Landscape for 2016/2017

[oldrunner]

I wanted to do this while it is fresh on my mind. I know that many things can happen over the spring and summer, but I think we already have a fairly good idea of who is coming back and who is coming in to the BSC.

The surprises this year were ISU moving up as much as they did, Sac and NAU falling as far as they did, and the talent level of the freshmen class in the BSC.

The BSC loses some highly talented big men and a few good guards. However, there are many highly talented guards coming back in the fall. Next year may be the year that talented big men can dominate even more than they did this year. I say that because there will be far less of them to go around next year.

To me, the top two teams and bottom two teams will not change much. NAU did improve over the season, but they just have too far to go. SUU will suck even worse. I don't see ISU changing much. UI loses much more than ISU. If MSU were to find a point guard to replace their senior, they could get better. UND looks like a team on the rise to me. They get virtually everyone back and they were coming on strong at the end of the season. I don't see great changes in anyone else. The exception to that may be that EWU is rebuilding a little bit.

Here is my WAG at next season's ranking. :ugeek:

WSU
UM
UND
ISU
MSU
UI
UNC
PSU
Sac
EWU
NAU
SUU

 

[Tomcat]

My two cents is that Montana's loss of breunig might be more of a hit than most think.They ran to much of their offense through him so I put them at third place behind UND.

 

[thescout]

Montana adds Soph. PG Ahmed Rhorie a Scout 4 Star recruit who started 16 games as true frosh at Oregon, they also bring in a couple 3 Star recruits ... Would imagine EW and Portland St will try to pick up a Grad School transfers.

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

I actually think Idaho might be the top team next year. They do lose their PG, but that's pretty much it. I think if they had been healthy all year then they would have been right up there with us and Montana. They still ended up 3rd even with all their injuries. I see a 4 horse race next year then some decent teams in the middle and 2 teams that suck nuts.

1. WSU
2. North Dakota
3. Idaho
4. Montana

These 4 in my opinion have the most coming back and any of them could win it all.

5. Idaho State
6. Sacramento State
7. Northern Colorado
8. Eastern Washington
9. Montana State
10. Northern Arizona

5-10 are all tied in my opinion. I think they will all be decent and tough to beat, but as far as contending I don't see it.

11. Portland State
12 SUU

I think these 2 really struggle next year.

 

[sacstateman]

Do you guys know that Hayford is one of two finalist for the head coach job at USF??

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

I fell sorry for USF then. I have never been impressed with Hayford.

 

[thescout]

Jois was recruited by previous coach, Harvey was a lucky get if you know the story...not sold on Hayford

 

[oldrunner]

Wazzu;

The reason I had UM in the top 2 was that they had a very serviceable back up big man. They will miss Breunig like we will miss Bolomboy. It's a similar situation for both teams. You may be right about NAU moving a bit higher in the pecking order. They do have nearly their entire team back and they did have their moments this year. You may also be right about UI. They lose a couple of their top players, including their top guard. I just don't see their replacements stepping up.

I didn't know that Hayford was up for another job, but that doesn't change the rebuilding efforts much. The only thing it might do is set EWU back a bit, as a new coach comes in late for recruiting. :twocents:

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

The only guard Idaho losses is their PG and I thought he was just average. They return Calderant who is very good and Sanders whom I think will be a MVP candidate. They also return their 2 main big guys. Sherwood and Mykirkian. They do lose a back up big but that's all. 1-4 on my list are pretty even, but ya I could see Montana being very tough. I was not sold on their other big guy. The Aussie. Their guard line will be best in the league though. It will be interesting to see if any top players in the conference transfer. That MSU guard could be looking around. Tyler Hall. He is the best freshman player I have seen in the Big Sky since Lillard.

 

[Webergrad02]

Who are the POY candidates for next year in the Big Sky?

Jeremy Senglin - Weber State
Ethan Telfair - Idaho State
Quinton Hooker - North Dakota
Walter Wright - Montana
Victor Sanders - Idaho

Going to be a very guard dominated league next season.

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

I would replace Walter Wright with Tyler Hall of Montana State. Wright is very good, but not nearly as good as the other 4 you mentioned and Hall.

 

[Webergrad02]

I would replace Walter Wright with Tyler Hall of Montana State. Wright is very good, but not nearly as good as the other 4 you mentioned and Hall.

1. Is Hall going to be there next year? I heard rumor that he wants to be in a more high profile program.
2. Is Montana State capable of winning enough games to have a player of the year? It generally goes to the best player on one of the top teams.

 

[oldrunner]

The only guard Idaho losses is their PG and I thought he was just average. They return Calderant who is very good and Sanders whom I think will be a MVP candidate. They also return their 2 main big guys. Sherwood and Mykirkian. They do lose a back up big but that's all. 1-4 on my list are pretty even, but ya I could see Montana being very tough. I was not sold on their other big guy. The Aussie. Their guard line will be best in the league though. It will be interesting to see if any top players in the conference transfer. That MSU guard could be looking around. Tyler Hall. He is the best freshman player I have seen in the Big Sky since Lillard.

That fourth spot is going to be competitive between ISU, UI, and MSU. A case could be made for any of them.

