Top Departing Players #10: Mike Proctor

 

With the throes of the offseason all around us, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the 20 best players that are departing from the Big Sky, either due to graduating, declaring for the draft, or transferring.

Northern Colorado was the youngest team in the Big Sky last season, and by the end of the season had just one upperclassmen on the roster. That player was Mike Proctor, who seemed to be just as important for the intangible things as he was for the tangible things to the Northern Colorado team.

First, the tangible. He was easily the best rebounder on the team and one of the best in the conference at 6.8 boards per game. He had a stellar 22.9 DR% last season, which was the best mark in the Big Sky. He did the dirty work on the glass that the team needed.

Offensively, he had some struggles from the free throw line this year, but he was still a pretty solid and efficient offensive player. He shot an excellent 62% from the field, and did get to the line frequently. He was a solid passer for a big man, and looked to get guys involved and get them shots. He would surprise at times with his ability to get his own shot.

Of course, the things that Northern Colorado and BJ Hill will miss the most will probably be the things that don't show up in the box scores. Defensively, he was very vocal in making sure that everyone was set, or that someone knew a screen was coming. These are things that young teams and young players struggle with, but he always set the tone in this regard. I am sure this message will be carried through in future years. Proctor was the leader of the team, and you could tell that he always left everything he had on the court. He did not have great athleticism, but he made the most out of what he had, and became a very good college basketball player. Once again, his example of leadership and hard work will set the tone for the program, as they try to take the next step.

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Northern Colorado Stays Alive

Yesterday was an absolute must-win game for Northern Colorado if they wanted to have a chance to make the conference tournament. Sitting at 4-8, 4-9 would not have been a hole they would have been able to come back from, looking at their schedule. However, for 25 minutes, it looked like that was where they were headed, as Montana State led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, before UNC pulled it out for a 77-64 win in OT.

Some thoughts from the game (I was in attendance) in bullet point fashion.

- The key spark for Northern Colorado was that they got into a full-court press (54 press, they called it) early in the second half. BJ Hill said in an interview after the game that it was a staff suggestion, while a member of the staff told me that it was all Hill, and he was just being modest. Whoever's idea it was, it was absolutely huge, and may helped turn this around. Montana State led by 7 at half, and UNC seemed to come out very flat to me in the second half.

So the press did two things - one, it gave the Bears more energy. Coach Hill said, "It gave us some confidence that we could make plays and get some defensive stops which allowed us to get back in there." Two, it took the Bobcats out of their rhythm, and made them take some quick shots at times or hurry more than they would have liked.

- One thing I noticed from MSU, and Bobcats fans have noticed too, after they got a nice lead, they changed from being the aggressor to being a bit more tentative. One reason Hill said they went to the press was that MSU started to take 30 seconds per possession. It seemed like they were content often to do a three-man weave 40 feet from the basket for 20 seconds of the shot clock, eventually leading to a jacked up three (where they finished 4/24). Don't know why they got so tentative.

- Tate Unruh finished with 20 points, including a particularly big three in OT that knocked MSU out. He is fun to watch shoot because his stroke is so pure. He is 34/35 from the FT line, which, needless to say, would put him #1 in America if he had enough attempts to qualify. If he gets an opening, the shot is likely to swish through so well it will barely touch net.

- Mike Proctor had a nice day with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, but it was something that won't appear in the box score that may have been his best attribute on the day. You can clearly hear him in the back of the defense, communicating and talking with his teammates, telling them where he was, or if he saw a specific play coming. That is the kind of thing that coaches love.

- Paul Garnica provided a nice spark for the Bears in the second half with a couple nice assists and a couple of nice threes, probably playing the best game he has played in a while. He has a tendency to go for the spectacular play rather than the smart and solid play, which usually doesn't go over so well with coaches. In this one he did much better at playing within himself.

- Emmanual Addo showed the whole variety of his offensive game, and why he has the chance to be such a big-time player. He hit two threes, but also showed good fluidity and moves near the basket, finishing with 13 points and 5 rebounds. He still will make a couple head-scratching plays per game, but he has the talent to be one of the best big men in the conference, without question.

