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Future is Bright

I know we are only about halfway through the season and don't want to start looking ahead... but just looking at the make up of this roster I am really excited for the next several years. We only have 3 seniors, and as much as I love Mac, between him and Blakeney we just need a big body who can come in and bump to take their minutes next year. It's a position, I know we have talked about this, can easily be upgraded with a quality transfer.

The biggest hit will be Parker, however, this is such a guard heavy team that I believe you could just split his minutes up between the trio of Whitney, Beasley, and especially Vasquez that without much work we can figure out the rotation. That is also without assuming anyone steps up or comes in.

I think Bannan is one of the best bigs we have gotten as a freshman in a minute. If our juniors and sophomores continue to progress and we bring in a big, tough body to rebound and play D next to Bannan I can see us being one of the premier Mid-Major programs again for the next couple years.

Just bored at work and thought I'd share some thoughts.
 
RockyGriz8844 said:
I know we are only about halfway through the season and don't want to start looking ahead... but just looking at the make up of this roster I am really excited for the next several years. We only have 3 seniors, and as much as I love Mac, between him and Blakeney we just need a big body who can come in and bump to take their minutes next year. It's a position, I know we have talked about this, can easily be upgraded with a quality transfer.

The biggest hit will be Parker, however, this is such a guard heavy team that I believe you could just split his minutes up between the trio of Whitney, Beasley, and especially Vasquez that without much work we can figure out the rotation. That is also without assuming anyone steps up or comes in.

I think Bannan is one of the best bigs we have gotten as a freshman in a minute. If our juniors and sophomores continue to progress and we bring in a big, tough body to rebound and play D next to Bannan I can see us being one of the premier Mid-Major programs again for the next couple years.

Just bored at work and thought I'd share some thoughts.
They're all allowed to take an additional year of eligibility if they choose to. I wouldn't rule out that Mack and Parker wouldn't return to the team next year. I think Mack has a job in line so he may pass on it, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Parker take it. And I believe Blakeney is using his additional year this season, however I agree that the futures bright. SUU is leaving, the cats are graduating their 3 best players, Weber's graduating their top 2. We'll be one of the oldest teams in the conference next season. All we'll need is a transfer big man and we'll be set for next season.
 
Great post! I love the positive perspective and agree.

Some comments. I think Anderson will decide to return. I hope Parker does as well, but we will see if it is here or somewhere else. Blakeney will be out of eligibility.

A big transfer would indeed be huge (pun intended). Blakeney was to be that addition this year, but has been cursed first by his shoulder, then by his broken hand. Hopefully he rounds back in February for a March run. Travis doesn't like the portal and won't look at anyone putting their name in mid-season (quitting on their team). So this will be an unknown until after the season, and I don't know if we have room unless someone else leaves.

We will be more experienced next year assuming we keep everyone in tact, but we will still be young. Eligibility wise, most of the time we start three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. So three sophomores, a junior and a senior is still on the average to younger side next year.
 
astutegriz said:
Great post! I love the positive perspective and agree.

Some comments. I think Anderson will decide to return. I hope Parker does as well, but we will see if it is here or somewhere else. Blakeney will be out of eligibility.

A big transfer would indeed be huge (pun intended). Blakeney was to be that addition this year, but has been cursed first by his shoulder, then by his broken hand. Hopefully he rounds back in February for a March run. Travis doesn't like the portal and won't look at anyone putting their name in mid-season (quitting on their team). So this will be an unknown until after the season, and I don't know if we have room unless someone else leaves.

We will be more experienced next year assuming we keep everyone in tact, but we will still be young. Eligibility wise, most of the time we start three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. So three sophomores, a junior and a senior is still on the average to younger side next year.
I have heard that Mack will "probably" return. He might not be a great offensive player, and is a foul magnet, but he hustles his ass off and knows and appreciates what it means to be Grizzly.
 
maroonandsilver said:
astutegriz said:
Great post! I love the positive perspective and agree.

Some comments. I think Anderson will decide to return. I hope Parker does as well, but we will see if it is here or somewhere else. Blakeney will be out of eligibility.

A big transfer would indeed be huge (pun intended). Blakeney was to be that addition this year, but has been cursed first by his shoulder, then by his broken hand. Hopefully he rounds back in February for a March run. Travis doesn't like the portal and won't look at anyone putting their name in mid-season (quitting on their team). So this will be an unknown until after the season, and I don't know if we have room unless someone else leaves.

We will be more experienced next year assuming we keep everyone in tact, but we will still be young. Eligibility wise, most of the time we start three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. So three sophomores, a junior and a senior is still on the average to younger side next year.
I have heard that Mack will "probably" return. He might not be a great offensive player, and is a foul magnet, but he hustles his ass off and knows and appreciates what it means to be Grizzly.

Completely agree, Mack plays his ass off and is a great asset not only on floor but off the floor as well. Hope he comes back! I think with the makeup of our team and how hard it is to find bigs we would actually miss Mack more than Parker
 
Problem I see is our "young" guys don't seem to take the next step.

Owens, Vasquez, DCH class all played and produced two years ago. DCH Freshman of the Year in conference and at least one Player of the Week. Owens a solid contributor and got some starts. Vasquez seemed polished and had some very good games. Last year Vasquez shot well DCH hardly played and Owens seemed the same. This year? Vasquez hardly playing, Owens hot and cold with limited minutes and DCH some good games....but shouldn't we expect some type of conference honors this year for a former Freshman of the Year.

Whitney/Beasley class......two young skilled (smaller) guards that played well last year and have taken starting positions (one from Vasquez) this year. Are they going to get bigger, quicker and that much better over 4 years than they were as true frosh?

