Montana is going to be scary good

[oldrunner]

Montana is, obviously, the team to beat in the BSC. They return an excellent point guard and the best big man in the conference. They have also replaced departing players with quality guys. The only question with Montana is how the new guys will fit in. Having seen their coach in action for a full season, I would say that meshing the new in with the old will not be a problem. They also got rid of a problem child in Edwards. That alone makes them better. The road to the championship runs right through UM.

The really good thing for us, is that we only have to play them at the Dee this year. I expect that to be the game of the year. However, given what happened last year, every game may be the game of the year for us.

At any rate, no other school, besides us, returns near the talent that Montana does. Eastern would have if Harvey hadn't bolted for a pro career. There are four or five other schools who will be tough, but none so tough as Montana. My feeling is that this will be a very interesting season, and post season.

 

[thescout]

Jois just as good or better than Bruenig, Jois blocks shots ! Montana loses a star in Gregory, plus a couple role players. Weber, Montana, and EW are the big 3 in the Big Sky. Weber tops in returning production plus a few newcomers who can play. EW has Stud Jois, Effective Soph. Bliznuk,Transfer McBroom who was first guy off the bench for St Louis when they were ranked top 15 in NCAA. They also add transfer Harrel who started some games as a true freshman for Penn 2 years ago. Port. St. brings in a boat load of interesting transfers..

 

[oldrunner]

Jois just as good or better than Bruenig, Jois blocks shots ! Montana loses a star in Gregory, plus a couple role players. Weber, Montana, and EW are the big 3 in the Big Sky. Weber tops in returning production plus a few newcomers who can play. EW has Stud Jois, Effective Soph. Bliznuk,Transfer McBroom who was first guy off the bench for St Louis when they were ranked top 15 in NCAA. They also add transfer Harrel who started some games as a true freshman for Penn 2 years ago. Port. St. brings in a boat load of interesting transfers..

Jois is good. Not as good as Bruenig, but good. Losing Harvey, arguably one of the best players in the BSC last year, could make Jois less effective. Sure EWU has some transfers, but they are still unproven playing in their system, and with the supporting cast. Transfers are a total crap shoot. There was a reason for the departure and subsequent transfer. EWU will be one of the better teams. PSU is a total unknown. Yes, they could be one of the better teams, but they could also suck rotten potatoes. I would rank NAU, SUU, UND, Sac, UNC, and MSU very similarly. ISU and UI are going to struggle. For EWU to be as good as last year, all the stars will need to align and blue moons will need to appear in the skies each month of the season. Not likely! :roll:

 

[Wildcat111]

It's looking like Mario Dunn might not play next year due to a hand injury. That's a huge hit to Montana. I don't think there's a clear top 2 or 3 this year, especially considering SUU beat us twice last year and is bringing back most everyone next season. NAU and PSU could also surprise everyone. I think EWU will be just fine as well with the guys they're bringing in.

 

[oldrunner]

Mario Dunn is supposed to be ready to go by October. I expect he will play all season. I agree, that after Montana it is not clear who 2 though 6 will be. I'm hoping that we will be good, but we have a lot to prove.

Based solely on the amount of production returning, and order of finish last year, I say that UM is ahead of everyone else, we are next, EWU and SUU after that. Someone will rise out of the rest of the pack to challenge for one of those top 4 spots.

 

[thescout]

Dunn out til Jan. needed a follow up surgery on wrist

 

[oldrunner]

Dunn out til Jan. needed a follow up surgery on wrist

I hadn't heard about the follow up surgery. Even if he is back by the start of league play, he will have to get worked back into the flow of things. It's a good thing that Montana recruited a JC all American point guard. They will be counting on that guy to take over and run the team. That does change how I view Montana's chances. I still think they are the team to beat, but they don't seem as dominant as before. It brings them a little closer to us, Eastern, and the rest.

