New Mens Basketball Coach

[BobCatFan]

Who do you want to turn this program around?

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Did I mess any questions?

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions.

[Helcat72]

Who do you want to turn this program around?

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Did I mess any questions?

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions.

1. Who do you want to turn this program around?
Rick Pitino
2. How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?
Adopt a Black Culture, and get about 60,000 more people
3.What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?
None
4. How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?
If 1. and 2. then it shouldn't take long
How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?
If 2. and 4. the money will be there
Did I mess any questions?
Quite a mess!

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions
There's not enough money around Bozeman that Isn't spent on football to make your dreams come true!

[John K]

Who do you want to turn this program around?

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Did I mess any questions?

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions.

1. Who do you want to turn this program around?
Rick Patino
2. How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?
Adopt a Black Culture, and get about 60,000 more people3.What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?
None
4. How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?
If 1. and 2. then it shouldn't take long
How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?
If 2. and 4. the money will be there
Did I mess any questions?
Quite a mess!

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions
There's not enough money around Bozeman that Isn't spent on football to make your dreams come true!

I disagree with your assertion that for MSU to be successful in hoops, Bozeman needs to adopt a "black culture" (can we maybe insert "urban" in place of "black") and add 60,000 people to the population. For starters, adding 60,000 people to the population of the Gallatin Valley would still leave it well short of being large enough to be significantly more attractive to kids from urban backgrounds. And If UM and WSU can recruit talented players from urban backgrounds to Missoula and Ogden, I don't know why MSU shouldn't also be able to do so. Many schools have strong hoops programs, that are not located in (or even particularly close to) large metro areas.

Also, all MSU sports benefit from the success of the football program. For example, I would guess that Bobcat Club membership has increased substantially in recent years, largely due to the success of the football team, but those additional dollars are spread out among all the sports programs, not just football. The same thing is true of events like the Triangle Classic. Even though it's intended primarily to benefit the football program, some of the revenue that's generated is spent on sports other than football. So I don't buy the argument that we can't be successful in both football and basketball at the same time...that there's simply not enough money to go around.

Back in the 90's there were many people, both MSU and UM fans, who told us that we could never catch up to UM in football. That they'd been too good for too long, and we'd been too bad for too long, and that UM would always be the top program in Montana. I didn't buy that then, just as I don't buy it now when people say that we're just doomed to being forever mediocre in basketball. All it takes is hiring the right coach, and I'm fully aware that's easier said than done, but I'm also convinced that it's not impossible (I'm also convinced that Brad Huse is not that guy).

[gtapp]

Who do you want to turn this program around?

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Did I mess any questions?

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions.

1. Who do you want to turn this program around?
Rick Patino
2. How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?
Adopt a Black Culture, and get about 60,000 more people3.What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?
None
4. How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?
If 1. and 2. then it shouldn't take long
How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?
If 2. and 4. the money will be there
Did I mess any questions?
Quite a mess!

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions
There's not enough money around Bozeman that Isn't spent on football to make your dreams come true!

I disagree with your assertion that for MSU to be successful in hoops, Bozeman needs to adopt a "black culture" (can we maybe insert "urban" in place of "black") and add 60,000 people to the population. For starters, adding 60,000 people to the population of the Gallatin Valley would still leave it well short of being large enough to be significantly more attractive to kids from urban backgrounds. And If UM and WSU can recruit talented players from urban backgrounds to Missoula and Ogden, I don't know why MSU shouldn't also be able to do so. Many schools have strong hoops programs, that are not located in (or even particularly close to) large metro areas.

Also, all MSU sports benefit from the success of the football program. For example, I would guess that Bobcat Club membership has increased substantially in recent years, largely due to the success of the football team, but those additional dollars are spread out among all the sports programs, not just football. The same thing is true of events like the Triangle Classic. Even though it's intended primarily to benefit the football program, some of the revenue that's generated is spent on sports other than football. So I don't buy the argument that we can't be successful in both football and basketball at the same time...that there's simply not enough money to go around.

Back in the 90's there were many people, both MSU and UM fans, who told us that we could never catch up to UM in football. That they'd been too good for too long, and we'd been too bad for too long, and that UM would always be the top program in Montana. I didn't buy that then, just as I don't buy it now when people say that we're just doomed to being forever mediocre in basketball. All it takes is hiring the right coach, and I'm fully aware that's easier said than done, but I'm also convinced that it's not impossible (I'm also convinced that Brad Huse is not that guy).

