• 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!

Montana State this week

oldrunner

oldrunner

Active member
MSU has been the hottest team in the BSC so far this year. Like SUU, this will be another test of how far we have come. To this point they are 6-0 in conference games and sit alone in first place. They lost one of the best guards in the BSC to graduation, but have replaced him with an equally effective guard line. They are well coached and play good D.

I'm glad that these games are at our place. :coffee:
 
The Dan said:
Where’s everybody at? Even the crustiest of Weber fans must admit this team is pretty fun.
Click to expand...
Can't wait to see the Defensive adjustments Randy makes for game 2. I don't think they were happy with allowing MSU to go off for 88 points and shoot 50% from 3.

On the plus side, we scored 58 points in the paint. I can't remember when the last time that happened.

We did make some careless TOs down the stretch, but took good care of the ball for most of the game.

The fun thing about this team is that they have just scratched the surface of their potential. They are getting better as the season goes on.

I'm impressed with the development of our freshman Dillon Jones. I think he is turning out to be a real bright spot and he still has four more years to play and develop. :coffee:
 
The Dan said:
Where’s everybody at? Even the crustiest of Weber fans must admit this team is pretty fun.
Click to expand...


I really enjoy watching this team. This board however has become too toxic over the last few years, especially for those who support Rahe, for me to consistently want to post here. Which is too bad because i used to love coming on here.
 
Yes, the defense left a lot to be desired. Maybe MSU's offense is just that good, but I can't imagine that they will shoot so well on Saturday as they did last night. But wow, we've got guys with offensive tools. 63% shooting for the game. I can't remember when that was done before. Randy is back to playing his '8-guy team in the tougher games. I believe that he could easily go to 10-11 guys and still put a winning group on the floor. So kudos to him for recruiting such depth. But please, now that you have it use it! There is no doubt in my mind that we have the best talent in the Big Sky. Sometimes when he has had the most talent in the past he hasn't one the key games. Lets hope that this year the talent is so good that we win the championship of regular season and then go and take the playoff championship also. Would be nice to be in March Madness again after a long drought.
 
Olds, I agree about Jones. I think he is the player I am most impressed with this year. Looking forward to watching him develop.
 
baller said:
Yes, the defense left a lot to be desired. Maybe MSU's offense is just that good, but I can't imagine that they will shoot so well on Saturday as they did last night. But wow, we've got guys with offensive tools. 63% shooting for the game. I can't remember when that was done before. Randy is back to playing his '8-guy team in the tougher games. I believe that he could easily go to 10-11 guys and still put a winning group on the floor. So kudos to him for recruiting such depth. But please, now that you have it use it! There is no doubt in my mind that we have the best talent in the Big Sky. Sometimes when he has had the most talent in the past he hasn't one the key games. Lets hope that this year the talent is so good that we win the championship of regular season and then go and take the playoff championship also. Would be nice to be in March Madness again after a long drought.
Click to expand...

Tomorrow’s game is huge for our March Madness hopes considering there is no guarantee that a conference tournament will actually be played.
 
Montana State is dangerous offensively. They are quick and can get to the hoop. Sprinkle has done an excellent job of assembling his team. Really talented group of guys and tomorrow is going to be really tough getting another W. However, and I've got to give credit where credit is due, Rahe knew what he had to do after the catastrophe of last season, and went out and got the guys needed to turn the program back into a winner. Candidly, I feel he is still leaving a ton of talent on his bench, but we can't complain about who is on the floor.

If Percy doesn't get injured, I don't think we see Jones as much as we have. He was a definite find though. He is such a tough kid, who does the little things. He can pass, score, defend and rebound. He has a great knack of cutting at the right times and creating without the ball. He's not alone at that, I really like SSJ's too. He moves so well without the ball. It really opens up the offense.

Weber hasn't even touched their potential. I really hope that Randy can keep the core of this group together for another season. Imagine how good they will be next Fall? This team can only get better.
 
I think there was kind of a curse after Lillard because for a while, it became the let’s anoint one player to build the game plan around like with Senglin and Harding. This year’s team has a team feel, and they play as a team...so much more enjoyable to watch. I echo the sentiments of giving Rahe credit on getting the fixes in place.

I still miss the high energy defenses that were here when Beckner ran the defense, but that can be worked on. It always seems the defense gets better in the 2nd half mostly. They just need to bring it the whole game.

I am one of the rare fans today that loves and prefers a good defensive game to a wide open shootout, which is why Coach Hill’s teams are a treat to watch (Western Illinois and EWU were awesome).

This team shows a lot of promise and has players putting in a lot of effort and buying into the team. Rematch game will be a battle. Go Wildcats!
 
Chex said:
I think there was kind of a curse after Lillard because for a while, it became the let’s anoint one player to build the game plan around like with Senglin and Harding. This year’s team has a team feel, and they play as a team...so much more enjoyable to watch. I echo the sentiments of giving Rahe credit on getting the fixes in place.