- For the Bobcats, for long stretches it seemed like Shawn Reid was their only offensive weapon. It seemed like their best plan of attack was to give it to him to take a stepback jumper with a hand in his face, which can only work so many times (though it was impressive how many times he did make that shot). He led the team with 18 points. I was excited to watch Christian Moon play, but he had no impact. He scored 4 points and finished 0/5 from downtown. He seemed to sit for long stretches, which I am not sure if that was a result of him jacking up a couple threes early in shot clocks.

- Xavier Blount struggled as well, only finishing with 8 points. It is hard to imagine, but the game and the following thoughts on the game would have been a lot differentif Blount had made an extra free throw. With a little under a minute to play and UNC up 55-54, Blount was sent to the line. He made just 1 of 2, and it went to OT tied at 55..

- I know that MSU fans aren't very happy with Rod Singleton at PG, but there are not a lot of options right now. Michael Dison played 19 minutes but had no impact. Without Jamie Stewart, it is tough for them to find the depth to have Blount play the PG more often. It is clear they could have used Antonio Biglow this year.

- In the overtime, MSU never had a chance, as they came out lifeless. Northern Colorado scored 22 points in the five-minute period and put any doubt to rest quickly about who would win. For MSU fans, it is deja vu. Another promising start to the conference season has led to another second half collapse. They should make the conference tournament (since they play one more against NAU), but it is hard to see them making a run.  UNC still has a long way to go to make the conference tournament, but they can at least take some positives out of this one. It is tougher to find them for MSU.

Thoughts?

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Montana Tops Northern Colorado Behind Will Cherry's Defense

Here were my halftime thoughts from the game.

The last time Montana came to Greeley, they lost the Big Sky conference championship to the Bears, who celebrated their first conference crown.

That seems like so long ago, as Montana erased some of those bad memories en route to a 75-68 victory. The win moves Montana to 11-1 in the Big Sky, while Northern Colorado falls to 4-8.

The biggest key for Montana winning the game was Will Cherry. He was, quite simply, phenomenal. If there was any doubt that he was the best defensive player in the Big Sky, he erased that in this game.

As the head man on a 1-3-1 three quarters court press, Cherry seemed to be everywhere. He finished with 30 points and 8 steals (one off his career record on the night), also chipping in 4 assists and 4 rebounds. He had the look of a man that was not going to let them lose, as he was the leader both offensively and defensively.

The turnovers were really the difference in the game. Northern Colorado shot almost 59% from the floor, and played solid halfcourt defense. However, Montana forced them into 27 turnovers, and scored 36 points off those turnovers (compared to 6 points off turnovers for the Bears).

"We were responsible for half of their points," UNC coach BJ Hill said. "They obviously cranked up the pressure, but it was more a lack of our toughness both mentally and physically than something they did."

At times, UNC struggled to get the ball past half court, and when they did, they had significantly less time to run their offense. Their young guards were just no match in this one for the Grizzlies' pressure defense.

Kareem Jamar and Derek Selvig had 12 points apiece for Montana. Kevin Henderson also contributed solid minutes, and he was their best bench player. He is athletic and will be a force defensively, even if he can only bring it in spurts right now. Next season, a Cherry/Jamar/Henderson trio is going to be a nightmare for opposing offenses.

Northern Colorado at times looked better than they have all year, which has to be a little bit encouraging for BJ Hill. They fell behind early thanks to the barrage of threes from Montana, but came right back and led by as many as 7 in the second half. Four guys were in double figures, including Mike Proctor with 18. In the end, it just wasn't enough.

Cherry now moves into the top 10 in career for Big Sky steals, which is scary since he has another year of eligibility left. With Weber State beating Northern Arizona, we are one step closer to the dream scenario of two 14-1 teams meeting on the final day of the regular season.

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Northern Colorado Outlasts Northern Arizona in Overtime

It wasn't always pretty, but UNC doesn't care about getting style points when it comes to road victories in the Big Sky Conference.

In a tight, back and forth game, Northern Colorado prevailed for a big win, beating Northern Arizona 64-62 in OT.

