Blaire Braxton hired

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Hawks86
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Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Hawks86 » Thu May 28, 2020 10:22 am





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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Ilikecats » Thu May 28, 2020 10:39 am

I know it’s May, but what awesome Basketball news! I’m so excited to keep Blaire in Bozeman! Great move by Binford! This young lady is so classy and will have a positive impact on the program!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by MSU01 » Thu May 28, 2020 12:00 pm

Great news! I imagine that having a highly experienced assistant on staff like Sunny Smallwood makes it a lot easier to make this hire and provide mentorship along with Coach Binford as Blaire makes the transition from player to coach.



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RickRund
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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by RickRund » Thu May 28, 2020 12:52 pm

An extremely CLASSY individual and someone that does not need to learn Coach Binford's system.

Great move...


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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Catlady » Thu May 28, 2020 12:56 pm

I think this is a strong move by Binford! Braxton is Montana State BBall and will have a strong influence on the team. Tough to transition from teammate to Coach, but there’s no doubt that she has the right person for the job! I know this sounds weird, but I’m so proud of our program and University. This hire is just amazing!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by BLACKnBLUEnGOLD » Thu May 28, 2020 2:53 pm

Catlady wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 12:56 pm
I know this sounds weird, but I’m so proud of our program and University.
It doesn't sound weird at all. This program is coming off a historic season, and even in other years it has been perhaps the most consistently high-quality athletic program (in terms of producing good citizens, good students, and good teams) in the entire state. Why not be proud of that?


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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Thu May 28, 2020 7:08 pm

Catlady wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 12:56 pm
I think this is a strong move by Binford! Braxton is Montana State BBall and will have a strong influence on the team. Tough to transition from teammate to Coach, but there’s no doubt that she has the right person for the job! I know this sounds weird, but I’m so proud of our program and University. This hire is just amazing!
Agree 100%



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by aucat » Fri May 29, 2020 10:03 am

I have to wonder, does anyone know if such a move has any precedent? To actually make the transition from being a senior on a team to actually coaching the very players that she was playing with? I have seen players, after graduating, serve as graduate assistants on teams, but I have never heard of a player going directly from playing to coaching their teammates. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blaire as a player, but this is such a surprise to me. I would think that in order to meet the qualifications as an assistant coach for a Division I program that is very successful, which MSU certainly is, the candidate would have to have some proven experience as a coach and recruiter. I wonder how Blaire's former teammates will respond from playing with Blaire to now being coached by her.

Despite my reservations I have the utmost respect and admiration for Coach Binford, so while I am surprised by her decision, I certainly trust her judgement and hope that it works out well. Last year's team had an incredible great chemistry and played together beautifully as a team. If we see a continuation of that next season along with continued excellent recruiting, we will know Coach Binford's decision was a good one.



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by MSU01 » Fri May 29, 2020 10:25 am

aucat wrote:
Fri May 29, 2020 10:03 am
I have to wonder, does anyone know if such a move has any precedent? To actually make the transition from being a senior on a team to actually coaching the very players that she was playing with? I have seen players, after graduating, serve as graduate assistants on teams, but I have never heard of a player going directly from playing to coaching their teammates. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blaire as a player, but this is such a surprise to me. I would think that in order to meet the qualifications as an assistant coach for a Division I program that is very successful, which MSU certainly is, the candidate would have to have some proven experience as a coach and recruiter. I wonder how Blaire's former teammates will respond from playing with Blaire to now being coached by her.

Despite my reservations I have the utmost respect and admiration for Coach Binford, so while I am surprised by her decision, I certainly trust her judgement and hope that it works out well. Last year's team had an incredible great chemistry and played together beautifully as a team. If we see a continuation of that next season along with continued excellent recruiting, we will know Coach Binford's decision was a good one.
Sure, this kind of thing has some precedent. Shannon Schweyen at UM went straight from her playing career to an assistant coaching job at the same school, for one. It's likely also easier to bring in an inexperienced assistant like Blaire when you've got a head coach and lead assistant who both have decades of experience and can provide all the mentorship and guidance anyone would need. There's also an unusually high amount of turnover on the roster this year, with five seniors leaving and a bunch of talented freshmen coming in next year who have obviously never played with Blaire as a teammate. IMO, if Coach Binford knew that Blaire had an interest in going into coaching and thinks she has the skills needed to be a successful D-1 assistant, then it's a good idea to make the move to get her on staff before some other school snaps her up. The 2019-2020 team was an incredibly special group of people and I'm all on board with keeping one of the key players on the team on staff!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by AFCAT » Fri May 29, 2020 6:15 pm

aucat wrote:
Fri May 29, 2020 10:03 am
I have to wonder, does anyone know if such a move has any precedent? To actually make the transition from being a senior on a team to actually coaching the very players that she was playing with? I have seen players, after graduating, serve as graduate assistants on teams, but I have never heard of a player going directly from playing to coaching their teammates. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blaire as a player, but this is such a surprise to me. I would think that in order to meet the qualifications as an assistant coach for a Division I program that is very successful, which MSU certainly is, the candidate would have to have some proven experience as a coach and recruiter. I wonder how Blaire's former teammates will respond from playing with Blaire to now being coached by her.

Despite my reservations I have the utmost respect and admiration for Coach Binford, so while I am surprised by her decision, I certainly trust her judgement and hope that it works out well. Last year's team had an incredible great chemistry and played together beautifully as a team. If we see a continuation of that next season along with continued excellent recruiting, we will know Coach Binford's decision was a good one.
Here is her job description.
Braxton will have responsibilities in recruiting, coordinating official and unofficial visits, assist in post development, serve as assistant defensive coordinator, serve as the program's academic liaison, and assist with Bobcat camps.


