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Southern Miss game

Where to start? Yes, Griz we were never in this game from start to finish. Poor shooting percentage, again, especially from three. We lack a true point guard and not a knock on Brandon but he just doesn’t see the floor well enough to run the offense. We had virtually no penetration other than Josh.
Where is the real problem? Coaching? To a degree Travis is still preaching defense but if we look at stats we are the ones getting our asses handed to us. The coaching staff? Probably more than we know. You can only recruit the Bay Area and some Southern California to the point where these players look at our brand of basketball and go elsewhere. We need to expand our recruiting borders. Travis has access to a private plane if need be. I don’t know how much his staff tries to get him to adjust his style but if their not then they need to go.
From the tip off of tonight’s game it was clearly evident the demeanor of the team was trying not to lose rather than trying to win. An overused cliché but they just played tentatively. No aggression, no take it to the basket, no attempt to be the aggressor. I feel bad for our players but doubley bad for Travis. He really cares for his players and for the University. But the Brad of basketball the Griz are playing just ain’t going to cut it with our fan base.
 
citay said:
If there is such a thing as a quality loss, this is one. There’s hope!

Sorry to burst your bubble Citay but there is no such thing as a quality loss. Now if we were to lose to Gonzaga buy 4 points one might call that a quality loss but not having a lead against So. Mississippi and losing by 12 does not constitute a quality loss. I did not see one positive takeaway from tonight’s game.
 
There are in fact quality losses. Not saying this was one.

I played and followed sports my whole life, had 5 kids play high school sports and 3 play college sports. Many nieces and nephews too. I have never seen or heard of a team playing not to lose. Yes, football coaches may have their teams loosen up pass D late in a game to prevent a long pass, but they are still playing win. Yes, some team play is more aggressive than other play.

I always thought playing not to lose was a funny comment.
 
Big Sage said:
We can’t score

😂it appears Coach DeCuire has lost the mojo to win and recruit because and the lack of talent on this team is glaring. I don’t follow Griz MBB but from the couple of games I have watched I haven’t missed anything. The talent on this team was fantastic his first three years.

I’ll stick with Gonzaga.
 
There are literally hundreds of "quality" losses. I know because I interviewed hundreds of Montana high school and dozens of Big Sky Conference coaches who -- after team losses -- said to me something of this nature: "We need, we must, we can and we will learn from this. We will get better."

The instance I remember most distinctly was a fairly lengthy explanation from Tad Boyle (now at Colorado) who told me (after a Northern Colorado loss to Montana) that learning from in-game mistakes and from game losses was THE most important way players, teams and coaches get better... something he demanded of himself and players during (not always after) every game they played.

Interestingly (to me at least) was a similar post-game (radio) quote by last night by Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups on his Blazers' home-court loss to the Los Angeles Clippers... a game the Blazers had led by 18 points.

It's my opinion that the value of a "quality" loss can only be measured by players and coaches... NOT fans.

P.S. Tad Boyle was (for me) and probably still is one of the best-to-interview coaches I've ever encountered. Very honest, open and transparent. And... in the long run, a winner.
 
Sport said:
Where to start? Yes, Griz we were never in this game from start to finish. Poor shooting percentage, again, especially from three. We lack a true point guard and not a knock on Brandon but he just doesn’t see the floor well enough to run the offense. We had virtually no penetration other than Josh.
Where is the real problem? Coaching? To a degree Travis is still preaching defense but if we look at stats we are the ones getting our asses handed to us. The coaching staff? Probably more than we know. You can only recruit the Bay Area and some Southern California to the point where these players look at our brand of basketball and go elsewhere. We need to expand our recruiting borders. Travis has access to a private plane if need be. I don’t know how much his staff tries to get him to adjust his style but if their not then they need to go.
From the tip off of tonight’s game it was clearly evident the demeanor of the team was trying not to lose rather than trying to win. An overused cliché but they just played tentatively. No aggression, no take it to the basket, no attempt to be the aggressor. I feel bad for our players but doubley bad for Travis. He really cares for his players and for the University. But the Brad of basketball the Griz are playing just ain’t going to cut it with our fan base.
Not sure you watched the game with some of your comments. I would rewatch and see how many times Whitney penetrated and how many times open shots were created and missed. Not sure that’s the problem. Moody will help on both sides of the ball. Brown still needs to improve defense and decision making. The team looked much better and made better decisions with single digit turnovers to a defense that creates turnovers at a high rate. Much more positives than the AF game. Moving in the right direction at least.
 
