The Huse Era

[CelticCat]

The basketball program needs a Kramer. Huse is somewhere between a Solomonson and a Hysell.

Any kind of renovation can't hurt. The price is probably going down as we really only need about 3,000 seats. That Peter Fields is a budgeting genius!

Hell, Kramer's days are probably numbered at ISU. I bet if we hired Kramer to coach our basketball team, it would be an improvement. He'd get people to care about it, get some big transfers, and then let his assistants do the actual coaching.

#boom

[KittieKop]

So my question is, what was done in the past that they are not doing now (besides winning)? The mascot is MUCH better than it has been in a while (looks wise). The inflatables are packed with kids. The video board and light tables are MUCH more entertaining than anything we have had in the past, including: run out videos, player intros, and the ability to put fans on camera. The in-game contests have evolved to engage fans, students and kids, the band has grown a great deal in the past 5 years, as well as the cheer and dance teams.

What are they not doing besides winning?

The students are too far from the court, and it feels like we have a NASCAR track between the seats and the floor. Think of going to a game in Belgrade or even Bozeman High vs the Fieldhouse. The place just isn't well set-up for hoops right now. When the students were moved from the seats close to the floor is the day the music died.

The problem is there are hardly any students who do attend. I took my daughter to the UND game a couple weeks back (the one that basically started this slide). There weren't more than probably 75 students in attendance. Whatever you do, you need to engage the students to get them there. THEY are the atmosphere for any game - football, basketball, track. You can flash all the videos you want and blast music from the speakers. The only ones who are going to turn a game into an event is a rowdy group of 18-20 year olds. You pack the place with 5,000 senior citizens, its still going to be like a community theater event.

[rtb]

The problem is there are hardly any students who do attend. I took my daughter to the UND game a couple weeks back (the one that basically started this slide). There weren't more than probably 75 students in attendance. Whatever you do, you need to engage the students to get them there. THEY are the atmosphere for any game - football, basketball, track. You can flash all the videos you want and blast music from the speakers. The only ones who are going to turn a game into an event is a rowdy group of 18-20 year olds. You pack the place with 5,000 senior citizens, its still going to be like a community theater event.

Absolutely! But I think the cause of the lack of students is the losing records and the seating arrangement. I started at MSU a few years after the move to the new student section and it was nearly impossible to even be effective when you could drive a snowplow between the front row of seats and the court without knocking anything over. It wasn't even fun to be rowdy during the games as the noise made doesn't even hit the court. The ACC knows this and that is why I believe nearly every ACC arena has the students right on the court. It is what makes college basketball exciting and draws in the rest of the crowd.

[SACCAT]

The problem is there are hardly any students who do attend. I took my daughter to the UND game a couple weeks back (the one that basically started this slide). There weren't more than probably 75 students in attendance. Whatever you do, you need to engage the students to get them there. THEY are the atmosphere for any game - football, basketball, track. You can flash all the videos you want and blast music from the speakers. The only ones who are going to turn a game into an event is a rowdy group of 18-20 year olds. You pack the place with 5,000 senior citizens, its still going to be like a community theater event.

Absolutely! But I think the cause of the lack of students is the losing records and the seating arrangement. I started at MSU a few years after the move to the new student section and it was nearly impossible to even be effective when you could drive a snowplow between the front row of seats and the court without knocking anything over. It wasn't even fun to be rowdy during the games as the noise made doesn't even hit the court. The ACC knows this and that is why I believe nearly every ACC arena has the students right on the court. It is what makes college basketball exciting and draws in the rest of the crowd.

Like this?



or this?



or this?

[Colter_Nuanez]

The one thing that no one is talking about is the shrinking of our world. This day in age, you can follow any Division I basketball team pretty darn closely even if you live in Bozeman. Or you can follow Division I as a whole pretty easily.

On Saturday night, Montana State will take on Portland State. With the records and the Bobcats' slide, not exactly a hot ticket. But even if Montana State was, say, 7-4 or 8-3 in conference, would it be? MSU is playing at the same time Duke at Boston College is wrapping up on ESPN and Baylor at Oklahoma is wrapping up on the deuce. Next, its Wichita State at Northern Iowa on ESPN 2 and Gonzaga at Memphis on ESPN.

What I'm saying is, with the advent of HD TV and the quality of sports watching you can have in the comfort of your own home, Montana State will have to put a product on the court that makes people in my age demographic — 18-27 — want to get off the couch, brave the cold and see a live game more than staying at home, watching four entertaining games in lively atmosphere, save money, drink their own beer, eat their own snacks. Why would you want to watch a matchup between two middle of the pack teams in the conference ranked 27th out of 32 conferences in RPI when you could watch an ACC matchup?

