RUNS IN THE FAMILY
One of the most memorable moments from a championship week full of them was watching 47-year-old Montana coach Wayne Tinkle moshing with his players in the team's locker room before the Grizzlies defeated Weber State 67--64 in the Big Sky Conference tournament final last Saturday. It was a joyous romp and one that will surely be repeated when Tinkle gets his three children together to reflect on his family's stunning run of success.
Beginning on March 9, Tinkle's son, 6' 5" sophomore swingman Tres, led Missoula's Hellgate High to the Montana Class AA state title and was named the most valuable player; his older daughter, Joslyn, a senior at Stanford, won the Pac-12 tournament championship; his younger daughter, Elle, a freshman at Gonzaga, helped the Zags win the West Coast Conference tournament title; and, finally, Tinkle guided the Grizzlies back to the Big Dance for the third time in four seasons.
"4 for 4! This is incredible! When does this ever happen? So proud of my family!" Tres Tinkle tweeted last Saturday. His father was more subdued, and not just because Montana has to face No. 4 seed Syracuse in San Jose on Thursday: "God has truly blessed our program and family," Wayne Tinkle said. "I feel humbled about what we achieved."
ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Player of the Year
BRITTNEY GRINER C, Baylor
23.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.2 blocks The 6' 8" senior dunk machine blocked five or more shots in 13 games this season for the top-ranked Bears, and scored 30 or more points eight times (including 50 against K-State on March 4). With 3,203 career points, including 778 this season, Griner ranks No. 2 in NCAA history behind Jackie Stiles (3,393).
CHINEY OGWUMIKE PF, Stanford
22.4 points, 13.1 rebounds, 57.4 FG%
SKYLAR DIGGINS PG, Notre Dame
17.0 points, 5.9 assists, 3.1 steals
ELENA DELLE DONNE G-F, Delaware
25.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 48.0 3FG%
ODYSSEY SIMS PG, Baylor
12.5 points, 5.7 assists, 2.66 assist-to-turnover ratio
Coach of the Year
MUFFET MCGRAW
Notre Dame
Player of the Year
TREY BURKE PG, Michigan
19.2 points, 6.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds
The sophomore was the nation's most dynamic floor general and a much improved presence on the defensive end. Burke was the biggest reason the Wolverines were in the nation's Top 5 for most of the season.
MARCUS SMART PG, Oklahoma State
15.4 points, 4.2 assists, 2.9 steals
DOUG MCDERMOTT PF, Creighton
23.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 56.1 FG%
KELLY OLYNYK PF, Gonzaga
17.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
CODY ZELLER C, Indiana
16.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks
Coach of the Year
JIM LARRANAGA
Miami
PHOTO
LM OTERO/AP (GRINER)
PHOTO
JAMES SNOOK/USA TODAY SPORTS (TINKLE)
WAYNE'S WORLD ... In addition to the Big Sky, the Tinkles won two other D-I conferences and a state title.