Huse's Future

[aucat]

The collapse last night was indeed embarrassing. The fact that both Peter Fields and President Cruzado were visibly present at the game (walking around, shaking hands with folks, etc.) was not a good time for the Cats to put up such a poor effort down the stretch.

It will be interesting to see how this season ends up. All I know is, I think it is remarkable that it has been decades since MSU men OR women has managed to host a BSC tournament. Meanwhile, over in Missoula, ho-hum, they are getting ready to host not one, no, but TWO tournaments in the same year. Just think about what hosting a tournament means, not only to the university, but the community.

That's what to me is the most embarrassing aspect of all of this. We put up being the red-headed stepchild to UM for too long in football and have flat-out turned that around. Well, when it comes to hoops, we are most definitely the red-headed step children to the hoops programs over in Missoula. A couple of weeks ago I really thought that we were getting close to turning the corner on that, given our performance over in Missoula, but now both teams are dropping fast.

UM men have now won, what 25 BSC games in a row??? Amazing!! I think I know one thing. President Cruzado is not about mediocrity, especially when compared to UM. As someone has consistently stated on this forum, we need to make hoops relevant again at MSU. Just like we did with football!!

Let's see how this season plays out. It will especially be revealing to see what the men and women do on March 2nd when the Griz come to Bozeman.

[John K]

The collapse last night was indeed embarrassing. The fact that both Peter Fields and President Cruzado were visibly present at the game (walking around, shaking hands with folks, etc.) was not a good time for the Cats to put up such a poor effort down the stretch.

It will be interesting to see how this season ends up. All I know is, I think it is remarkable that it has been decades since MSU men OR women has managed to host a BSC tournament. Meanwhile, over in Missoula, ho-hum, they are getting ready to host not one, no, but TWO tournaments in the same year. Just think about what hosting a tournament means, not only to the university, but the community.

That's what to me is the most embarrassing aspect of all of this. We put up being the red-headed stepchild to UM for too long in football and have flat-out turned that around. Well, when it comes to hoops, we are most definitely the red-headed step children to the hoops programs over in Missoula. A couple of weeks ago I really thought that we were getting close to turning the corner on that, given our performance over in Missoula, but now both teams are dropping fast.

UM men have now won, what 25 BSC games in a row??? Amazing!! I think I know one thing. President Cruzado is not about mediocrity, especially when compared to UM. As someone has consistently stated on this forum, we need to make hoops relevant again at MSU. Just like we did with football!!

Let's see how this season plays out. It will especially be revealing to see what the men and women do on March 2nd when the Griz come to Bozeman.

Actually, it's only been a little more than one decade since the men last hosted the tourney in 2002, but of course they were upset by UM in the semi-finals that year, after having beaten them by 15-20 points both times during the regular season. They haven't actually won the tourney since 1996 though, so that has been almost two decades. And it has been exactly two decades since the women last hosted or won the tourney in 1993. You're right, that's a pretty abysmal track record.

[ndvet]

