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Tsull, you can make the post, but I thank you for not announcing that the Nooks "mailed it in" or so. Cause they didn't. They just got trounced. Here's what I thought of the game... With 3 DI transfers in their starting 5, WOU was more athletic, faster, and stronger at every position on the floor. UAF pretty much only scores via passing as they have been at or near the top of the GNAC in assists and assist/turnover ratio, and WOU just completely clogged the passing lanes and the Nooks just couldn't get passed that. We don't get a lot of dribble drive, we don't have a lot of shooters, so tactically WOU just kinda shut down the Nooks with their D. Our turnover to assist ratio was completely backwards last night. Tough game. I'm sure you had a ball with your boys shooting well to boot. What's funny is the Wolves were up by 30 and still Shaw was out of his box more often than not and their whole bench disputing every single call. I don't know. The Nooks are a mess, they are missing something important this year... I'm not sure but perhaps it hurts a little less to not overthink it and just call it what it was... A trouncing. I'm simultaneously worried and hopeful about the future (future as in next year, etc, not this year). We have a ton of snow this year, it's been wicked cold and the losses are stacking up. Who's gonna stick around and try to get this team competitive again? I'm hopeful because we have 4 Alaskans on the playing roster this year and they knew what they were getting into when they signed to play in Fairbanks, but I'm worried too, because recruiting to a place that fairly regularly drops to -40 and is a long way from most places is never easy and then you add getting kids to come and play for a team that has a lot of trouble finding wins consistently... And then add to that the trend in the GNAC of DI transfers being the big thing these days and well, hmmmm. More worried than hopeful today.
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Great report, thanks. Well, all these vaunted WOU shooters (hailed as so coming in) found the hoop. That's the key. Up until yesterday, they were shooting 40 percent as a team; last year they shot 45 percent as a team. That's a significant drop-off. Trammell off the bench is huge as is Berg. Both can be very good and hit and miss. Would've been kind of nice to get a redshirt on one of those guys, but oh well. The guy I really like is redshirt frosh Reese, who bodes well for the future. Chirnside is also playing well and Omlid is pretty steady, though he had a sub-par game at Anchorage.Originally posted by northernGNAChoopfan View Post
Not sure what's happened for the Nanooks. They were great last year, very close to going to regionals. Correct on the recruiting challenges. Durham is an excellent coach and certainly has some recruiting connections. Maybe the key is finding D-1 transfers -- though as noted, I'm not real big on that, despite WOU's newbies. The Alaskans on the roster aren't going anywhere. I don't think JC ball is present in Alaska and the NWAACC in the NW is OK, not great, though Berg and Trammell came from those ranks. Getting a guy like Travante was huge last year, a D2 transfer who really wanted a place to play and shine. I'm guessing if you interviewed him he'd say I don't care about the cold, the location, etc., care about school and ball. I like Slocum a lot, Cali JC guy. If you had a clown as head coach, I'd be concerned. Durham is high quality, I think he'll turn it ... next year. -
Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Yeah. I am definitely in the fan club of Durhams and he has already turned in some fun seasons following sour seasons, so there's that. But we've had our fair share of clowns through the ages, so we hope for some more good seasons before he decides to retire! And yes Travante was a great Alaskan kid. I just wish we could get those kids for more than a year! I saw Slocum there last night and find it amazing when some of these Cali kids stick around in Fairbanks. That is great. I think the Nooks have a handful of small problems that they are trying to manage and use strategy to minimize, but combined are turning into one big problem, as on display last night. One thing that Travante and Slocum both had was leadership, and that is unfortunately sometimes what I'm seeing as lacking this year... And that's not something strategy or tactics can alter... Anyways. I really don't want a roster full of DI guys. I love DII for what it is and could care less about DI ball and I'd really like to see DII stay as DII, and not start turning into a playground for DI players that want to be bigger stars. Not saying it's always like that. Matlock for us is a DI kid and clearly DII is the better spot for him, and clearly that is the case for Devine on UAA too.