There's only two ways to solve this in my opinion. Either get a new arena (not happening) or put a product on the floor that people want to see. Even if Montana State was toward the top of the conference, it wouldn't change this dilemma. Pretty much the only way to change it would be a team that played a dynamic non-conference schedule and pushed the envelope to run the table in the Big Sky. When Krystowiak was at UM, I remember waiting in line for hours and hours to get in to the Stanford and Wisconsin-Milwaukee games. That's a far cry from Southwest Christian.

I go to the Ridge almost daily. In the locker room, one of the easiest small talk questions is, 'Did you go to the game last night?' Three years ago, there would always be people who had who would talk about it.

After Cat-Griz, I asked probably 10 people that question. They all said no and six of them said, 'I stayed home and watched Iowa State-Oklahoma State. Did you see that game? What a game!'. They are choosing Big XII hoops on TV over supporting live sports in the town they live in. It's a huge contributor to Montana State's dwindling attendance. There was 1,949 fans at the game last night. Stats for attendance are only available back to 2009, but that's the lowest attendance for a Big Sky Conference game in Bozeman since stats were available.

[SACCAT]

The one thing that no one is talking about is the shrinking of our world. This day in age, you can follow any Division I basketball team pretty darn closely even if you live in Bozeman. Or you can follow Division I as a whole pretty easily.

On Saturday night, Montana State will take on Portland State. With the records and the Bobcats' slide, not exactly a hot ticket. But even if Montana State was, say, 7-4 or 8-3 in conference, would it be? MSU is playing at the same time Duke at Boston College is wrapping up on ESPN and Baylor at Oklahoma is wrapping up on the deuce. Next, its Wichita State at Northern Iowa on ESPN 2 and Gonzaga at Memphis on ESPN.

What I'm saying is, with the advent of HD TV and the quality of sports watching you can have in the comfort of your own home, Montana State will have to put a product on the court that makes people in my age demographic — 18-27 — want to get off the couch, brave the cold and see a live game more than staying at home, watching four entertaining games in lively atmosphere, save money, drink their own beer, eat their own snacks. Why would you want to watch a matchup between two middle of the pack teams in the conference ranked 27th out of 32 conferences in RPI when you could watch an ACC matchup?

There's only two ways to solve this in my opinion. Either get a new arena (not happening) or put a product on the floor that people want to see. Even if Montana State was toward the top of the conference, it wouldn't change this dilemma. Pretty much the only way to change it would be a team that played a dynamic non-conference schedule and pushed the envelope to run the table in the Big Sky. When Krystowiak was at UM, I remember waiting in line for hours and hours to get in to the Stanford and Wisconsin-Milwaukee games. That's a far cry from Southwest Christian.

I go to the Ridge almost daily. In the locker room, one of the easiest small talk questions is, 'Did you go to the game last night?' Three years ago, there would always be people who had who would talk about it.

After Cat-Griz, I asked probably 10 people that question. They all said no and six of them said, 'I stayed home and watched Iowa State-Oklahoma State. Did you see that game? What a game!'. They are choosing Big XII hoops on TV over supporting live sports in the town they live in. It's a huge contributor to Montana State's dwindling attendance. There was 1,949 fans at the game last night. Stats for attendance are only available back to 2009, but that's the lowest attendance for a Big Sky Conference game in Bozeman since stats were available.

First thing, I can't remember what year it was, but Texas Tech came to town to play the Cats and the Brick was rocking. I agree with you on the level of teams coming to Bozeman to play needs to be stepped up dramatically. Everyone talks about how terrible the field house is, but it really hasn't changed much from the old days. I still think it is a great place to watch a game and, back when I was a kid, they use to pack the place especially for Cat/griz. They use to sell out those games, along with the Weber and normally a NAU or Idaho.

[wbtfg]

When was the last time were in the top 200 teams in America? When was the last time we beat a top 150 team?

Not that Durham was lighting the world on fire, but I remember every year we'd have a big win, usually coming during the Holiday Inn tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. That was always really exciting basketball....I'm bummed it's not around anymore.

[rtb]

When was the last time were in the top 200 teams in America? When was the last time we beat a top 150 team?

Not that Durham was lighting the world on fire, but I remember every year we'd have a big win, usually coming during the Holiday Inn tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. That was always really exciting basketball....I'm bummed it's not around anymore.

I think Huse's team beat a good Boise State team once right before a Cat/Griz game. But I've tried to remove all Huse era games fro my memory so that could have been a dream I had once.

