The Bobcat Nation

************* mslacat's report ************

The things I learned from last nights.

Mslacat: You don't get to mingle as well and as efficiently when you bring two Kids.
That said , though, I feel it was very important to give them some immersion therapy in
Bobcat culture. After having to live in Missoula all of their lives (well all but one year
each). Besides I do not remember them playing together for that period of with out
getting into a fight! The only thing I feel guilty about was as I was talking to our new
basketball coach Tricia Binford and my daughter was doing somersaults down the hill, I
got to watch my daughter plow over the top of Binford's 1 year old. Tricia stops in mid
sentence and said " Did you see that!!" I just mumbled some like "some peoples kids" as
she ran off. Unfortunately I think she later figured it out, so I pretty much screwed with
women’s basketball!!

Tricia Binford (Women’s Basketball): Very very happy she signed Jenny Heringer.
The signing period will end on the 18th but she feels they will be signing a couple “high
quality” players before then. She also said she thinks people will be surprised at the
quality of the recruits the program will sign given the very late start the coaches got. She
also feels that there are three solid young players upon which to build on in the program.
On the hiring process she very nervous about "meet the booster" portion of the interview
but actually, but she was pleasantly surprised by the process.

Johnny Brown (Men’s Basketball): Very energetic, engaging, and personable. He really
feels a need that the men’s program has had for a long time. A coach who gets out there
presses the flesh, talk up the program and who knows how to coach big men. If you
don't believe it just ask him. Of the freshman just recruited, he feels Jacques Wilson and
Branden Johnson will have the best chance of contributing next year. He feels Branden
has a much more well rounded game right now than Chawn. Branden he feels can score
from the low post to 3-pt line going left or right, has a decently rugged body, can
rebound a lick and block some shots. Brown said he thinks if Branden works hard this
summer he could also move ahead of Pratt on the depth chart. When asked about Pratt
redshirting if this happens, Brown said normally they do not redshirt Seniors, but... (smile
raise of the eyebrows shrug of the shoulders). As for Chawn Johnson, one of the most
physically and athletic highschool athlete to come into the Big Sky in a long time (or at
least in the 12 months he has been here -Mslacat ) but right now his offensive skill
set , while pretty effective, is limited to, drop left shoulder, hook to the basket, and slam.
Needs to work on diversified his offensive skills, that is what Chawn has been told he
needs to work on over the summer. It should be noted though, that Branden was
Johnny's recruit and Chawn was Carson’s recruit. I do believe. On Ted Morris is a big
physical banger, good scorer and rebounds, but quote: "the only thing he can pass is a
test" he has developed a reputation, of being a wild passing player, passing to players
who do not exist. This is what Brown is working on over the summer. Jacques Wilson
he feels was a steal of steals. Perfect fit for this team it will be tough to keep him off the
court next year. Beye will be are starter no doubt, but he will not be a 35 minutes every
single game player. Fouls, injuries and wear and tear will be a big factor in limiting
Beyes minutes. The player Brown is really high on is 2006-07 freshman Travis
Derochowski Boston College and Utah wants to sign him, but Travis likes the fishing in
Bozeman better. Fishing and the video Dept. landed the guy. 245, 6-10, great hands,
and runs the floor.

Kramer: Shook hands, said hi, but did spend a lot of time with him. sorry. Football guy's take over.

Last night was the first time we have ever had a rep from the MBB program in Mazola, and only the 2nd showing for WBB, and the 1st by the head coach.

I thought all the coaches had really good things to say about their respective programs. I'm not sure if some of mslacat's comments were tongue in cheek, or not, but I thought all the coaches were cautiously optimistic. I know Krames wants home playoff games, but we'll really have to wait and see if the defense comes together. One thing is for sure, it sounds like the O Line is just ugly, mean and nasty. That non-conference schedule is going to be hell.

In general, I think all 3 programs need some significant things to really go right in order to win a conference championship. I'll say this, though, I've never felt better about MSU athletics as a whole. All three of the programs that were represented last night are headed in the right direction in my opinion. Personally, I think Coach Brown is making everybody better in MBB.

Kudos to the MSU Athletic Dept. for all their hard work.

Thanks for all the info, msla. It is really easy to get excited about all three of these programs next year, but I do not have my expectations set that high, except in football. But I agree, I feel like all three programs, regardless of next years outcomes, are heading in the right direction.

What type of turn out was there? Were there any Griz fans all dressed in maroon and silver present? I hate when they do that…

Yeah, it's pretty good to be a Cat Our school is growing, the region is growing, our kids can find employment in and around their school, and our athletic department understands their role in all of this. A rather extreme example would be the number of applicants to Georgia Tech the year after they tied for the national championship around 90 increased by over 26 percent and many of their alumni relocated to Hotlanta and had several successful start-up businesses. Really excited to see how our new fundraising drive turns out.

I would say there were 50-70 people, rough estimate.

There was only one fat ugly chick in a grizzly football shirt.

The Griz seem to always have a lot of fat ugly chicks as fans.

Bleedinbluengold wrote: I thought all the coaches had really good things to say about their respective programs. I'm not sure if some of mslacat's comments were tongue in cheek, or not,......

I had to leave before the coaches started giving their speaches, most of what I wrote came from personal conversations. I simply did not have the time to talk with Kramer other than some pleasentries. With Johnny Brown there I really wanted him to know that I appreciated him being their. Johnny brings a great deal of energy and knows how to promote the program. At the same time he is not shy at pointing out what he brings to the program, how he makes the program better. In some way it seemed he was reading from a script as to what I hear as the critism from boosters and how that has changed in the last year. We the boosters were just eating it up. Talking points; bringing in a basketball coaches that were not guards ; Get past the culture of 3-pt shooting; get the ball to the big guys; get out and meet the boosters around the state; take chances on higher level players and offer them early; etc. to the point that a couple of times he seemed to throw Durhan under the bus. Now before you get on my case I want to say I believe I was right their agreeing with him. Sometimes having a bunch of yes men around someone is counter productive. It was actually quite refreshing in some aspects. Johnny reminds me in a lot of ways of the Bobcat coach I knew best Stu Starner (well one of the Starners I knew, Starner had two personalities the "showman coach used car salesman" and the "blunt is no one is around" Stu"

mquast53000 wrote:The Griz seem to always have a lot of fat ugly chicks as fans.

HEY lets hold on here. Some of us are married to grizzly's. My wife is nothing but lovely!

BleedsBlue&Gold wrote:I would say there were 50-70 people, rough estimate.

There was only one fat ugly chick in a grizzly football shirt.

Interestingly, I was told that she is headed to the FBI as a profiler. No ******!

Also, I was told, that she was totally set up by her Cat uncle or cousin, who brought her.