Jake Wiley Leaving Montana Program

Sophomore forward Jake Wiley has decided to leave the Montana program, citing personal reasons.

"Jake has decided not to play any longer with the Grizzlies for personal reasons, and obviously we honor that decision," Tinkle said. "Jake is a great young kid with a promising future, and we wish him well."

As a true freshman last season, Wiley played in 20 games, averaging 0.9 points per game and 0.6 rebounds. He was raw and not really ready to contribute, and likely would have gotten a redshirt if the Grizzlies had a little more depth upfront.

Going forward, I'm not sure he would have had a huge role this year, though certainly bigger than last season. He was arguably more athletic than anyone else on the roster, and should have been a big part of the Grizzlies future. Reportedly his departure has nothing to do with off-court trouble or grades, he simply decided to move on.

For this season, his loss will be manageable even though it will hurt. Going forward, it's another hit to frontcourt depth, after the loss of Billy Reader last season, and Spencer Coleman earlier this offseason.

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A Good Montana Preview

GoGriz.com has posted an excellent and thorough preview of the Montana Grizzlies this season, and it is well worth a read. It can be found here. A few of the nuggets:

- Mario Dunn should see minutes right away, and Montana coaches except that within four or five games, he will be ready to contribute consistently. I wouldn't be too shocked if he pushes Keron DeShields for the starting spot. We should also see some Kareem Jamar at the one, showcasing his great versatility.

- It sounds as if fellow freshman Brandon Gfeller will redshirt this year, just from the quotes from Wayne Tinkle. Tinkle did call him, "As good a shooter as I've seen."

- The other freshman is Australian Jack Lopez. In a perfect world, I think he would redshirt. However, it sounds like will play and be a backup at the two and three spots. He is a solid shooter, but doesn't seem ready to contribute in more than a bit role.

- Junior college forward Chris Kemp will be counted on right away. At 6'6'', 240 pounds, and a big body who will get rebounds and make opponents work in the post. I have a feeling he will begin the year at the four spot. Jake Wiley could also be in the mix, but it looks like Kemp's job to lose.

- Riley Bradshaw, transfer from Utah State, will be eligible to play around Christmas. He could give them a big boost in conference play with his offensive ability.

- It sounds as if Mike Weisner will play a little more at the three than we have seen the past couple of seasons. Though his shooting can provide matchup problems at the four and five spots, his body type is probably better suited for the three if he can add some quickness.

- Eric Hutchison should begin the year starting at center, but I expect we will see something of a time split with him and Andy Martin. Martin had some nice moments as a freshman, but is still probably a little too limited to play more than 15 minutes a game consistently. We will also likely see Kemp at the 5 spot when they want to go a little quicker.

Any other thoughts on the Griz?

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Where Will Montana Get Frontcourt Production?

 

When the preseason polls come out, it is likely that Montana will be ranked first in both the coaches and media polls, even with Will Cherry missing the start of the season. It is understandable, because they were that good last year, and they do return a lot of talent.

However, the elephant in the room for them is this - where are they going to get frontcourt production?

On one hand, they were not a frontcourt dominated team last year. Their best post up player was probably their two guard, Kareem Jamar (which will be the case again this year), and their big men were not guys that would go down on the block. However, Derek Selvig (their starting five last year), added a bunch of production in many ways. Art Steward (their starting three), was a glue guy that did it all for the Grizzlies. I think these guys will be missed a little bit more than people think.

Mathias Ward is the returning frontcourt player for Montana. He is an outstanding player that averaged almost 11 points per game, and you could see him getting more comfortable as the season went along. He will be a major part of their offense. However, his game is as a jump shooter. He will not provide inside scoring.

Part of the frontcourt production was supposed to be taken care of by JUCO big man Marko Kovacevic, who averaged 12 and 8 last year in junior college. He looked like he could be the legitimate post threat that Montana did not have last year. However, he was ruled academically ineligible, and likely won't be able to play all season.

Who does that leave? Eric Hutchison is the most experienced, though he played just 7.2 minutes per game last year. He is a banger, and the Grizzlies hope he can provide tough defense and rebounding down low. Spencer Coleman is projected to start at the three, but there is word that he could play some smallball four as well. He will be a stud, and playing the four could provide them with their most talented lineup. Michael Weisner got a little time as well, but at a skinny 6'7'' might not hold up to the rigors of playing too much as a post player.

Then there are a couple of freshmen options. Andy Martin is a little more traditional as a big man, since he is a legit 7-footer, but he seems too raw to be a consistent threat. The more likely option could be Jake Wiley. Like Coleman, he is a bit of a hybrid 3/4 game, but he has a lot of potential because of his athletic abilities, especially on the defensive end.

There are lots of potential options, but nobody experienced that they know can rebound or score in the post. This is the biggest question mark for the Grizzlies heading into the season, even more than the loss of Cherry early in the year. How the young guys develop, and how Wayne Tinkle hashes out his rotation, will play big roles in whether or not Montana can repeat as Big Sky champions.

How do you guys see it shaking out?

