Top Departing Players: Just Missed the Top 20

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. First, let’s look at a few guys that just barely missed the cut.

Tremayne Johnson (Eastern Washington) – Before the season, I thought he was poised to have a breakout year, but things just didn’t work out that way under Jim Hayford. His scoring and rebounding dropped from 10.0 and 5.1 per game (respectively) in 2010-11 down to 6.4 and 3.9 per game last season. His shooting percentages plummeted as well, down to 35% for the season. He never could get consistent minutes every night with Cliff Ederaine and Laron Griffin starting (more on them later in this list), and Jordan Hickert also battling for minutes. Things just didn’t really work out in his senior year.

Abner Moreira (Idaho State) – He was in a tough spot, because he was called on to play a ton of minutes (almost 34 minutes per game) simply because the Bengals didn’t really have any other big men that were reliable. Of the guys that missed the cut, he is the one that I have the most doubts about (meaning, he could have easily made the top 20). He was a dependable rebounder and defender, averaging 7.2 boards per game. He didn’t provide a ton offensively. He had a big impact for ISU and will be missed, but I think that was partially due to his talent, and partially due to the lack of other impact frontcourt players on ISU’s roster last season.

Nate Lozeau (Portland State) – During the non-conference portion of the year, it seemed like Lozeau had the chance to be an all-conference player. He scored double digits in points in nine of the first eleven games of the year. Unfortunately, he only did that three more times the rest of the season. He was an efficient player when he was on the court, but he simply had little impact on the Vikings during the most important times of the year, which is why he was not able to make the top 20.

Matt Massey (Southern Utah) – Massey obviously wasn’t part of the Big Sky last year, but he graduated from SUU, who will be joining the Big Sky. In 27 minutes per game, he averaged 8.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG, and was a solid frontcourt rotation player. He didn't shoot a ton, but was an efficient 53% inside the arc (and 78% from the stripe) when he did. He was an average rebounder, however, with just a 13.6 DR%, not that good for a big man. He was solid for three years, and will be missed by the T-Birds.

What are your thoughts on these guys?

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Montana Holds Court Over Portland State

In the other Big Sky conference game of the day, the road team got off to a great start to secure the victory. Not in this one. Here it was Montana that jumped out to an early 10 point lead, and the game was never really in doubt after that.

Montana shot 58% in the first half (including 7/9 from beyond the arc), which enabled them to get a 19 point lead going into the break. Portland State had a couple solid runs in the second half to cut the deficit down a bit, but they never really made it too interesting.

Kareem Jamar led the team with 17 points, also contributing 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He had a couple of great looks that led the easy baskets for the Griz, and he is really growing to be a great playmaker for them. The announcers of the game were heaping a lot of praise on Jamar near the end of the game, and it was hard to argue with anything. He is very talented offensively, and very advanced for being a sophomore.

Will Cherry also played well, with 15 points, including knocking down some outside shots, which is huge for him. He also had the play of the day... on a fast break, he threw up a beautiful alley oop that was completed by Art Steward (who also had 15) for an athletic finish (highlights can be found here). Cherry had a cramp later in the game, but should be fine for Friday. Cherry opposing Lateef McMullan (0/7, 0 points) was a huge mismatch in this game.

Derek Selvig and Eric Hutchison did not contribute a bunch offensively, but they were very sound defensively against a strong offensive frontcourt of PSU. In particular they played outstanding defense against Nate Lozeau.

It will not be a game Lozeau will want to remember. Coming into the day he was shooting 64%, but he was just 1/8 from the floor for 4 points and 3 rebounds, while also battling foul trouble. Chehales Tapscott didn't do much better offensively with 7 points, but he did have 12 rebounds and is just very active on the glass. Renado Parker had another great effort (16 points, 8 rebounds), and is one heck of a player down low, but it was not enough.

The bright spot for PSU was Charles Odum, who had a very efficient 27 points, taking only 13 shots. He got to the line well, and got into the lane for some easy shots. He is really an excellent player, though some of the points did come in garbage time.

Montana came out firing and played great, setting up an early season game against Eastern Washington to determine who will be #2 in the perception of those following the league. Meanwhile, PSU falls to 0-7 on the road this year, and has to turn around in 2 days to take on Montana State. It is a win they could definitely use.

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Portland State Falls to Oregon

Portland State traveled to Eugene on Monday night, and they lost 79-70 to a solid Oregon team. After coming back from a deficit to cut the lead to as little as three, they just didn't have enough to get over the hump to secure what would have been a huge road win.

Michael Harthun hit a three from the deep corner with 1:25 to play and it was 71-68. