Freshman Orientation :: Lauren Dick

It hit her fully on Nov. 15, when Montana hosted its Lady Griz School Day game, the day more than 5,200 kids squeezed into Dahlberg Arena to watch a women's basketball game.

That was her, she thought, and it felt like just yesterday that she and her elementary-age friends were the ones sitting in the stands, watching players who they viewed as larger than life.

Now here she was, going through warmups wearing a Lady Griz uniform, in line as Montana's starters were introduced inside a dark arena, sitting on the home bench as her team won 71-43 over Providence.

Her team. Montana. The Lady Griz.

That's why she was crying that day last summer, when the process of joining the team as a walk-on was about to reach its peak. And be the most stress-filled.

Lauren Dick was about to meet with coach Brian Holsinger as he determined if this was something he wanted to do, to add her to his team. The final exam, if you will, which fit with how Dick viewed it.

"I told him I felt like I was in the principal's office," she says. "I was intimidated by it all. I couldn't take it. I was just really nervous."

The coach did his best to ease the tension. He offered her some tissues to wipe away the tears. She thought she was blowing it. In reality, she was winning him over, one tear at a time.

She told him that she was going to school at Montana whether she was a Lady Griz or not. Missoula was home and she wasn't going to go somewhere she didn't want to be in order to play basketball.

"That made an impact on me, that this is a place she wanted to be no matter what," Holsinger says. "That was cool. Being a local kid was a huge plus in my opinion."

Montana first reached out to Dick in early April, about the possibility of joining the Lady Griz as a walk-on. April turned to May, which turned to June, which turned to July.

But that's Holsinger's way. He views roster construction as an art, of finding the right players with the right skillsets to blend with other players with other skillsets.

But all with shared traits: high character, hard worker, tough while being a great teammate.

He's seen the walk-on process turn sour, when a player who says all the right things about accepting their role breaks bad, when it's exactly as they were told but not what they really wanted.

That's why it took so long with Dick. He would rather move forward with a roster of 13, the right 13, than to add a 14th and have that person spoil everything. He had to know for sure.

He laughs about it now, now that he's had Dick on his team for four months.

"She just loves being a part of it and has the best attitude. She brings a lightness, a joy, and she never complains. She's met my expectation and beyond. I'm so thankful for her," says Holsinger.

"She literally skips everywhere. She has a happy-go-lucky air about her, but when she plays, she plays really hard. The girls absolutely adore her. She's been an awesome addition."

You could see it in the photos from Sunday's home win over Montana Tech, when she checked into the game late in the fourth quarter, her first playing time of the season, her first as Lady Griz.

Four photos, four huge smiles. Five if you count Mack Konig's. A dozen more if each of her teammates could have been captured as well, cheering for the player whose support for them knows no bounds.

She was told at halftime: be ready. The player whose default setting is nervous could only sit and think as the third quarter played out and moved into the fourth. Then it was her time.

The reaction from her coaches and her teammates? Validation. That this walk-on is no extra on the set, no mere convenience to fill in a gap when injury or sickness cut down the number of players at practice.

She is 1/14th of the team, just like Carmen Gfeller, just like Gina Marxen, just like Sammy Fatkin, just like Libby Stump. That's why everyone reacted like they did on Sunday.

They were more excited for her than she was for herself.

"That was the best part and what made me so happy. How my teammates and coaches reacted. I didn't do anything, but they were all so happy for me, almost happier than I was," she says.

"That was cool to see, that they care about me even though I'm not the most valuable player by any means, but they were still excited for me."

That's a reflection on them, the character piece, but also on her and what she's done since September to become one of them, not just accepted but loved.

Her dad could have told Holsinger that. In fact, he did, when he and his daughter met Holsinger for the final time before an offer to make her role official was extended.

"She has always been that type of person. That's just her nature," her dad says. "But I can understand Brian's position. Anytime you add a person to the team, it has an impact on the team.

"I just told him I think Lauren will add value to the program and it's not something he has to worry about. She'll add value with the type of person she is and her work ethic. And she can play."

Holsinger welcomed Dick to the team, then reemphasized that there was no expectation for her to be her dad. All she had to be was herself.

Because that storyline could come with some weight of expectations, of daughter following in father's footsteps.

Ryan Dick played on Hellgate High's undefeated state championship team in 1993, then joined the Montana basketball program as a walk-on.

He redshirted a season, played the next four, earning honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors as a junior and senior, putting up a double-double against Kentucky in the 1997 NCAA tournament.

But that was never brought up as it relates to Lauren and never will be. Different players, different circumstances.

"I can tell he's really happy for me. He gets emotional sometimes, which is sweet. My parents never put any pressure on me. They just want me to be happy and do what I want," she says.

"He's happy for me just because he can see I'm really happy. I love everything about it so far. It's just super fun. I think it's one of the greatest things I've been a part of."

For her, it was the opportunity itself that was the gold ring. For him? He got his chance with the Grizzlies but thought it could have, should have, been more.