[John K]

The one thing that no one is talking about is the shrinking of our world. This day in age, you can follow any Division I basketball team pretty darn closely even if you live in Bozeman. Or you can follow Division I as a whole pretty easily.

On Saturday night, Montana State will take on Portland State. With the records and the Bobcats' slide, not exactly a hot ticket. But even if Montana State was, say, 7-4 or 8-3 in conference, would it be? MSU is playing at the same time Duke at Boston College is wrapping up on ESPN and Baylor at Oklahoma is wrapping up on the deuce. Next, its Wichita State at Northern Iowa on ESPN 2 and Gonzaga at Memphis on ESPN.

What I'm saying is, with the advent of HD TV and the quality of sports watching you can have in the comfort of your own home, Montana State will have to put a product on the court that makes people in my age demographic — 18-27 — want to get off the couch, brave the cold and see a live game more than staying at home, watching four entertaining games in lively atmosphere, save money, drink their own beer, eat their own snacks. Why would you want to watch a matchup between two middle of the pack teams in the conference ranked 27th out of 32 conferences in RPI when you could watch an ACC matchup?

There's only two ways to solve this in my opinion. Either get a new arena (not happening) or put a product on the floor that people want to see. Even if Montana State was toward the top of the conference, it wouldn't change this dilemma. Pretty much the only way to change it would be a team that played a dynamic non-conference schedule and pushed the envelope to run the table in the Big Sky. When Krystowiak was at UM, I remember waiting in line for hours and hours to get in to the Stanford and Wisconsin-Milwaukee games. That's a far cry from Southwest Christian.

I go to the Ridge almost daily. In the locker room, one of the easiest small talk questions is, 'Did you go to the game last night?' Three years ago, there would always be people who had who would talk about it.

After Cat-Griz, I asked probably 10 people that question. They all said no and six of them said, 'I stayed home and watched Iowa State-Oklahoma State. Did you see that game? What a game!'. They are choosing Big XII hoops on TV over supporting live sports in the town they live in. It's a huge contributor to Montana State's dwindling attendance. There was 1,949 fans at the game last night. Stats for attendance are only available back to 2009, but that's the lowest attendance for a Big Sky Conference game in Bozeman since stats were available.

You make a good point about the explosion of TV sports, but I don't necessarily believe that having access to a bunch of college basketball games on TV is really that much of a factor in this equation. I'm a huge sports fan, but frankly I don't view regular season college hoops as "must see TV". I think if MSU was winning and/or the atmosphere was better at The Brick, that fans would swarm to the games, regardless of what games might be on TV on any particular night. By the same token, with the product that's currently being put on the floor, and a game atmosphere that isn't all that compelling either, then I believe that people will find something better to do with their time and money, with TV sports being just one of a myriad of options.

[WeedKillinCat]

Wasn't there something not too long ago about revamping the arena for basketball?

I actually sent Waded an email after last season stating my displeasure with the basketball program, then they gave Huse and extension

[John K]

When was the last time were in the top 200 teams in America? When was the last time we beat a top 150 team?

Not that Durham was lighting the world on fire, but I remember every year we'd have a big win, usually coming during the Holiday Inn tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. That was always really exciting basketball....I'm bummed it's not around anymore.

I think Huse's team beat a good Boise State team once right before a Cat/Griz game. But I've tried to remove all Huse era games fro my memory so that could have been a dream I had once.

In my opinion, the perennial season-ending swoons are really devastating in terms of fan interest, because even if/when we start strong, we've all come to expect the inevitable nosedive, so it's hard to get excited about any good, early season wins. This year, we beat Portland in a NC game, who subsequently beat Gonzaga. Then we started 4-1 in conference, including a 15-point win over then 1st place NC. There were a few optimists on this board who were convinced that things were really going to be different this year, but most of us were telling those people "just wait...this won't last, because it never does", and of course we were right. It just sucks the life out of the fans when every year we're teased into having hope, after starting out 4-1 in conference, or 6-2, or whatever, only to have that glimmer of hope crushed during the 2nd half of conference play, year after year after year. The only difference this year, is that the slide started even earlier than usual, and appears to be even more brutal.

[gtapp]

So do you cheer for the men's team to win or now choose to hope they lose so we can get the changes we expect? Because we know that the only way Huse is let go is if the BB team totally collapses. And even then I am not sure.

[rtb]

So do you cheer for the men's team to win or now choose to hope they lose so we can get the changes we expect? Because we know that the only way Huse is let go is if the BB team totally collapses. And even then I am not sure.

