I submitted my Big Sky pre-season basketball poll votes this week -- the true indication that hoops is upon us. Here is my men's ballot and some thoughts behind it. I'll talk about my women's vote in another post.
1. Montana: the Griz are talented, deep and athletic. Ahmad Rorie, Michael Oguine and Sayeed Pridget are returning starters, and D-1 transfers Donavan Dorsey and Jamar Akoh give the Griz more firepower upfront.
2. Idaho: the Vandals are one of the few teams in the league who play defense. They return one of the best all-around players in the league in Vic Sanders, and Perrion Callendret from injury.
3. Weber State: Wildcats lose Jeremy Senglin, their leader and best player, but add former 4-star Ute recruit Brekkot Chapman to a good core of returners.
4.Montana State: Tyler Hall, the best player in the league, returns to a team that has gotten gradually better every year under Brian Fish.
5. Eastern Washington: the Eagles lost double-double machine Jacob Wiley to graduation, but return Bogdan Bliznyuk, one of the best offensive players on the West Coast.
6. Northern Colorado: Jeff Linder did a great job keeping the Bears competitive in the wake of recruiting sanctions. Guard Jordan Davies is one of the best players in the league.
7. North Dakota: The defending league champs lost a ton of talent to graduation and transfer, but they return excellence at guard in Geno Crandall and Cortez Seales.
8. Idaho State: the Bengals were the worst defensive and rebounding team in the league last year. They have added several big bodies and productive rebounders, who can hopefully resolve some of the issues on the boards. And hopefully they can only get better on the defensive end. They will be one of the bigger and more experienced teams in the conference.
9. Portland State: the Vikings lived on turnover margin last year -- and still finished a game under .500. They were 10-3 at home, but "home" will be off campus this year as they complete renovation of the Stott Center.
10. Sacramento State: the Hornets will be looking for contributors to surround returning stars Justin Strings and Marcus Graves.
11. Northern Arizona: the Axers weren't very good last year and they don't return anybody who averaged more than 7 points a game.
12. Southern Utah: The T-birds were awful last year and return only one significant contributor, guard James McGee.
1. Montana: the Griz are talented, deep and athletic. Ahmad Rorie, Michael Oguine and Sayeed Pridget are returning starters, and D-1 transfers Donavan Dorsey and Jamar Akoh give the Griz more firepower upfront.
2. Idaho: the Vandals are one of the few teams in the league who play defense. They return one of the best all-around players in the league in Vic Sanders, and Perrion Callendret from injury.
3. Weber State: Wildcats lose Jeremy Senglin, their leader and best player, but add former 4-star Ute recruit Brekkot Chapman to a good core of returners.
4.Montana State: Tyler Hall, the best player in the league, returns to a team that has gotten gradually better every year under Brian Fish.
5. Eastern Washington: the Eagles lost double-double machine Jacob Wiley to graduation, but return Bogdan Bliznyuk, one of the best offensive players on the West Coast.
6. Northern Colorado: Jeff Linder did a great job keeping the Bears competitive in the wake of recruiting sanctions. Guard Jordan Davies is one of the best players in the league.
7. North Dakota: The defending league champs lost a ton of talent to graduation and transfer, but they return excellence at guard in Geno Crandall and Cortez Seales.
8. Idaho State: the Bengals were the worst defensive and rebounding team in the league last year. They have added several big bodies and productive rebounders, who can hopefully resolve some of the issues on the boards. And hopefully they can only get better on the defensive end. They will be one of the bigger and more experienced teams in the conference.
9. Portland State: the Vikings lived on turnover margin last year -- and still finished a game under .500. They were 10-3 at home, but "home" will be off campus this year as they complete renovation of the Stott Center.
10. Sacramento State: the Hornets will be looking for contributors to surround returning stars Justin Strings and Marcus Graves.
11. Northern Arizona: the Axers weren't very good last year and they don't return anybody who averaged more than 7 points a game.
12. Southern Utah: The T-birds were awful last year and return only one significant contributor, guard James McGee.
