weberwildcat
Active member
Bengals are on fire. 4 straight wins and 5 of last 6.
won at MSU in OT
now tied for 3rd at 6-4
won at MSU in OT
now tied for 3rd at 6-4
-
Hi Guest,
We've updated the site to combine all the forums that were part of the Big Sky Fans Network into one location. This will make it easier to navigate and participate in all the discussions for each school without having to have multiple accounts, etc. We are still working out some tweaks but please let us know if you notice anything.
With the migration, in some circumstances, your username could have been merged with one of your other usernames from the other forums. If this is the case, you can request to change your username in your account details page of your profile. -
Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!
-
Guest, do want an ad free experience on BigSkyFans.com among other benefits? Upgrade your account today!
Simply click your profile name > account upgrades > BigSky Club > choose between the year long subscription (two free months) or month to month
Thanks for the continued support. Cheers!
Idaho State is in 3rd place!
- Thread starter weberwildcat
- Start date
boisebengal
Active member
It's hard to believe that our team can improve that much just by getting rid of O'Brien, but hey, this team is for real! I fully expect Deane Martin to be named as head coach at the conclusion of the season. Our AD would be crazy to not do this.
boisebengal said:
Boise...did OB hire Deane? Or was he brought in by the administration? He is a first year assistant and of course that would be strange for an AD to hire an assistant, but it has been done before. OB knew he wasn't going to be retained at the end of the season and might have seen the writing on the wall, that the administration was interested in having Deane be the coach. This is complete conjecture on my part, but rather interesting.
Before the season started, especially with the addition of Melvin Morgan, one had to see that ISU had the talent to compete, but the coaching was still suspect. Its not that OB can't coach. He has proven that he can in the past, but lately has been stung. One thing I have seen with ISU automatically, is that Martin has made the necessary adjustments according to his teams strengths and talents. Also helps a ton having a guard who can consistently score from the outside (McGowen). Baldwin is finally being the player that I thought he would turn into and Grabau has really shone this season. Grabau is the toughest Bengal since Logan Kinghorn, which, at least in my opinion, is pretty significant. But he has needed help. McGowan has bought into Martin's system and he is, and the team, are greatly benefiting. Of course, you can't forget that the biggest issue for the Bengals lack of success, has been the lack of an inside game and a short bench, over the past couple of seasons. Abner Moreria (Sp?) and Andre Hatchet have really improved their games and having Baldwin, Mason, and Kustor on the bench has really helped anchor the Bengals success.
Also, it is never a bad thing having bigs who can move and are bruisers. If there was ever a year to compete, this was it for ISU. Good upperclass leadership, decent talent, speed, and an inside presence. All the Bengals needed was a coach who could pull it all together.
talhadfoursteals
Active member
Beat UM in Missula and then i will become a believer. Until then, ISU is nothing more than a bunch of pozers!!
Hopefully this can be extra motivation for them!! :nod:
Hopefully this can be extra motivation for them!! :nod:
boisebengal
Active member
Talhad, I'm not really sure, after one of our assistants took another job elsewhere, then everyone had just assumed that it was Martin who brought him in. But who knows what really happened. I think that O'Brien was pretty tough on his players and many were afraid to shoot, and now they're playing with much more confidence. Ogden, why are you so negative? Anytime you beat a very good MSU team in Bozeman then I think that's impressive, and right now we're sitting in 3rd place, which is the highest we've been in quite some time.
weberwildcat
Active member
if the bengals were to win on monday in missoula and if griz win in bozeman on sat, isu would be alone in 3rd and 2 games out of 2nd place. isu would only have psu and @nau in their way to make it to mid feb in 3rd place!!
then their last 3 games of the yr would be ewu, @ewu and sac.
will the bengals be palying a home game on mar 3rd?
then their last 3 games of the yr would be ewu, @ewu and sac.
will the bengals be palying a home game on mar 3rd?
