Cats WBB

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Catlady
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Cats WBB

Post by Catlady » Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:42 am

Anything going on with the Woman’s team? What does the starting 5 look like next year? Do we still have Smith and Braxton Platooning? Starting 5
Squires
Martell
Kuderer
Freije
Smith

Who’s the Freshman to watch next season?



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Ilikecats » Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:47 am

Feast or famine with Martell.... suffered from the Sophomore slump last season. She might be better suited to come off the bench. I was hoping that Wright might be a bigger influence next season.
This team needs time in the weight room this summer. I thought we got bullied last season.
Should be an interesting season!



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Bobcat4Ever
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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm

Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by RobertCats » Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:49 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
This young lady had a monster senior season, excited as hell to watch her the next few years.

On a side note, looks like Kamden Hilborn is leaving



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Helcat72 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:02 pm

RobertCats wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:49 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
This young lady had a monster senior season, excited as hell to watch her the next few years.

On a side note, looks like Kamden Hilborn is leaving
Don't blame Kamden for entering the portal. It was looking like Binford had her penciled in to take Maddi Shaide's place for the next 3 years. If she's gonna recruit Montana players, then she should play them, not just leave them on the bench so she can have a token Montana player on the team. I think Kamden was as good or better than VanSickle who played the last half season and didn't pass as well or defend. One of the more disappointing things Binford has done during the past few years.


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Re: Cats WBB

Post by arvcat2 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:11 pm

Helcat72 wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:02 pm
RobertCats wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:49 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
This young lady had a monster senior season, excited as hell to watch her the next few years.

On a side note, looks like Kamden Hilborn is leaving
Don't blame Kamden for entering the portal. It was looking like Binford had her penciled in to take Maddi Shaide's place for the next 3 years. If she's gonna recruit Montana players, then she should play them, not just leave them on the bench so she can have a token Montana player on the team. I think Kamden was as good or better than VanSickle who played the last half season and didn't pass as well or defend. One of the more disappointing things Binford has done during the past few years.
I completely agree Helcat. Further, Hilborn is as good or better guard than Wright, who, IMHO, received a disproportionate amount of playing time (4th while missing the first 4 games & all the following stats are based on the top eight girls in minutes played) and ended up ranked 7th on the team in FG%, 3 PT%, FT%, Pts Avg and steals. With the exception of ranking 2nd in assists, all of her other stats were on the bottom half of the eight ranked girls in playing time. If Hilborn got to play as much as Wright, I have a hard time believing Kamden’s performance would have been worse. Sorry to dis on Wright, but stats don’t lie. Best of luck to Ms. Hilborn!



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:21 pm

We're gonna be good next season...really good.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Hawks86 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:01 pm



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Catlady
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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Catlady » Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:31 pm

Best of luck to Kamden. Have to respect the fact that Binford has to make the tough decisions. It’s going to be an interesting year next year.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:07 pm

Dang...hate to see Kamden go. That’s two good freshmen in two years that I thought would have been key players as upper classmen.....Kamden and Laura Pranger. (I know Gillette left too but not sure she had same potential).

I always thought Laura Pranger would be a good contributor as she grew into the program. Laura finished as the 2nd leading scorer at Azuzu Pacific this year with 11.8 PPG, 30 min, 47% overall shooting percent, 38% from 3 range.....on a team that went 21-1 in conference and went as far as Elite 8 in DII this year. I believe we could have used that 3 ball shot percentage this season.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:13 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
That’s what I hear too on White.

I want to see if Bad Bear is recovered fully. If so, I think she will be a contributor.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:02 am

arvcat2 wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:11 pm
Helcat72 wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:02 pm
RobertCats wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:49 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
This young lady had a monster senior season, excited as hell to watch her the next few years.