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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by CatRowdy » Sat May 30, 2020 1:41 am

AFCAT wrote:
Fri May 29, 2020 6:15 pm
aucat wrote:
Fri May 29, 2020 10:03 am
I have to wonder, does anyone know if such a move has any precedent? To actually make the transition from being a senior on a team to actually coaching the very players that she was playing with? I have seen players, after graduating, serve as graduate assistants on teams, but I have never heard of a player going directly from playing to coaching their teammates. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blaire as a player, but this is such a surprise to me. I would think that in order to meet the qualifications as an assistant coach for a Division I program that is very successful, which MSU certainly is, the candidate would have to have some proven experience as a coach and recruiter. I wonder how Blaire's former teammates will respond from playing with Blaire to now being coached by her.

Despite my reservations I have the utmost respect and admiration for Coach Binford, so while I am surprised by her decision, I certainly trust her judgement and hope that it works out well. Last year's team had an incredible great chemistry and played together beautifully as a team. If we see a continuation of that next season along with continued excellent recruiting, we will know Coach Binford's decision was a good one.
Here is her job description.
Braxton will have responsibilities in recruiting, coordinating official and unofficial visits, assist in post development, serve as assistant defensive coordinator, serve as the program's academic liaison, and assist with Bobcat camps.
Au-- Put your reservations aside. Blair can handle her job description without a doubt. Add to the fact she has a great head coach and superb assistant coaches for back up and training she'll have the help she needs! To become an assistant coach in Div 1; you have to be valued, respected and wanted to be part of the program; clearly Blair has met those qualifications. Trust the process, we have become a great player development team; there is no reason to doubt we can be a great coaching development team.



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Catlady » Sat May 30, 2020 6:19 am

aucat wrote:
Fri May 29, 2020 10:03 am
I have to wonder, does anyone know if such a move has any precedent? To actually make the transition from being a senior on a team to actually coaching the very players that she was playing with? I have seen players, after graduating, serve as graduate assistants on teams, but I have never heard of a player going directly from playing to coaching their teammates. Don't get me wrong, I loved Blaire as a player, but this is such a surprise to me. I would think that in order to meet the qualifications as an assistant coach for a Division I program that is very successful, which MSU certainly is, the candidate would have to have some proven experience as a coach and recruiter. I wonder how Blaire's former teammates will respond from playing with Blaire to now being coached by her.

Despite my reservations I have the utmost respect and admiration for Coach Binford, so while I am surprised by her decision, I certainly trust her judgement and hope that it works out well. Last year's team had an incredible great chemistry and played together beautifully as a team. If we see a continuation of that next season along with continued excellent recruiting, we will know Coach Binford's decision was a good one.
Very fair questions to ask, but I believe in the last 4 seasons that Binford and her staff saw a quality in Blaire to make them believe that she would be an excellent addition as maybe one of the youngest assistant coaches in D1. This isn’t going to be an easy transition for her, but she has the ability to achieve amazing things. I’ve watched her growth each season and the team first attitude she brings to the program. I’ve also been able to watch her interact with her teammates. As the lead reserve, she was on the court with younger players and they looked to her for leadership. There’s a reason we didn’t have a major drop off when the starters were resting. We had a coach on the floor! I’ve had the opportunity to talk to various friends in Bozeman and when talking about the WBB program Blaire’s name would constantly be brought up, it’s funny because everyone thought she was from Montana! I got a feeling that in 5-7 years she’ll be a head coach somewhere!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by aucat » Sat May 30, 2020 8:19 am

Excellent comments by all. I absolutely loved the team we had last year and what they achieved. The young women on this team were indeed very special--each and everyone of them. Go get'em Coach Braxton!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by phantom » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:33 pm

I wouldn't worry about her lack of experience. They'll be able to start her with responsibilities they know she can handle and add to them as they see fit. Because she played there, she's aware of Coach Binford's expectations and she'll be able to uniquely understand those from both sides. Always good to have a younger coach on staff.



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:57 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:I wonder, is there a chance that Blaire or Fallyn goes to grad school and sticks around as a grad-assistant coach? Would love to have some of the “DNA” in live form to pass down the 2020-2021 team.
I asked this question back on March 20, before any coaches had left. I just couldn’t be happier about this choice, or for Blaire! I think she’ll step up like she always does and will do a great job for us.



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by imacat » Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:02 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:57 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:I wonder, is there a chance that Blaire or Fallyn goes to grad school and sticks around as a grad-assistant coach? Would love to have some of the “DNA” in live form to pass down the 2020-2021 team.
I asked this question back on March 20, before any coaches had left. I just couldn’t be happier about this choice, or for Blaire! I think she’ll step up like she always does and will do a great job for us.
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:57 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:I wonder, is there a chance that Blaire or Fallyn goes to grad school and sticks around as a grad-assistant coach? Would love to have some of the “DNA” in live form to pass down the 2020-2021 team.
I asked this question back on March 20, before any coaches had left. I just couldn’t be happier about this choice, or for Blaire! I think she’ll step up like she always does and will do a great job for us.
Merry Christmas!!!!!



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Re: Blaire Braxton hired

Post by Catlady » Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:09 pm

https://bigskyconf.com/news/2020/6/10/w ... axton.aspx

Great feature by the Big Sky on our new Bobcat Coach! The positive press on Coach Bin’s program continues to roll in!



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