UNC led 54-45 with 3:49 to go, when the Lumberjacks went on an 11-0 run, taking the lead with 20ish seconds left. After a Stallon Saldivar missed FT, Tevin Svihovec went the length of the court to make one in the lane, tying it up. James Douglas committed and offensive foul, and Svihovec was blocked by Durrell Norman to send the game to an extra session.

This was the story at the end of overtime:

In overtime, the teams exchanged the lead five times before Svihovec put the Bears up by one with a layup. NAU had two chances to tie the game or win in the final 10 seconds. Saldivar missed a jumper in the lane with seven seconds left and UNC's Mike Proctor grabbed the rebound. Tim Huskisson hit the first free throw to extend the lead to two points but missed the second, giving NAU a final chance. James Douglas' jumper from the right side was off the mark as time expired.

A few takeaways from this game:

- About a month ago, it seemed like Tate Unruh and Paul Garnica were the underclassmen guards that were the future of UNC's backcourt. But suddenly, a new contender has emerged. Tevin Svihovec scored 30 against Idaho State, and had another important game for them. He only had 11 points on 5/13 shooting, but he made big shots for them. He made the running layup near the end of regulation to give send it to overtime, and he hit the go-ahead basket. He is an excellent outside shooter and crafty, efficient offensive player. His star is bright. I am hoping to write a bit more about him in the next couple weeks.

- Another guy that has gotten better and better is Emmanuel Addo. I called him one of the breakout sophomores of the conference before the year started, and he is fulfilling that promise. He scored 28 against ISU, and last night threw in 17 points and 5 rebounds, and doing it very efficiently. He is a guy that looks to score around the basket, and does it well. There are not a lot of big men athletes like Addo in the Big Sky, and UNC has to be very excited about his future.

- I would be remiss if I didn't mention Tate Unruh finding his stroke again, draining four threes.

- James Douglas showed why he has supplanted Gabe Rogers as the go-to guy in Flagstaff. He played all 40 minutes, and had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He showed some nice athleticism and the ability to get to the basket.

- With Northern Arizona trailing by 1 in overtime, they had the ball at midcourt with 25 seconds left. I thought they might give it to Stallon Saldivar, so he could create for somebody else (8 assists on the night). Instead, he took it himself, and missed a runner in the lane. Did not really like that call, because that is not his game. I would rather have seen the ball go to Douglas to see if he could create something.

What is everyone else's impressions of the game?

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Interview with UNC's Mike Proctor

There is a solid interview up at the Big Sky site with UNC senior forward Mike Proctor, including what it felt like to win the Big Sky last year on their home court.

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Charles Odum Named Big Sky POW Again

Damian Lillard has some competition for most Big Sky POW awards this year. For the second straight week, Charles Odum of Portland State has been named the conference Player of the Week.

Odum scored a career-high 29 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal in an 80-68 win over Idaho State on Monday. Odum connected on 10-of-18 from the floor, was 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Odum scored 20 points with four rebounds, two steals and one assists in the Vikings’ 78-76 overtime win at Eastern Washington on Saturday. With the game tied at 76-76, Odum hit the game-winning shot with two seconds remaining on a contested 12-footer in the lane.

Odum ranks second in the Big Sky and 35th in the nation in scoring with an average of 18.3 points per game. In conference play, Odum is netting 21.1 points per game and shooting 59.7 percent from the field.

Other candidates were: Tremayne Johnson (EWU), Chase Grabau (ISU), Will Cherry (MT), Tre Johnson (MSU), Michael Dunn (NAU), Mike Proctor (UNC), and Kyle Tresnak (WSU)

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Portland State Tops Northern Colorado

In a game between two of the best offenses in the Big Sky, Portland State was able to come to Greeley and get a huge road win over Northern Colorado, beating the Bears 86-75. The Vikings jumped out to a 49-36 halftime lead and never let go in the second half, improving to 2-3 in the Big Sky.

Interestingly, the Vikings have relied on getting inside all year, but they won this game with their outside shooting.

Portland State entered the game as the best shooting team in the Big Sky Conference at .480 from the field, but the worst three-point shooting team in the Big Sky at .292. The most threes the Vikings had made in any game all season was seven. But they reached that mark within the first 15 minutes and made 13 for the night. PSU shot .619 from distance and .617 overall.