Colter_Nuanez56 said:
https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1597811835603808256

Alternative Headline:

Extremely Slow-Playing Griz Keep The Golden Eagles From Getting Many Offensive Possessions.

1. Can we please (pretty please!) stop always equating low scoring with good defense? If you play so slow that you drastically reduce the other team’s possessions then the score should be low. In many cases giving up 57 points on 56 possessions is worse defense than giving up 67 points on 70 possessions.

2. USM’s scoring average (and other stats) are artificially inflated by playing non D-1 teams. 3 out of their previous 7 games were against non D-1 opponents including a 103-52 win over the Mobile Rams. They had averaged just over 70 points against D-1 teams.

3. According to BartTorvik, USM had its 2nd highest offensive efficiency rating (in its 5 D-1 games) last night. They had 56 possessions which is the lowest they have had against D-1 teams. The 2nd lowest was 64 possessions. So their point total last night was more a factor of playing against one of the slowest teams in the country than the actual defense (Griz are 354/363 teams in average possession length).

4. USM was without 1 of their starters and 6th man (Denijay Harris and Neftali Alverez). So I would say they were at more of roster disadvantage than the Griz without Moody.

5. The November schedule has not been that tough. KenPom has it at #174 in the country which is about in the middle. For point of reference NAU has played the 24th toughest and PSU is at 25.
 
I've always said, Travis is a high-character guy. And I truly believe, character is destiny. I'd want my son to play for Travis. When he spoke about last night's game he spoke about "effort...attention to detail...physicality...sense of urgency." Alluded to the fact this team had had some "heart to hearts," but was showing sings of "growing pains." Okay but.... It sounded more like a Sunday sermon....a morality play....not about putting a round ball in the basket.

I wish the character development on this team came with more entertainment. Entertainment is important in life. My best school teachers were entertainers. Most of my friends can light up a room with humor and stories. Basketball can be a wonderfully entertaining even magical game when played with style, with flair, where the players are having evident fun, letting it rip--not bogged down with "effort...attention to detail....physicality....sense of urgency." I recall vividly a game several years ago at San Jose State where our kids played super tight, constantly looking over at the bench, as if Travis were still the point guard on the court, calling the plays, telling players where to be. There was no flow whatever to our offense.

In literature they say that nothing can come of the writer that's not of the man. But isn't this true of basketball coaches as well? Is it possible that this plodding walk-the-ball-up-the-court offense is the best we'll ever see from a coach with DeCuire's rigorous defensive philosophy and grind-it-out approach to offense?

I'm a sports addict. Put a game on TV and I'll watch it. But if there was ever conflict between another game and the Griz, the Griz always won. Always my first priority.

That is no longer the case. I simply can't watch this offense for reasons I've spouted an nauseum of this board. And that to me is the saddest thing of all.
 
GrizBall said:
Colter_Nuanez56 said:
https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1597811835603808256

Alternative Headline:

Extremely Slow-Playing Griz Keep The Golden Eagles From Getting Many Offensive Possessions.

1. Can we please (pretty please!) stop always equating low scoring with good defense? If you play so slow that you drastically reduce the other team’s possessions then the score should be low. In many cases giving up 57 points on 56 possessions is worse defense than giving up 67 points on 70 possessions.

2. USM’s scoring average (and other stats) are artificially inflated by playing non D-1 teams. 3 out of their previous 7 games were against non D-1 opponents including a 103-52 win over the Mobile Rams. They had averaged just over 70 points against D-1 teams.

3. According to BartTorvik, USM had its 2nd highest offensive efficiency rating (in its 5 D-1 games) last night. They had 56 possessions which is the lowest they have had against D-1 teams. The 2nd lowest was 64 possessions. So their point total last night was more a factor of playing against one of the slowest teams in the country than the actual defense (Griz are 354/363 teams in average possession length).

4. USM was without 1 of their starters and 6th man (Denijay Harris and Neftali Alverez). So I would say they were at more of roster disadvantage than the Griz without Moody.

