The Bobcat Nation

I read this in the Great Falls Tribune this morning. Blake Brumwell of Big Sandy has decided to commit to the Bobcat men's basketball team. This sounds like a great pickup to me. According to the article, he lives in the house where the Bobcats' last Big Sandy player lived: Doug Hashley. Here's the article for those who would like to read it.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/articl ... etter-news

This is really a great pickup, and it'll be great to see another Montanan wearing the blue and gold!

I've watched this kid for four years and I have questions about his quickness and jumping ability. I think he would make a great Fronteir player, but I don't know about him playing D1. I've known his parents since his Dad and I played softball together 25 years ago and he is a good kid, I just don't know if he can make it at the D1 level. I hope he proves me wrong, I would love to see another Doug Hashley type of player come from Big Sandy.

HiLineCat wrote:I've watched this kid for four years and I have questions about his quickness and jumping ability. I think he would make a great Fronteir player, but I don't know about him playing D1. I've known his parents since his Dad and I played softball together 25 years ago and he is a good kid, I just don't know if he can make it at the D1 level. I hope he proves me wrong, I would love to see another Doug Hashley type of player come from Big Sandy.

The article says he also had a football offer from the Cats so maybe he can change sports if BB doesn't work out. The article also said that the only other BB offers/interest he received was from NAIA schools.

Great News! I've been reading about Blake a little bit on Mslacat's blog, and he sounds like a fantastic addition to the team.

Welcome to the family Blake!

gtapp wrote:

HiLineCat wrote:I've watched this kid for four years and I have questions about his quickness and jumping ability. I think he would make a great Fronteir player, but I don't know about him playing D1. I've known his parents since his Dad and I played softball together 25 years ago and he is a good kid, I just don't know if he can make it at the D1 level. I hope he proves me wrong, I would love to see another Doug Hashley type of player come from Big Sandy.

The article says he also had a football offer from the Cats so maybe he can change sports if BB doesn't work out. The article also said that the only other BB offers/interest he received was from NAIA schools.

From what I have heard is that the Griz just quit recruiting him when it was clear if he would sign with the Cat's if it came down to it. I also believe he never left the state to play AAU ball or to attend any college camps. From what I have heard he wanted to stay in state to play ball. Someone I talked to a few months back compared him to a cross between former Bobcat's Mike Fellows and Hashley. The comment I did hear though, is that he is one of the better fundamentally sound re bounders that he had seen in the state in a while. He has a knack for getting rebounds.

I have not seen him play, so I can not give you any first hand knowledge, though.

HiLineCat wrote:I've watched this kid for four years and I have questions about his quickness and jumping ability. I think he would make a great Fronteir player, but I don't know about him playing D1. I've known his parents since his Dad and I played softball together 25 years ago and he is a good kid, I just don't know if he can make it at the D1 level. I hope he proves me wrong, I would love to see another Doug Hashley type of player come from Big Sandy.

I've watched him play several times over the past few years as well and I agree with your analysis. He's not real athletic as far as quickness, jumping ability, and speed. He's a very effective player in class C because he's big and strong. I also have my doubts but I guess we'll see.

I actually think Pearson is a much better recruit at the next level than Brumwell. Hopefully they'll sign him as well.

i've only watched him play once, so i'm far from an expert. my prediction is he's gonna give the d-1 hoops a shot which i recommend to anyone with the borderline talent to try, but will probably be playing somewhere like carroll before his college career is over. this isn't a knock on him at all. if he makes it, plays well, and succeeds at msu i'll be very, very happy for him. but it's very hard to play at that level, and many guys who are just on the verge find themselves playing naia or d-2 before it's all said and done. and there's no shame in that either. there are many very good players in the frontier conference too.

I think Blake is going to be a bit of a project. They will have to work on his quickness and athleticism but his is a big kid with good hands. Never going to be a big time scorer but could be a defender and rebound type of guy. I still think there are two other players in Class C that are better then him but neither would play that power forward postition.

I have watched Brumwell and Pearson play about 5 times over the last two years. In all of those games I came away more impressed with Brumwell in terms of intensity, determination, and solid play. He dominated the middle, rebounded very well, and scored as needed. Pearson reminded me a little of Bobby Howard in terms of going outside and shooting the 3, but I thought he did it a little too much in games that he could have scored easily inside. Pearson at 6'5" will have a tough time finding his position in college, Brumwell can easily play a strong power forward. I saw both play games at the HIT but did not see them go against the AA this year. Any one out there that did and can talk on how Brumwell faired against Huestis and company.

tetoncat wrote:I have watched Brumwell and Pearson play about 5 times over the last two years. In all of those games I came away more impressed with Brumwell in terms of intensity, determination, and solid play. He dominated the middle, rebounded very well, and scored as needed. Pearson reminded me a little of Bobby Howard in terms of going outside and shooting the 3, but I thought he did it a little too much in games that he could have scored easily inside. Pearson at 6'5" will have a tough time finding his position in college, Brumwell can easily play a strong power forward. I saw both play games at the HIT but did not see them go against the AA this year. Any one out there that did and can talk on how Brumwell faired against Huestis and company.

He may be more intense and determined (which I think is debatable) but Pearson is definitely more athletic and skilled. Pearson can pretty much do everything on a basketball floor (at least at the class c level). He brings the ball up the floor, can shoot from anywhere, is a very good passer, and creates his own shot. In all the phases of the game I would say rebounding is the only area where Brumwell is better. They're both really good though and hopefully that will continue at the next level.

I don't think Pearson would be bringing the ball up the floor against most other Divisions. I also noticed that he almost had too because Big Sandy did not have very good guards. If they did no one would beat them. He can shoot from anywhere, but the games I saw he did not make it from all those spots. One tourney game he got hot and shot well from outside but it did not look like that was a consistent thing. As I describe him he reminds me of Bobby Howard but I don't think that he is as good as Bobby was at this point.

As KFBB said last night, boosters were grumbling for some more montana flavor on the Basketball team and Huse is doing that. Idol committed early and is a walk and now this committment. I am surprised at it being an offer this early as most "experts" have said that next years senior class has much more talent than this year did.

Here are a couple of things I can tell you about Blake.

1. He is a good worker, he will work on his game and improve. I would agree that he will have to work on his quickness, but I have no doubts he will get after on that.

2. He is a great student, he performs well on the floor and in the classroom.

3. He is a big boy, there are a handfull of tall kids out there, but he really has the frame.

4. He has been raised to be a good person, whether he makes it or not on the basketball floor is up to him, but he will be successful in life because he shows respect for people.

5. Pearson too, comes from a good family and has lots of talent. He is a great kid with a lot of potential. I think he will be a great frontier player, however, I think he has pretty big ambitions as well.

I am glad to see the Cats give Blake an offer, I know they have liked him at their camps for quite some time. Congratulations Baby Brum!!!