I wanted to respond but really prefer to keep that thread on subject and as clear of clutter as possible, so I am starting a separate thread.This kind of stuff gets me going. Man its like the two Montana schools just don't believe that there is any talent in their own state. There is plenty of it. Can't they wait a year? There will be three or four. What else irks me is how they both rely on the J/C fix. You don't build a program by doing that. Weber had a good run there for a while in the late 90's because they built a program.
Cats22: I tend to agree with you in the sense that I really wish the Cats and Griz would give the benefit of the doubt more to Montana kids when recruiting them. It seems to me that given the choice of equally talented kids they tend to go out of state first. I really wish either or both had offered McGillis last year! I think they both made a mistake.
That said though, I have been following Montana High school basketball since the late 70's and this up coming year is the worse for D-1 talent I have ever seen. Their is always, it seems one kid, at least who is on D-1 watch list as a senior. If not as a sure fire D-1, Seyfert, Dissly, Chavez etc. then at least some possible, McGillis, Kellen Hasquet etc. I cannot think of a year when I did not have at least four or so kids on a list somewhere that I made a point of checking their box scores every weekend. This year there is zero. I have asked friend, high school coaches, college coaches, newspaper writers, etc. and there just are a not senior out there that is even close to D-1 material.
If anyone feels differently PLEASE let me know!
The junior class though is loaded with 3-6 potential D-1 players.
So it does not bug me at all that both Durham and Krysco are looking out of state, this year. I believe both programs will have 5 scholarships each to fill.
As far as High school vs. JC. All things being equal I think a majority of high schooler with one (maybe occasionally two) JC player a year is the way to go. High schoolers give you a great deal of stability from year to year and also allow the fans to bond with the team and players. Adding a JC player, even when you have a very experienced team coming back adds competition and keeps the kids honest, plus it also allows you shore up weaknesses that may come up due to defections or mistakes. I think that is exactly what the Cats are doing. Two years ago we did recruit a lot of JC, but that mainly had to do with the fact 3-4 scholarship became available one week into the last signing period. (When the NCAA repealed the 5-8 rules). We did manage to sign Holmes out of high school that year but mostly the coaches were trying to fill scholarships with the best players they could find in a very short period. Last year we signed 3 highschoolers and 1 JC. This year we are looking at a ton of high school seniors including a mostly a center, small forwards, and point guards. From the JC ranks I hear we are looking at bring in a quality Power forward for next year. Last year we had a great High school recruiting class and this year we are off to a great start with the Center from Oregon already committed, and quite a few talented athletes committed to visit this fall.
