The Bobcat Nation

There's been the rumor thrown out there that the Lady Griz and Selvig have offered to 5 Class of 2010 in-state girls' basketball players for next season. I think the list included Sullivan from Sidney, Selvig from Glendive, Hill from Anaconda, Mee from Whitefish, and Nelson from Butte. I then saw that Selvig announced that she was committing to the Lady Griz during the Big Sky State games. My question is this: does anyone know if the the Cats and Binford offered any of these players, too? They have to be on everyone's radar and I wouldn't think Binford wouldn't try to compete on some level for these in-state players.

I know given the family connection that Sullivan and Selvig are unlikely, but was more curious about the rest. Fortunately, I had the chance to watch all of these players except Nelson during the Big Sky State games as they all play for Big Sky Hoops out of Anaconda who won the high school division. I've also gotten to see Sullivan, Selvig, and Nelson quite frequently in Billings over the last several years. Based on what I've seen, Sullivan stands out head and shoulders from the rest. She's the head turner in the bunch. She had a cast on her wrist and still stood out from everyone else. Selvig plays very similar to her brother--there's definitely talent there, but she always seems like a big who wants to haunt the perimeter rather than being a force on the inside. I haven't seen Hill play much, but based on what I saw, it's a head scratcher as a D1 point guard. She was the co-MVP at the Lady Griz team camp, but in the two games I saw she is not blazing fast and is shorter than I had heard. Granted it's easier to stand out on your high school team when you're not playing with what is, in effect, an all-star team, but based on what I'd heard, I just expected to see her be noticeably better than the players she was matched up against and playing with. Mee is a big athletic player, but is probably more of a project than a player who's going to step in as a frosh and contribute (of course, that's most incoming frosh, so it's not surprising).

Nelson, from Butte High, is intriguing. No doubt, nobody works harder, but reports of her being 5'9" are flatout false. She probably tops out at 5'6" in shoes. She's been an incredible scorer and player in high school, but they almost run her off of 3 or 4 screens on every single offensive possession and she doesn't have what you'd call a quick release on her shot. She doesn't really handle the ball like you'd need for a 1, so you're probably looking at playing her as a 2 maybe like a Sonya Rogers.

Was also curious if anyone knows why the younger Tinkle girl isn't playing with Big Sky Hoops like her older sister? Or, is she playing, but wasn't at the Big Sky State games? Having also seen the Big Sky Hoops team that her sister played on several years ago, it's clear that the team from two years ago was pretty special compared to this team. The dropoff was pretty significant on this team overall. Along with the 4 players above, Durham from Miles City was a starter and like most Miles City players recently is solid, but not outstanding. Veis' system is so ingrained in their girls that they always seem out of their element without him. The top player off the bench was Gilham from Browning who is quite young, but despite reports that someone better lock her up now, I'm not sure where you'd play her in college at this point given conditioning, height, and foot speed. All things are subject to change, though.

Have you visited Mslacat's blog? He has alot of info. on basketball recruits.

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Here is what I know.

First I agree with a great deal of what you have said so I am not going to bother repeating where we agree.

As far as the Bobcat coaches I do not believe they are going to concede any Montana player that they want to the Griz even if the odds are against them. I also know that Binford and her staff recruit certain types of players that need to fit into her system. Selvig tends to go out and recruits the best players he can find and tries to adjust his system to the players he has.

Sullivan is clearly in that upper echelon of Montana players, not quite the Josh Tinkle level (not many players are) but just below that. There very few schools out west who would not love to sign Sullivan, and I think she has offers from just about everyone. Given that she is Selvigs cousin it is assumed she will attend UM. She attended both MSU and UM camps

Hill I am told is being recruited by the Griz as the next Sonya Rogers. Despite what I have written in my Blog, they view her as a future all Conference shooting guard. Hill has a lot connections to UM and most feel they have a strong edge over MSU. As far as her recruiting in general, Hill is getting a lot of attention from Pac-10 or equal schools but no offers, a lot of people I talk to have predicted it will follow the path that Ali Hurley's took a few years back where she will eventually sign with Montana, after no large school end up offering her. She attended both MSU and UM camps and holds offers from both.

Selvig, I am told committed to her Uncle, but I have not seen anything in the press about it, though. I had the misfortune of saying to a friend of mine that I thought she was over rated, to put things delicately I was told that I was very wrong. I think Selvig needs to be in a system that runs, and she is able to take advantage of her quickness. I am told both the Griz and Bobcats offered, and she attended both camps.

Nelson I have heard she is being looked at as both a shooting guard and point, but she is not a perfect fit at either position. I believe both the Cat's and the Griz offered her last winter, but I do not know where she currently stands on either recruiting boards.

Mee is the mystery girl to me. I have been told that she is a pretty good athlete, being an all state player in three sports, but I do not know for sure if she has been offered by either school. I think the Griz have, but I do not think the Bobcats have, but I could be way off on that. At 6-2 apparently athletic she seems to be a prototypical Binford big girl, so I am wondering about her foot speed.

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I have also heard that the Lady Griz are looking real hard at Kellie Cole from Bozeman high school. She had a great summer and the Lady griz took noticed and I beleive they offered her.

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Torry Hill (Anaconda) has committed to the Lady Griz.

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2009 ... jcfajf.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks like Lexie Nelson from Butte will also be committing to the Lady Griz. I have heard that the Binford also offered Nelson and was pretty high on her. Looks like after Binford landed most of the quality Montana recruits last year (aside from Tinkle), the lady Griz have returned the favor this year.

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mslacat wrote:It looks like Lexie Nelson from Butte will also be committing to the Lady Griz. I have heard that the Binford also offered Nelson and was pretty high on her. Looks like after Binford landed most of the quality Montana recruits last year (aside from Tinkle), the lady Griz have returned the favor this year.

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Good info, mslacat. Cole to me plays more like a 2 than a 1. On your blog you have her father identified as James Cole. That's her brother. Her dad is Mike Cole, ex-coach for the boys' at Bozeman High School who was let go two years ago. Nelson is a 2, but size-wise is more of a 1. I'm guessing that they're signing Hill thinking she could play 1 or 2, but given that the other two look like 2's, I'd expect her to be a 1 out of the shoots. It's curious that all three are are being signed in the same year given their similarities (size, and fact that none are blow-you-away athletes), but my guess is that given the Lady Griz's history they expect that 1 of them might be a great player, 1 can eventually contribute during her career, and 1 just won't work out. They simply don't know which is which, so they're signing all three. Given that they're probably going to wait on what Sullivan decides to do, and the fact that they've already had 4 commitments in the class, anyone else hoping to get recruited by the Lady Griz should probably move along IMMEDIATELY and seriously consider playing for another pretty good program in the state--Binford and the Cats. It would also kind of stink to be the walk-on guard from Ohio who played at Flathead this last season knowing what Selvig's recruited behind you.