QB Club funds are intended for ONLY football. The athletic dept. does not have any control over those funds. Coach Ash puts in requests for funds for specific items/activities and the QB Club will approve those they are in favor of and grant the money. I have not heard of any QB Club dollars going to programs outside of football. The BB Team has their own club.

[catscat]

I don't know who or what it takes to turn the program around, but I do know that I am tired of losing to the gritz twice a year, struggling to get into the conference tourney, and then being one and done.

[John K]

Who do you want to turn this program around?

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Did I mess any questions?

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions.

1. Who do you want to turn this program around?
Rick Patino
2. How can we get better players to come to Bozeman? What is the problem now?
Adopt a Black Culture, and get about 60,000 more people3.What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?
None
4. How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?
If 1. and 2. then it shouldn't take long
How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?
If 2. and 4. the money will be there
Did I mess any questions?
Quite a mess!

I am not closest enough to program to make any recommendations, so I will just ask the questions
There's not enough money around Bozeman that Isn't spent on football to make your dreams come true!

I disagree with your assertion that for MSU to be successful in hoops, Bozeman needs to adopt a "black culture" (can we maybe insert "urban" in place of "black") and add 60,000 people to the population. For starters, adding 60,000 people to the population of the Gallatin Valley would still leave it well short of being large enough to be significantly more attractive to kids from urban backgrounds. And If UM and WSU can recruit talented players from urban backgrounds to Missoula and Ogden, I don't know why MSU shouldn't also be able to do so. Many schools have strong hoops programs, that are not located in (or even particularly close to) large metro areas.

Also, all MSU sports benefit from the success of the football program. For example, I would guess that Bobcat Club membership has increased substantially in recent years, largely due to the success of the football team, but those additional dollars are spread out among all the sports programs, not just football. The same thing is true of events like the Triangle Classic. Even though it's intended primarily to benefit the football program, some of the revenue that's generated is spent on sports other than football. So I don't buy the argument that we can't be successful in both football and basketball at the same time...that there's simply not enough money to go around.

Back in the 90's there were many people, both MSU and UM fans, who told us that we could never catch up to UM in football. That they'd been too good for too long, and we'd been too bad for too long, and that UM would always be the top program in Montana. I didn't buy that then, just as I don't buy it now when people say that we're just doomed to being forever mediocre in basketball. All it takes is hiring the right coach, and I'm fully aware that's easier said than done, but I'm also convinced that it's not impossible (I'm also convinced that Brad Huse is not that guy).

QB Club funds are intended for ONLY football. The athletic dept. does not have any control over those funds. Coach Ash puts in requests for funds for specific items/activities and the QB Club will approve those they are in favor of and grant the money. I have not heard of any QB Club dollars going to programs outside of football. The BB Team has their own club.

I said Bobcat Club, not QB Club. I know that the QB club funds go to football only.

[mslacat]

I will Bite but no this is under the assumption we do not have a head basketball coach, which as I type this we do.

Who do you want to turn this program around?

I have changed from years past, I have no preconceived notion about “who” I want but plenty of ideas on “what” I want. There are a couple coaches in the Frontier league that pique my interest and a couple old friends (Bobcats) that may also have an interest, but that would only be a small piece of the puzzle as to what I would be interested in. I would want a clear picture in my mind as to this coaches approach philosophy and then compare that to what I feel are the very real problems, advantages and challenges to running a program locate in the Big Sky Conference and Bozeman Montana. I think I would prefer a coach with west coast recruiting expertise OR a detailed plan on how they could recruit with MSU’s limited recruiting budget.

How can we get better players to come to Bozeman?

Multipart Question

Make sure you get the right player for the team and Bozeman community (weather). Know the players athletically, educationally, and emotionally. The MSU athletic department across the board does a great job with the educational component. Athletically recruit players that fit the coach. For Huse for example: While athleticism and height are always a premium I would put toughness, Basketball IQ and being good shooters higher on my top traits Huse needs to look for. It does not matter how talented a kid is if you don’t use his talent bad fit. If a player is Tall, athletic, a great shooter, quick, smart and with a high basketball IQ chances are we aren’t getting him get him. Narrow the scope of the type of player you want to recruit. Binford for example values quickness and the ability to run the court in her bigs more than size. That is a compromise she is willing to make. Identify what compromises you are willing to make and get the most out of the player you bring in.