Anyways. If your Wolves can turn last night into a consistency starter, I could definitely see them battling for an auto-bid to regionals with WWU. I see WWU, CWU, WOU, and UAA as the top 4 teams and I see SMU and MSUB getting into the GNAC tourney as well. WWU and WOU are both loaded with DI transfers and could see them in the championship game. UAA has a lot of senior leadership that could make me wrong... We'll see. I like CWU in that I don't think they have a single DI kid playing for them and they still are hanging right there. I think seeding in the tournament could mean more than usual in who will advance in the quarters and semis... Nobody's gonna wanna play SMU, especially after that Root Sports game this week where they used that crowd and atmosphere to rout MSUB.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Agree with this ... and I thought Slocum was back this year? Is he gone?Originally posted by northernGNAChoopfan View Post
I'm not a big fan of all the D-1 transfers and don't want D2 to morph into that. Last year's WOU team's foundation was built on 4/5-year vets, and yes, Omlid is a 4-year transfer from Monmouth, whose mom works at WOU. Roth is another 4-year transfer, who didn't play at OSU and is from nearby West Salem. Not excusing those 4-year transfers, but understand those two guys. I felt early in the year, WOU's D-1 transfers were there only to be "the man" and not help the team win. They've gotten better playing team ball of late. I still would like the foundation to be preps like Avgi, Wiley, Alexander, from last year; and this year Reese, Chirnside, Souza, Thompson, Nestell (redshirt). That's just my belief, though I'm not for turning away transfers, but I don't want WOU to become a landing place for disgruntled D1 players.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Slocum graduated last year.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Northern.........don't get too down about UAF. I've known the Durham family for many years and Mick will leave the UAF program in good hands by the time he departs Fairbanks.
If he were to leave right now, the program would be in much better shape than when he arrived to take it over from the ex NBA'er Clemon Johnson. Nothing against Clemon, but in his last few seasons the wins were uncommon.
The best UAF days were the Al Sokaitis and Frank Ostanik days of the mid to late 90's and early 2000's. My hope is that Mick hangs in there for about 3-4 more years and really gets the Nanooks on solid footing with a few more classes of his California juco recruiting and maybe a few more in-state finds like Hornbuckle and Kluting. And then, my hope is that Frank Ostanik slides back into the driver's seat at UAF from his current position at Monroe Catholic.
Ostanik is regarded as the best prep coach in Alaska by many, if not all, b-ball aficionados. He was run out on a rail from UAF back in about 2005 after he had some players make some ****ty choices that somehow Ostanik ended up getting tarred and feathered over and was forced to resign.
He's more than proven himself as a GREAT coach and could win the state of Alaska in recruiting. Not that winning AK will give you the GNAC, but it's not a bad start. The great Sokaitis and Ostanik UAF teams of the 90's were at their core, Alaskan kids doing a ton of damage in the West region.
All of this is said with the utmost respect for Mick and what he's done to rebuild what was a dumpster fire when he arrived. If I was a Nanook fan, I'd be happy to have Mick for as long as he wants to hang onto the UAF Nanook clipboard. Mick almost had them to the West Regions last year.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Durham is an excellent coach. A friend of mine who lives in Bozeman and is a Bobcat booster was one of these clowns thinking he needed to be fired. I would argue with him and say for every down season he has, he has more up seasons. My friend didn't buckle. I said, "Be careful what you wish for." Durham's replacement (a UO assistant) hasn't been that good. Durham is the last coach to take MSU to the NCAA tournament and that might hold for awhile. I can't believe people think it's easy to recruit to Bozeman. It's not, unless one likes sub-zero temps most of the winter, which few other Big Sky Conference schools have.
Durham will have UAF back up soon. He had a great team last year and he'll have more in the future.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
[QUOTE=lv2hoop;2012557]Northern.........don't get too down about UAF. I've known the Durham family for many years and Mick will leave the UAF program in good hands by the time he departs Fairbanks. I'm not a great loser. I have no doubt that Mick will leave the UAF program as good as he can.
