Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Danny Sprinkle's Return Calls to Mind Good Times in Worthington Arena and Promises More to Come
4/5/2019 12:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bobcat grad, Helena product, returns to lead Montana State Basketball
BOZEMAN, Montana – It began with a conversation in a Brick Breeden Fieldhouse hallway, near a conference room that no longer exists, in October of 1995. There, after the Bobcat basketball team had concluded its preseason public scrimmage, head coach Mick Durham spoke with freshman guard Danny Sprinkle and his father, Bill.
"The plan was for him to redshirt," Durham said of Danny Sprinkle that night after the impromptu meeting, "but I think he needs to play." That talk led to a difficult decision, and eventually to some of the greatest thrills Bobcat basketball has ever offered its fans. In the ensuing months Sprinkle reeled in Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors, capped with a heart-stopping 30-point night against Weber State just steps away from where that initial conversation took place, inside an electrified Worthington Arena, as Sprinkle and the Bobcats won the Big Sky Championship.
"I think it was a pretty good decision," Durham said on the day Sprinkle was introduced as the head coach at Montana State.
Nearly a quarter-century after Sprinkle began impacting Bobcat basketball as a sharp-shooting guard, he assumed the role some of his teammates felt was his destiny all along. "He definitely always had a mind for it," former teammate and current Bozeman businessman Jeff Riggs said of Sprinkle's coaching career. "As far as being a leader, that was something he had a natural talent for. He had an instinct to see things in the flow of a game that others didn't."
Long-time Bobcat assistant coach Jerry Olson, now the Director of Athletics at Miles Community College, said he didn't have an inkling during his playing career that Sprinkle would enter the coaching profession, but knew that he would find success in whatever he chose. "He worked so hard at everything," said Olson, who "spent hours and hours rebounding for him. That was the easiest job in the world because I just stood (under the basket)."
Sprinkle's arrival at Montana State in the fall of 1995 came with modest expectations. "I didn't have any other scholarship offers," he said. His acclimation was gradual – he scored 61 points in his first 10 games, all off the bench. His second start, a triple overtime near-upset at TCU, produced a 20-point effort. He never left the starting lineup, and only rarely stopped scoring, in the games and years that followed.
It didn't always go smoothly, but improvement was a constant. "He wasn't a great defensive player when he got here," Olson said, "but he worked and worked and worked at it. And he got better. He became a pretty good defender. You just knew with his work ethic, he'd be good at whatever he put his mind to."
His primary weapon, though, was a picture-perfect jumper, honed on driveways and blacktop courts and in gyms in Helena and across Montana. After joining the MSU starting lineup as a freshman, Sprinkle shot nearly 40% from the arc for the remainder of that season and finished with an MSU- and Big Sky-record 263 three-pointers. Sprinkle's ability to shoot was apparent to everyone who witnessed it. "We played Minnesota (in December, 1998), and (Gophers' coach) Clem Haskins told me, 'It looks like he doesn't even catch it before he shoots.'"
The Bobcats finished 69-49 during Sprinkle's time in the program and never finished lower than third in the Big Sky. Sprinkle's career capped the program's longest stretch of sustained success since the 1950s, and it came under Durham's direction. "Coach Durham brought me to Montana State and believed in me when I was a 17-year old kid," Sprinkle said. "He took a chance one me. We ran with it, and had some pretty good success."
Riggs distinctly remembers Sprinkle's passion for Bobcat basketball. "When I first got here from Oregon State" as a transfer, Riggs said, "it took some time for me to figure out rivalries and loyalty to the school and things like that. Danny has always had so much passion for Montana State, he made it easy."
Nothing stokes loyalty and passion in the heart of Bobcats more than the school's rivalry with Montana. Riggs experienced that in a late-night hot tub session with teammates. "We were just talking about things, and it turned to basketball, and when we started talking about the Grizzlies he got so mad," Riggs laughed. "He kept going and going and it turned into a tirade, and finally he just had to walk away."
That passion hit the boiling point on January 30, 1999, in the final regular season Cat-Griz game in the careers of Sprinkle and senior classmates Nate Holmstadt and Mike Henry. The game was played at Sentinel High in Missoula, but the intensity would have done credit to any arena in college basketball. For the three seniors, a career winning record against the Grizzlies hung in the balance.
"I didn't know about that," Riggs said, "but (the game) obviously meant a lot to them. It was a super-heated game" – at one point Sprinkle bumped heads with Montana's Mike Warhank and caused a bloody nose – "and a tight game to the end. I remember Danny talking to his dad at the end, telling him, 'We did it! We beat the Grizzlies!' It was a really big deal."
A man who has walked the path Sprinkle ventures onto today, Durham couldn't be more pleased. He played for the Cats in the 1970s, worked as an assistant coach in the 1980s, and from 1990-2006 compiled the most wins at his alma mater by any coach in Big Sky Conference history to that point. His 246 career wins remains second in program history.
"I'm really excited for Danny, and for the program," Durham said. "To be able to coach at your alma mater is something very special and he's more than ready. All of us Bobcats are excited and ready to be very, very supportive. This is very cool."
The characteristics cited by those charged with finding Montana State's basketball coach over the last few weeks were apparent to Riggs years ago. "He was an awesome teammate. One of my favorite things about him was his loyalty and passion. He would get super fired up for his teammates' success, and the way he expressed himself to his teammates and friends when someone was doing well is something I'll always appreciate."
Sprinkle was a beloved figure in Bozeman during his time as a player for reasons far beyond his success on the court. "He used to baby-sit my daughters," Olson recalled, and another local fondly remembers Sprinkle coming to the birthday party of his adoring five-year old son. For a certain period of time, a song to the tune of 1960s pop classic "Johnny Angel," using Danny Sprinkle's name, produced by local radio star Dave Visscher and recorded by local sensations The Vissch-Tones, filled Gallatin Valley airwaves.
There's no doubt that the selection of Sprinkle to lead Bobcat basketball stirs memories and emotions in many. "He's like my son," Olson said, "and I'm so happy for him. So proud." Riggs concurs. "I'm so glad he's going to be able to share his passion the current team and with Bobcat fans, and bring that to younger fans and new fans that maybe haven't experienced it."
And Durham, who grew up in Three Forks a lifelong Bobcat fan before embarking on his own journey playing and coaching at Montana State, wraps it up succinctly for Bobcats everywhere. "He's one of us. I'm really excited."
#GoCatsGo
"The plan was for him to redshirt," Durham said of Danny Sprinkle that night after the impromptu meeting, "but I think he needs to play." That talk led to a difficult decision, and eventually to some of the greatest thrills Bobcat basketball has ever offered its fans. In the ensuing months Sprinkle reeled in Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors, capped with a heart-stopping 30-point night against Weber State just steps away from where that initial conversation took place, inside an electrified Worthington Arena, as Sprinkle and the Bobcats won the Big Sky Championship.
"I think it was a pretty good decision," Durham said on the day Sprinkle was introduced as the head coach at Montana State.
Nearly a quarter-century after Sprinkle began impacting Bobcat basketball as a sharp-shooting guard, he assumed the role some of his teammates felt was his destiny all along. "He definitely always had a mind for it," former teammate and current Bozeman businessman Jeff Riggs said of Sprinkle's coaching career. "As far as being a leader, that was something he had a natural talent for. He had an instinct to see things in the flow of a game that others didn't."
Long-time Bobcat assistant coach Jerry Olson, now the Director of Athletics at Miles Community College, said he didn't have an inkling during his playing career that Sprinkle would enter the coaching profession, but knew that he would find success in whatever he chose. "He worked so hard at everything," said Olson, who "spent hours and hours rebounding for him. That was the easiest job in the world because I just stood (under the basket)."
Sprinkle's arrival at Montana State in the fall of 1995 came with modest expectations. "I didn't have any other scholarship offers," he said. His acclimation was gradual – he scored 61 points in his first 10 games, all off the bench. His second start, a triple overtime near-upset at TCU, produced a 20-point effort. He never left the starting lineup, and only rarely stopped scoring, in the games and years that followed.
It didn't always go smoothly, but improvement was a constant. "He wasn't a great defensive player when he got here," Olson said, "but he worked and worked and worked at it. And he got better. He became a pretty good defender. You just knew with his work ethic, he'd be good at whatever he put his mind to."
His primary weapon, though, was a picture-perfect jumper, honed on driveways and blacktop courts and in gyms in Helena and across Montana. After joining the MSU starting lineup as a freshman, Sprinkle shot nearly 40% from the arc for the remainder of that season and finished with an MSU- and Big Sky-record 263 three-pointers. Sprinkle's ability to shoot was apparent to everyone who witnessed it. "We played Minnesota (in December, 1998), and (Gophers' coach) Clem Haskins told me, 'It looks like he doesn't even catch it before he shoots.'"
The Bobcats finished 69-49 during Sprinkle's time in the program and never finished lower than third in the Big Sky. Sprinkle's career capped the program's longest stretch of sustained success since the 1950s, and it came under Durham's direction. "Coach Durham brought me to Montana State and believed in me when I was a 17-year old kid," Sprinkle said. "He took a chance one me. We ran with it, and had some pretty good success."
Riggs distinctly remembers Sprinkle's passion for Bobcat basketball. "When I first got here from Oregon State" as a transfer, Riggs said, "it took some time for me to figure out rivalries and loyalty to the school and things like that. Danny has always had so much passion for Montana State, he made it easy."
Nothing stokes loyalty and passion in the heart of Bobcats more than the school's rivalry with Montana. Riggs experienced that in a late-night hot tub session with teammates. "We were just talking about things, and it turned to basketball, and when we started talking about the Grizzlies he got so mad," Riggs laughed. "He kept going and going and it turned into a tirade, and finally he just had to walk away."
That passion hit the boiling point on January 30, 1999, in the final regular season Cat-Griz game in the careers of Sprinkle and senior classmates Nate Holmstadt and Mike Henry. The game was played at Sentinel High in Missoula, but the intensity would have done credit to any arena in college basketball. For the three seniors, a career winning record against the Grizzlies hung in the balance.
"I didn't know about that," Riggs said, "but (the game) obviously meant a lot to them. It was a super-heated game" – at one point Sprinkle bumped heads with Montana's Mike Warhank and caused a bloody nose – "and a tight game to the end. I remember Danny talking to his dad at the end, telling him, 'We did it! We beat the Grizzlies!' It was a really big deal."
A man who has walked the path Sprinkle ventures onto today, Durham couldn't be more pleased. He played for the Cats in the 1970s, worked as an assistant coach in the 1980s, and from 1990-2006 compiled the most wins at his alma mater by any coach in Big Sky Conference history to that point. His 246 career wins remains second in program history.
"I'm really excited for Danny, and for the program," Durham said. "To be able to coach at your alma mater is something very special and he's more than ready. All of us Bobcats are excited and ready to be very, very supportive. This is very cool."
The characteristics cited by those charged with finding Montana State's basketball coach over the last few weeks were apparent to Riggs years ago. "He was an awesome teammate. One of my favorite things about him was his loyalty and passion. He would get super fired up for his teammates' success, and the way he expressed himself to his teammates and friends when someone was doing well is something I'll always appreciate."
Sprinkle was a beloved figure in Bozeman during his time as a player for reasons far beyond his success on the court. "He used to baby-sit my daughters," Olson recalled, and another local fondly remembers Sprinkle coming to the birthday party of his adoring five-year old son. For a certain period of time, a song to the tune of 1960s pop classic "Johnny Angel," using Danny Sprinkle's name, produced by local radio star Dave Visscher and recorded by local sensations The Vissch-Tones, filled Gallatin Valley airwaves.
There's no doubt that the selection of Sprinkle to lead Bobcat basketball stirs memories and emotions in many. "He's like my son," Olson said, "and I'm so happy for him. So proud." Riggs concurs. "I'm so glad he's going to be able to share his passion the current team and with Bobcat fans, and bring that to younger fans and new fans that maybe haven't experienced it."
And Durham, who grew up in Three Forks a lifelong Bobcat fan before embarking on his own journey playing and coaching at Montana State, wraps it up succinctly for Bobcats everywhere. "He's one of us. I'm really excited."
#GoCatsGo
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