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2025-26 MBB Season

Greenteam said:
Our depth and lack of size is going to be a problem. Williams does not play defense and makes too many turnovers. His shooting has been bad since the Santa Barbara game. Test looked good against the two non D1 teams but has not looked good in the other games. He lacks size and plays out of control. He was a walk on at Utah. It was good to see Gardner make a few shots. The other big concern is no coaching experience. Have seen no in game adjustment or coaching that has made an impact. Good example was the Davis game whe we were tied late. An experienced coach would have called time out to set a play but instead Johnson went one on one and turned over the ball.
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While I agree to our lack of size being a possible problem, I also see where we have held our own on the boards against Cal....UCLA blew us out on the boards (shouldn't they?).....With Johnson proving to be a consistent rebounder and Lavrenov getting the minutes to prove himself on the boards, when Cherry gets back we should be capable in BSC play....the size has hurt on defense...
 
Did anyone watch the Baylor game? I was surprised to see what looks like a strong showing compared to our UCLA and Cal games! The Hornets were even 30 seconds away from carrying the lead into halftime!

Now unfortunately the Baylor lead had grown to 20 with about 10 minutes left to play but looks like an improved performance overall.

Jahni Summers looks like he was having an efficient game with 12 points on 4/6 shooting. 22 minutes but appears to have sat awhile with 4 fouls.

Mikey did score 21 but on 5/19 shooting and 1/7 from deep, perimeter shooting has not appeared to be his game. Overall he is having a tough efficient year, 34% shooting from the floor and 26% from 3. Hopefully we can see him start using his athleticism around the rim and maybe through conference play he’ll have an easier time beating guys off the dribble and not have to worry about such size protecting the basket.
 
Very good chance the Hornets enter conference play with one D1 win, and they were very fortunate to get that win. Not sure when Cherry might return but with out him I don’t see many wins on the schedule. Figured it might be a long season with no coaching experience but it might be worse than expected.
 
The other side to that coin is we are a few baskets away from 2 additional D1 wins against peer competition. The Baylor, Cal, and UCLA games were always going to be losses. That said, this team is very fun to watch when the opponent gets into a track meet on the court. If non-Power programs make the mistake of playing an up tempo game then I like our odds.
 
I've made it to most of the home games for both men and women. The women are 7-3 and the men are 7-1 in the Pavilion. The vibe shift for these programs is palpable in the new venue and there have been some really strong crowds for the men (Saturday’s game is already a sell out) and some decent turnout for the women as well. The turnout has been more impressive considering the struggles both programs have had on the court.

Both teams have had some injury impacts to the starting lineup. The men are a completely different team at home vs on the road where as the women have been a disappointment and I expected a better performance overall. Nonetheless, the final month of the regular season heading into the BSCT at Boise will be interesting to keep an eye on.
 
While I'm still not happy over the Hornets joining the Big West, I will give props where props are due.

Back to back wins over the Montanas? My apologies. I was unfamiliar with your game.
 
Huge win in front of a sold-out crowd that was locally televised as well. Hats off to whoever wore the panda costume, nice touch. Big wins this weekend for this program against 2 of the top teams in the BSC, wins against the Montuckies are always enjoyable.
 
There first half was the best they have played all season. Came out flat in the second half and almost gave the game away. Still a good win.
 
Strong win at home against Weebs last night. Prophet is the best over-all player we've had since Mikh McKinney. So fun and enjoyable to watch.

Big matchup in the Pavilion against Portland State this weekend. We'll really see how far this program has come this season.
 
Agree he is a creative scorer. I would put the senior years for Marcus Graves and Bryce Fowler in that same conversation. I do think the overall quality of play in the Big Sky was much better when McKinney was mvp. The constant transferring and poaching by the power conferences has watered down the league. The level of coaching in the league was better then also. Really hope we can keep some of the players for next year. I think Lavrenov would certainly be poached but the fact that he is a local kid may get him to stay another year.
 
Hornets finish the regular season 10-20 (6-12 BSC) with a big 83-65 win over Idaho State in a packed Pavilion last night. Sac State finished 3rd in the BSC in average attendance at 2,757 per game. Hornets had a rough stretch prior to that and have only suiting up 8 players since the home against against Portland State (maybe even before then). This team would have easily been at 500 if not for the Cherry injury.

The BSCT will be tough as the Hornets drew home team Idaho in the 2nd round. If Mikey Williams plays, the Hornets have a chance at a win.

As sacstateman said in the BW thread, a lot of these players have come a long way this season which is very encouraging for this program. There is some potential in the younger players with Lavrenov (10.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg) emerging as a top talent and Madi (6.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg) showing some versatility on both ends of the court. It'll be interesting to see who Bibby can retain and bring onto the roster for next season.
 
The Cherry injury definitely hurt, but I don’t think Lavrenov gets the opportunity to develop as a freshman if he was healthy. If he gets a medical redshirt it will be interesting to see how they play together. I think the experience Madi, Glover, and Robinson received will be helpful if they all return. I like Summers and I hope he is back also. That would be a good core for next year and hopefully another player with size and a scorer to help fill Prophet Johnson’s point production can be found in the portal. Defense and coaching of the defense needs to improve greatly. Lack of coaching experience probably cost three to four wins minimum.
 
Here's my 26-27 Roster Hopes/Eval:

(4) HS Adds:

Ashton Price (G - Signed), Iker Martinez (C), Kai McGrew (PF), Andre Gomez (G- Walk On)

(7) Players I want to return:

G Mikey Williams - I think combined with the injury history, and having a fairly drama free season, he might be enticed to come back for another year with Bibby. Early on, the team looked better without him on the floor. He comes back and they win some games, then look HORRIBLE without him.

F Brandon Gardner - I have never seen such a brain breaking talent. At times he looks like an NBA athlete, others, a HS Frosh trying to figure out his body. I know he was on the bench for a while in a sling, hope he's still in the mix.

G/F Jahni Summers - Dude probably played himself into a more lucrative NIL deal, but I hope the staff is able to retain him.

G Jayden Teat - Flashes of scoring greatness. Does he flourish with Prophet Johnson moving on?

C Bear Cherry - The number two MUST KEEP (assuming he gets medical RS). This team threatens to win the BSC (at least in the tournament) with a healthy Bear. We need his body in the BW!

G/F Arman Madi - It was a pleasure to watch his development as the season went along. Plays more physical than he looks. Actually played defense. Gotta try to bring him back.

F Mark Lavrenov - The number ONE MUST KEEP. Someone else thought that we could keep him for one more year before he bounces. I think that's probably a good goal to have. He might go for 18/10 average next year and mess around with a really good P4 NIL deal.

4 Transfer Portal Targets

In reality, we'll probably have several of the above players leave, and we'll be adding more than four portal players. I hope we can keep at least 1/2 the roster together for continuity's sake!
 
Doubt Williams returns and team will be better off. He is not a team player and does not attempt to play defense. Shocked if they brought back Gardner. Athletic but no basketball awareness and no drive. Super slow motor on the court. Don't think he would be successful at a D 2. I would prefer Glover and Robinson over Teat. I think they have the skills, size and athleticism to be good defenders. Teat is undersized and would better at a Chico State or similar. For this team to be better next season they have to commit to defense. Our conference opponents made 52 more threes than we did. We were also last in rebounding margin. Bibby’s Kings were able to play little defense and out score opponents but that rarely works at this level.
 
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