If he were to leave right now, the program would be in much better shape than when he arrived to take it over from the ex NBA'er Clemon Johnson. Nothing against Clemon, but in his last few seasons the wins were uncommon. Johnson went to coach @ DI Florida A&M and was fired after a handful of years there. I didn't watch many of the Nanook games when he was here. I couldn't tell what he was trying to do and I found being a Nanook fan to be pretty depressing. I actually kinda cringed when I read that they had hired an NBA guy. In Fairbanks.
The best UAF days were the Al Sokaitis and Frank Ostanik days of the mid to late 90's and early 2000's. My hope is that Mick hangs in there for about 3-4 more years and really gets the Nanooks on solid footing with a few more classes of his California juco recruiting and maybe a few more in-state finds like Hornbuckle and Kluting. And then, my hope is that Frank Ostanik slides back into the driver's seat at UAF from his current position at Monroe Catholic.
Ostanik is regarded as the best prep coach in Alaska by many, if not all, b-ball aficionados. He was run out on a rail from UAF back in about 2005 after he had some players make some ****ty choices that somehow Ostanik ended up getting tarred and feathered over and was forced to resign. I'm going to disagree here... Ostanik has certainly shown he can coach at the Prep level and his Monroe family adores him. But he had more than a few players make not just stupid decisions like slacking in the classroom or a random team rules violation. Kids were arrested and charged with felonies. Multiple kids. You gotta smell things like this going on with your team. You gotta know the character of your guys. You have to manage the off court side of the game, especially if you want to be successful in a small town like Fairbanks. Six kids were dismissed in one season and the paper was continually peppered with more headlines about UAF basketball players doing pretty bad things. He's remained a bit of a lightning rod in prep hoops too. Lots of love and lots of hate. I'd be open to hearing his side of things but I'm not sure I'd be jumping out of my seat with excitement... That was the beginning of the road straight down into the gutter.
He's more than proven himself as a GREAT coach and could win the state of Alaska in recruiting. Not that winning AK will give you the GNAC, but it's not a bad start. The great Sokaitis and Ostanik UAF teams of the 90's were at their core, Alaskan kids doing a ton of damage in the West region. Yes. I agree here. I came to Fairbanks right before Oleson played at UAF. Those years were amazing. North Pole, Alaska kid as GNAC POTY and all-American too. He's still playing in Spain. Became a citizen of Spain too. Last time I checked his stats, it looked like his best years over there were in 2014. He was a really special player. I was a bit too young to really know what Sokaitis was doing as a coach, but I sure did love the games and beat downs UAF gave UAA=)
All of this is said with the utmost respect for Mick and what he's done to rebuild what was a dumpster fire when he arrived. If I was a Nanook fan, I'd be happy to have Mick for as long as he wants to hang onto the UAF Nanook clipboard. Mick almost had them to the West Regions last year.[QUOTE
Excellent use of the "dumpster fire"! I too will be happy to see Durham stay a while! Trying to stay optimistic.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
I think it would be difficult for UAF or any GNAC school to get a coach as experienced as Durham. I've really some of WOU's hires, particularly the last two in Shaw and Bergeson. They were college assistants, not D-1 head coaches. Look at the bios of GNAC coaches, I'd say that Durham has the most head coaching experience.
The key for UAF isn't worrying about how Durham will do -- he'll do fine -- it's your next hire after he retires. That will be tricky.Comment
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Re: Wolves trounce Nanooks
Thought I received a document about a year ago from a client in Barrow that had been notarized by Brad Oleson at Wells Fargo Bank. Had assumed it was the same Brad Oleson - god, I used to hate that cocky ba$tard, lol. But I did appreciate his play and the fact that he was an Alaska kid.
I don't know it to be a fact but my understanding was that Ostanik was ran out of UAF because he knew some of the stuff that was going on before it was known by the authorities and either didn't report it or tried to cover it up. But that was just the rumor in Anchorage so might not be too accurate. If that is true, I am not sure he would be welcomed back.Comment
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