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Marko Kovacevic Ruled Ineligible

It has been a rough week for the Montana Grizzlies, and as a result, the Big Sky race appears to be even more open.

There were some rumors floating around, and Yahoo's Jeff Eisenberg has confirmed, that Montana big man Marko Kovacevic has been ruled academically ineligible.

Kovacevic, a potential replacement for graduated center Derek Selvig, has been ruled academically ineligible next season because he did not achieve a high enough grade in a math class he took at Western Nebraska Community College, a source said. Montana is appealing the ruling and hopes to receive definitive word from the NCAA sometime next month.

Assuming they do not win their appeal, tt is a big blow for Montana's frontcourt, because they do not have much depth there. It appeared that Kovacevic was going to be in line to start, and would have been the post scorer they didn't really have last year.

Mathias Ward will play the 4 or 5, but he is a jump shooter (a really good one). Eric Hutchison should get plenty of minutes, but he doesn't bring much offensively. Andy Martin was a redshirt candidate, but will probably play this year though he is raw. As Mslacat pointed out in the comments of an earlier post, this could open up playing time for Spencer Coleman (my projected starter at the three) and freshman Jake Wiley to get plenty of minutes at the four.

It looks like Montana will be extremely perimeter-oriented once again.

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Incoming Montana Grizzly Jake Wiley

Bob Meseroll of The Missoulian has a nice article on Jake Wiley, who will be a freshman at Montana this season.

Jake Wiley’s path to the University of Montana was strewn with obstacles.

The Griz basketball freshman was raised in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood near Long Beach, Calif. He admittedly surrounded himself with friends who were bad influences and owned a 1.6 grade point average at the end of his freshman year at Lakewood High.

Right after that school year, his father packed up and took his son to Newport, Wash., a town of a little more than 2,000 people northeast of Spokane on the Pend Oreille River where his father’s parents lived.

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Future Montana Grizzly Jake Wiley

Great article on future Montana Grizzly player Jake Wiley in The Spokesman Review.

Teachers at Lakewood High near Long Beach, Calif., would be stunned to learn that Jake Wiley will graduate this spring at Newport.

Additionally, they’d be shocked that he’s landed a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Montana.

That’s because Wiley passed one class his freshman year at Lakewood. He spent more time ditching classes rather than attending classes.

It seems like the young man has been through a lot in his life, and it is heartwarming to read about him turning his life around. He could be a great player for the Griz, and a nice addition to the Big Sky.

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Montana Recruit Jake Wiley

Just happened to run across a few articles on Montana recruit Jake Wiley and some his high school games. He certainly has been impressive.

December 4:

Newport 77, Priest River 63: Jake Wiley had 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies (2-0) to a win over the visiting Spartans (0-3).

December 7:

Newport 67, Medical Lake 60: Jake Wiley had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Grizzlies (3-0) past the visiting Cardinals (0-3).

December 10:

Deer Park 69, Newport 60: Zach Mohr hit five 3-pointers and finished with 24 points as the Stags (3-0) remained unbeaten with a win over the host Grizzlies (3-1). Blake Starbuck added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Stags. Jake Wiley led Newport with 22 points.

Also happened to see a little on Montana State recruit Marcus Colbert:

Post Falls 45, Pullman 37: Michael Hillman had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Trojans (2-0) past the host Greyhounds (1-1). Seth Anderson and Marcus Colbert each added 11 points for Post Falls. Austin Drake led Pullman with 15 points and seven boards.

There will be some solid talent coming to the state of Montana next season.

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Montana and Montana State Recruits Among Washington's Best

In a ranking by Sea Town Sports, two future Big Sky players were ranked in their top 25 best high school basketball prospects in the state.

#20 was future Montana Grizzly Jake Wiley.
#22 was future Montana State Bobcat Ryan Shannon.

Have read lots of good things about both of their games, so they look to be solid Big Sky players for the next few seasons. It will be exciting to watch their development.

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Big Sky Recruiting Interests

The always excellent SeaTown Sports has some info on a few recruits or potential recruits from the Big Sky.

Big man Caleb Dressler (Sr.) signed his LOI to Hawaii this month. Dressler also held offers from Montana St. and Portland St. Here is an interview we conducted with the 6'10" center in May.

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Ryan Shannon (Sr.) signed his LOI to Montana St. The 6'7" forward could see time at power forward for the Bobcats, though he did play the wing for Emerald City this summer. Shannon averaged 13.1ppg and 10.7rpg last season for Marysville-Pilchuck—he will play for Mountlake Terrace this season. Shannon also held an offer from Portland St.

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Jake Wiley (Sr.), a 6'6" power forward from Newport, WA on the eastern side of the state signed with the University of Montana. Wiley is originally from Long Beach, CA and bursted onto the prep scene last season after averaging 20.2ppg and 10.9rpg. He also shot 50% from the field.

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Where is Battleground, WA? About three hours from Seattle according to Google Maps. Jake Belford (Sr.) from Battleground HS took an official visit to Montana St. in late September. Though the forward stands tall at 6'9", he is comfortable with shooting the basketball from the perimeter. Sources tell me that he is waiting for a bigger offer and will commit during the spring signing period.

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