Griz Greats: The Coaching Tree

Larry Krystkowiak returned to Missoula to become the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies after playing a dozen years of professional basketball and stints as an assistant coach under Don Holst and Blaine Taylor. As the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies, he led back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams, and he is the last Big Sky Conference head coach to win a game in the NCAA Tournament when the Grizzlies knocked off #5 seed Nevada in the first round before he left to become an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks. Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez talked to him about his playing days in Missoula, what it was like to knock elbows with Shaq, and how he decided to enter the coaching profession.

Show Notes

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Larry Krystkowiak returned to Missoula to become the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies after playing a dozen years of professional basketball and stints as an assistant coach under Don Holst and Blaine Taylor. As the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies, he led back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams before leaving to become an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he is the last Big Sky Conference head coach to win a game in the NCAA Tournament when the 12th seeded Grizzlies knocked off #5 seed Nevada in the first round. Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez talked to him about his playing days in Missoula, what it was like to knock elbows with Shaq, and how he decided to enter the coaching profession.

What is Griz Greats: The Coaching Tree?

Griz Greats: The Coaching Tree brought to you by Blackfoot Communications, Berkshire Hathaway, and Stockman's Bar is an interview series hosted by Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez from ESPN Missoula. University of Montana basketball has an illustrious reputation for producing some of the best college basketball coaches that the game has ever seen, and it can be traced back to legendary Michigan State head men's basketball coach Jud Heathcote, who got his first college head coaching job at the University of Montana. The coaches that have followed him have gone on to make their own significant marks in college basketball at places like Stanford, Old Dominion, and Utah to name a few. Ryan and Colter sat down with every Montana head men's basketball coach who followed Jud Heathcote to talk about what makes Montana basketball and Missoula special. Bonus episodes include interviews with some former Montana basketball players and other significant influences on the program.