Northern Colorado Point Guard Options

Over the last couple of seasons, point guard play has been one of the biggest things holding Northern Colorado back. They have struggled with consistency from that spot. Holdover starter Tevin Svihovec has been up and down, Paul Garnica could never get the trust of the coaching staff before he transferred, and James Davis was a little too raw offensively to provide much impact last season.

This year, they have some more options, and that should make their PG play a bit stronger. Let's take a look at some of their options for the PG spot.

Tevin Svihovec
He is not a natural ballhandler, and this is why he will likely see a lot more time off the ball this season. He is a good shooter and solid scorer, but never appeared to be all that comfortable setting teammates up. While his Assist Rate jumped to 21.1% from 16.4% as a freshman, his TO Rate jumped a bit as well. He is good at getting to the line, and gives good effort defensively, but I'm not sure he's quick enough to guard the top PGs out there. A move off the ball makes a lot of sense, as the coaches know. Still, I would expect him to get some minutes at the one, especially if Wilson redshirts.

Corey Spence
Spence is a junior college PG out of Casper College, and his former coach Joel Davidson, is now an assistant with the Bears, which could give him a leg up. Last season, he averaged 11 ppg and 6.3 assists per contest, but his biggest contribution might come on the defensive end, where he should be a big improvement. He got over two steals per game last season, and he is the tenacious defender in the backcourt that the Bears have been missing. He might be the most important piece in determining how UNC does this season.

Jordan Wilson
I think Wilson is going to be a fine player for Northern Colorado, though I would be surprised if he beat out Spence for the starting job. He is a 5'7'' freshman that is very quick, and is said to have a killer crossover with a very good midrange shot. He excels in transition, which could be a big boost that looks like they will be able to run more than they have in the past. He will have a very good future for the Bears.

From what I hear (and confirmed in the thoughts of Spencer Tilus), Spence has the inside track at the starting PG spot. It will be an interesting thing to watch throughout the year.

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Northern Colorado Battles, But Loses 85-69 to Colorado State

Like Montana before them, Northern Colorado will be glad that there are no Colton Iverson's in the Big Sky.

Iverson had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Colorado State, as the Bears just simply didn't have an answer for him down low. Defensively, UNC was having trouble stopping anyone on the CSU squad. The Rams shot 54% from the field, and made 21/23 free throws, winning the game through offensive talent.

When Iverson got the ball down low, the Bears had nobody that could body him up, and he was able to get short jump hooks whenever he was single teamed, as he shot 7/8 from the floor. When the Bears brought a double team, he would kick it out, and UNC was having trouble in their rotations getting to the open shooter. This helped guys like Wes Eikmeier (17 points) and Dorian Green (19 points, 7 assists) have big nights.

In my keys for Northern Colorado, I said they would need to take care of the ball, rebound the ball, and hit their outside shots. They took care of the ball as well as they have all year (8 turnovers), and rebounded fairly well (it helped that Pierce Hornung missed the game, but they had been outrebounded just 16-14 at halftime, and 38-28 for the game). However, they couldn't get their shots to fall consistently, which had a lot to do with a very good Rams defense. The Bears finished 5/19 from downtown.

At times Northern Colorado struggled to be patient in their offense, with Tim Huskisson being a key offender, as he shot a couple of quick threes that drew the ire of head coach BJ Hill. Still, he is an impressive player and had an impressive game with ten points and seven rebounds. He had a nice bucket off the dribble, and an athletically impressive putback jump after a Tate Unruh miss. He also had a sweet block defensively. I have said for the past year he is such a key guy for the Bears, because physically he is capable of doing some things that nobody else on the team can do.

Derrick Barden, though, is another guy that adds that athleticism that was missing a bit last year. He had 13 points and three rebounds, and showed good quickness on both ends. I suspect his numbers will improve a lot during conference play, because small four men fare better there than against seven footers like Iverson. Barden had a steal up top and took it up for a dunk (he was fouled on the attempt), which is a play that maybe only a handful of guys in the conference can do, or even think about attempting.

One guy that I think has to be frustrating for the UNC coaching staff is Emmanuel Addo. When you watch him, there are times when you think he can be the best offensive post player in the conference, and potentially an all-conference player. He can step back and hit a three, has a solid midrange shot, a nice baby hook, and can even take you off the dribble. He should average 15 a night. At the same time, he can be a bit of a lazy defender and rebounder, and I am sure this cuts into his minutes. On one drive he failed to box out his man on a free throw attempt. Another team he didn't really seem to have the awareness to step in and help out when a Ram was driving to the hoop, and was far too late to provide any help at all. His potential is tantalizing though.

