Game Time

Tonight we open up with Montana Tech who is currently 2-0 and led by Kelsey Dewit, the older sister of our red shirt freshman Kayla. Coach Close tried to quiz Kayla on her sister and how we needed to defend her, but Kayla knows the strong bonds of sisterhood. For the Bobcats, it's our first game this evening, which means our players got roughly four hours of sleep with a great level of butterflies, but I find that a refreshing replacement over our court loving regular flies. My daughter was also excited about the game tonight, asking if Champ was going to be there, the bouncy house, and then the most entertaining question, "are you going to go too mama?" Yes I will be there and to our fans, YOU SHOULD BE THERE TOO!!! We have an exciting group of young ladies this season. Go Cats! Coach Bin

ONE WEEK

Game number one October 29th, a week from today! For all of you coaches out there I am sure you are asking the same question, what do I get in before that first game to be ready for a "surprise" verses putting in less and being great at it. I will tell you this. I am not as concerned about our pre game warm up as much as I am ready to see execution vs a press or being able to defend any kind of screen action. What I am certain of is that there will be plenty of learning lessons that we can apply to the next play, next practice, and next game. What I am not so certain of is knowing each player's number since we seem to have a million new faces. I love the first game because it's such a reward for our players to put on their uniforms after the hard work and sweat of daily grinding practices. I love to see the butterflies in our pre game talk. I love to see how our new players respond when I "flip" out on them in an intense huddle. I love to see who feeds off our crowd and elevates their game to an entirely new level. What I could do without is my increased intake of caffeine but let's be honest with each other. That is just not going to happen because the 2012-13 Season has started! Coach Bin

Blue & Gold Wrap

Our SID is giving you the stats of our Blue & Gold scrimmage last Saturday. What I will give you is the behind the scenes description. First of all, we didn't have any out of bounds plays yet so our offense for out of bounds was to get it in! You may be surprised to hear our success rate was above 50% so I am thinking I might not put in out of bounds plays this year. JK-We put them in today. Secondly, we didn't have a press breaker in yet so when white was up late in the second half and blue was pressing their job was to pass, advance, and take care of the ball in which they did. Ironically we had less turnovers without offense than we did when trying to execute offense. That, however, will come when our team gets the reps and begins to make reads rather than thinking and processing as you do when you first introduce new things. Highlights for me: Blue's Start-They came out aggressive and jumped on White early White's Comeback-They came back from a 14 point deficit to WIN! Our depth-We have competition at all positions which is extremely exciting Our steals-I am crediting our great defense here rather than our multiple turnovers by both teams. Biggest highlight though was our sparkplug Shayla Mack who is official now my first player that is at eye level for me. I won't get a neck cramp coaching this one. Here's to another building week ladies. Act like a champion, work like a champion, respond like a champion. Go Cats, Coach Bin

Blue & Gold Scrimmage

This is a shout out to all of our fans to see our 2012-13 Squad in action this Saturday in the Fieldhouse at 9:30am. We will have rosters on hand as there are seven new faces this season and I can't even get their names right. I called Kayla Shayla yesterday. Remember that we have been on the court for a week and half so you have to bring your imagination with you as we don't have much in yet considering the seven new additions. With that being said, you will get to see what we are optimistic about and that is our talent, depth, speed, and strength. Do I sound like a strength coach right now? Anyway, I look forward to seeing you for the beginning of an exciting season. Not only do we have new faces but our conference has two new teams in North Dakota and Southern Utah, as well as a new Big Sky Logo. Since everyone likes "new" I think I will go get myself a new ice tea. These early morning practices are demanding that! Coach Bin