I still miss the high energy defenses that were here when Beckner ran the defense, but that can be worked on. It always seems the defense gets better in the 2nd half mostly. They just need to bring it the whole game.

I am one of the rare fans today that loves and prefers a good defensive game to a wide open shootout, which is why Coach Hill’s teams are a treat to watch (Western Illinois and EWU were awesome).

This team shows a lot of promise and has players putting in a lot of effort and buying into the team. Rematch game will be a battle. Go Wildcats!
Click to expand...
I really don't think that what we saw was a lack of defensive effort or planning. I think that what we saw was a flawed plan and a scramble to try a right the ship on the fly. We did much better D in the second half. They had the night to look at it and a day to fix it. I think we will see a much better plan and execution Saturday. I'm sure that MSU is going through the same motions. They are just doing it from their hotel rooms and at today's practices. Sprinkle will have a better defensive plan as well, so don't expect another high scoring game.

In all of the practices I attended, and there were many in the Beckner era, There was never just one coach directing the defense. The only times that practice would be stopped to talk about the defensive strategy was when Randy would stop it and he did all the talking until practice was resumed. All the coaches were involved as practice was on going. It may well be that One coache was assigned to break down film on defenses and another coach assigend to break it down on the offensive side, But decisions on what D to run and how to run it was always Randy. Of course, all coaches have input on both O and D.

Coaches always laugh when someone asks who the freethrow, shooting, defensive, rebounding, big man, or offensive coach is. When it has been a poor FT shooting night, they always joke about who the FT coach is. That just isn't how it works. It's not like football where you have a O-line coach. That is why the coaches step asside to discuss a situation before entering the huddle. Once in the huddle, only the head coach talks until they break.
 
oldrunner said:
Chex said:
I think there was kind of a curse after Lillard because for a while, it became the let’s anoint one player to build the game plan around like with Senglin and Harding. This year’s team has a team feel, and they play as a team...so much more enjoyable to watch. I echo the sentiments of giving Rahe credit on getting the fixes in place.

I still miss the high energy defenses that were here when Beckner ran the defense, but that can be worked on. It always seems the defense gets better in the 2nd half mostly. They just need to bring it the whole game.

I am one of the rare fans today that loves and prefers a good defensive game to a wide open shootout, which is why Coach Hill’s teams are a treat to watch (Western Illinois and EWU were awesome).

This team shows a lot of promise and has players putting in a lot of effort and buying into the team. Rematch game will be a battle. Go Wildcats!
Click to expand...
I really don't think that what we saw was a lack of defensive effort or planning. I think that what we saw was a flawed plan and a scramble to try a right the ship on the fly. We did much better D in the second half. They had the night to look at it and a day to fix it. I think we will see a much better plan and execution Saturday. I'm sure that MSU is going through the same motions. They are just doing it from their hotel rooms and at today's practices. Sprinkle will have a better defensive plan as well, so don't expect another high scoring game.

In all of the practices I attended, and there were many in the Beckner era, There was never just one coach directing the defense. The only times that practice would be stopped to talk about the defensive strategy was when Randy would stop it and he did all the talking until practice swas resumed. All the coaches were involved as practice was on going. It may well be that One coache was assigned to break down film on defenses and another coach assigend to break it down on the offensive side, But decisions on what D to run and how to run it was always Randy. Of course, all coaches have input on both O and D.

Coaches always laugh when someone asks who the freethrow, shooting, defensive, rebounding, big man, or offensive coach is. When it has been a poor FT shooting night, they always joke about who the FT coach is. That just isn't how it works. It's not like football where you have a O-line coach. That is why the coaches step asside to discuss a situation before entering the huddle. Once in the huddle, only the head coach talks until they break.
Click to expand...

All good points. I’m not saying Rahe had nothing to do with the defense and Beckner did everything. The thing I liked about Beckner was he would let them know when the effort was fading and would get on them from the sideline to step it up. I’m sure Rahe does in his own way. Those teams had great D stats...but honestly defense isn’t emphasized as much in basketball today as a whole.

It always seems the Wildcats start a bit slow on defense and fix it in the second half. They can fix that with adjustments and some focus. There was a time a few years ago where an easy rebound went through three Wildcats looking at each other while the opponent got it and put up an easy shot to basically end the game. This team isn’t like that.

I still miss seeing a few scrappers like there were in the past that may not have had the most offensive skill set but stuck to players like glue. I remember Brad Barton getting one BYU guard off his game and had him covered like a blanket. It was fun to see.

I think the rematch will have better defense, but I still expect a high-scoring game because I think these two teams just are strong that way.
 
I hear you, Chex. Phil was quite vocal at games and practices and that was most always a good thing. IMHO, his best skill, as a coach, was his ability to break down the pick n roll actions, both on the attack and in defending it. I also think he was a pretty good judge of talent and winning attitudes. In my view, he had his weaknesses, as all coaches do.