Gotta throw my hat in the ring here. Yep, first post. I'm a man who was fortunate enough to play for Coach Huse at Jamestown College in ND. He had an unprecedented run of success, finishing with an overal record of 184-60, multiple conference championships, national tourament births, coach of the year awards, etc....I'm sure you've all read the bio. His run through the NDCAC and DAC conference's was unlike any that took place before or since. He could have stayed at JC for 30 years and they'd be happy to have him back (insert your "they CAN have him back" joke if you will). He was without a doubt the best coach that school and any in the respective conferences metioned have seen. I am as suprised as the rest of the posters on this board that that success has not followed him to MSU. And guess what...no one is ANY more suprised or disappointed as Coach Huse himself(yes---words from his mouth). Let me tell you though...he hasn't even CONSIDERED giving up, and he'll work his tail off until they tell him he's without a job. Here's what I know. At JC, Coach was able to mix in local ND talent (approximately 1/2 his roster) with imported athletic transfers/HS kids and build a dynasty. Did he have turnover in the program? Yes, but 90% of this were walk on kids, kids that didn't have the desire to play, or kids that were shown the door. I'm surprised at the turnover he's had at MSU, which I agree, sets a poor precident and is major cause for alarm. I feel the recruiting base that Coach Huse has to pick from in Montana is not one that is completely conducive to set that program up for success, and yes I am aware of the Grizzlies success in mens basketball. Finding hs kids from Montana to compete at the DI level in basketball compared to football is a whole different ball game. There's a level of athleticism in that league that makes it hard for Huse to load his roster with half of his kids from the home state like he did at JC. Montana kids are in a lot of regards similar to ND kids...farm kids, big, strong, hard working, but perhaps without the other skill set(exceptional speed, leaping ability, and athleticism), that is required to compete and succeed at the DI level. I say this because this is a description of myself. Has Huse dropped the ball and missed out on some home grown kids? Probably, to be honest I'm not sure. Has he struck out on some imports? Without a doubt! There's no more inexact science as recruiting 20 year old kids to move across country to compete in a collegiate sport in a foriegn environment. Coach would you tell you himself there were times he got lucky at JC. Heck, the kid who wound up being the NAIA national player of the year was barely recruited by ANY school in ND. He picked JC, not the other way around. A kid who was the schools all time leading scorer (Beau Hensel) was plucked from Montana! In order to build a program with that kind of success a guy NEEDS some luck. You also MAKE your own luck at times. Has Huse been unlucky at MSU? I think at times yes, in my opinion more than a person realizes. As a person that knows some of the behind the scenes stories, there's a reason some of the kids that were shown the door were, and they were good ones. He's probably made some of that bad luck as well. Huse isn't a guy that will let someone be ABOVE the team, he won't tell you what you want to hear, and if you think you have the answers and are above discipline and respect, you probably won't mesh well with him. But let me tell you, if you show him you are a man of integrity, he'll do anything short of take a bullet for you. I can go on about his coaching style that is often times shot down on here (we ran a motion offense, mixed in some set plays, played predominately man to man with some 1-1-3 zone), etc. I've been fortunate to have been able to play at the collegiate level and have coached kids from the 5th grade and up. I know that many people who post on this site can probably say the same thing, some played in high school, some were cut in high school, and some quit in the JH. But when it comes to basketball, everyone's an expert. Hell, I'm not. I just know that I've played under a lot of coached a lot of basketball, and Huse knows the game. Has he got players to fit his style/buy in/execute like he should or would like? Again, apparently not. But trust me on this one, there's no coach in the Big Sky that knows basketball anymore than Huse. My question is, since the Danny Sprinkle days, what sort of success have the Bobcats had? Is this a Huse problem, a university problem, etc? In 5 years if Brad is let go will we be reading the same things? And no, the people and program should NOT have to accept mediocrity. I'm surpised. I thought by this pt Brad would have had the program up and running at a level similar to the Grizz. It might not happen. For a number of reasons! Its not that Huse doesn't know the game. Its not that he is overly hard on his players or coaches. If coach DOES get the right mix of players and gets this program going in the direction I would have thought it would be by now (and yes I know at this point thats one mighty BIG IF), the Big Sky will be in for a team that year in year out will be a load to deal with. I hope he gets another chance. And even f he doesn't, I'm better for knowing him, better for playing for him, and can say with no hesitation that he is a man of a tremondously high moral character.

[Hawks86]

Thanks for the post ndvet.

[John K]

That was an excellent post. Your comments were fair, honest, and objective, and I thank you for sharing your "insider's" insight. To also be fair to those who have been critical of Huse however, the vast majority (including myself) thought he was a great hire at the time, and would like nothing better than to see him be the one who leads the MBB program to better days. You're also absolutely correct in pointing out that MSU hoops has not had an illustrious history, even before the arrival of Brad Huse. The Cats have won only four titles in the history of the BSC, and two of those were in the first four years that the conference existed (1964 and 1967) which means we've won exactly two titles in the past 46 years. To truly put that in perspective, In football we've won more BSC titles than that in the past three years.

There are a few issues though, that set the Huse era apart (negatively) from his immediate predecessors, Starner and Durham.

1. Starner and Durham at least had some periods of excellence, even if they were quite brief. From 1986-1988, Starner won a BSC championship, and made it to the title game twice. Durham accomplished the same from 1996-1998. Huse has not even achieved this level of modest success, even briefly.

