11 post-season appearances since 2005 total 3 more than the previous six coaches racked up combined.

In total, however: Very impressive. Missoula and UM fans have had it good.

In truth, the Montana coaches and their records, listed below, except Holst and Kennedy, ALL established roots in Missoula before departing and having pretty illustrious careers as major collegiate coaches. BUT, all of them… every single one of them, had teams suffer “embarrassing” 30-to-47 point losses vs. major collegiate competition. The wins vs Power 5 teams were cool, but few & far between. Nonetheless, overall, thanks to those coaches, the Montana Griz have been very, very good.

I’ve personally watched well over 95% of Montana’s home games since Heathcote’s first season. I know this: there are a lot of universities and their fans around the country who openly envy what Montana’s fans have taken for granted over the last 50-plus seasons.

Let the records below speak the truth. But, a point of emphasis: current Montana Coach, Travis DeCuire’s record has placed him as an EQUAL, in EVERY category. He belongs (by all standards and all categories) in the illustrious Montana Coaching Tree. His three Big Sky championships ties Wayne Tinkle atop the list. No one’s going to hear criticism of coach DeCuire and his staff from me.

MONTANA GRIZZLIES – POST-SEASON APPEARANCES
Jud Heathcote 1971-76 (5 seasons): 80-23 – .597
Big Sky Championships: ONE
Post-Season record: 1-2: 1975 – Beat Utah St 69-63; lost to UCLA 67-64; lost to UNLV 75-67).
Jim Brandenburg 1976-78 (2 seasons): 26-29 (variable, due to forfeits)
Big Sky Championships: ONE 1978 (Griz lost tourney title game 62-55 OT vs Weber State in Missoula)
Post-Season record: Zero.
Mike Montgomery 1978-86 (8 seasons): 155-76 – .669
Big Sky Championships: ZERO
Post-Season record: 0-2 Two NIT invites: 1985—Lost to UCLA, 78-47; 1986--Lost to TCU, 76-69 in Missoula.
Stew Morrill 1986-91 (5 seasons): 98-51 – .652
Big Sky Championships: ONE
Post-Season record: 0-1. 1991--Lost 99-65 to UNLV.
Blaine Taylor 1991-98 (7 seasons): 141-66 .680
Big Sky Championships: TWO (1992 in Missoula, 1997 in Flagstaff)
Post-Season record: 0-3. 1992—Lost 78-68 to Florida State; Lost 90-60 to UTEP in NIT; 1997—Lost 92-54 to Kentucky.
Don Holst 1988-2002 (4 seasons): 57-56 .504
Big Sky Championships: ONE
Post-Season record: 0-1. 2001—Lost 81-62 to Oregon.
Pat Kennedy 2002-04 (2 seasons): 23-35 .397
Big Sky Championships: ZERO
Post-Season appearances/record: Zero.
Larry Krystkowiak 2004-06 (2 seasons): 42-20 .677
Big Sky Championships: TWO
Post-Season record: 1-2. 2005—Lost 88-77 to Washington; 2006—Beat Nevada 87-79, Lost 69-56 to Boston College.
Wayne Tinkle 2006-2014 (8 seasons): 158-91 .635
Big Sky Championships: THREE
Post-Season record: 0-4 2010—Lost 62-57 to New Mexico; 2011—Lost 87-76 to Duquesne in CBI tourney in Missoula; 2012—Lost 73-49 to Wisconsin; 2014—Lost 81-34 to Syracuse.
Travis DeCuire 2014-Current (8th season) 145-87 .628
Big Sky Championships: THREE.
Post-Season record: 0-4. 2015—Lost 81-64 to Texas A&M in NIT; 2016—Lost 79-75 to Nevada in NIT; 2018—Lost 61-47 to Michigan; 2019—Lost 74-55 to Michigan.
 
I think the Griz will surprise some people this season. Maybe even a few on this message board.

We’re about two or three excellent 6’8” players away from competing with Mississippi State (and who isn’t?), but I’m pretty confident that Travis will continue to build the program the right way.
 
citay said:
I don't have to tell you, last night was a disaster. A humiliation. For a school with a proud basketball tradition--of which you are a big part--this was a major major embarrassment.

I watched the game on the Pac-12 network, where your mentor, Mike Montgomery, did the color analysis. Monty is a huge fan of yours, as you know. He urged Cal to hire you as their head coach when he retired. If there is anybody who wants to see you succeed more than I do, it is Mike Montgomery.

And yet half way through the second half last night he delivered a devastating one-liner that's still ricocheting through my brain: "I cannot diagram the Montana offense."

You should take note of that statement, not only because it comes from Mike Montgomery, but because it echoes many of the complaints on this board about our offense: Where's the up-tempo offense Travis promised? Why do we keep enduring these long scoring droughts? Why in the three-point era do we shoot fewer three's than almost any other team in the country? Where is our low-post offense? Where is the movement off the ball? Why is it that in a game against Oregon our leading scorer doesn't get his first field goal until the second half?

Yes, I resemble those comments!

So let me give you some advice from my business-school training: Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!

When you first took over this program, you did just that. In a remarkable display of wisdom and maturity for a rookie head coach, you went out and hired a guy who had been a head coach at three different schools, a guy who by accomplishment was probably at least as deserving as you to be the head coach at Montana: Ken Bone.

Bone came to this program with a reputation as one of the most efficient offensive coaches in the country. (Duly noted, too, that he coached Klay Thompson at Washington State.) He left after two years and is now an assistant coach at Pepperdine.

So my advice to you: Go out and find another Ken Bone. A guy who can essentially be the offensive coordinator. A guy who can infuse this program with what it so acutely now lacks: An offensive identity.

And if you don't want to listen to some crankbutt from a fan board, then take it from a guy who called it out on the Pac-12 Network last night, a guy you respect, your mentor, Mike Montgomery.

Sorry to have to remind you. I posted this in November.
 
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