The Bobcat Nation

I have talked to several people and we feel that the the university should do a few things to try and honor the life of a GREAT BOBCAT.

1. Create a memorial fund to pay for the cost of services, as well as any medical expenses his brother may encore.

2. Granting of a post-humus degree.

3. Retire his number.

4. Name a defensive player of the year or great sportsman trophy after Al. (He set the record for blocked shots at MSU in only two years, and was very active in community service.)

You can all help by calling/emailing (or both) the university administration and athletic department with these request.

Also if you think that the university should take any other steps feel free to add them to your request.

Al was a great Bobcat and loved by all that he met.

RIP buddy you were an awesome man.

Great ideas!

I did not know Al personaly but he sat next to me at the football game against Furman and was a great guy to watch the game with. I also watched Al for two years on the court and he was a joy to watch play the game he loved. I will miss seeing Al and I hope his family knows how much he was loved by the community of Bozeman. RIP Al..
I will do as much as I can to make sure Al will be remembed by the University.

badasscat wrote:I have talked to several people and we feel that the the university should do a few things to try and honor the life of a GREAT BOBCAT.

1. Create a memorial fund to pay for the cost of services, as well as any medical expenses his brother may encore.

2. Granting of a post-humus degree.

3. Retire his number.

4. Name a defensive player of the year or great sportsman trophy after Al. (He set the record for blocked shots at MSU in only two years, and was very active in community service.)

You can all help by calling/emailing (or both) the university administration and athletic department with these request.

Also if you think that the university should take any other steps feel free to add them to your request.

Al was a great Bobcat and loved by all that he met.

RIP buddy you were an awesome man.

These would be great ideas and I hope MSU would put them in.

Another passion of mine besides supporting Bobcat Athletics is making art. I am woking on a degree in sculpture here at MSU. I would love to make a memorial sculpture for Al to be placed in the Field House or the SUB. I will make some sketches over break. It would be made out of welded steel and stand 6'11" tall.

catwiththehat wrote:Another passion of mine besides supporting Bobcat Athletics is making art. I am woking on a degree in sculpture here at MSU. I would love to make a memorial sculpture for Al to be placed in the Field House or the SUB. I will make some sketches over break. It would be made out of welded steel and stand 6'11" tall.

Man that would be awesome. I would even put up a donation for that if needed.

Can you post any sketches you come up with? This sounds like it could be a great tribute and I bet many BN folks would contribute.

I agree entirely with all you said badass, I was thinking the same thing today and hoping that others would feel that way.

I think that in light of Al's impact off the court as well as on the court, MSU should create an award of excellence for any MSU student who excels in community service as well as service to MSU. Al may have been a basketball player, but he was first and foremost an upstanding individual and well liked wherever he went. He was the epitome of all that is right with the world.

I will happily donate whatever I can to help make sure that we are able to properly honor a great man.

Excellent ideas everyone, and each one a great way to honor the memory of a great young man. Count me in on the donation side. PM me with any details.

Rest in Peace, Al.

catwiththehat wrote:Another passion of mine besides supporting Bobcat Athletics is making art. I am woking on a degree in sculpture here at MSU. I would love to make a memorial sculpture for Al to be placed in the Field House or the SUB. I will make some sketches over break. It would be made out of welded steel and stand 6'11" tall.

After seeing some of your work, I can believe it would be just wonderful. You are an outstanding and talented individual. I will be very excited to see what you can come up with.

Al stood 6'11" and 3/4 (as he informed me one day). We have constantly teased him that all he need to do is just grow out his hair a bit. Just the other day when he was over we informed him that we thought he had made that mark. Patting his hair he smiled and agreed and said I can now truely say I am 7 ft tall (with a very hearty laugh).

Also, if you ever wanted to know what his wing span was I can tell you. He let us measure it one day when he was over watching basketball on tv a few year ago. It was 7'3". We all started to laugh and say that when he had kids they would have nowhere to hide. He could pop them one when they were around the corner. He then turned to my kids and told them to remember that. We all started to laugh.