On a side note, looks like Kamden Hilborn is leaving
Don't blame Kamden for entering the portal. It was looking like Binford had her penciled in to take Maddi Shaide's place for the next 3 years. If she's gonna recruit Montana players, then she should play them, not just leave them on the bench so she can have a token Montana player on the team. I think Kamden was as good or better than VanSickle who played the last half season and didn't pass as well or defend. One of the more disappointing things Binford has done during the past few years.
I completely agree Helcat. Further, Hilborn is as good or better guard than Wright, who, IMHO, received a disproportionate amount of playing time (4th while missing the first 4 games & all the following stats are based on the top eight girls in minutes played) and ended up ranked 7th on the team in FG%, 3 PT%, FT%, Pts Avg and steals. With the exception of ranking 2nd in assists, all of her other stats were on the bottom half of the eight ranked girls in playing time. If Hilborn got to play as much as Wright, I have a hard time believing Kamden’s performance would have been worse. Sorry to dis on Wright, but stats don’t lie. Best of luck to Ms. Hilborn!
I liked em both....Kamden and Wright. Different skill sets. Kamden is a better point guard, faster, better defender on the outside, better playmaker.... I am not sure about her outside shot as she really didn’t shoot much and she seemed timid taking it inside.

Wright is not a point guard...better in the forward position, tougher on the inside, not afraid to fight it out underneath, did take it to hoop more as season progressed and has the size and strength to be competitive underneath. Can’t argue with your full season stats on Wright, but she was a better outside shot in high school....you might remember someone named Peyton Ferris who happened to only shoot about 16% from 3 ball range (ranked 8th) on the team and scored less tha 10 ppg as a freshmen....so don’t give up on Wright yet. You didn’t mention that Wright also ranked 4th on the team in rebounds behind Smith, Braxton, and Kuderer besides being 2nd on assists as you noted. A reminder that Wright played out of position before Christmas as they tried her at point guard until Van Sickle was able to return to the line-up after Christmas. In watching her grow through the season, you could see her confidence grow in her knee strength, her play at the forward position steadily improved and she began taking the ball inside. I guess my point is that her performance steadily improved and I expect her to be a key contributor going forward....I really don’t think her playing time was mis-managed....but just my opinion.

But I wished Kamden could have stuck it out as I would have liked to see her continue to grow too!!



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Ilikecats » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:09 am

It looks like leaving wasn’t her decision. The tone of her announcement makes it sound like it was a program decision for her to leave. She will be fine and has the talent to do well at another school. I don’t like comparing one player to another as it doesn’t accomplish much. Playing time is going to be tough next year as we’re a deep team.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:23 pm

BobcatDel wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:13 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
That’s what I hear too on White.

I want to see if Bad Bear is recovered fully. If so, I think she will be a contributor. If not do you redshirt her a year?
I was trying to find my note on the other recruits but couldn’t locate it....the two other recruits I am recalling are 5’9” Madison Jackson out of Idaho and 5’11” McKenzie Stumne out of Minnesota. I remember Binford saying that one of them played a bit like Riley Nordgard in terms of her tenacity, toughness and hustle (I know White fits this bill too but the reference was to Jackson or Stumne). So that would be fun to see on the court, a freshmen version of a Riley Nordgard to look forward to for four years. Anyone remember which of these ladies coach was talking about?



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:39 pm

BobcatDel wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:23 pm
BobcatDel wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:13 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:18 pm
Freshman to watch: Darian White, Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year.
That’s what I hear too on White.

I want to see if Bad Bear is recovered fully. If so, I think she will be a contributor. If not do you redshirt her a year?
I was trying to find my note on the other recruits but couldn’t locate it....the two other recruits I am recalling are 5’9” Madison Jackson out of Idaho and 5’11” McKenzie Stumne out of Minnesota. I remember Binford saying that one of them played a bit like Riley Nordgard in terms of her tenacity, toughness and hustle (I know White fits this bill too but the reference was to Jackson or Stumne). So that would be fun to see on the court, a freshmen version of a Riley Nordgard to look forward to for four years. Anyone remember which of these ladies coach was talking about?
Answering my own question I think. About as bad as talking to yourself. Anyway, I found one of the recruiting articles about Maddy Jackson and it was pointed out she was a 3A state champion in the 100 & 300 meter hurdles and high jump. Comments were that she played with a high motor on every possession and on defense....I am thinking Maddy was the one Coach referred to that reminded her of Nordgard a bit in intensity.

