Brian Fish New Coach?

[Hawks86]

Looks like his base salary will be $145,000.

[homeytennis]

I realize it's a calculated risk but he's worked under some smart basketball minds and he's been places where they have had to scrap for players like at San Diego and in the Missouri Valley Conference. When all is said and done sometimes it's not about the Xs and Os it's about the Jimmys and Joes on the floor. Good luck on the recruiting trail.

[Colter_Nuanez]

Looks like his base salary will be $145,000.

According to whom?

[Hawks86]

Looks like his base salary will be $145,000.

According to whom?

My sources deep inside the athletic dep't.




























http://www.greatfallstribune.com/viewar ... Brian-Fish" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ilovethecats]

[Gidal Kaiser]

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sp ... f887a.html A welcome sight: Montana State rings in Brian Fish era

[MSU01]

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sp ... f887a.html A welcome sight: Montana State rings in Brian Fish era

Nice article, I am excited to see how Fish does at MSU. First priority is keeping as many of the current players and current recruits on board, and it sounds like he has the right attitude to accomplish that task successfully.

FYI, the former Bobcat player mentioned in the article is Nico Harrison, not Nico Harris.

[mslacat]

There is one thing about this forum; there is never a drought of possible threads on any given topic. I want to comment on Brian Fish and also what is in store for the Bobcat men’s basketball program in the near future (let’s say 30-60 days). I am picking the tread with the most comments on these topics as opposed to starting another new one.

I was very happy with the choosing of Brian Fish. As I have said on Twitter and Bobcatnation, I was really trying to keep an open mind and not sell myself on any single candidate. Most candidates for me fell into 1 of three categories: The candidates that really intrigued me, the candidates that I did not have a good feeling about and the middle of the road guys. Of the candidates that really intrigued me there were three Brian Fish, Lamont Smith and TJ Otzelberge. I did kind of like, on paper, Smith more but hiring someone based on paper is dangerous so I will go with the committee and believe Fish was the right guy. I also want to the quality and caliber of the candidates who were interested and interviewed for the job was by far higher than what we saw eight years ago.
Here is what people are telling me are Fish’s strong point. He has been Altman’s ace recruiter at Oregon. He is very personable and relatable. He is known as a straight shooter. The biggest change to MSU a basketball could be that Fish also has a reputation as a player’s coach. This was something Huse definitely was not and Mick tended not to be. From what I have heard he made a big impact on the existing players and based on rumblings I am hearing I am feeling more optimistic at our chances of retaining the three fall recruits.

During the press conference fish mentioned that he would need to fill 2 or 3 scholarships this spring and or summer. We have 1 open scholarship due to graduation (assuming all fall signings stay with the program) 1 scholarship open due to Vance Wentz transfer, which might mean that another scholarship or fall signee is considering transferring. If we only lose two players due to the coaching change I personally think that would be very positive. It also sounds like Fish intends to add a one assistant coach right away which would seem to indicate to me that he has someone particular in mind. It sounds the remaining two assistants will be hired later in late May or June.

Overall I am very optimistic about the future of Bobcat basketball and that is something I have not been able to say for about 2-3 years. We may take our lumps next year (or maybe not) lets a year of recruiting under Fish’s belt and see what we can do.

[duelalumnicat]

Mslacat, as always, thank you for your expertise and insights. Two questions:

(1) Did Lamont Smith and TJ Otzelberge interview in person?

(2) Do you think Coach Fish will keep any of the current assistants?

[WyomingGrizFan]

Sounds like you Bobcat fans got a good hire there. Be nice for a change to attend some Bobcat basketball games in Bozeman other than just the Cat-Griz games. Hope everything works out for ya. Just don't beat up on the Griz, ya hear?

[WalkOn79]

I was really encouraged at our meeting in Great Falls!
Seems like a great guy, that the players will relate to.

[Darth Yoda]

I also had a nice chat with Coach Fish at the Triangle. That guy was on a mission to talk to us minions as often and for as long as he could. Impressive.