Best Bobcat BASKETBALL players

[mslacat]

Anyone remember Harry Heineken? His arms were about 10 feet long and he had some thunderous dunks off of steals in the backcourt. He was a bigtime crowd favorite.

No, but I do remember Bud Weiser, Jack Daniels, & MadDog 2020...but mostly I remember not remembering much!

Harry played in 1979-80 and 1980-81 if I remember right, and was a JC transfer, who rumor has it verbaled to the Griz then changed his mind and signed with MSU. Montgomery was not happy. When the Griz thought they had Harry, they thought he would be the missing piece to the B. S. Crown, after he signed with MSU, he was not good enough to even make the Griz squad. .

[alasax]

1) Doug Hashly - dominated and was feared by opposing teams
2) Nico Harrison - best all-around (unless Marvin Moss replaces him)
3) Tony Hampton - one of VERY few points who could do the job
4) Nate Holmstadt - just flat out tough with a decent shot
5) Craig Fiiiiiiiiiinbeeeeeerg - THE best shooter we've ever had
6) Tom Domako - the quiet assasin (just seemed to end up with 20 each night)
7) Quad Lollis - great athlete -didn't show up every night though
Jason Erickson - carried the team on MANY occasions (ala Lullay)
9) Ray Willis - 100 % every night
10) Craig "killer" Kilborn - Funniest guy ever

[gtfcat84]

my memory fails me again but can anyone recall a cat-griz game during the domako era (i think)...i was sitting on the "west" side there were a few seconds maybe three on the clock...the cats have the ball at the south end...in pass the ball...one pass to someone just north of the center line who drills the net with no time remaining...an interesting side note is there was complete disarray (sp) on behalf of the griz bench and consequently the man coverage was poor...the cats won with either no time on the clock or no time at all...had to be in the 80's cause i was in grad school....help me out here...oops i'm drooling

That game was in 1985 in Bozeman. I remember because I was on my honeymoon and watching the game in my hotel room...always have my priorities straight ya know! I can't remember who made the shot, but I don't think it was a regular starter.

I believe it was Phil Layher.

[bob]

i was at the game and if my memory is correct it was Hurley

[Hell's Bells]

rumor has it Mic Durham was a good point guard....

[mslacat]

i was at the game and if my memory is correct it was Hurley

It was Scott Hurley if memory serves me right. Scott was not recruited by the Griz despite having strong ties to U.M. . When Starner was hired he got a very late start on recruiting and he offered and signed Hurley. As a 6-1 (and slow) Hurley had a hard time making the transition to college ball as a shooting guard, despite that though it had to be the high light of his Bobcat career. He eventually transfered do a d-2 school in the mid west. BTW his son and daughter in Andaconda are possible d-1 prospects as a junior and soph..

[vike_king]

1) Doug Hashly - dominated and was feared by opposing teams
2) Nico Harrison - best all-around (unless Marvin Moss replaces him)
3) Tony Hampton - one of VERY few points who could do the job
4) Nate Holmstadt - just flat out tough with a decent shot
5) Craig Fiiiiiiiiiinbeeeeeerg - THE best shooter we've ever had
6) Tom Domako - the quiet assasin (just seemed to end up with 20 each night)
7) Quad Lollis - great athlete -didn't show up every night though
Jason Erickson - carried the team on MANY occasions (ala Lullay)
9) Ray Willis - 100 % every night
10) Craig "killer" Kilborn - Funniest guy ever

I like this list. Actually the emphasis on Finberg would have been Finnnnnnnnberrrrrrrrrrrg!

My favorite JV players (yes, they used to have a JV program) would have to be Mike Savageau, Jim Rose, and Kenny Wolfe.

[BelgradeBobcat]

my memory fails me again but can anyone recall a cat-griz game during the domako era (i think)...i was sitting on the "west" side there were a few seconds maybe three on the clock...the cats have the ball at the south end...in pass the ball...one pass to someone just north of the center line who drills the net with no time remaining...an interesting side note is there was complete disarray (sp) on behalf of the griz bench and consequently the man coverage was poor...the cats won with either no time on the clock or no time at all...had to be in the 80's cause i was in grad school....help me out here...oops i'm drooling

That game was in 1985 in Bozeman. I remember because I was on my honeymoon and watching the game in my hotel room...always have my priorities straight ya know! I can't remember who made the shot, but I don't think it was a regular starter.

I believe it was Phil Layher.

I concur-it was Phil Layher (or however it was spelled) A big JC Power Forward from California I think he was. He came after Hashley.

I think Hurley also hit a last second shot against the griz and in some memories the two have morphed into one.

Anyway here's my list per the perameters set at the beginning of this thread:

1. Cat Thompson-has to be as he's the only individual Bobcat in the College Basketball Hall of Fame (that I know of).

2. Larry Chaney-still our all time leading scorer.

3. Arnold McDowell-maybe not the best of this era, but he was pretty dang good. He's the first player I ever saw dunk a basketball in person. I remember dunks were pretty rare in those days and whenever Arnold would throw one down the Fieldhouse would erupt for several minutes. I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw! (I was probably 8 or 9 years old at the time).

[mslacat]

I knew Phil well when he was at MSU. He was recruited as a high schooler in 1981 and roomed at MSU w/ Tryg Johnson. He was a soft (bodywise) version of Hashley at 6-7 240. I lost quite a bit of money to him in dorm poker. Very smart guy! His main problem was that he was caught between the coaching changes. Haroldson wanted big guys who could bang, Starner wanted a sleak running 6-6, 6-7 forwards.