Mack Anderson coming back? I like him for the reasons many state....but he still has marginal hands and inside footwork, makes the same fouls that he's made for 4 years and truly can't take up space in the key as a rebounder. What changes to make him better next year?

If the "future is bright" Griz need annual improvement from their "young" players. Bannon the only one I see a change in this year vs. last.
 
Mousegriz said:
Problem I see is our "young" guys don't seem to take the next step.

Owens, Vasquez, DCH class all played and produced two years ago. DCH Freshman of the Year in conference and at least one Player of the Week. Owens a solid contributor and got some starts. Vasquez seemed polished and had some very good games. Last year Vasquez shot well DCH hardly played and Owens seemed the same. This year? Vasquez hardly playing, Owens hot and cold with limited minutes and DCH some good games....but shouldn't we expect some type of conference honors this year for a former Freshman of the Year.

Whitney/Beasley class......two young skilled (smaller) guards that played well last year and have taken starting positions (one from Vasquez) this year. Are they going to get bigger, quicker and that much better over 4 years than they were as true frosh?

Mack Anderson coming back? I like him for the reasons many state....but he still has marginal hands and inside footwork, makes the same fouls that he's made for 4 years and truly can't take up space in the key as a rebounder. What changes to make him better next year?

If the "future is bright" Griz need annual improvement from their "young" players. Bannon the only one I see a change in this year vs. last.

I agree that the Owens-Vasquez-DCH class has not fulfilled its promise. As mentioned, DCH was freshman of the year in the BIg Sky. Vazquez is the guy DeCuire said would break his assist record at Montana. And I thought we had a steal in Owens because he grew from the 6'5" guard we recruited into a solid 6'8" big with guard skills. All three have shown the promise of their recruitment but all three have been inconsistent at the time you'd expect them to be team leaders.

I do like the Bannan-Beasley-Whitney class. I think they're progressing nicely. (And by the way, Robbie's little brother Ryan dropped 43 with ten rebounds in a game last weekend.)

The issue for all of us is the same: Can we find that big to complement Bannan up front. It's been the Achilles heel of the DeCuire era.
 
Mousegriz said:
Problem I see is our "young" guys don't seem to take the next step.

Owens, Vasquez, DCH class all played and produced two years ago. DCH Freshman of the Year in conference and at least one Player of the Week. Owens a solid contributor and got some starts. Vasquez seemed polished and had some very good games. Last year Vasquez shot well DCH hardly played and Owens seemed the same. This year? Vasquez hardly playing, Owens hot and cold with limited minutes and DCH some good games....but shouldn't we expect some type of conference honors this year for a former Freshman of the Year.

Whitney/Beasley class......two young skilled (smaller) guards that played well last year and have taken starting positions (one from Vasquez) this year. Are they going to get bigger, quicker and that much better over 4 years than they were as true frosh?

Mack Anderson coming back? I like him for the reasons many state....but he still has marginal hands and inside footwork, makes the same fouls that he's made for 4 years and truly can't take up space in the key as a rebounder. What changes to make him better next year?

If the "future is bright" Griz need annual improvement from their "young" players. Bannon the only one I see a change in this year vs. last.

I hope you can put some positivity in your life. Right now, you are rather insufferable.

I don't think Whitney or Beasley are slow. Also, our record is better than last year and outside EWU, everyone in the league didn't lose much (with the COVID year) but added portal players (ours portal player hasn't really contributed yet). At the very least, that indicates we've improved more than they have.
 
astutegriz said:
Mousegriz said:
Problem I see is our "young" guys don't seem to take the next step.

Owens, Vasquez, DCH class all played and produced two years ago. DCH Freshman of the Year in conference and at least one Player of the Week. Owens a solid contributor and got some starts. Vasquez seemed polished and had some very good games. Last year Vasquez shot well DCH hardly played and Owens seemed the same. This year? Vasquez hardly playing, Owens hot and cold with limited minutes and DCH some good games....but shouldn't we expect some type of conference honors this year for a former Freshman of the Year.

Whitney/Beasley class......two young skilled (smaller) guards that played well last year and have taken starting positions (one from Vasquez) this year. Are they going to get bigger, quicker and that much better over 4 years than they were as true frosh?

Mack Anderson coming back? I like him for the reasons many state....but he still has marginal hands and inside footwork, makes the same fouls that he's made for 4 years and truly can't take up space in the key as a rebounder. What changes to make him better next year?

If the "future is bright" Griz need annual improvement from their "young" players. Bannon the only one I see a change in this year vs. last.

I hope you can put some positivity in your life. Right now, you are rather insufferable.

I don't think Whitney or Beasley are slow. Also, our record is better than last year and outside EWU, everyone in the league didn't lose much (with the COVID year) but added portal players (ours portal player hasn't really contributed yet). At the very least, that indicates we've improved more than they have.

Just my observations. Insufferable? Last night's game seemed to support some of them. Owens didn't play(maybe slight injury) Vazquez scoreless in limited minutes. DCH 2 points (on 2 FT's) and 2 rebounds. Might be because at 6'5" he ends up working his butt of on defense against much bigger players all game long. Beasley Bannon and Parker were the keys. Anderson (5 points, 5 rebounds and didn't foul out). Didn't say Beasley and Whitney are slow......but are they going to be faster and/or bigger next year?

It was a fun game to watch as was close all the way. Griz had usual scoring droughts but shot the 3 well to offset their poor FT shooting down the stretch. The offense continues to work guards inside and seems they often end up "stuck" with nowhere to go. I liked seeing passes back out to shooters with time and space. That should happen more and when the shooter has a shot go ahead and take it!

Griz are a tough gritty and in my opinion overachieving team. Sitting in pretty good shape in the conference. Lots of teams can beat them......but Griz won't ever rollover.
 
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