Post by griz on Jan 10, 2011 11:28:16 GMT -5
montanagrizzlies.com/news/?n=2011/95/9441&m=36
Tinkle working on team's mental preparation
Sometimes coaching is done between the lines and sometimes it’s done between the ears.
Montana men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle is going to take the latter approach as the Griz prepare to face Sacramento State in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday night at The Nest.
Tinkle said he’s going to get into the heads of the Griz in wake of their 18-point loss at Northern Colorado on Thursday night. In one of their worst performances of the season, the Griz managed just a season-low 45 points and didn’t match the Bears’ intensity on either end of the floor.
“We watched the film right away last night and then I watched it again (Friday) on the plane,” Tinkle said. “It really came down to them playing harder and tougher than us. They got more breaks than we did and I think it’s because they earned them by winning everybody over with their physicality and intensity right away.
“That was a big disappointment right after the game, even though that’s the most emotional time. So we tried to cool down and gain another perspective by watching the film (again) and we felt the same way. That’s what it came down to.”
So Tinkle will go about fixing that problem with the few hours the Griz had Friday evening after arriving from Denver.
“It’s just challenging them,” Tinkle said. “It wasn’t anything tactical or technical. It was effort and intensity. It’s the first time in a long while that we were flat and didn’t have the intensity. We’ll get after our guys in a film session (Friday) night. Then we’ll tape them up and have a real intense shoot-around (Saturday), see who steps up for us.”
Northern Colorado did a good job of taking Montana senior center Brian Qvale out of his comfort zone with its physical play. In the five games since Qvale scored a career-high 27 points against Oregon State, he’s scored in double figures just twice, last week’s home wins over Northern Arizona and Weber State.
“We need to get him watching more film of himself,” Tinkle said. “He’s allowing himself to be guarded again and he’s allowing teams to be really physical. Instead of being stubborn and trying to fight that, he needs to avoid it, spin away and seal guys quicker. Technically, he’s way too vertical on both ends. He needs to spread out, get low and wide, then he’s going to be harder to move and when they do chuck him it’s going to be a lot more obvious that it’s a foul.”
With freshman Kareem Jamar on the shelf with an injured finger on his shooting hand, Tinkle put junior Art Steward into the starting five. The group might get shuffled again against the Hornets. Tinkle said he’s toying with the idea of starting Shawn Stockton in place of Jordan Wood, who has struggled to find his shooting touch.
“It’s not for lack of effort; he’s just not a very confident player right now,” Tinkle said of the junior guard, who is shooting 31 percent overall and 20 percent from 3-point range. “That might be my fault. Maybe I’ve been hard on him lately, trying to wake him up. The next move might be to relieve a little pressure by bringing him off the bench and see if that helps.”
In Sacramento State, the Griz are facing a team that has come up just a hair short in all three of its Big Sky games. The Hornets lost overtime contests on the road at Eastern Washington and Idaho State, then dropped a two-point decision to Montana State on Thursday after leading late in the game.
“They’re playing everybody close,” Tinkle said. “I know in years past, they really like to control tempo. They want to keep it in the 50s or low 60s. They’re very athletic, but I think if we’re patient with them we’re going to get the looks we want.”
Senior guard Sultan Toles-Bey leads the Hornets in scoring at 12.1 ppg, but sophomore wing John Dickson has some on strong and is averaging 9.6 ppg.
“We knew this league from top to bottom was going to be very competitive and nothing comes easy on the road,” Tinkle said. “We’re going to have to go out and earn everything we get.”
Tinkle working on team's mental preparation
Sometimes coaching is done between the lines and sometimes it’s done between the ears.
Montana men’s basketball coach Wayne Tinkle is going to take the latter approach as the Griz prepare to face Sacramento State in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday night at The Nest.
Tinkle said he’s going to get into the heads of the Griz in wake of their 18-point loss at Northern Colorado on Thursday night. In one of their worst performances of the season, the Griz managed just a season-low 45 points and didn’t match the Bears’ intensity on either end of the floor.
“We watched the film right away last night and then I watched it again (Friday) on the plane,” Tinkle said. “It really came down to them playing harder and tougher than us. They got more breaks than we did and I think it’s because they earned them by winning everybody over with their physicality and intensity right away.
“That was a big disappointment right after the game, even though that’s the most emotional time. So we tried to cool down and gain another perspective by watching the film (again) and we felt the same way. That’s what it came down to.”
So Tinkle will go about fixing that problem with the few hours the Griz had Friday evening after arriving from Denver.
“It’s just challenging them,” Tinkle said. “It wasn’t anything tactical or technical. It was effort and intensity. It’s the first time in a long while that we were flat and didn’t have the intensity. We’ll get after our guys in a film session (Friday) night. Then we’ll tape them up and have a real intense shoot-around (Saturday), see who steps up for us.”
Northern Colorado did a good job of taking Montana senior center Brian Qvale out of his comfort zone with its physical play. In the five games since Qvale scored a career-high 27 points against Oregon State, he’s scored in double figures just twice, last week’s home wins over Northern Arizona and Weber State.
“We need to get him watching more film of himself,” Tinkle said. “He’s allowing himself to be guarded again and he’s allowing teams to be really physical. Instead of being stubborn and trying to fight that, he needs to avoid it, spin away and seal guys quicker. Technically, he’s way too vertical on both ends. He needs to spread out, get low and wide, then he’s going to be harder to move and when they do chuck him it’s going to be a lot more obvious that it’s a foul.”
With freshman Kareem Jamar on the shelf with an injured finger on his shooting hand, Tinkle put junior Art Steward into the starting five. The group might get shuffled again against the Hornets. Tinkle said he’s toying with the idea of starting Shawn Stockton in place of Jordan Wood, who has struggled to find his shooting touch.
“It’s not for lack of effort; he’s just not a very confident player right now,” Tinkle said of the junior guard, who is shooting 31 percent overall and 20 percent from 3-point range. “That might be my fault. Maybe I’ve been hard on him lately, trying to wake him up. The next move might be to relieve a little pressure by bringing him off the bench and see if that helps.”
In Sacramento State, the Griz are facing a team that has come up just a hair short in all three of its Big Sky games. The Hornets lost overtime contests on the road at Eastern Washington and Idaho State, then dropped a two-point decision to Montana State on Thursday after leading late in the game.
“They’re playing everybody close,” Tinkle said. “I know in years past, they really like to control tempo. They want to keep it in the 50s or low 60s. They’re very athletic, but I think if we’re patient with them we’re going to get the looks we want.”
Senior guard Sultan Toles-Bey leads the Hornets in scoring at 12.1 ppg, but sophomore wing John Dickson has some on strong and is averaging 9.6 ppg.
“We knew this league from top to bottom was going to be very competitive and nothing comes easy on the road,” Tinkle said. “We’re going to have to go out and earn everything we get.”