2. Neither Starner nor Durham experienced the amount of turnover that has plagued Huse's program. It's impossible to build a successful program with the level of turnover that MSU has had throughout Brad's tenure, and I believe that also detracts from fan support, at least to some small degree.

3. Both Starner's and Durham's teams generally had good shooters, and played a more exciting style of ball. Huse's teams have been plagued by poor shooting, and don't play a particularly entertaining style, which also detracts from fan support. This is even more critical when the team is also not winning.

4. Starner and Durham had many more in-state players, which I believe is a factor in fan support, albeit probably not a huge factor (or at least it shouldn't be). Maybe as you say, this is because the vast majority of Montana kids just aren't athletic enough to play in today's D-I game. But I can't help but think that there's some great shooters from Montana who are excelling in the Frontier Conference that just maybe could have been contributors in MSU's program, even if they aren't overly athletic.

5. And finally, there's the issue of the perennial late-season collapses, and first round departures from the tourney. Why, after doing fairly well the first time through the conference schedule, do his teams falter during the second round of BSC games, year after year after year? Many BN posters seem to feel that we just don't have the talent to compete with the top teams in the BSC, and yet our players are talented enough that they can win at least half their games during the first half of the conference schedule, before completely falling apart and winning no more than 1 or 2 games the second time around. It's completely baffling to me why this happens every single year.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Great post ndvet. Thanks for sharing.

Ah Beau Hensel from Belgrade, MT. Great high school player, but didn't get a sniff from Durham (then coach at MSU). A few years later he dropped 25 or so on the Bobcats who were lucky to come away with a narrow win over Jamestown College. Hensel had transformed from a skinny 6'5" high school kid to a big broad shouldered guy who ate up the Junior College guys assigned to stop him. If I remember right it was Casey Reynolds, who did a good job for MSU, but he was pretty limited in skill and athletic ability. Hensel was a much better player, but because he wasn't from somewhere else I guess he wasn't supposed to be good enough. Durham blew it on a few in state guys, but his best team in 1996 had 3 starters from Montana (Sprinkle, Hatler, and Leachman). I wonder if those guys would have gotten a sniff these days? I suppose Leachman would-but we'd be trying to get him to 300 pounds so he could play offensive tackle as all the good Montana kids seem to be playing football these days.

With all the player turnover we've had, Huse would have been better off taking a few more chances on some in state guys. Heck-one of his biggest chances was Blake Brumwell, who has been quite a pleasant surprise this season. But what do we know...we're just fans.

[ndvet]

I agree. It would be nice to sign 3 or 4 Montana kids, redshirt them, and hope they can be key cogs in a solid program. Go out and pick up 3 or 4 out of state hs kids. Fill in for a few years with transfers/jc's. The years you have a big hole because a kid or two didn't develop, look for immediate help. Are those mt kids out there? I don't know. It sure sounds easier than it obviously is. I'm guessing none of us have ran a DI program.

[wbtfg]

I agree. It would be nice to sign 3 or 4 Montana kids, redshirt them, and hope they can be key cogs in a solid program. Go out and pick up 3 or 4 out of state hs kids. Fill in for a few years with transfers/jc's. The years you have a big hole because a kid or two didn't develop, look for immediate help. Are those mt kids out there? I don't know. It sure sounds easier than it obviously is. I'm guessing none of us have ran a DI program.

Agree with the sentiment, however, I honestly cant think of any mt kids in the past 3-4 that we should have recruited but didnt.

[ilovethecats]

I agree. It would be nice to sign 3 or 4 Montana kids, redshirt them, and hope they can be key cogs in a solid program. Go out and pick up 3 or 4 out of state hs kids. Fill in for a few years with transfers/jc's. The years you have a big hole because a kid or two didn't develop, look for immediate help. Are those mt kids out there? I don't know. It sure sounds easier than it obviously is. I'm guessing none of us have ran a DI program.