They got a great effort from the guards tonight, as all of them were rolling. Charles Odum had 22 points (7/9 shooting, 2/4 3PT), Lateef McMullan had the best game of his Division I career with 20 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Michael Harthun threw in 18 points, and Gary Winston even threw in 11 points (and 3 threes) off the bench. It was a group effort, and the potent offense shows the rest of the Big Sky that they are still capable of beating anyone.

Northern Colorado was simply above average offensively, which unfortunately for them was not enough to get it done. They had great balance, as both Mike Proctor and Connor Osborne led the way with 16 points. Surprising that UNC was able to control the inside. Elliott Lloyd (13) and Tevin Svihovec (11) were also in double figures for the Bears.

With the win, PSU has some momentum, and are showing that they might be able to fulfill some of that preseason promise. UNC lost, but they can't be too discouraged after this one (except maybe with their defensive effort). They ran into a team that made 13/21 from downtown even though they aren't much of an outside shooting team. They should be okay as well.

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Idaho State Tops UNC; Both Teams 1-1

Northern Colorado had a great chance to move to 2-0 in the Big Sky on Monday night, as they had a home game against Idaho State, a team most expect to finish at the bottom of the Big Sky. Instead, their youthful inconsistency showed through again, as Idaho State won 57-55, evening both team's conference record to 1-1.

“For some reason we came out flat but we just kept grinding away and we were able to get ourselves back in the game and finish it off,” Idaho State Interim Head Coach Deane Martin said. “If you can just stay in games and keep grinding away you will have a chance to win games.”

Chase Grabau was the star once again for the Bengals, as he is getting better as the season goes on. He followed up his big game against Weber State by scoring 18 points, dishing out 6 assists, and grabbing 3 rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes. He is slowly becoming one of the better, more versatile guys in the Big Sky.

Kenny McGowen (16 points) and Melvin Morgan (11 points) joined Grabau in double figures, as the team shot 48% from the field.

For UNC, they were plagued by turnovers, as well as an ankle injury to guard Tate Unruh. He played just 7 minutes before leaving with a left ankle injury (no word on severity), which hurt them a lot, as he has been a key guy for them.

The Bears shot 50% from the field, but turned it over 17 times. Mike Proctor scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but added 7 turnovers. Guard Paul Garnica also turned it over 6 times. UNC jumped out to an 11-2 lead in this game, but ISU outscored them 55-44 the rest of the way. The Bears had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Elliott Lloyd missed a driving layup, and Tim Huskisson was unable to put it back in at the buzzer.

The Bengals improve to 3-10 overall, 1-1 in the BSC, while Northern Colorado drops to 4-9, 1-1 in the conference.

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Guest Post: Northern Colorado And The 'Disease of More'

We have another guest blog from poster MP, who last wrote about Northern Arizona. Today, he chimes in on the Bears loss to Westminster College.

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“Success is often the first step toward disaster.”

• Pat Riley, from his book, “Showtime”, talking about a phrase he coined, the “Disease of More”.

I am a University of Northern Colorado student. At 2:00 on Thursday afternoon, my roommates asked if we should go to the Bears game that night against an NAIA opponent, the Westminster College Griffins. After a few seconds of deliberation, we all unanimously decided against it. We believed that with the opposition being a school that we had never heard of until UNC’s schedule came out at the end of summer, mixed with final exams starting next week, our time could be better spent.

So I went to the library to study, keeping up with the score on my phone. I noticed at halftime, the Griffins held a 32-29 edge over the Bears. “The Bears just came out sloppy, they will take care of business in the second half,” I thought to myself. About 30 minutes later, I checked the score again, and saw Westminster had taken a 16-point lead with 4 minutes left.

A couple minutes after that, I looked at my phone again, only to see this:

Westminster (UT) 73 Northern Colorado 60 FINAL.

I left the library. I needed to clear my head.

You see, last year’s run of winning the conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament was the stuff made of dreams. All of it still seems like a blur eight months later. When I decided to come to the University of Northern Colorado in 2008, the school was mired in the middle of their Division I transition. There wasn’t a lot of school spirit on campus, because it’s tough to get inspired over athletic teams that were being beaten handily by opponents that were bigger, faster, and stronger than us.

