Good preview by Steve Schaack, the new SID, in advance of tonight's exhibition opener:
ISU Begins 2010-11 Season with Tuesday Exhibition Game
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men’s basketball team begins the 2010-11 season on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym when the Bengals take on Montana State Billings. All tickets are $5 and seating is general admission.
Montana State Billings is a Division II school that finished 15-10 last season and led by the play of DeAndre Chambers who averaged 15.2 points and 4.3 rebounds a game in 2009-10 while shooting 45 percent from the field.
Here is an in depth look at the 2010-11 Idaho State men’s basketball team.
When practices officially started on Oct. 15, Idaho State men’s basketball coach Joe O’Brien already had a jump start on the season. O’Brien was fortunate enough to take his team to Canada over the summer for competition. The competition in Canada allowed the Bengals 10 days of practice before they left. With 11 newcomers on the roster for this season those 10 days of practice became priceless.
“It was huge for us,” O’Brien said. “When we started official practice 12 of the 16 kids were here in August. They have a jump start on a lot of the offensive sets, calls, defensive philosophy and our press. All of that has been introduced all ready, all though briefly. They understand the seriousness and tone of practice at this level. Those 10 days of practice and week on the road allowed everybody to become familiar with how we want to do things, from an x’s and o’s standpoint to a philosophical stand point, to how I am to play for in practice and games. But we still have a lot of green in us.”
Along with the trip to Canada, the Bengal coaching staff is excited about the depth of the team at each position, an area that was lacking last year because of injuries.
“We have 15 guys who are eligible and that sets the table for us to continue to improve on a daily and weekly basis,” O’Brien said.” We have everything we need, depth at the point guard position, lots of bigs, experience at the two and three and we shoot the ball a little better than we have in the past. From a defensive and rebounding standpoint, which is where I start every year, I think we have the potential to be very good. Those are the biggest reasons (after injuries) that we weren’t good last year. The injuries decimated our roster but we gave up too many points and we didn’t out rebound people last year. If we can improve defensively and on the boards I think offensively we will be more entertaining than we have been in the last three or four years.”
Here is a closer look at the 2010-11 Idaho State men’s basketball team.
Guard
Returning at the point guard position is Broderick Gilchrest, who earned Honorable Mention all-Big Sky honors after he averaged 15.5 points in 35.7 minutes a game in his first year as a Bengal.
“He was probably the fastest player in the league from free throw line to free line,” O’Brien said. “It is a nice combination to have that to build the team around.”
With the injuries the Bengals faced last year Gilchrest was forced to score more but this year he will have the depth and talent around him to distribute the ball to his teammates.
“That scoring load can be spread out a lot more than it was last year,” O’Brien said. “He has to look for those people. He has to look for David (Busma) running the floor or find Abner (Morerira) in his area of the court. He has jump shooters who can knock the shots down. It is going to be up to him to find those people at the right time and deliver the ball on time. We are changing the way we play offensively quite a bit. We will be a little more up tempo and aggressive in transition. He likes that and it suites his style better.”
Backing up Gilchrest is junior college transfer Kenny McGowen, who spent the last two years playing at the College of the Sequoias. McGowen earned first-team all-state honors as a JUCO player in California and O’Brien feels his team won’t miss a beat with him on the floor.
“He is a lot of like Broderick in that he is fast with the basketball. I don’t think we lose anything there when we go to the bench and there is possibility you could see both on the floor together.”
At the two and three positions, Sherrod Baldwin, Phyl Taylor and Mike Lacey all return this season. Last season Baldwin appeared in all 29 games and played in 13.2 minutes a contest while Lacey played in 27 games and averaged just over 10 minutes a game. Taylor sat out last season but was a key contributor during the 2008-09 season.
Chase Grabau, Nick Mason and Andre Hatchett are three other players that are expected to compete for playing time at the two positions.