Recruit the right areas of the country. Again looking at Huse for him he needs to look more at the Mid-West, Rocky Mountain Area and Pacific Northwest. These players are generally a little tougher, harder working (i.e. less the spoiled AAU primadonnas) not to mention a little less intimidated by the weather. One area that we need to seriously think long and had about recruiting is the southern California area. These recruits have a history of being “soft” and home bodies. They are very connected to their California support system, and do not do well when they are removed from. Add the Montana winters a “tough coach” and they usually go running back home after their first year. The area that I think is prime for the Bobcats is the Texas recruiting ground. These are tough well coached kids that are heavily recruited by high and mid major but there seems to be a lot of under recruited Big Sky level programs. Weather is an issue but I think MSU has history of selling Texas kids on Montana.

We need our own players selling the program to incoming recruits. When recruits on campus, they spend more time with the players than the actual coaches. Recruits generally feel the players are more “honest” than the coaches. A family (as opposed to a business) atmosphere can go a long way to sell a potential recruit.

Finally the “Wow Factor” anything shiny new about the program sell the program as a real D-1 program. Systematically update facilities, coaches’ offices. These kids hopefully are going to be visiting 4-5 schools tour the athletic department and school campus. We have a great campus that really sells Montana State “Higher Education”. The athletic department is about middle of the road for the Big Sky. We need to make sure we keep up with the facilities arms race, plus we have to make sure we put a good “coat of paint” on our existing facilities from time to time.

What is the problem now?

There may be more problems that specifically need to be addressed in our actually recruiting process but until we can these three problems we cannot completely evaluated our recruiting process

Keeping young players in the program for 4-5 years.
Not getting the most out of the player we recruit, dare I say just the opposite?
Chemistry

What facilities need to replaced or fixed up?

I have not toured the program in a while so I don’t have an educated opinion on this other than, if you gave Huse and Binford 1 million dollars they could have it spent real quick.

How long are you willing to give a new coach to turn the program around?

I am usually in the minority about this but I am willing to give a significant amount of time (4-5 years) as long as certain goals are met. Off the court performances need to be maintained, grades, community involvement and the like. The coach needs to have a plan mapped out as to how he wants to build the program and I would need to see this plan develop according to the plan (maybe more than just wins and losses). In the end I just want to be able to be proud of the program, athletes and the real expectation of optimism. If things really start to go to pot my patience gets real short.

How can we get the fans back? The "Big" money back?

Getting fans to take ownership in the team is the key. Nothing builds ownership like winning. A quicker faster more exciting brand of basketball can get a more entertaining brand of basketball can generate more interest and thus a bump in attendance, but again nothing draws people in to the field house like a winning program. I also think these long steaks of winning and then losing really frustrates fans (4 or 5 games in a row) just pisses fans off, and they done take ownership in the team. Fans want to think of college basketball as their team. Player John out on the floor is like a member (although extended) of the family. If you talk about MSU basketball or Football do you say “we” have a game this week or MSU has a game this weekend?

Now who was the poster who was saying he missed my posting here

[BelgradeBobcat]

This is easy for me to say-I wasn't a particularly motivated off season worker-which probably shortened my own playing career:

What is our strength and conditioing program like? Does the strength coach spend time with the basketball players or is he all for football? In my experience, most basketball players are notorious for slacking off in the weight room. Also, do the basketball players get time in the weight room apart from the football players? I can speak from experience here too-being in a weight room with a bunch of football players can be pretty intimidating. Pretty soon you're doing it wrong-trying to lift more than you should and doing it incorrectly.

Maybe they do right-I don't know. But I figure if we can't recruit top flight athletes, maybe we can manufacture some? If MSU is going to be successful they're going to have to outwork the rest of the league. More weight room, more cardio, more time shooting in the gym.

I remember Kwesi Coleman-seeing him in the gym all by himself working on his game. He worked really hard. And he got better and better. By the time he was a senior he was outstanding. And our 1996 championship team-nobody outworked those guys, during the season or in the off season.

Finding the type of guys who are willing to put in the time on their own to get better needs to be a goal.

[Weltercat]

I use to really love Big Sky BB. I even rooted for the griz when I was a kid and went to many games both cat and griz. Things sure seem to be in a sad state all around the BSC except in Missoula and Ogdon. I don't know what can be done but I think if Washington State fires coach Bone the cats should make a run at getting him. I think a good coach could go along ways in making mens bb in Bozeman relevant again.

[CARDIAC_CATS]

So I assume Huse is back for next year? Most of the schools fired their coaches right after the season ended. Was this the last year of Huse's contract?

[catamaran]

there's probably no hurry since his contracts good until june

[MSU01]

there's probably no hurry since his contracts good until june

If they're going to not renew Huse's contract, they'll hire someone before June. The last thing we'd want is to wait to fill the open position until most of the top candidates have already found jobs elsewhere for next year. However, I think if Huse were not returning we would have heard something by now at least as a rumor.