Flash forward to last season. Tad Boyle had done one of the most incredible coaching jobs in the nation to have Northern Colorado poised to make a big run for the conference title before he left to take the job at the University of Colorado. B.J. Hill, who had been Boyle’s right hand man through the climb from the bottom to the top, guided the Bears to that fairy tale journey that culminated on that Wednesday night in early March at Butler-Hancock, when UNC defeated Montana to take the conference crown, and go to The Dance.

Now, in present day, we are here. A night in which the Bears suffered their most discouraging, most embarrassing loss since the initial days of the Division I transition.

This is where Pat Riley’s “Disease of More” comes in. Life is filled with ups and downs, peaks and valleys. Sometimes those peaks come to us at an early time in our careers, when there is still work to be done in the future. Six players (Mike Proctor, Elliott Lloyd, Paul Garnica, Tate Unruh, Emmanuel Addo and Connor Osborne) all played valuable minutes in last year’s title team. No matter what, they will always have “Big Sky Champions” tied to their name. They could lose every game for the rest of their career, but they will still have that honor tied to them forever.

But, their jobs aren’t done, they still have eligibility remaining. The only thing more difficult in life than reaching success is duplicating that same success all over again.

The “Disease of More” is what keeps coaches awake at night. As Riley put it, after a championship of any sort; guys want more playing time, more shots, more respect. But in doing so, they forget the essence of what made the season prior so special and so successful. I’m not necessarily trying to diagnose this “disease” on this UNC team, but there appears to be early symptoms of it showing up in December.

The six aforementioned returning players can bask in that 2010-2011 season all they want when their careers are over. But for now, there is work to do. There are nine newcomers to this team who want to go through those same peaks that they didn’t get to experience first-hand a year ago, newcomers who are looking for that leadership to take them to the top. Three-and-a-half weeks into the regular season, it has yet to show up.

The veterans on this Northern Colorado team have to ask themselves, how will I be remembered here? As a player who was on that one NCAA Tournament team and settled after that? Or the player who made the University of Northern Colorado a successful, revered program year-in and year-out?

That’s what’s at stake here for these Bears. They will have a few weeks to shake free this debacle and gear up for the official start of conference play, and that is when everyone will find out who they really are. And maybe, just maybe, they can flip some words around in Pat Riley’s iconic phrase around to being:

“Disaster is the first step toward success.”


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Northern Colorado Comes Up Short Against Iowa State

Northern Colorado dropped to 0-4 last night, but they can't feel too bad about their performance against Big-12 squad Iowa State on the road, a game they lost 90-82.

The name of the game for the Bears was balance, as 5 guys scored between 13 and 16 points. Some of the excellent performances - Senior forward Mike Proctor had 14 points and 6 rebounds, Tate Unruh scored 13 points, including three from downtown, Emannuel Addo scored 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench, with an efficient 7/12 night, freshman Tim Huskission is showing the makings of a star, as he had 16 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes, and Paul Garnica had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. They shot 49% from the field.

Simply put, they were undone by their defense. You can't give up 90 points, especially on the road, and still win the game. They did a nice job of keeping Royce White in check (only had 10 points, though he did have 8 rebounds and 7 assists), but Iowa State had 6 guys in double figures. At the end of the day, UNC is 0-4, but if I were them I would feel better about myself than Montana State does today.

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Montana State looked like it had a lot of momentum after beating Utah, but then Seattle came to town and beat them soundly. Seattle shot 56% from the field, while the Bobcats shot just 37.5%.

There were a couple of bright spots for Brad Huse, but he must have left this game with a lot more questions than he had before it. Montana State was outclassed by a team that Portland State had just beaten, as the Redhawks were more physical, and simply better. For Coach Huse it is back to the drawing board before Montana State heads to Idaho to take on the Vandals.

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New Mexico State Too Athletic For Northern Colorado

I had the chance to attend the game between New Mexico State and Northern Colorado on Saturday, a fast paced game won by the Aggies 89-75. Some thoughts and observations from the game.