ISU is nothing more than a bunch of pozers.... No way they win in Missoula, and unfortunately I just don't see the griz losing in Bozeman. I do want to see ISU in Ogden in the Semi's with 500 or so Tony the Tiger fans heading back to pokey with their Tony the TigerTails between their legs and a dose of reality.... Like a 25 pt loss @ Weber's expense.......
talhadfoursteals said:
Great post, and right on about Martin playing to their talents. They seem to be pressing a lot more under Martin, and shooting from the outside, which plays into their strengths.
Grabau has been all-conference worthy, and Martin/McGowen are firing and hitting from seemingly everywhere on the court... Last night near the end of regulation with ISU down 1, McGowen drained a 27 footer to give them the lead. These guys are obviously playing loose and free and it is helping a ton. Moreira has been doing the dirty work down low, and Baldwin/Hatchett have contributed nicely.
They have become a lot of fun to watch...
Deane, who played for O'Brien, was a Joe hire, not the administration's. In fact, the administration is moving ahead with interviewing other candidates for the permanent job. We're all excited about the way the players have responded to Deane and the great wins this last couple of weeks, but I think the administration is doing the right thing: letting the season and the hiring process both play out, and then picking the best candidate. There are a lot of interim coaches who succeeded on a short-term basis, but didn't have the staying power to get the job done over the long haul. (Mike Davis of Indiana is one obvious example). I'm not saying Deane can't get it done -- I'm just saying that patience and due diligence are the right way to approach a permanent hire.
No matter who gets hired, they face a rebuilding project. Grabau, McGowan and Moreira will be gone after this year, and the recent recruiting classes have largely been busts. So ISU needs to hire someone who can build a long-term, sustainable base for the program. And with the new, tougher academic standards ISU's administration has imposed on all the athletic programs, recruiting JCs is a lot tougher. Plus there is a real demand that the new coach place more recruiting emphasis on Idaho kids. It's going to take a special person to succeed in this job over the long haul. Again, not saying Deane is not the guy, but there are a lot of factors to consider.
No matter who gets hired, they face a rebuilding project. Grabau, McGowan and Moreira will be gone after this year, and the recent recruiting classes have largely been busts. So ISU needs to hire someone who can build a long-term, sustainable base for the program. And with the new, tougher academic standards ISU's administration has imposed on all the athletic programs, recruiting JCs is a lot tougher. Plus there is a real demand that the new coach place more recruiting emphasis on Idaho kids. It's going to take a special person to succeed in this job over the long haul. Again, not saying Deane is not the guy, but there are a lot of factors to consider.
Bengal visitor said:
I agree with everything you said. I think it is really important to make the absolute best choice possible. However, you can't deny what Martin has accomplished so far. He took a team that was destined for the cellar of the Big Sky and has turned them into a tourny team. Also, he is the one finding and recruiting future players. To hire someone else, right now, would cause a huge hiccup in the ISU process. But, if there is a better candidate, you've gotta go that way.
As for Idaho talent. I don't know. Idaho, on average, has what 3 maybe 4 kids who can compete on the DI level with 3 DI schools. I don't know if that is the best emphasis to be forcing on the program. Heaven's Weber would be hard pressed to get a good Utah kid every year. Most of our best players go to BYU or USU. Its hard to be successful and have a focus on state kids. Now, maybe an emphasis on regional players, that might work.
talhadfoursteals said:
Tal, I'm in agreement with you in large measure. What Deane and his staff have accomplished is truly miraculous in my book. Does that guarantee future success? No, but then, there are no guarantees in the hiring process. As to relying on Idaho kids, there has been a lot of frustration around the program recently with the inability to identify and recruit Idaho kids -- you'll recall under Doug Oliver that we usually got at least one good Idaho player every year or two -- Matt Stucki, Logan Kinghorn, David Schroeder. Doug's staff also did a good job recruiting JC players out of the SWAC -- most of whom were in JC not for academic reasons, but because they needed to develop as players.
But ISU will not be recruiting from a large talent pool, that is for certain, especially when it comes to JC kids. The APR problems in football -- and the low APR score basketball got last year -- have gotten the athletic department's attention and whoever gets the job as basketball coach is going to have to have a very focused approached to recruiting.