Like most years, there are bound to be some surprises, some late additions, some developmental leaps, and some defections. Injuries are the wild card. Luck can sometimes play a part. We can only hope that officiating is not involved at all, other than being fair and protecting the well being of all the participants.

 

[Skippy]

I like Sac as a potential dark horse. In Hornsby and Strings they'll have two of the better bigs in the league and Marcus Graves was one of the more improved players in the league at guard. I keep waiting for the big kid Stutteville to play to his potential.

UND has everybody back, and maybe it's just because they dominate Idaho State, but I really like their team. Hooker's a tough son of a gun. Montana and Weber will start the season at the top, and I love the way Idaho defends. ISU benefitted this year from sneaking up on folks and a soft conference schedule (only played the Montanas, Idaho and EWU once). I wouldn't be surprised to see them take a step back. If they are going to remain in the top third, it will have to be because some of their young players take the next step up in development like Luzcando did this past season.

 

[baller]

I think Weber, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota are the only teams that even have any chance of winning the league. All others are several notches below those four. As for the order of finish, like Old Runner, here is my WAG as to the order of finish of the "meaningful four"!
North Dakota
Idaho
Montana
Weber.
If Weber picks up a big who can start for them then I give them the #1 spot. I further predict that whoever wins the regular season will have at least 4-5 losses in conference.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Personally, I feel that UND will be the top team next year. I know Montana will have a bunch of really talented guards, but their success hinged on Bruenig. Their backups bigs are not impact players. Montana isn't recruiting bigs. Yet, with the talent in the back court, maybe the Griz won't need much more than some defense and rebounding from their front court.

Idaho is probably the second best team in the league. They bring back a lot and could take those steps necessary to become the best team. Weber...matches UI fairly well. We saw that in Moscow this past season. They almost seem like identical twins. So, what does this say, well that Weber is as good as UI. Those are the top four to me: UND, Idaho and Weber, and Montana.

Sac, ISU, NAU, MSU, UNCO, and PSU are the next six to me. I know some eyebrows will be raised over NAU, but I really think Murphy is a good coach and that his kids will be much improved next season. MSU needs bigs to compete. Hall will only be able to do so much. Next year...he will be the defensive target. Eastern...the Eagles are a major? They lose a lot and the remaining guys aren't anything to write home over. SUU will be bad.

 

[oldrunner]

If Weber picks up a big who can start for them then I give them the #1 spot. I further predict that whoever wins the regular season will have at least 4-5 losses in conference.

I guess that I am not giving UI as much credit as everyone else. They lose their point guard and a reserve big man. I think that they stay about the same if they find a suitable point guard. If not, they drop a bit.

I really don't think that we need to pick up a starter to replace Joel. It would be great if we did. However, another good developmental summer for all of our returning big men will likely get the job done. Hill, Braxton, Dallas, and Stavrev are still developing and should show some real improvement by fall. Also, our freshmen guards should make a substantial leap over the summer. We will have three seniors who will all contribute next year. That is the most we will have had in a while. This will be the most year to year stability we have had since Randy took the program over 10 years ago. That alone is huge for a system like we run. We should hit the ground running and be able to do a lot more next year. We saw a bit of what we might look like next year against MSU and UM, when Joel was out. Our rebounding was a little off, but that was to be expected. Joel was huge for us and I don't think that any one player will replace what he brought to the table. However, our team can do it, and will. I don't know if we will win it all again, but I believe we will be a strong contender.

 

[wsucatfan]

I think WSU needs to get a impact big to replace Joel, I don't want to rely on a redshirt freshman if we can get either a top JC transfer (AKA Omar Sherman) or possibly a high major transfer graduate that can play immediately. Weber needs to act now to take the next step up in 2016-17. Anyone know if Rahe is looking at any players?

 

[oldrunner]

I think WSU needs to get a impact big to replace Joel, I don't want to rely on a redshirt freshman if we can get either a top JC transfer (AKA Omar Sherman) or possibly a high major transfer graduate that can play immediately. Weber needs to act now to take the next step up in 2016-17. Anyone know if Rahe is looking at any players?

I'm sure that our coaches are looking under every rock out there. I don't know if we are looking at Omar or not. However, these high major players who transfer out either end up at another D1 school right away or, if they have some extra baggage, they end up at a JC. If at a JC, sometimes their problems can be worked out or they may continue to carry the baggage with them. At any rate, if they are a high major going in, they are probably looking to go high major coming out. There are a lot of ifs and none of us really know all the details. As far as the graduate transfers, I went over the whole list and didn't see anybody we would want, that had not already made their choice. As for the rest of the D1 transfers, there may be a few on the list that we would look at, but none who could play next year. Of course, there will continue to be players moving throughout the spring and summer, but you really can't predict it until it happens. I'm not sure we would want to wait until July to see who might be floating around. You might pick up a good player, but the odds are against that. The chances of finding an impact player through any of those routes is slim, at best, this time of the year. I suspect that they will bring the best player they can find, who meets the long term goals of the program. I think you can rest assured that they are looking at all options and will get the best fit. Signing period starts the second Wednesday in April and goes for a few weeks. We will likely know what we got in mid to late April. :thumb:

 

[weberwildcat]

Griz have had nothing but solid recruiting for nearly a decade. Can't imagine them dropping below top 2 since when...2008?