I just don't like the word hope associated with our Basketball program Gary! I would say these days I don't care and don't really even pay attention any more. In fact if I make it to Bozeman in the next month or so for work and happen to be in town on a game night I'll probably just go eat a good dinner and not deal with going to a game. Yeah, it's that bad.

[John K]

So do you cheer for the men's team to win or now choose to hope they lose so we can get the changes we expect? Because we know that the only way Huse is let go is if the BB team totally collapses. And even then I am not sure.

I can hardly believe that I'm saying this, but I've almost reached the point where I want us to lose. I think the only way that PF will ever fire Huse, is if we actually miss the tourney for two or three consecutive seasons. Mediocrity is almost worse than if we were just flat out terrible. Being terrible would necessitate change, but every year we just barely sneak into the tourney, before getting bounced in the 1st round. But of course PF can then fall back on our nine straight appearances in the tourney as proof that all is well, and therefore justify giving Huse another two year contract. I don't think we're going to make it this year though, so maybe that will be the first little baby step down the path towards finally making a change.

[grizzh8r]

So do you cheer for the men's team to win or now choose to hope they lose so we can get the changes we expect? Because we know that the only way Huse is let go is if the BB team totally collapses. And even then I am not sure.

I just don't like the word hope associated with our Basketball program Gary! I would say these days I don't care and don't really even pay attention any more. In fact if I make it to Bozeman in the next month or so for work and happen to be in town on a game night I'll probably just go eat a good dinner and not deal with going to a game. Yeah, it's that bad.

Same here. This will be the first year in 20+ years I won't have attended an MSU men's BB game. When I was a little kid growing up, we always went to the Holiday Classic (kind of a family tradition), as it usually brought in a bunch of pretty good "mid-major" teams. Drexler, Siena, Northern Illinois, etc. I remember the one year we even beat Mississippi State in the HC Champ game. Those were GREAT memories for me. I went to every home game I could make it to when I was in college. After that, I made most weekend home games and watched weekday home games and all away games on BSTV up until a couple years ago. Last year I made the San Jose St. game (because it was free promotion). That's the last MSU BB game I'll attend as long as Coach Huse is still around.

Oh and TrueCat, quit trying to blow bubbles up our collective rears. I bet you wanted MSU to sign Earle the pearl to 10 year contract... The MBB program is in shambles and NEEDS a leadership change. NOW.

[TrueCat]

HA! Not a fan of Earl or Krames.

Please elaborate on how I am blowing smoke? All I said was that wins mean more than anything.

[DicTater]

Besides the inevitable slides, I think a lot of the attendance problems stem from the fact that Huse demands a boring style of basketball. He recruits a bunch of guys that can really get out in the open court and make things happen and he slows them down. He just LOVES calling plays. He starts 4 guys that are 6'5" or smaller, but doesn't press and doesn't push the tempo. How are you going to score then? You can't score inside because you don't have a big guy who can get his own shot. So, inevitably, it breaks down to throwing the ball around the perimeter and hoisting a 3. That is not a recipe for success. I remember Bobby Howard trying to post 2 Griz 7 footers and Huse yelling at the guards to get it into Bobby. He was good, but he had no chance. And Huse stuck with that plan the entire game.

How can Shaka Smart win at VCU with a bunch of guys that are undersized that no one else wanted to recruit? He doesn't play the the way the bigger, more talented teams want to play it. He understands that if his team walks the ball up the floor and allows the D to get set, he's not going to score. And if he just drops back and lets the bigger, stronger team run it's O, he isn't going to stop them. But one thing we know about Brad, he is conventional. Of course, that's why he lost by 29 to EWU at home.

[John K]

The lack of rebounding is troubling too. Even if we're generally smaller than most of the other teams in the BSC, rebounding is largely the result of technique and desire, more so than size. We got outrebounded by almost 20 last night, and UM also dominated us on the boards, despite being one of the worst rebounding teams in the entire country. I believe we were only the 2nd team that they've outrebounded all season.

[Colter_Nuanez]

Besides the inevitable slides, I think a lot of the attendance problems stem from the fact that Huse demands a boring style of basketball. He recruits a bunch of guys that can really get out in the open court and make things happen and he slows them down. He just LOVES calling plays. He starts 4 guys that are 6'5" or smaller, but doesn't press and doesn't push the tempo. How are you going to score then? You can't score inside because you don't have a big guy who can get his own shot. So, inevitably, it breaks down to throwing the ball around the perimeter and hoisting a 3. That is not a recipe for success. I remember Bobby Howard trying to post 2 Griz 7 footers and Huse yelling at the guards to get it into Bobby. He was good, but he had no chance. And Huse stuck with that plan the entire game.

How can Shaka Smart win at VCU with a bunch of guys that are undersized that no one else wanted to recruit? He doesn't play the the way the bigger, more talented teams want to play it. He understands that if his team walks the ball up the floor and allows the D to get set, he's not going to score. And if he just drops back and lets the bigger, stronger team run it's O, he isn't going to stop them. But one thing we know about Brad, he is conventional. Of course, that's why he lost by 29 to EWU at home.

Since Roy Williams made the extended fast break en vogue, almost every college and high school team in America runs some form of it. Not MSU. The extended fast break is a way to get points in transition without being on an actually fast break with numbers. It leads to quick buckets off opponents' misses if you have a team that can push the temp. Montana State has a team that can push the tempo but never does. Egwuonwu is one of the fastest, most athletic big men in the league. I can't remember a transition bucket he's scored all season. Shoot, I haven't even seen a dunk in a live game at the Brick this winter. Not one. This is Division I basketball!

If you're going to play three true guards — Marcus Colbert, Antonio Biglow, Michael Dison (he broke his shooting thumb and is done) — who are quick and can push the pace, why not push the pace? When you have guys like Biglow and Dison who can be complete nuisances defensively, why not press?

Until last night, the last three games I'd seen the Cats, they played completely uninspired man defense. When they switch to a zone, like they did against Montana and North Dakota, they look borderline dominant. Why waste the first 25 minutes of the game seeing if your guys are going to play inspired defense? Why not run a zone press all game??

In terms of Montana State's offense, I'm not sure what it is. I never have been able to tell. They run more set plays than NBA teams. The problem is isolating Flavien Davis is a little bit different than isolating Carmelo Anthony

[CatBlitz]

Besides the inevitable slides, I think a lot of the attendance problems stem from the fact that Huse demands a boring style of basketball. He recruits a bunch of guys that can really get out in the open court and make things happen and he slows them down. He just LOVES calling plays. He starts 4 guys that are 6'5" or smaller, but doesn't press and doesn't push the tempo. How are you going to score then? You can't score inside because you don't have a big guy who can get his own shot. So, inevitably, it breaks down to throwing the ball around the perimeter and hoisting a 3. That is not a recipe for success. I remember Bobby Howard trying to post 2 Griz 7 footers and Huse yelling at the guards to get it into Bobby. He was good, but he had no chance. And Huse stuck with that plan the entire game.

How can Shaka Smart win at VCU with a bunch of guys that are undersized that no one else wanted to recruit? He doesn't play the the way the bigger, more talented teams want to play it. He understands that if his team walks the ball up the floor and allows the D to get set, he's not going to score. And if he just drops back and lets the bigger, stronger team run it's O, he isn't going to stop them. But one thing we know about Brad, he is conventional. Of course, that's why he lost by 29 to EWU at home.

Since Roy Williams made the extended fast break en vogue, almost every college and high school team in America runs some form of it. Not MSU. The extended fast break is a way to get points in transition without being on an actually fast break with numbers. It leads to quick buckets off opponents' misses if you have a team that can push the temp. Montana State has a team that can push the tempo but never does. Egwuonwu is one of the fastest, most athletic big men in the league. I can't remember a transition bucket he's scored all season. Shoot, I haven't even seen a dunk in a live game at the Brick this winter. Not one. This is Division I basketball!

If you're going to play three true guards — Marcus Colbert, Antonio Biglow, Michael Dison (he broke his shooting thumb and is done) — who are quick and can push the pace, why not push the pace? When you have guys like Biglow and Dison who can be complete nuisances defensively, why not press?

Until last night, the last three games I'd seen the Cats, they played completely uninspired man defense. When they switch to a zone, like they did against Montana and North Dakota, they look borderline dominant. Why waste the first 25 minutes of the game seeing if your guys are going to play inspired defense? Why not run a zone press all game??

In terms of Montana State's offense, I'm not sure what it is. I never have been able to tell. They run more set plays than NBA teams. The problem is isolating Flavien Davis is a little bit different than isolating Carmelo Anthony

The dunk thing always gets me. I cannot figure out how a DI team just doesn't press and dunk rather than going for a contested layup or a mid range shot. It's like they're scared to. I don't know if they just aren't strong enough under the basket to force the issue or what but it's ridiculous. Ever since the years with Carlos Taylor, Adrian Zamora, Branden Johnson, Danny Piepoli, etc... I never see dunks and "fun" basketball anymore. Christ, even shooting threes is a distant memory.