Though I bleed Griz maroon as much as any Montana fan, I admit I’m almost as much of a supporter of the Big Sky Conference, which I believe has been universally, and wrongly underrated in past years.
And so I don’t come across with trash talk very well. Because, with only a couple of exceptions over the years, I’ve often found myself rooting for players, teams and coaches from Montana’s league competitors. Never while they face the Griz, of course.
Such is the case with Portland State University men’s basketball coach Ken Bone who I would have named conference MVP for last season, if such an award could be given to a coach, no disrespect intended for the Big Sky’s true MVP, point guard Jeremiah Dominguez.
Of course Bone was named the Big Sky’s best coach last season, an award he deserved on several levels, prime of which was his ability to “get the best and the most” out of Dominguez and center Scott Morrison.
Bone is a member of that coaching fraternity that – instead of making his recruited players fit into HIS program – will yearly (or more often) adjust his own coaching philosophies to best match the skills his players bring to the program and the floor. And since those players change year by year, so does the the style of play of the team.
PHOTO: Montana's Kyle Sharp goes up for a shot in action from last season.
I suppose the year-to-year ideal for any coach would be to recruit players who best fit into his program. But it rarely happens that way (witness why so many players transfer to other schools nowadays). And though there are many successful coaches where their “My way or the highway” concept has worked very well, it’s always been fun (or frightening) to see what kind of team Bone will whip into shape as conference play rolls around.
Bone’s Vikings of 2008-09 already look more than capable of defending their conference title. The Vikings are already ranked as significantly stronger than any other Big Sky school, with a College Insider Mid-Major ranking of 17 and a USA Today Sagarin Ranking of 158. Only Weber State is close to PSU in the early rankings.
Saturday’s extra-early Big Sky conference matchup between Montana and PSU in Portland (read the Portland Oregonian account here) will give an early indication just how tough the Vikings will be this season. It will not be the best time or venue for Montana to have to “prove” that the teams’ last meeting was a fluke. But it may not be as important for Montana to prove something as it will be for the Vikings, charged with defending their home court record.
But Wayne Tinkle’s Montana Grizzlies – lest any critics overlook – did reasonably well against Bone’s defending champ Vikings last season, particularly in Portland. Everyone seems to focus upon PSU’s 108-56 dismantling of Montana at Dahlberg Arena last year. They conveniently forget that the Grizzlies’ 70-68 loss in Portland a month earlier could well have gone Montana’s way.
But that’s further illustration of Bone’s coaching skills. As is true of any championship team, the Vikings last year got better with each game they played, and they did so with a style of play best suited to the unique talent they had on the floor.
None of that history – beyond the poor luck of an extra-early conference game for the Griz – has much bearing on this season. Though the Vikings and Griz return several players from last year, both teams will unveil different styles of play than last year. The Grizzlies are a different team defensively. The Vikings appear to be significantly quicker (ouch) than last year, but perhaps not as dominant in the paint, particularly on defense.
From a Montana perspective, this first conference game is both too early and unfortunately (in many ways) hit with the awkward timing of senior point guard Ceylon Elgin Taylor’s ongoing probation (now in its third game) for a personal-team rules issue.
I’ve been an enthusiastic supporter of the care-taking point-guard skills ET brings to Montana, which is a team that cannot afford turnovers and must create a balanced scoring attack in order to succeed.
The timing of Elgin Taylor’s absence definitely sets Montana back. It likely directly contributed to Montana’s five-point 58-53 loss to California Riverside, since ET’s replacement at point, junior transfer Anthony Johnson, committed six turnovers and saw limited playing time because of foul problems.
That said, Tinkle’s Grizzlies seem on the verge of a breakout. Nine players have logged significant on-court minutes in early games and the squad is showing signs of game-by-game improvement in defense, rebounding, balance and bench play. Any continued improvement by Montana – particularly point guard play from Johnson and Michael Taylor – will only help down the road. A solid game (no blowouts, please) might benefit the Griz almost as much as a win. (Read the Missoulian preview here)
Knowing Bone, he’ll have his Vikings ready to play; PSU is a heavy pregame favorite even though Montana was a preseason pick to challenge for the Big Sky crown.
How important is this first conference game for Montana? At the risk of heresy I almost think the Griz need to treat the early start to league play as a kind of “modified” preseason contest. They need to continue to work on ways to improve down the road.
If the Griz try to hunker down into overly cautious play – particularly on offense – things may well backfire. But if Montana continues its experiments with a variety of lineup looks and aggressive play, particularly on offense, the game may well pay dividends, if not today, then definitely down the road.
Furthermore, if Johnson and Taylor can combine for improved play at the point in Elgin Taylor’s absence (like slowing Dominguez down a bit), I believe Montana has the lineup to match up well against the Vikings. Virtually no conference observers are expecting Montana to win, much less be close.
In that sense this early start to league play could be a major confidence booster to the Griz. No better time to spring a surprise than in game number one.