Agree with the sentiment, however, I honestly cant think of any mt kids in the past 3-4 that we should have recruited but didnt.

garland. but i've beat that drum to death.

also, in regards to beau what is posted above is not quite accurate. he could have been a cat had he made some sacrifcies of his own. part of that was paying his way in the beginning and waiting to see what happened. the other stuff was more personal related. but to say durham didn't give him a sniff is not accurate. i think he could have been a good player for the cats as well...

[Hawks86]

Be kinda nice to have Huestis about now.

[imacat]

Recruiting Montana kids is not easy. Coach Huse has told me he would like nothing better than to bring more Montana players into his program but players with DI talent have simply not been there recently. I truly believe Coach Huse is trying to recruit Montana first.

[BelgradeBobcat]

also, in regards to beau what is posted above is not quite accurate. he could have been a cat had he made some sacrifcies of his own. part of that was paying his way in the beginning and waiting to see what happened. the other stuff was more personal related. but to say durham didn't give him a sniff is not accurate. i think he could have been a good player for the cats as well...

Well it is getting to be a long time ago. But it's still frustrating. We tell the in state kid he can walk on and pay his way, meanwhile we offer a Junior College kid averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds a full ride. I guess the reason is if the JC guy is a miss you only have him for two years whereas you're stuck with a high school kid for four. Hensel was a much, much better player than our power forwards from that era-Casey Reynolds and Kenny Plummer. Both Casey and Kenny had nice careers here-I'm not blaming them, but I've always wondered what might have been.

[aucat]

Well, this sort of reminds me of an investor who "falls in love" with a stock and refuses to sell it. The decision to be made it seems to me is, would MSU be better off keeping Huse? Or would MSU be better off making a change and starting fresh with a new coach and staff? In other words, if MSU currently had a coaching vacancy, would we hire Brad Huse right now? Or would we go with someone else? If we would hire Huse again, then he should be retained. If not, he should be let go. I certainly don't have an answer for that. I don't know what kind of coaches are out there and what we would end up with. I think everyone agrees that Huse is a good guy and we would love to see him succeed. All I know is, MSU basketball continues to be in a major funk.

I've always believed, too, that bringing in JC players whether hoops or football, is kind of an emergency fill for a position or two, rather than the primary manner for building your squad. I would think that a successful MSU coach would need to bring in high school players from throughout the West--bring in those players not quite good enough to make it to U. of Utah, U. of Washington, etc. We've done well in Texas and CA for football, so why not hoops?

I really don't follow the UM Griz that closely, but obviously their model has been very successful. If they can do it, MSU should be able to as well.

[ilovethecats]

ha. we've lost 5 of our last 6. and this will shock most of you...but we're 1-4 in february. i for one am completely shocked!

[bob]

who knows with the ncaa investigation going on to the west maybe we were not playing by the same set of rules they were.

[CatfaninGA]

And nail in the coffin for Huse. Pack your bags. Put the house up for sale.

[gtapp]

Its really pretty simple at this point. Huse CANNOT win at MSU. He does not need more time. If you can't do it in 6 years then you are never going to. We have 2 choices: 1) If MSU keeps Huse they are resigned to the fact they don't think MSU can produce a winner or they don't care or 2) they let him go and try again. Regardless of how the next coach does you have to try. The next coach may do even worse but that is not important. We know Huse will not produce a winner so there is nothing to lose!

[BelgradeBobcat]

Huse's future is a nice assistant job somewhere. His old pals Krysko and Tinkle will take care of him-I've gotta believe.

[Hawks86]

Interesting tweet from Dominic Sheldon and what Keron DeShields said about Huse.

I have respect for their players, but that coach is really good and I think he's(coach Huse) the motor to them and if they were to listen to their coach a little more, they might not be struggling.

[ilovethecats]

Interesting tweet from Dominic Sheldon and what Keron DeShields said about Huse.

I have respect for their players, but that coach is really good and I think he's(coach Huse) the motor to them and if they were to listen to their coach a little more, they might not be struggling.

see i might buy into that if this wasn't the same thing we've seen year after year. players come and go. mostly go. and the one constant has been huse. is he just unlucky that year after year he gets players that refuse to listen to him? doubtful. no question the guy knows basketball but the guy simply can't recruit and can't relate to his players. for whatever reason....