I'm still glad that we are not playing them at their place this year. The regular season champion is THE CHAMPION of the BSC. However, as we know, that only gets you an auto bid to the NIT. To get the NCAA bid you must win the BSC post season tournament. If you are the number one seed, you are going to play lower seeds until the bid game. Seeds 1 to 4 will get first round byes and would only have three rounds to the bid. Seeds 5 to 12 would have to win four games in four days to do it. That is a big advantage for the first 4 seeds and a bigger advantage for the 1 seed.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Montana?? Who knows...Martin Bruenig is really good. He might be the best big in the conference, and Fabijan compliments him. They make up a scary 1-2 punch in the front court. Zoning helps, but having the right personnel to guard them up front is a teams best bet. There are two teams in the conference who can guard Montana's big upfront; Weber and Eastern Washington. Last year, in the tournament game, Weber should have beaten Montana. Why did we have that chance?? Because Hajek started and played great D on Bruenig. Bolomboy was soft as usual which opened up Fabijan, but it definitely slowed down the Griz. This year, I hope, with Braxton Weber has the guns to face Montana. We only get more athletic with Braxton too.

Good bigs, really helps open up the Griz offense, but losing Gregory, Wisener, and Chris Kemp really hurts the Griz. Two of the three were in the program for four/five years. Major keys to Montana's long-term success, and had been through the battles before. They knew how to finish. Montana is losing around 50% of their offensive production, and it only gets worse for the Griz when you chalk up an injury to Mario Dunn, that has the potential to knock him out for the entire year. Oregon transfer, Ahmaad Rorie, isn't on the current Montana Roster for the 15-16 year; rosters are set July 1. So, I believe he has to sit a year before he is eligible to play. He is good though. There is no doubt about that.

As for Walter Wright, I'm not sold on him. He produced quite a bit at Snow College, but he wasn't efficient. He really reminds me of a recent Wildcat player, but with worse percentages. Seems like if you guard him he isn't effective. He had games of 8-19 and the like. Against Southern Idaho 0-8... I do really like Michael Oguine. I think he will end up being a really good player for the Griz, but in about a year to two years. He is a true fresh. With Dunn's injury, he will most likely play. Who knows how he will react to the pressure.

As for the rest of their team. Who are you really afraid of? Riley Bradshaw? He is a good shooter, but really slow. Brandon Gfeller? Same exact situation as Bradshaw...the guy can shoot lights out, but can't really create. And the rest of their guys really didn't participate in their run last year. Next year, the Griz will be quick, but won't have the Bruenig. I'm not to worried. I think the next best team in the conference is Eastern. They lost some major guns, but got just the right mixture of transfers and recruits to help them stay at a high level. Jois is a tough guy to play against and is on par with Bruenig. But unlike the Griz, the Eagles have far more balance.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Weber has three starters returning, the fourth starter is our sixth man, and a 3-Star RFR starting at Center who was as good as Hajek when the season begun. I've heard he is at the level Tresnak was at, at the end of his Sophomore season. Bolomboy is only going to get better and, in his own right, could be considered the best big in the conference (he needs to get tougher and play defense). I personally feel that Senglin is one of the best players in the conference, and might end up being the best PG next season. We will just have to wait and see, but he is damn good. We all know that Gittens is one of the best defenders and can score when needed. He does a lot of little things that really makes the Cats a strong and balanced team.

Our final starter, if it is Richardson, has the potential of being one of the best shooters in the conference next season. Finally, I like our depth and balance far more than Montana's. I think we are tougher and have far more available than we had last year. I am a bit worried about the Center position, but we do have Jordan Dallas or Kiko available. Both could end up being pretty good. They both have impressive resumes; especially Dallas.

 

[oldrunner]

I have heard that Bolomboy and Dallas spent the whole summer in the weight room and working on skills together. Put that together with Braxton, who was in the best shape of his life in June, and you have a much improved front line for Weber. Kiko has been playing for the U18 Bulgarian national team and should be in reasonable condition when he arrives in a week or two. Hill is back in Texas, but spent most of the summer working out with Bolomboy.

Like you, Tal, I am hoping to see improved interior defense. I also like our depth, but we have a ton of unproven players who will be major contributors.

If we are to win the championship, the road still goes through Missoula and Cheney. I still think that Montana will be picked to win it, but the whole thing may be more wide open than last year.