The Countdown

A week from tomorrow begins the official first practice of the 2012-13 Season, and it has come fast! A few years ago the Women's Basketball Coaches Association pushed through legislation for women's basketball to start 40 days out of our first contest. Our reasoning was to transition our teams into the preseason with somewhat of a buildup after having roughly 8 hours a week of fall training. We are now allowed to have 30 practices during that window which gives coaches great flexibility on which days to take off. If you ask our players, they would say that change was awesome as semester schools have already had more than their share of preseason conditioning. Now we are a week out from our first official practice so I thought I would give a wrap up of our fall training. 1) Mental Training-If you have been following my blog you have seen we have targeted the Four C's as a point of emphasis in becoming a tougher team both mentally and physically. Now we will work on applying these concepts until they become habit. 2) Strength Training-As I'm sure you know, the game has gotten a lot more physical in recent years. One of our points of emphasis has to be for our squad to be a more PHYSICAL team. The weight room builds strength, expolosiveness, speed, quickness, and most importantly focuses on injury prevention to keep us on the court. 3) Speed & Agility-Our team would tell you that 11 seconds and 32 seconds enters their dreams (or nightmares!) because they have had plenty of Up Back sprints and "Champion" sprints to make. If you don't know what a Champion is it's a better term for "Suicide" sprint as we want to think of it as making us a Champion. Our strength coach has pushed them to their limits and it will pay off when we get to our high octane transition game this season. 4) Dictating Defense-Coach Starr ran our fall individual practice sessions and made a major point of emphasis on being a more aggressive and physical defensive team than last year. We may see double digit foul trouble in our first few games but the eventual payoffs will be transitioning off of the steals we get. 5) FOUL LINE, FOUL LINE-Yes, we want to and will be getting there this year. Last season we lit it up from 3 which I have no problem with but our mentality will be to get to the rack, first. Our fall emphasis has been our moves at the basket, whether off the dribble or the catch. So if you are in Bozeman on October 7th, enjoy the sunrise and come watch the Bobcats at 7AM. Yes, we start the day the right way... in the GYM, and will be working toward an exciting 2012-13 Season. This team is FAST & PHYSICAL, has depth and experience, so it's time to get the Fieldhouse rockin! Coach Bin

Composure & Concentration

To wrap up the keys to mental toughness our team reviewed the importance of composure & concentration & how to maintain them in the face of adversity, the unexpected, or pressure situations. Our team came up with many scenarios where composure & or concentration may be challenged; whether it's an end of game situation, an official's call, fatigue, sickness, or an opponent's influence. We discussed steps that would help us maintain focus on the task of performance rather than letting our emotions negatively drift our minds elsewhere. We can establish consistent routines of preparation, practice unexpected situations ahead of time, & visualize ourselves in these situations with the response we want to have. Concentration can also be improved by focusing on eye contact, staying mentally in the present, & focusing on the details that improve our performance rather than the "what ifs." I want my playrs to own their emotions & use them to their advantage. Whether we get angry about something, nervous about the moment, if we can properly channel them, caring actually can heighten our level of play. Many people make the mistake of thinking these emotions are "wrong" and we should cover them up. Our team is going grasp them, enjoy the opportunity, and leave the worries that are out of our control behind. Mental Toughness is a skill, strength, and an asset that can be helpful both on the court and in life. Our team has learned that "toughness is not usually seen in the actions of a person, rather than in the reaction of that person." Ralph Jean-Paul Coach Bin

HOF Inductee Jessica Blake Carlson

Following a dismal 1999-2000 campaign, then-head coach Frank McCarthy knew that the key to any future Bobcat women’s basketball success, especially in Big Sky Conference play, lay with the post position. And, fortunately for the Bobcats, McCarthy found the answer to his quandary just three hours southwest of Bozeman in Rexburg, Idaho. When Jessica Blake arrived at Montana State following two seasons at Ricks College, she made an immediate impact on the MSU campus, both on the court and in the classroom. On the court, she quickly established herself as one of the most dominant posts in the Big Sky Conference, earning all-conference honorable mention accolades and all-academic honors in her first time through the Big Sky ranks. Combined with backcourt sensation Rebecca Alvidrez, the duo produced the fourth-best turnaround in the nation at the NCAA Division I level. The table was set for a memorable and remarkable 2001-02 campaign. Paced by Blake in the middle and Alvidrez at the point, the Bobcats notched an 18-11 overall mark and an 11-3 league slate, which gave the team a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season title. The season was highlighted by two victories over Montana in a seven-day span, the latter in the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament. Although MSU eventually lost a heartbreaking 53-47 decision to Weber State in the championship game, the season's most important and lasting achievement was the resurrection of a once-proud Bobcat women’s basketball program. For her efforts, Blake was named the 2002 Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky pick. She still tops the Bobcats' all-time shooting chart, hitting at a .546 clip from the field. “Jessica had, arguably, the best set of hands to ever play at MSU and maybe in Big Sky Conference play as well,” said MSU Sports Information Director Tom Schulz. “When Jessica caught the ball on the blocks it was money. There wasn’t a prettier sight then an Alvidrez-to-Blake conversion for two points.” And while Blake enjoyed an outstanding basketball career at MSU her work in the classroom may have proven even better than her work on the court. The Shelley, Idaho, native was a two-time Big Sky All-Academic choice, earning Second Team CoSIDA District VII Academic All-America honors as a senior. She became only the second Bobcat ever to earn an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, and was also named the NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Montana after her senior season. Years at Montana State 2000-02 Hometown Shelley, Idaho Honors 2002 Big Sky MVP, 2002 First Team All-Big Sky, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship, NCAA/Montana Woman of Year, No. 1 Career FG Pctg.