[Ponycat]

My favorite JV players (yes, they used to have a JV program) would have to be Mike Savageau, Jim Rose, and Kenny Wolfe.

Bobby Howard Sr.???

[bozbobcat]

I'd like to add some of my favorite players. I know that the Golden Bobcats were some of the greatest and there were some great ones like Chanay and Finberg, but I'm going to go with the ones I saw and I remember in the 1990s and now. Danny Sprinkle has to be one of them along with Nate Holmstadt and Nico Harrison from the 1996 era and don't forget about Danny Sullivan. Jason Erickson is the best player we've had since and even though Damir Latovic was here for only one year, he led us to a conference championship. I think Nick Dissly is going to end up on this list and JaRon Jefferson and Marvin Moss may end up here. My two crowd favorites were Kenny Plummer and Al Beye.

[nevadacat]

Guards--Finberg and Hampton
Forwards--Ferch and Domako
Post--Hashley
Ego--Kilborn

[mslacat]

Folks The best post ever was big Jack Gillespie (sp?). Hands down no questions asked. If Jack was not the best all time player someone better come up with a better name than I have heard before. I can not find right now the official stats, but I do believe he he is the all time scoring leader, average points, and rebounds. He started as a freshman and own the MSU record book by the time he graduated.

[Ponycat]

Cheaney is the all-time leading scorer.

[bobcatbob]

Yes, big JACK GILLESPIE ws the all time best. He does hold all those records and was a number one draft pick in the old ABA of the Oakland Oaks and played on European teams in France and Belgium that won the European Cup. Played the same years as Elvin Hayes and Kareem and led them in rebounds his senior year.

[Bobcathoops50]

Both of you are right.

In 1985 Hurley nailed a half court shot at the buzzer to beat the Griz in Bozeman.

In 1984 Layher hit a free throw line jumper with 1 second left that beat the Griz. Interestingly enough, Layher also hit a similar shot off a rebound with no time left to beat Boise State in the first round of the BS playoffs. The second shot was in the very next game played three days later, also in Bozeman.

I can still hear Dean "The Dream" Alexander's call, "Phil Layher is the hero again... CAN... YOU... BELIEVE IT!!!!"

[catBBfan]

Ok sice you started the Idea of "best of" how about a best of mens basketball players. Learning from the football posts I will break the era's down as follows. The Golden Era 1908-1940; the middle ages 1941-1969 ;The Modern Era 1970-2004. My first inclination was to have the modern era from 1980-2004 (When I really started to follow Cat basketball), but that is pretty much the Starner/Durham era so I expanded it a little.

After reading through these posts it brings back a lot of good memories another player that I remember is Scott Harry. He was recruited off the football team to help out as we were short on players and turned it to a very important player. What I remember is how strong he was if two people went for the ball Scott would come up with it the majority of the time

[grzh8r]

1) Doug Hashly - dominated and was feared by opposing teams
2) Nico Harrison - best all-around (unless Marvin Moss replaces him)
3) Tony Hampton - one of VERY few points who could do the job
4) Nate Holmstadt - just flat out tough with a decent shot
5) Craig Fiiiiiiiiiinbeeeeeerg - THE best shooter we've ever had
6) Tom Domako - the quiet assasin (just seemed to end up with 20 each night)
7) Quad Lollis - great athlete -didn't show up every night though
Jason Erickson - carried the team on MANY occasions (ala Lullay)
9) Ray Willis - 100 % every night
10) Craig "killer" Kilborn - Funniest guy ever

I like this list also but only because I'm too young to remember many of the Golden Bobcats. I would add "Downtown" Danny Sprinkle to this list

[4everacatfan]

i was at the game and if my memory is correct it was Hurley

BTW his son and daughter in Andaconda are possible d-1 prospects as a junior and soph..

His son is a senior this year and probably a marginal D-1 but would have a great career at a Frontier school. Daughter (junior) is legit and probably too big for the Big sky have heard that several Pac - 10 school have made or are making an offer for her already.


Hard to make a case for Hurley he did have that memorable shot but did not do much else and left after two years to go to Wayne State. Besides the Golden Bobcats. Finny is my hero hands down how many games he won just on his competitive desire.

[mslacat]

i was at the game and if my memory is correct it was Hurley

BTW his son and daughter in Andaconda are possible d-1 prospects as a junior and soph..

His son is a senior this year and probably a marginal D-1 but would have a great career at a Frontier school. Daughter (junior) is legit and probably too big for the Big sky have heard that several Pac - 10 school have made or are making an offer for her already.


Hard to make a case for Hurley he did have that memorable shot but did not do much else and left after two years to go to Wayne State. Besides the Golden Bobcats. Finny is my hero hands down how many games he won just on his competitive desire.

*********** Just scuttle butt rumors ***********

From what I am hearing Tyler Hurley is being recruited very heavily, by Carroll, but Western, and Tech are also in the picture. Carroll is clearly the leader (again from whet I hear). He may not sign this fall and possibly wait until spring hoping to get a D-1 offer. He tend to lean towards the Griz, but would sign with any D-1 school that offers.

Ali Hurley is being recruited hard buy many major D-1 teams. Right now I am hearing Arizona is the favorite right now, but it is real early (as mentioned earlier she is only a junior). She is not a fan of the Bobcats.