“I feel really good about the depth and talent at these positions,” O’Brien said
Forward
This is a position that has great depth and for O’Brien that is just the way he wants it. Last year the Bengals suffered several season ending injuries at this position, leaving the team thin in the post. Now, the ISU coaching staff has signed Abner Moreira, a 6-9, 225 pound junior college transfer from Western Wyoming.
“Abner stands out,” O’Brien said. “We want him on the floor as long as he can play at a high level. We worked hard to get him and it was worth the work, time and energy we put in. He can run and jump with anyone. He is in tremendous physical condition.” ”
Brandon Glanz, a 6-6, 230 pound freshman from Coronado High School in Las Vegas, Justin Brunswick, a 6-11 205 pound freshman from Madison High School in Middletown, Ohio and Russell Wilkinson a 6-9 200 pound sophomore from Western Wyoming are all expected to vie for time on the floor with Moreira.
“The four is our deepest position,” O’Brien said. We have really good size. Last year we had no size after David went down. We are blessed with a lot of bigger kids this year.”
Center
Returning to the lineup this year is Deividas Busma, a 7-0, 240 pound senior. Busma only played in seven games last year before missing the rest of the season with an injury. He is a player that the Bengal coaching staff expects to be on the floor and be a key contributor.
“David is a third year player for us so we are expecting him to be a significant contributor, especially offensively,” O’Brien said. “We have seen glimpses of it but the consistency factor is what we are looking forward out of David.”
Backing up Busma will be Kamil Gawrzydek, a 6-11, 260 pound junior college transfer from North Platte Community College.
“He brings a big physical presence which compliments Busma’s style,” O’Brien said.
Busma and Gawrzydek will go against the biggest person they will face all year in practice in 7-4 Jakub Kusmieruk, a transfer from Central Florida. Kusmieruk can only practice this year as he must sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
“He is the biggest guy I have ever coached as he is a legit 7-4,” O’Brien said. “He is a big man that changes the way the game is played around the basket. His presence in practice will be a huge thing for David and Kamil’s development and improvement.”
Conference Outlook
The Big Sky Conference looks to be as tough as its been in recent years. While Weber State has proven to be a team that contends for the championship each year schools, like Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado are also two teams that are expected to be near the top of the Big Sky standings. Montana has also proven to be a team to contend with year in and year out as they won last year’s conference tournament, earning the Big Sky automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
“I think Weber has proven over the long haul that they will be a team you have to contend with if you have aspirations of competing at the championship level,” O’Brien said. “They have been consistently at the top so that is where you have to start. Montana had a nice run at the end to win the conference championship game. Montana has a tradition and reputation of being a quality basketball program.”
By the end of Big Sky play the Bengals goal is to be in a spot where they are hosting a conference tournament game.
“I think the league has gotten a lot stronger since I have been here. There is not a top three or four teams consistently,” O’Brien said. “We want to be good enough when the conference tournament comes in a worst case scenario we are playing at home.”
Overall
O’Brien and his staff are excited about the team they have assembled for this season and rightfully so. They have a solid core of returning starters in Busma and Gilchrest and three other returning players in Lacey, Baldwin and Taylor.
“There are five guys returning who have played in this program and league,” O’Brien said. “That is not a bad starting point. When you factor in we have a starting center and point guard back, it is nice to have those bookends as veterans for us.”
Assembled around the five returning players are newcomers that know how to win. Grabau won two state championships in high school and took his junior college team to the national tournament for the first time in school history. Hatchett won a state championship in Arizona while Glanz helped his team to the most successful season in school history. Mason led his team to a school record 25 wins.
“There are a lot of guys coming in that understand and have experienced championship basketball,” O’Brien said. “But it goes back to Broderick, David, Sherrod, Mike and Phyl. Those five guys have to set the tone in practice every day. If it is not in practice it is not going to be in the game. You are only as good as your work ethic in practice.
“We are not wasting time. It is all business and our focus is on giving this community, our fan base and student body something they want to see and that is good basketball and success on the court.”
--
Steve Schaack
Idaho State Athletic Media Relations
ISU Begins 2010-11 Season with Tuesday Exhibition Game
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men’s basketball team begins the 2010-11 season on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Reed Gym when the Bengals take on Montana State Billings. All tickets are $5 and seating is general admission.
Montana State Billings is a Division II school that finished 15-10 last season and led by the play of DeAndre Chambers who averaged 15.2 points and 4.3 rebounds a game in 2009-10 while shooting 45 percent from the field.
Here is an in depth look at the 2010-11 Idaho State men’s basketball team.
When practices officially started on Oct. 15, Idaho State men’s basketball coach Joe O’Brien already had a jump start on the season. O’Brien was fortunate enough to take his team to Canada over the summer for competition. The competition in Canada allowed the Bengals 10 days of practice before they left. With 11 newcomers on the roster for this season those 10 days of practice became priceless.
“It was huge for us,” O’Brien said. “When we started official practice 12 of the 16 kids were here in August. They have a jump start on a lot of the offensive sets, calls, defensive philosophy and our press. All of that has been introduced all ready, all though briefly. They understand the seriousness and tone of practice at this level. Those 10 days of practice and week on the road allowed everybody to become familiar with how we want to do things, from an x’s and o’s standpoint to a philosophical stand point, to how I am to play for in practice and games. But we still have a lot of green in us.”
Along with the trip to Canada, the Bengal coaching staff is excited about the depth of the team at each position, an area that was lacking last year because of injuries.
“We have 15 guys who are eligible and that sets the table for us to continue to improve on a daily and weekly basis,” O’Brien said.” We have everything we need, depth at the point guard position, lots of bigs, experience at the two and three and we shoot the ball a little better than we have in the past. From a defensive and rebounding standpoint, which is where I start every year, I think we have the potential to be very good. Those are the biggest reasons (after injuries) that we weren’t good last year. The injuries decimated our roster but we gave up too many points and we didn’t out rebound people last year. If we can improve defensively and on the boards I think offensively we will be more entertaining than we have been in the last three or four years.”
Here is a closer look at the 2010-11 Idaho State men’s basketball team.
Guard
Returning at the point guard position is Broderick Gilchrest, who earned Honorable Mention all-Big Sky honors after he averaged 15.5 points in 35.7 minutes a game in his first year as a Bengal.
“He was probably the fastest player in the league from free throw line to free line,” O’Brien said. “It is a nice combination to have that to build the team around.”
With the injuries the Bengals faced last year Gilchrest was forced to score more but this year he will have the depth and talent around him to distribute the ball to his teammates.
“That scoring load can be spread out a lot more than it was last year,” O’Brien said. “He has to look for those people. He has to look for David (Busma) running the floor or find Abner (Morerira) in his area of the court. He has jump shooters who can knock the shots down. It is going to be up to him to find those people at the right time and deliver the ball on time. We are changing the way we play offensively quite a bit. We will be a little more up tempo and aggressive in transition. He likes that and it suites his style better.”
Backing up Gilchrest is junior college transfer Kenny McGowen, who spent the last two years playing at the College of the Sequoias. McGowen earned first-team all-state honors as a JUCO player in California and O’Brien feels his team won’t miss a beat with him on the floor.
“He is a lot of like Broderick in that he is fast with the basketball. I don’t think we lose anything there when we go to the bench and there is possibility you could see both on the floor together.”
At the two and three positions, Sherrod Baldwin, Phyl Taylor and Mike Lacey all return this season. Last season Baldwin appeared in all 29 games and played in 13.2 minutes a contest while Lacey played in 27 games and averaged just over 10 minutes a game. Taylor sat out last season but was a key contributor during the 2008-09 season.
Chase Grabau, Nick Mason and Andre Hatchett are three other players that are expected to compete for playing time at the two positions.