5. The November schedule has not been that tough. KenPom has it at #174 in the country which is about in the middle. For point of reference NAU has played the 24th toughest and PSU is at 25.

THANK YOU. our D is fundamentally sounds and solid....Good D wins games for you, we are not Virginia. Good teams put up 40 in half against us, good players get theirs, at this point I don't see a D that is better than the sum of its parts right now. That said I am mostly happy with the D they aren't losing us games and they mostly give a chance to stay in the game...its just it seems like the gameplan is to win the game on D and I mean idk maybe that will work against BSC competition but not a lot of upside in that strategy against more talented teams.
 
GrizBall said:
Colter_Nuanez56 said:
https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1597811835603808256

Alternative Headline:

Extremely Slow-Playing Griz Keep The Golden Eagles From Getting Many Offensive Possessions.

1. Can we please (pretty please!) stop always equating low scoring with good defense? If you play so slow that you drastically reduce the other team’s possessions then the score should be low. In many cases giving up 57 points on 56 possessions is worse defense than giving up 67 points on 70 possessions.

2. USM’s scoring average (and other stats) are artificially inflated by playing non D-1 teams. 3 out of their previous 7 games were against non D-1 opponents including a 103-52 win over the Mobile Rams. They had averaged just over 70 points against D-1 teams.

3. According to BartTorvik, USM had its 2nd highest offensive efficiency rating (in its 5 D-1 games) last night. They had 56 possessions which is the lowest they have had against D-1 teams. The 2nd lowest was 64 possessions. So their point total last night was more a factor of playing against one of the slowest teams in the country than the actual defense (Griz are 354/363 teams in average possession length).

4. USM was without 1 of their starters and 6th man (Denijay Harris and Neftali Alverez). So I would say they were at more of roster disadvantage than the Griz without Moody.

5. The November schedule has not been that tough. KenPom has it at #174 in the country which is about in the middle. For point of reference NAU has played the 24th toughest and PSU is at 25.

Pretty much says it all......
 
HelenaHandBasket said:
I will say it. Right now, there is nothing for anyone to get excited about with the mens basketball program.

You ain’t whistling Dixie. I turned it off with about 8 minutes left in the 2nd half. Honestly, almost unwatchable. I doubt I’ll be turning in much this year unless there’s reports of a major change in offensive philosophy.
 
GrizBall said:
Colter_Nuanez56 said:
https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1597811835603808256

Alternative Headline:

Extremely Slow-Playing Griz Keep The Golden Eagles From Getting Many Offensive Possessions.

1. Can we please (pretty please!) stop always equating low scoring with good defense? If you play so slow that you drastically reduce the other team’s possessions then the score should be low. In many cases giving up 57 points on 56 possessions is worse defense than giving up 67 points on 70 possessions.

2. USM’s scoring average (and other stats) are artificially inflated by playing non D-1 teams. 3 out of their previous 7 games were against non D-1 opponents including a 103-52 win over the Mobile Rams. They had averaged just over 70 points against D-1 teams.

3. According to BartTorvik, USM had its 2nd highest offensive efficiency rating (in its 5 D-1 games) last night. They had 56 possessions which is the lowest they have had against D-1 teams. The 2nd lowest was 64 possessions. So their point total last night was more a factor of playing against one of the slowest teams in the country than the actual defense (Griz are 354/363 teams in average possession length).

4. USM was without 1 of their starters and 6th man (Denijay Harris and Neftali Alverez). So I would say they were at more of roster disadvantage than the Griz without Moody.

5. The November schedule has not been that tough. KenPom has it at #174 in the country which is about in the middle. For point of reference NAU has played the 24th toughest and PSU is at 25.

That Zags v Baylor game was 64-63 but it was strait FIRE to watch, you can play hard nose entertaining basketball with creative and explosive offense without giving up on D and playing 87-85 games. IDK Montana must know they can't win a shootout so they do everything to avoid the game moving at quicker pace, but you can have a track meet without it necessarily being shootout and for what we lack in shooters we should have in athletes at least that seems to be the philosophy just recruit athletes and hope they develop savy and skill so it seems like trying to play a more athletic brand would play into our favor. If this were football our O is basically take the play clock to 1 every play run up middle on 1st and 2nd down and throw quick out on 3rd and punt until you win the field position battle enough to get a FG.
 
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