- Paul Garnica looked good, as he was 6/10 for 14 points. He drained a couple of 3s which was impressive... if he can knock those down consistently he will be the Bears best player. Garnica is also the best on the team at getting to the basket, he really had some nice drives. In addition, he has quick hands defensively, and wound up with 2 steals (though they were in part due to someone else deflecting the ball. I did think he struggled a bit with the press, as did the whole team.

- The biggest key to the game was the athleticism of New Mexico State. They are one of the top teams in the WAC, and they showed it. They put on a press all night, and forced UNC into 20 turnovers. Their athleticism also allowed them to be the aggressor, which is why they got 41 free throws compared to 15 for the Bears. They forced UNC to play too fast, and it caused them to take some quick shots. In the first half, Northern Colorado was lethal from downtown, and that kept them in it, but they cooled off a bit in the second half.

- Tate Unruh had an impressive game, finishing with 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He has a quick, pure release, and he will drain a lot of treys this year. He is also a good passer, and made some nice decisions passing the ball in this game. His handle is decent. He seemed to really favor going to the right, and will need to work on his left hand. Unruh and Garnica were the two Bears that most impressed me.

- I was a little surprised to see true freshman Tim Huskisson get the start, but he handled himself well. His stat line didn't stand out - 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, but his athleticism was apparent. On a team without a lot of great athletes, Huskisson will be a nice piece. Another recruit, Aaron Hawk-Harris, is a guy that they said brings intangibles and toughness, and I liked what I saw from him. He is a solid defender and does enough offensively that he is not a liability. Another guard Tevin Svihovec was solid but didn't stand out. He is a solid shooter and is fundamentally sound, but didn't really make a big impact.

- The frontcourt has some nice pieces, but nobody really stepped up in a big way. Connor Osborne looked the best to me, as he had 8 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes (and a couple thunderous dunks), but he still looks like he is getting into playing shape. I like his skillset a lot though. Mike Proctor played decent defensively and deflected a couple of balls, but tried to do a little too much with a couple things offensively. On the glass, he only had 3 rebounds in 24 minutes. Emmanual Addo is the most athletic of the big men, and you can see his talent as a sophomore. He had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes, and showed some good footwork around the basket. I like his future. Brendan Keane got 11 minutes of action, but against an athletic Aggies frontline he looked a bit overmatched. He had 0 rebounds in his time, and you could tell it was his first collegiate game. I have no doubt he will be a fine player, but he did not add much in his first game.

- Once again, photo above taken by my beautiful wife!

Overall, Northern Colorado is definitely a talented team, and they are stocked with shooters. I like their backcourt, and I think their frontcourt will get there. However, after watching them Saturday night, I still like my original preseason analysis - they are a talented team, and they will beat some good teams in the Big Sky this year. But, I do think they are a year away from being true contenders in the Conference, and I see them settling in anywhere from 4th-6th in the Big Sky.

What is everyone else's thoughts? I'd particularly like to hear from the UNC fans that had a chance to watch the game, what did you see?

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Northern Colorado Takes Down Chadron State in Exhibition

Northern Colorado took on D2 Chadron State on Tuesday night, winning 89-65 through one good half and one bad half. The first half ended 44-19, while Chadron outscored UNC 46-45 in the second half. Chadron scored 34 of their 65 points from the FT line.

Mike Proctor was the best player for the Bears in this one, as he scored 14 points, had 6 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots in 21 minutes. He is the most experienced post man returning, and he will need to have a productive year for them. Another big man I am high on is Emmanuel Addo, who had 2 points and 4 rebounds, but finished 0/7 from the FT line. He was a 68% FT shooter last year, so I am not sure if this was just a fluky day.

One promising development has to be redshirt freshman Tevin Svihovec (get used to spelling his name), as he had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 19 minutes. He was an efficient 3 of 4 from the field. I have been hearing good things about him, and judging from this game he will have a key role on this team. To update a couple other sophomore guards expected to have increased roles, Tate Unruh had 9 points (and hit a three-pointer), while Paul Garnica had 8 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals, but also turned it over 5 times and shot 3

Ultimately, there is probably not a ton to be gleaned from an exhibition game against a D2 opponent, but it is good to be looking at box scores again. The season is getting closer and closer!

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