He had averaged more than 17 points per game as a senior at Hellgate on a team that went 23-0 to become the first Class AA squad to go undefeated on its way to a state title since 1969.

In the state championship game, Hellgate, coached by former Griz Eric Hays, trailed Billings West 32-25 at the half but rallied to win in double overtime, 71-68. Perfection was theirs.

He was 6-foot-6 and good, better, he thought, than being invited to join Montana as a walk-on. So he set out to prove everyone wrong.

"Things were a little bit different (for me than for Lauren). I felt like I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder, because I felt like I could play at that level," he says.

"In Lauren's situation, she was just excited for the opportunity. I tried to prove myself right away."

It took all of one practice for then coach Blaine Taylor to pull Dick aside and tell him he was going to be put on scholarship the next season.

Of course, Montana had reason to be only halfway in. Dick suffered a knee injury at Hellgate. He injured it again as a redshirt freshman at Montana, being limited to three games as the Grizzlies made the NIT.

His role increased as a redshirt sophomore, then he became the team's MVP as a junior and senior while earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors.

As a redshirt junior, in 1996-97, he put up 37 points and 20 rebounds in wins over Weber State and Cal State Northridge at the Big Sky tournament in Flagstaff, Ariz., to earn all-tournament honors.

Against eventual national runner-up Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament, he had a double-double.

He had to bet on himself, believe in himself, just like he did when Kelsey, who had been a cheerleader at Billings West the night Hellgate defeated the Bears for the title, joined the dance team at Montana.

"Persistence," he says about how he convinced her to eventually become his wife. "I didn't stop. I just wore her down. I would say it was persistence."

This whole article, the entire thing, is a love story at its foundation.

Ryan and Kelsey for starters and their love for Montana and Missoula, where they never wanted to leave. Of four kids who are tight, incredibly tight, because of intentional parenting.

Lauren came along first, the rare Lady Griz who had hopes of being a ballerina one day before she ever set her sights on being a college basketball player, thanks to her mom's background and influence.

This is the week of Christmas, which would have been her zenith: the annual Nutcracker. "She would have been practicing seven days a week. This was her prime time of year," says Ryan.

Then came the three boys, Connor, Kellan and Liam, which tipped the balance of power. And interest. Ballerina slippers were replaced by soccer cleats and basketball shoes.

"Kelsey and Lauren were outnumbered with basketball players in our family, so it was only a matter of time before Lauren was influenced by the passion for basketball," says Ryan.

"In our family, basketball is kind of the common denominator. Everybody plays."

This would have been a Craig Hall Chronicle, the freshman series for the Montana soccer program, had her first love maintained its grip.

"Soccer was my main sport for most of my life, but I kind of got burned out my eighth-grade year and had to take a step back," she says.

"I put all my time into it. I was taking it too seriously, playing it year-round. I put so much pressure on myself. I was tired of it. I lost the love for it."

With soccer on the shelf, basketball was there with open, waiting arms, ready to welcome her into its full embrace.

She followed her dad's path to Hellgate and joined the Knights as a freshman with a transformational class: Keke Davis, Addy Heaphy, Perry Paffhausen and Bailee Sayler.

They finished third at state in 2019, in Hellgate's first tournament appearance since 2003. Had another shot at third in 2020 before the tournament was canceled by COVID.

Hellgate lost the state championship game in 2021 by two points to Helena Capital, in 2022 by 10 points to Billings Skyview.

All of this love she has, it came with the blood, the genes. She loves Montana, loves Missoula. She loves her family, those brothers, even if they are, at times, you know, brothers.

She's asked about Connor, she and he "The "Bigs" to Kellan and Liam's "The Littles." What are his plans, given he's a standout athlete as well, a senior at Hellgate?

"He doesn't talk to me about it. He's too cool for me. Brothers!" she says with a full helping of exasperation.

That's why she couldn't see herself leaving town to go play basketball somewhere that wasn't Missoula, wasn't just a few blocks away from the family home near Bonner Park. She loves it all.

"I loved growing up here. I love Missoula. It's so special. I didn't want to go somewhere I didn't necessarily love just to play," she says.

And her brothers? "I just want to stay close because you know they will be across the world once they get the chance."

Of course, that decision limits a girl's options. It's Montana and … Montana. There is no other game in town. It doesn't allow for a Plan B, a Plan C.

"I think every little girl who lives in Missoula, that's their dream," she says. "When my friends were in elementary school, that was us sitting in the bleachers and watching."

So, she channeled her inner Ryan Dick and went all in on herself. She started playing travel ball, playing 12 months a year just to see what might become of it.

"We've always encouraged our kids to work hard and reach high," says Ryan. "Even if you fail, you're going to succeed in the end. We have always encouraged our kids to challenge themselves."

She started going to Pfahler Sport Specific, co-run by former Lady Griz Alyssa (Smith) Pfahler, to transform her body and to play summer pick-up games with Montana's players.

Which led to Pfahler reaching out to Holsinger and his staff, to let them know she had a player who would be interested in a walk-on spot if they had a need.

"I thought it might be good to look at, with what our numbers looked like," says Holsinger. "But we didn't want to overdo it. I'll only take a walk-on if they add value in some way."

She was in New Orleans last April, the entire Dick family was, for the men's Final Four, where they watched North Carolina put an end to Mike Krzyzewski's hall-of-fame career.

Watched Kansas defeat Villanova, then the Jayhawks rally in the second half to overcome the Tarheels in the championship game.

And those were all secondary the minute Lady Griz assistant coach Joslyn Tinkle texted Dick to let her know she was one of a handful of potential walk-ons they would be looking at in the coming months.

The Dicks own and operate Big Sky Medical, supplier of orthopedic equipment, a natural offshoot from Ryan Dick's own orthopedic issues as a player.

It was Kelsey's idea to plan the trip to New Orleans, a Christmas gift. "We have a tight-knit family. We spend a lot of time together," says Ryan. "We travel together, do things together all the time."

It's where the idea of Lauren potentially becoming a Lady Griz, the idea graduating from Could this actually happen? to This might actually happen! began with a text.

"That's Joslyn Tinkle, one of the most celebrated basketball players in Montana history, with all that she achieved at Stanford," says Ryan.

"To get that message from Joslyn was cool for Lauren. We knew then that there was a chance it would happen. All you can ever ask for is a chance.

"She was excited about it and, being Lauren, nervous about it. She was excited about the possibility of having the opportunity but wasn't sure if it was going to happen."

She chose Montana, the school, before Montana, the women's basketball program, ever chose her, but she wasn't leaving Missoula. She wasn't leaving her family.

"The only place Lauren truly wanted to play basketball was the University of Montana," says Ryan.

"She's played a lot of basketball and for a lot of different teams and traveled the country with travel ball, but Montana was always at the top of her list."

Thus, the tears that summer day as she walked into Holsinger's office. There was no backup plan. All of her eggs had been placed in a single basket, one weaved of maroon and silver.

"It's a big deal when you're a local kid and you're talking to the University of Montana about an opportunity and you're not sure if that is going to happen or not happen," says Ryan.

They talked. She left. She told herself she had blown it with the outpouring of her emotions, not knowing they were a plus in Holsinger's book. "I'm surprised he texted me back," she says.

She and her dad later met with Holsinger – no tears this time, "I held it in," she says – and an offer was extended.

He spelled it out for her. Being unselfish, being a good teammate, always working hard and affecting the team in a positive way. As if there was going to be any other way. That's just Lauren being Lauren.

"I knew I could do that. I was confident I could do that," she says. "I've always been that kind of a teammate on every team I've ever played on."

One can only imagine the dinner table that night.

"When the opportunity came to the door, she jumped on it," says Ryan. "To see it come together has been really satisfying as a parent.

"She's been a great example to her brothers. Stay the course, follow your dreams, give it everything you've got. They are really proud of her and what she's been able to accomplish."

The Lady Griz gathered as a team for the first time in late June, then spent all of July and the early part of August together, hosting camps, practicing with the coaches, playing on their own.

Dick joined the team in September. It was enough of a challenge for Mack Konig, Alex Pirog, Libby Stump and Draya Wacker, but they got a head start when they arrived in the less-stressful month of June.

By September, the Lady Griz were in full-on season preparation. Welcome, Lauren! "Coming into that first practice, I was so scared," she says.

But she was never asked to be anything than what she is. After all, that's why they asked her to join the team in the first place.

"When I first met her, I thought she was pretty shy, pretty quiet, but I've gotten to see a different side of her," says fifth-year senior Carmen Gfeller. "She's spunky. She brings a lot of fun to our practices.

"She is totally the right fit for her role. She's selfless, happy to be here every day and she truly makes each of us better.

"She doesn't take anything too seriously or herself too seriously, but she channels her competitiveness, her athleticism in practice. Whatever the situation requires of her, she brings it. She's a rock star."

The team's schedule poster came out recently. Making up the front row are the headliners: Gfeller, Fatkin, Marxen.

At the top of the collage stands Lauren Dick, arm outstretched, the look on her face of someone who has just hit a game-winning 3-pointer.

She looks like she's atop a mountain, having climbed her way to the top. Mission accomplished. Dream fulfilled.

That's why this is working, why she loves them and they love her, not a walk-on but an integral part of the team, someone who makes the Lady Griz better in her own way.

"I love my role. I'm over the moon that I made this choice and got this opportunity. It's been so fun," she says.

"The best part of it is the people. Our coaches are awesome and the girls are the nicest people I've ever met. They never make me feel like I'm anything less, like I'm always part of the team."

Because she is. Lauren Dick is a Lady Griz. And that's something to get emotional about.

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Dick

Sammy Fatkin

Carmen Gfeller

Mack Konig

Gina Marxen

Alex Pirog

Libby Stump

Draya Wacker

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