The Bobcat Nation

Goodbye Leia, hello Malea.

Wonderful! Love to see Montana kids get a shot. I live in Columbus so we've seen Colstrip play a few times in the last couple years. Egan is a wonderful player, very quick. I'm not smart enough to judge her ability to play college hoops but she was a very, very good player in the class B ranks. As a junior her team won the class B 'ship but they did not have a very good year this year as most of the team graduated. Welcome to the Bobcat family, Malea!

84CatGrad wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:36 am

Wonderful! Love to see Montana kids get a shot. I live in Columbus so we've seen Colstrip play a few times in the last couple years. Egan is a wonderful player, very quick. I'm not smart enough to judge her ability to play college hoops but she was a very, very good player in the class B ranks. As a junior her team won the class B 'ship but they did not have a very good year this year as most of the team graduated. Welcome to the Bobcat family, Malea!

I, too, love to see Montana kids get a shot. I sure hope Binford is putting in a lot mileage around your neck of the woods as it looks like SE Montana is were the girls BB prospects are at. Juniors Breanna Williams of Skyview & Taylee Chirrick of Roberts, sophomore Paige Lofing of Huntley Project, and freshman Madison O'Conner of Baker to name a few.

arvcat2 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 08, 2023 3:43 pm

I sure hope Binford is putting in a lot mileage around your neck of the woods as it looks like SE Montana is were the girls BB prospects are at. Juniors Breanna Williams of Skyview & Taylee Chirrick of Roberts, sophomore Paige Lofing of Huntley Project, and freshman Madison O'Conner of Baker to name a few.

I was thinking of why this might be. Less population, smaller towns with less things competing for a high-schooler’s attention. Could mean more time in the gym. Slower internet connections. More time in the gym or playing outdoors. Flatter country makes better outdoor courts. Any ideas why SE is the place to find players now?

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 08, 2023 4:44 pm

arvcat2 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 08, 2023 3:43 pm

I sure hope Binford is putting in a lot mileage around your neck of the woods as it looks like SE Montana is were the girls BB prospects are at. Juniors Breanna Williams of Skyview & Taylee Chirrick of Roberts, sophomore Paige Lofing of Huntley Project, and freshman Madison O'Conner of Baker to name a few.

I was thinking of why this might be. Less population, smaller towns with less things competing for a high-schooler’s attention. Could mean more time in the gym. Slower internet connections. More time in the gym or playing outdoors. Flatter country makes better outdoor courts. Any ideas why SE is the place to find players now?

Just the natural rotation of talent IMO. in class B the north (mainly Malta and Fairfield but others as well) were dominant for 15-20 years but that has changed of late. Plenty of good players in the north but the south has the edge for the moment. I did not see Chirrick or Williams but saw plenty of Loafing and O'Connor this year. Loafing (just a sophomore) is the real deal. O'Connor is a class B Caitlin Clark. The Gunlock sisters in Big Fork (headed from B to A next year) are also very talented.

Malea is a point-scoring machine. In 2022-23 she averaged 28.7 points per game, including six 30-point games, plus two 40-point games. (These are Peyton Ferris-sized numbers, but she’s a small guard.) Her team won the State B a year ago, but lost the good players and faltered this year. She shot 32% from three, mid 40s overall, and 75% from the line. She had very few assists this year, because honestly it appears as though she would have needed to pass the ball to herself. I’m guessing college defenses will be a whole new game for her as she didn’t have many free-throw attempts. However, if the Bobcat offense can get back to moving the ball, she has been described as very quick and may be a reliable spot-up shooter. She certainly has experience “putting the brown thing through the round thing” (Joe Cravens).

Interview

Pretty cool a young gal from Colstrip is getting so much press. She's a very nice young lady. She joined me yesterday:

@Colter_Nuanez, thanks for reaching out to her. Nice interview. Sounds like a typical new Bobcat getting ready to go to work. I also appreciated your comments about the turnover on the MSU Bobcats women’s basketball team. The ‘Cats unexpectedly added a versatile guard in Brooke Berry. The ‘Cats unexpectedly lost a shooting guard in Leia Beattie. I’m ready for next year.

Egan is quick. Played well in MT WYgame

tetoncat wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Egan is quick. Played well in MT WYgame

Agreed. She was noticeably quicker against high school opponents. Hope it can transition well to Big Sky.

84CatGrad wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 13, 2023 6:47 pm

tetoncat wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 09, 2023 6:49 pm

Egan is quick. Played well in MT WYgame

Agreed. She was noticeably quicker against high school opponents. Hope it can transition well to Big Sky.

All in good time.....