Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Uncertainty Around Jamie Stewart of Montana State

News out of Montana State is that junior wing Jamie Stewart has possiblyy quit the program. Or not. Nothing official has been reported yet, but he did not play in the team's last game (and was not even on the bench). Blue & Gold has this to say both about Stewart and Antonio Biglow (a highly touted recruit who did not qualify academically in the first semester).

All right, time to address the oddity. Jamie Stewart did not play, and wasn’t even on the bench. There’s speculation which centers around grade troubles and/or issues with his role (which he’s talked about on Twitter), but there is no official word on his status changing as of Sunday night. In other news, Antonio Biglow is expected in campus when the second semester starts, but will most likely not play at all this season. If he sticks with MSU his semester and through summer, he’ll have two years of eligibility when the 2012-13 season begins.
Stewart has been a solid contributor for them, as he was expected to be. He was one of their best recruits heading into the year. He has averaged about 22 minutes and 9 points per game, and has been one of their more versatile guys.

He has been able to get to the line and draw fouls with good frequency, which is obviously a great skill to have. He does not shoot a lot from downtown, but he is efficient when he does. He is also a solid playmaker and has a pretty good assist rate. Bottom line, Montana State is deep on the wings, but Stewart would be a big loss, and his presence would be missed on the court.

He was a JUCO transfer, so he has not been in the program very long, but has shown himself to be a talented guy. Assuming there are no off-the-court issues (and I have no idea if there are or if there are not), Montana State's program as a whole would be worse without him than they are with him.

Obviously I will update if I hear anything (and if I do, it will probably come from Gidal Kaiser, the czar of Montana State hoops).

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