“I feel really good about the depth and talent at these positions,” O’Brien said
Forward
This is a position that has great depth and for O’Brien that is just the way he wants it. Last year the Bengals suffered several season ending injuries at this position, leaving the team thin in the post. Now, the ISU coaching staff has signed Abner Moreira, a 6-9, 225 pound junior college transfer from Western Wyoming.
“Abner stands out,” O’Brien said. “We want him on the floor as long as he can play at a high level. We worked hard to get him and it was worth the work, time and energy we put in. He can run and jump with anyone. He is in tremendous physical condition.” ”
Brandon Glanz, a 6-6, 230 pound freshman from Coronado High School in Las Vegas, Justin Brunswick, a 6-11 205 pound freshman from Madison High School in Middletown, Ohio and Russell Wilkinson a 6-9 200 pound sophomore from Western Wyoming are all expected to vie for time on the floor with Moreira.
“The four is our deepest position,” O’Brien said. We have really good size. Last year we had no size after David went down. We are blessed with a lot of bigger kids this year.”
Center
Returning to the lineup this year is Deividas Busma, a 7-0, 240 pound senior. Busma only played in seven games last year before missing the rest of the season with an injury. He is a player that the Bengal coaching staff expects to be on the floor and be a key contributor.
“David is a third year player for us so we are expecting him to be a significant contributor, especially offensively,” O’Brien said. “We have seen glimpses of it but the consistency factor is what we are looking forward out of David.”
Backing up Busma will be Kamil Gawrzydek, a 6-11, 260 pound junior college transfer from North Platte Community College.
“He brings a big physical presence which compliments Busma’s style,” O’Brien said.
Busma and Gawrzydek will go against the biggest person they will face all year in practice in 7-4 Jakub Kusmieruk, a transfer from Central Florida. Kusmieruk can only practice this year as he must sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
“He is the biggest guy I have ever coached as he is a legit 7-4,” O’Brien said. “He is a big man that changes the way the game is played around the basket. His presence in practice will be a huge thing for David and Kamil’s development and improvement.”
Conference Outlook
The Big Sky Conference looks to be as tough as its been in recent years. While Weber State has proven to be a team that contends for the championship each year schools, like Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado are also two teams that are expected to be near the top of the Big Sky standings. Montana has also proven to be a team to contend with year in and year out as they won last year’s conference tournament, earning the Big Sky automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
“I think Weber has proven over the long haul that they will be a team you have to contend with if you have aspirations of competing at the championship level,” O’Brien said. “They have been consistently at the top so that is where you have to start. Montana had a nice run at the end to win the conference championship game. Montana has a tradition and reputation of being a quality basketball program.”
By the end of Big Sky play the Bengals goal is to be in a spot where they are hosting a conference tournament game.
“I think the league has gotten a lot stronger since I have been here. There is not a top three or four teams consistently,” O’Brien said. “We want to be good enough when the conference tournament comes in a worst case scenario we are playing at home.”
Overall
O’Brien and his staff are excited about the team they have assembled for this season and rightfully so. They have a solid core of returning starters in Busma and Gilchrest and three other returning players in Lacey, Baldwin and Taylor.
“There are five guys returning who have played in this program and league,” O’Brien said. “That is not a bad starting point. When you factor in we have a starting center and point guard back, it is nice to have those bookends as veterans for us.”
Assembled around the five returning players are newcomers that know how to win. Grabau won two state championships in high school and took his junior college team to the national tournament for the first time in school history. Hatchett won a state championship in Arizona while Glanz helped his team to the most successful season in school history. Mason led his team to a school record 25 wins.
“There are a lot of guys coming in that understand and have experienced championship basketball,” O’Brien said. “But it goes back to Broderick, David, Sherrod, Mike and Phyl. Those five guys have to set the tone in practice every day. If it is not in practice it is not going to be in the game. You are only as good as your work ethic in practice.
“We are not wasting time. It is all business and our focus is on giving this community, our fan base and student body something they want to see and that is good basketball and success on the court.”
--
Steve Schaack
Idaho State Athletic Media Relations