Another freshman not mentioned is Sidney Zieske. Another 5’8” guard. I made about 80% of the home games and never saw her on the court so I don’t know how she fits going forward....or her skill level. She had no playing time on the stats sheets so I believe she will be a redshirt freshmen next year. Contribution level...don’t know???



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by BobcatDel » Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:06 pm

Venting a bit here.....

All three Montana ladies from the team have now left the program. Shaide opting to graduate and move on, Hilborn entering the transfer portal, Fitzgerald transferring to Western. If Kola Bad Bear’s knee takes a bit longer to rehab and we don’t see her on the team.....well.....there will be exactly ZERO Montana ladies on the WBB team next year.

The “optics” of that just don’t sit well with me. Makes it tough out recruiting around the state trying to convince Montana ladies to come to MSU to sit on a bench. I guess I don’t buy into the argument there aren’t quality Montana players that will compete at this level.....Selvig won a lot of Big Sky games with a lot of Montana ladies.....and we have had a number of great ones at MSU during Binford’s tenure. I know she likes to recruit the AAU kids because their skills from playing year round are more developed.....but you can’t convince me there are no Montana ladies with the grit, toughness, and desire to be part of this team that would grow into key contributors.....and should be part of the team now....not just token Montana bench sitters.

Oh well.......



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by MSU01 » Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:41 pm

BobcatDel wrote:
Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:06 pm
Venting a bit here.....

All three Montana ladies from the team have now left the program. Shaide opting to graduate and move on, Hilborn entering the transfer portal, Fitzgerald transferring to Western. If Kola Bad Bear’s knee takes a bit longer to rehab and we don’t see her on the team.....well.....there will be exactly ZERO Montana ladies on the WBB team next year.

The “optics” of that just don’t sit well with me. Makes it tough out recruiting around the state trying to convince Montana ladies to come to MSU to sit on a bench. I guess I don’t buy into the argument there aren’t quality Montana players that will compete at this level.....Selvig won a lot of Big Sky games with a lot of Montana ladies.....and we have had a number of great ones at MSU during Binford’s tenure. I know she likes to recruit the AAU kids because their skills from playing year round are more developed.....but you can’t convince me there are no Montana ladies with the grit, toughness, and desire to be part of this team that would grow into key contributors.....and should be part of the team now....not just token Montana bench sitters.

Oh well.......
I think you'd have a much better argument if we weren't only two years removed from Twin Bridges' own Peyton Ferris dominating the Big Sky and winning MSU's first tourney title since the early 90s. The balance between in-state and out-of-state players will always be a cyclical thing, both in terms of roster numbers and in terms of playing time for the players who are on the team each year. I certainly hope there are never any quotas imposed on a coaching staff for any sport involving the balance of Montana players vs non-Montana players on the roster or in the starting lineup.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:42 pm

I've no idea of what her ceiling is, and I understand the appeal of moving back to Dillon, but I was very impressed by Fitzgerald's size combined with her ability to move around the court and to shoot as well. I thought she might grow into one of those really good home-grown players. Sorry to see her go.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by arvcat2 » Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:30 pm

It seems to me that Coach Binford, MSU’s longest tenured coach as well as its winningest in WWB history, might consider more than the optics of mostly ignoring Montana HS athletes. IMHO, she is on a Rob Ash like path and nobody is untouchable.



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Re: Cats WBB

Post by Helcat72 » Wed Apr 17, 2019 4:44 pm

I think that the fact Binford is not from Montana and has some good contacts in Colorado, Minnesota, Idaho, and Washington tends to make the team base from outside Montana. She cannot recruit against Schweyen because of the Montana ties, and the history of Lady Griz basketball and Montana players. UM seems to have the better players locked up. Either that or Gonzaga takes them. But when she does get a Montana player, I think she needs to give them a fair chance to prove themselves before sitting them on the bench and forgetting about them. She has 15 schollies for god's sake!
I wonder how many of the Montana players on the Lady Griz were actively recruited by Binford?


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