One guy that did impress me on the defensive end was guard James Davis, who is a really good on the ball defender. That was something they lacked last year after the departure of Elliott Lloyd, so he adds a nice element to the team.

One last player note... I liked what I saw out of Tate Unruh. He had 13 points on just 4/12 shooting, but he was very aggressive, and UNC ran plays designed to get him looks. He has a great stroke, and the Bears offense will be good if he can get 10 shots per game. Again, the 4/12 isn't as big of a concern because UNC will not play more frontlines like CSU's.

I came away impressed with Northern Colorado's fight in this game, as they often outhustled CSU, whose best attribute is possibly their tenacity. Coach Larry Eustachy of CSU also came away very impressed, saying he thought Northern Colorado was better than Montana, and that he could see them winning the Big Sky. It was a defeat for the Bears, but also gave them some good things to build on.

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Northern Colorado Comes Up Short Against Wyoming

During the first half and early parts of the second half, it looked like Northern Colorado might pull off an impressive home win against a good Wyoming club. The Wyoming went on a 23-5 run in the second half to take control of the lead, and didn't give it up down the stretch, winning 69-60.

Like has been the case a lot over the past couple of years, Northern Colorado was done in by their turnovers, as they looked sloppy at parts in the first and second halves, turning the ball over a total of 20 times. Point guard Tevin Svihovec seemed to struggle the most, as he had five turnovers himself, often getting the ball just stolen from him. I know taking care of the ball has been a point of emphasis for the Bears coaches, but it didn't get through in this game.

Paul Garnica led the team with 13 points, and he continues to be a guy that can play you into games or out of games. He takes quick shots at times, often before anyone else has even touched the ball. On the other hand, he is one of their best playmakers with the ball in his hands, and has an outside shot that has to be respected. He also had three assists and no turnovers.

Derrick Barden had nine points and seven rebounds, and scored in some different ways. He drained a three, and also showed some nice moves off the dribble. He is a player that needs to be more aggressive, and I think that will come with time.

Two other quick player notes... James Davis played what I would guess was a career high in minutes in the backcourt, and handled himself well. He looks like he is their best on the ball defender. Emmanuel Addo is a guy with a ton of talent, and they tried to go to him often, but he just wasn't effective in this game. He played just 10 minutes, but had four turnovers.

The Bears drop to 1-2, and will travel to take on Colorado State next Monday, where I hope to be in attendance to see them in person. If they play like they did tonight, particularly in the second half, it could be a long evening for them.

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Northern Colorado's Recruiting Class

Obviously, Northern Colorado is coming off of its best season in school history. After a slow start (4-7), Bears recovered to win the Big Sky regular season and conference title, clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

Oh yeah, this was only 4 years removed from their first season as a Division 1 program, when they went 4-24.

How do they top that? Well, it will start with BJ Hill's first recruiting class, a 5 man group that looks solid on paper. According to Coach Hill:

“In terms of talent, upside and potential and character, as a group, this is the best class we’ve signed in the five years I’ve been here -- there’s no doubt,” Hill said of his first class as Northern Colorado head coach. “I love what each brings to the table, in terms of what they eventually can be. This is a class that two or three years from now, we’re all going to be really excited about.”

Let's take a look at them.

Arguably the best is forward Brendan Keane, who is 6'9'' and a very skilled forward. He has a solid body, and should be ready to play physically right away. He has some solid post moves, and is very good fundamentally. He should have success with the Bears, and will be in the mix immediately for playing time.

Another solid player is Tim Huskission, a 6'5'' forward out of Missouri, who committed to UNC after his junior season. He is the most athletic player of the recruiting class, which helps him on both ends of the court. It is easy to envision him getting some run early on in his career also.

Aaron Hawk-Harris is the only JUCO player in the group, so you have to think he will be counted on to play right away (or else they wouldn't have brought him in). He is a combo guard at 6'4''. At the JUCO level last year he averaged 6.5 PPG, about 3 RPG and 2 APG. Hill says he brings intangibles and toughness, but I won't likely see starter's minutes with some of the soon-to-be sophomores and other incoming freshmen at the guard spots.

Dylan Elias is a 6-foot PG out of Texas, who comes out of the same program that current Bear Paul Garnica came from. He has been committed to the program for awhile, and should be a solid contributor to the program, though it looks tough for him to get a lot of minutes this year.

James Davis Jr. is the last member of the class, a 6'3'' shooting guard from California. He is an excellent scorer (almost 22 PPG as a junior), that could have the ability to play both guard spots, though he will primarily play off the ball. He has a chance to be a big-time scorer for the Bears.

Who do you guys see as the best of the class? Who will contribute right away?