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As Cats Prepare for Big Sky Tourney Semifinals, Danny Sprinkle Continues to Chisel His Name in MSU History
3/7/2023 6:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bobcat legend leads MSU Men's Basketball to new heights
BOISE, Idaho – Danny Sprinkle quietly achieved an interesting milestone on Sunday with Montana State's second round Big Sky Conference Tournament victory against Northern Colorado, one that points out the current success enjoyed by Bobcat basketball and Sprinkle's long-range impact on the program.
The Bobcat win marked the 11th with Sprinkle in the program as either a player or its head coach. The five tourney victories Sprinkle enjoyed as a Bobcat star from 1995-99 was tied as the most in program history over any four-year stretch until 2019, when the Helena High grad took over as Montana State's head coach. His first season was marred by the tourney's cancelation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but in the ensuing three years the Cats won two games on the way to a championship game appearance in 2021, won the championship with three wins in 2022, and won its first game in 2023.
That is a 6-1 Big Sky Tournament record for head coach Danny Sprinkle – tied with his mentor Mick Durham for second-most among all Bobcat coaches – to go with his five as a player. Stu Starner won seven game as the progra's Top Cat in the 1980s. Sprinkle's 11 wins exactly match the number of victories by every other Bobcat team combined.
For the record, Montana State is 22-31 all-time in Big Sky Tournament play. That win total is third-most in Big Sky history. Only one other league coach, UM's Larry Krystkowiak, has won five games as both a player and head coach. But Krystkowiak never won a tournament championship as a player, or a regular season title as a head coach (although he led the Grizzlies to an NCAA Tournament victory). Sprinkle claims both in each capacity, and no one else owns half of his school's total Big Sky Tourney wins while participating in both capacities.
Even now, after four seasons helming the program he loves, Sprinkle towers over Bobcat basketball. He is the first MSU coach since Ott Romney in the 1920s to post four straight winning seasons, and at this moment joins Romney as the only Bobcat coaches with four seasons in the ledger to never suffer through a losing campaign. He's already ninth in program history in wins with 77.
At some point in the future, the answer to the question "When were Montana State's glory years in basketball?" will include Sprinkle's name with legends such as Romney, Schubert Dyche, Brick Breeden, Roger Craft, Stu Starner and Mick Durham. But in the moment, as the Cats prepare for a Big Sky Tournament semifinal contest against Weber State Tuesday night, the answer is easy.
It's now.
#GoCatsGo
The Bobcat win marked the 11th with Sprinkle in the program as either a player or its head coach. The five tourney victories Sprinkle enjoyed as a Bobcat star from 1995-99 was tied as the most in program history over any four-year stretch until 2019, when the Helena High grad took over as Montana State's head coach. His first season was marred by the tourney's cancelation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but in the ensuing three years the Cats won two games on the way to a championship game appearance in 2021, won the championship with three wins in 2022, and won its first game in 2023.
That is a 6-1 Big Sky Tournament record for head coach Danny Sprinkle – tied with his mentor Mick Durham for second-most among all Bobcat coaches – to go with his five as a player. Stu Starner won seven game as the progra's Top Cat in the 1980s. Sprinkle's 11 wins exactly match the number of victories by every other Bobcat team combined.
For the record, Montana State is 22-31 all-time in Big Sky Tournament play. That win total is third-most in Big Sky history. Only one other league coach, UM's Larry Krystkowiak, has won five games as both a player and head coach. But Krystkowiak never won a tournament championship as a player, or a regular season title as a head coach (although he led the Grizzlies to an NCAA Tournament victory). Sprinkle claims both in each capacity, and no one else owns half of his school's total Big Sky Tourney wins while participating in both capacities.
Even now, after four seasons helming the program he loves, Sprinkle towers over Bobcat basketball. He is the first MSU coach since Ott Romney in the 1920s to post four straight winning seasons, and at this moment joins Romney as the only Bobcat coaches with four seasons in the ledger to never suffer through a losing campaign. He's already ninth in program history in wins with 77.
At some point in the future, the answer to the question "When were Montana State's glory years in basketball?" will include Sprinkle's name with legends such as Romney, Schubert Dyche, Brick Breeden, Roger Craft, Stu Starner and Mick Durham. But in the moment, as the Cats prepare for a Big Sky Tournament semifinal contest against Weber State Tuesday night, the answer is easy.
It's now.
#GoCatsGo
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