With that said, I would say that our current group of coaches is as good as we have had for the past 15 years. I've known every coach at WSU over the past 50+ years and everyone of them had their plusses and minuses. I don't think there will ever be a perfect coach, player, or official. Of course, all fans are perfect. :lol:

I 've watched Randy and crew install the weekly tweeks for defending each opponent. Because our primary D is man to man, the adjustments are in how you handle the picks for each set of players you are defending and how the helpers must defend the driving lanes for each player. For some match ups you must respect their 3 point shooting, for others it's more about their slashing to the rim, and for some it's a little of both. Of course, that is where a coaches skill in breaking down film on a teams attack is so important. After the coaches have come to consensus on how to attack and defend a team, the video coordinator puts it all together for the team to review prior to the next day's practice, they all get assignments on how to guard each player and then they go practice it. The scout team runs the other team's O and D the best that they can. Although, it is nearly impossible to match the skill level and athleticism of the better teams. To me, the interesting part is if and how well the guys can carry out that plan.

You are right, some players just get it and others have never been required to play D. It is really fun to see a player/team really D it up. :coffee:
 
Hats off to both teams for tightening up their D. Same result, just with lower numbers.

The refs did not determine the outcome of this game, but they were very eager to blow their whistles. About half of the fouls they called should not have been, on both sides.

Hats off to MSU. They are a very well coached, scrappy team.
 
Two wins where the Wildcats pulled away from a close game in the final minutes...very encouraging.

Two games at Missoula loom large next week. It’s a logjam at the top, but I think the Wildcats are the hottest team right now.
 
That was a fun game to watch even though the referees made it painful at times calling every little thing but it was definitely both ways so I have no complaints. I think we have a great chance of getting the number one seed in Boise. our final games of the schedule are pretty favorable. Montana trip will be tough though. It's great to see us be good at basketball again. There was one thing in the broadcast that really bothered me. The main guy kept saying we lose our seniors next year. All student-athletes this year don't lose any eligibility and have the option to return and he should know that. I really hope Basset, Wright, Carlson and Kozak. All come back next year. I honestly would not be suprised if kozak decides to end his career and go home and play professionally but you never know. I would love to have all four of those seniors back for another year with the returning talent we have coming back. Anyway I'm just a little nitpicky but for someone broadcasting the he should have known that. Let's sweep the grizz next week...
 
wazzuwildcat03 said:
That was a fun game to watch even though the referees made it painful at times calling every little thing but it was definitely both ways so I have no complaints. I think we have a great chance of getting the number one seed in Boise. our final games of the schedule are pretty favorable. Montana trip will be tough though. It's great to see us be good at basketball again. There was one thing in the broadcast that really bothered me. The main guy kept saying we lose our seniors next year. All student-athletes this year don't lose any eligibility and have the option to return and he should know that. I really hope Basset, Wright, Carlson and Kozak. All come back next year. I honestly would not be suprised if kozak decides to end his career and go home and play professionally but you never know. I would love to have all four of those seniors back for another year with the returning talent we have coming back. Anyway I'm just a little nitpicky but for someone broadcasting the he should have known that. Let's sweep the grizz next week...
Click to expand...
My feelings are that at least one of the guys you mention will take a pro contract over seas. I would expect us to bring in one or more new guys for next year. However, I feel that there will be a strong contingent coming back. This years team hasn't even hit its potential yet. The roadie to Montana is important and a split would be good. A sweep would be fantastic.
 
wazzuwildcat03 said:
That was a fun game to watch even though the referees made it painful at times calling every little thing but it was definitely both ways so I have no complaints. I think we have a great chance of getting the number one seed in Boise. our final games of the schedule are pretty favorable. Montana trip will be tough though. It's great to see us be good at basketball again. There was one thing in the broadcast that really bothered me. The main guy kept saying we lose our seniors next year. All student-athletes this year don't lose any eligibility and have the option to return and he should know that. I really hope Basset, Wright, Carlson and Kozak. All come back next year. I honestly would not be suprised if kozak decides to end his career and go home and play professionally but you never know. I would love to have all four of those seniors back for another year with the returning talent we have coming back. Anyway I'm just a little nitpicky but for someone broadcasting the he should have known that. Let's sweep the grizz next week...
Click to expand...

Wazzu, you might agree with me on this, I really miss how games once were called. College basketball have, a lot of the time, become foul fests. Not to say that foul fests didn't happen in the past, they were the exception and not the norm, like they are now. It gets really boring watching refs make call after call after freaking call. I'm not there to watch the men in stripes. They are not the entertainment. Their role is supposed to be limited. To be unbiased observers, ensuring fairness of play. Not to be the center of the game. Personally, I would like to see hand checking and arm bars allowed again in college basketball. Oh, and charges SERIOUSLY limited. I do love the knew flopping rule; especially the sign, looks like a ref is attempting some strange tango. Something we would see Catcat and purplefogdog do together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top