[CARDIAC_CATS]

there's probably no hurry since his contracts good until june

If they're going to not renew Huse's contract, they'll hire someone before June. The last thing we'd want is to wait to fill the open position until most of the top candidates have already found jobs elsewhere for next year. However, I think if Huse were not returning we would have heard something by now at least as a rumor.

Check out some reason's why Tubby Smith was fired.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... t-was-time

Many will cite Smith's 46-62 record in the Big Ten, but even more damning is his record in February. To wit:

2013: 3-4
2012: 1-7
2011: 1-6
2010: 4-3
2009: 2-5
2008: 4-4

[ilovethecats]

precisely. as a gopher fan i deal with pretty much the same crap with both them and the cats. we barely compete in the conference and i think our best finish under tubby was 6th. and we never seem to improve as the season progresses; we stay the same or get worse. i mean come on, they started the season like 15-1 this year with some nice wins.

it's interesting to see the names of potential candidates. smart at vcu as his old ad is our current ad and last year when he was hired it was rumored he's be bringing smart along eventually. jay wright is an alum who has seen a lot of success as well. and as always when we make a coaching change, flip saunders name always comes up.

[John K]

there's probably no hurry since his contracts good until june

If they're going to not renew Huse's contract, they'll hire someone before June. The last thing we'd want is to wait to fill the open position until most of the top candidates have already found jobs elsewhere for next year. However, I think if Huse were not returning we would have heard something by now at least as a rumor.

Check out some reason's why Tubby Smith was fired.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketba ... t-was-time

Many will cite Smith's 46-62 record in the Big Ten, but even more damning is his record in February. To wit:

2013: 3-4
2012: 1-7
2011: 1-6
2010: 4-3
2009: 2-5
2008: 4-4

In reading that piece, I found myself thinking that you could easily plug in "Montana State" in place of "Minnesota", since it pretty accurately described the MSU program under Huse, in lots of different ways...not just the February collapses. About the only major difference was the part about Minnesota starting the season 15-1. Ben Howland got fired by UCLA, despite going to three Final Fours, while Huse has only been to the Final Four of the BSC one time. I agree that if we don't hear something very soon, it probably means that he'll be back for at least one more season.

[Catfanatic84]

I think we should ask Phil Jackson to coach at MSU. Sounds crazy, I know....it might be an interesting challenge for him. Obviously not for the money, but he would be coaching in his home state and give him something to do in retirement.

[MSU68]

I don't know; but I'll tell you one thing.
7 years is plenty of time for a coach to 'turn things around', I've been going to Cat Basketball for forty years and this is the second time we've experienced the same thing in so far as wins/losses and program soundness goes.
One other thing, prices going up again and having this team/coach return does not bode well for attendance that is already in the tank.

[bobcat99]

We need a new Men's and Women's basketball coach. It's too bad, we really could have a decent team here if we had some decent coaches.

[MSU01]

While we're at it, Shaka Smart of VCU turned down UCLA and Minnesota yesterday...so let's give him a call! Like it or not, I think it's pretty clear that Huse is coming back. Which I'm ok with as long as the players on the team do the same. I just hope he is hired on a one-year contract so that MSU isn't committing to him for another three years when there is so little on-court success to justify that.

[John K]

While we're at it, Shaka Smart of VCU turned down UCLA and Minnesota yesterday...so let's give him a call! Like it or not, I think it's pretty clear that Huse is coming back. Which I'm ok with as long as the players on the team do the same. I just hope he is hired on a one-year contract so that MSU isn't committing to him for another three years when there is so little on-court success to justify that.

I'm sure you're right about that. If MSU was going to make a change, I think they would have done so by now. I'm not OK with it though. After 7 years of the same results under Huse, year after year after year, what makes you think there's any chance that things will magically change next season? Of course there's no guarantee that things will be better under someone else, but we don't have much to lose at this point. If interest in MSU hoops declines any further, they'll have to start giving away tickets for free to get anyone to go to the games. My stance was solidified after reading mslacat's post, and his comments about Huse being so detached from his players. I think that goes a long ways towards explaining why our player's effort seems to be so inconsistent, and may also largely explain the annual February collapses. Contrast that with Tinkle, who seems to have a great relationship with his players, and has really developed a "family" environment within their program. Which coach would you rather play for? I'm afraid though, that PF will be willing to keep him forever, so long as he keeps making the tourney (even if they continue to lose in the 1st round every season), their APR remains strong, and there's a minimum of off the court issues.