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Retire Those Numbers!!

citygriz

Well-known member
Word came this week that Washington State is retiring Klay Thompson's jersey. Duh! The only other player in Washington State history whose number was retired is Steve Puidokas, a third-round draft pick by the Washington Bullets in 1977. Does anybody remember him?

Meanwhile, in the entire history of the Montana basketball program, to the best of my knowledge (or listed as such on the roster), we have not retired a single jersey, when indubitably, inarguably and unequivocally there are two players deserving of that honor: Micheal Ray Richardson and Larry Krystkowiak. I say, retire those jerseys now! Here's why.

--They deserve it. Both are in the Montana Sports Hall of Fame. Both would be unanimous first-team choices on any All-time All-Big Sky team. And both played in the NBA, the highest achievement in basketball. Richardson, a #3 overall pick in the draft by the New York Knicks, was a four-time NBA All-star, and despite his drug problems, retains legendary status as an NBA player. Krysko not only played nine years in the NBA, he was also briefly the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

--Retired jerseys are a connection to the tradition of any sports program. You can't glance at the roster of our football team without being reminded of Terry Dillon and Dave Dickinson, of the prior glories of the program.

If these numbers have been informally retired, they should be listed on the roster as such, just as we do for Dillon and Dickenson on the football side.

If not, this is an oversight not only on the part of our Athletic Department, but by the University of Montana. I mean, what are they thinking?

Or not.
 
citay said:
Word came this week that Washington State is retiring Klay Thompson's jersey. Duh! The only other player in Washington State history whose number was retired is Steve Puidokas, a third-round draft pick by the Washington Bullets in 1977. Does anybody remember him?

Meanwhile, in the entire history of the Montana basketball program, to the best of my knowledge (or listed as such on the roster), we have not retired a single jersey, when indubitably, inarguably and unequivocally there are two players deserving of that honor: Micheal Ray Richardson and Larry Krystkowiak. I say, retire those jerseys now! Here's why.

--They deserve it. Both are in the Montana Sports Hall of Fame. Both would be unanimous first-team choices on any All-time All-Big Sky team. And both played in the NBA, the highest achievement in basketball. Richardson, a #3 pick in the draft by the New York Knicks, was a four-time NBA All-star, and despite his drug problems, retains legendary status as an NBA player. Krysko not only played nine years in the NBA, he was also briefly the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

--Retired jerseys are a connection to the tradition of any sports program. You can't glance at the roster of our football team without being reminded of Terry Dillon and Dave Dickinson, of the prior glories of the program.

If these numbers have been informally retired, they should be listed on the roster as such, just as we do for Dillon and Dickenson on the football side.

If not, this is an oversight not only on the part of our Athletic Department, but by the University of Montana. I mean, what are they thinking?

Or not.

Number 32 was retired in memory of Alan Nielson. But John Stroeder asked if he could wear it in honor of Alan. Then the retirement of #32 was somehow forgotten.
 
I don't think they should retire numbers, but they should start something like a ring of honor.
 
grizindabox said:
I don't think they should retire numbers, but they should start something like a ring of honor.
I would also be for going this route!
 
citay said:
Word came this week that Washington State is retiring Klay Thompson's jersey. Duh! The only other player in Washington State history whose number was retired is Steve Puidokas, a third-round draft pick by the Washington Bullets in 1977. Does anybody remember him?

Thread drift, but my Uncle was on that WSU team. You made me google the 76-77 roster and he was a Senior with Puidokas. I remember watching them come to Bozeman and play the Cats back then. I'd guess that Mick Durham was on the Cats at that time (we lived in Three Forks).

Brian Grun was the Uncle's name. He ended up drafted as a QB for the Cowboys and went down for tryouts. I think he hung for a few weeks before being cut, or realizing he wasn't going to make it. Drafted as a QB, but hadn't played that position in college (just high school). Perhaps the Cowboys were ahead of the times by grabbing a 6'5" QB
 
It also seems to me that retiring those numbers would achieve two of the goals we're striving for with the basketball program:
--To forge links to the tradition that has been Montana basketball since the Jud Heathcote era--a period of roughly 45 years. All notable sports franchises are good at forging links their to glory days, partly by staying in touch with their former star players. You cannot be a San Francisco Giants fan without constant reminders of Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Remember, one of the first things DeCuire did after he was hired was to bring back all the former coaches. Let's just say, there is great value in your team's history, and Montana has a great one.
--To put butts in seats. Imagine a halftime ceremony featuring Micheal Ray or Kystkowiak. I'm sure Dahlberg would sell out.
 
It's possible that there is some type of consideration being made along these lines and it will be included in the plans for the Basketball champions center which they're going to start working on after the 19/20 season ends.
 
Grizbballfan14 said:
It's possible that there is some type of consideration being made along these lines and it will be included in the plans for the Basketball champions center which they're going to start working on after the 19/20 season ends.

Excellent, what better place for such a thing.
 
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