 

[thescout]

College Sports Madness predicts EW to win Big Sky and 108th in NCAA, for 2nd place they go with No. Az at 122nd in the NCAA....per their top 144 teams in NCAA Countdown

 

[oldrunner]

College Sports Madness predicts EW to win Big Sky and 108th in NCAA, for 2nd place they go with No. Az at 122nd in the NCAA....per their top 144 teams in NCAA Countdown

Wow! That is the definition of 'Madness'. :lol:

 

[Wildcat111]

College Sports Madness predicts EW to win Big Sky and 108th in NCAA, for 2nd place they go with No. Az at 122nd in the NCAA....per their top 144 teams in NCAA Countdown

Still way too early but I see us around the 140s or 150s right now. We will be much improved from last year but the only way I see us in first in the BSC is if the conference has a down year. I know a lot of people on here expect that but with all the talent in the conference right now I see at least 1 or 2 other teams being really scary this year. With all of last years top teams losing top players it's hard to tell which teams, but players like Bruenig, Jois, Yanku, and Robinson could really make things happen for any of their teams.

 

[sacstateman]

I agree with you but who is Robinson??? I think NAU, Montana, EWU and possibly SUU and Portland are the top tier teams that will have to be dealt with this year....

 

[Wildcat111]

Calaen Robinson. Transfer Point Guard for Portland State from a Pac 12 team. Scout grade of 90. I feel like he could have a huge year, Bruenig was also a Pac 12 transfer with a scout grade of 87 and we've seen how great he's been. Sure, things might not work out with him but Portland State will have a solid front court next year plus all the JC transfers and Armani Collins, I think Robinson will have a good chance to step up and take that team to the next level. The talent is there, Portland's biggest issue will probably be the coaching and getting all the JUCO players on the same page.

 

[sacstateman]

Didn't know about Robinson....Collins, IMO will need at least a year to be a contributor because he played in a very small school division here in California...he will have to get used to the talent level at DI....Isaiah Piniero is a JC transfer who I have seen numerous times both at HS and JC...he is a kid who is very team oriented and plays hard on both ends, also he is very coachable and only a sophomore in eligibility...this year can lean a lot of different ways and I'm going to wait to see a few games before putting too much weight on any single team...very fluid situations to analyze...

 

[oldrunner]

These transfers and JC players are a complete crap shoot. Every once in a while you get a good one, but mostly you are just taking over someone else's problems. I've watched several BSC teams flounder around taking that route over the past few decades. Maybe PSU will pull it all together or maybe they will implode like they usually do. The teams that are most successful in the BSC are those that build with freshmen recruits, and supplement with the occasional transfer or JC.

I wasn't basing my evaluation on what an unknown might do. I was just thinking about returning, proven production and how their teams faired last year. Who knows what any new player might do. :wall:

 

[sacstateman]

PSU just added a graduate transfer from SIUE who has started there the last 2 years and averaged 10+pts from the point guard position....he sounds like a solid transfer....

 

[n.ogdencat]

Portland State is a total wildcard team. Who knows what to expect from them. At one point this spring they only had 5 remaining players. Robinson was at a PAC-12, but that doesn't mean he is good. I mean he played 6.2mins a game for the Sun Devils and averaged 1.2ppg and 1.1apg. Just as a reminder, Brandon Catalado, another former Viking was an ESPN 90 he sure as hell didn't light the Sky on fire. But he, Robinson, does have three years to play for the Vikings and will retain the assistance of Braxton Tucker; who decided to stay at PSU after announcing his intention to transfer. That is a foundation to build upon. Tucker didn't have any other DI options. Armani Collins is a 3 Star, but was passed over by a bunch of Big Sky Schools and was a very late add by Geving. I think he has talent, but DI? Yes, Cody John is coming from a small school, but he was a two-time Utah State 2A MVP, and played a very competitive independent national schedule this past season as a senior. I think Weber took the better player. The senior transfers happening this spring aren't really that worrisome to me. Most don't really work out.

For me, I never think much of PSU, because I don't think much of their coach. He seems to be a pro at stamping his feet and begging/intimidating refs for calls.

In fairness to the Vikings...they have recruited fairly well this past season and have talent.

 

[oldrunner]

I feel exactly the same about PSU. They have always had great athletes and the ability to score the ball. Many years they have had the best offensive talent in the BSC. Their problem has always been their inability to play defense and to play together as a team. I don't know that much about their coach, but he does seem like a giant baby on the sidelines. Seems like he can recruit a bit of talent, but not help them play together as a team. He gets my vote for PSU Basketball Coach of the Year. Wait... Who is their women's coach? :lol: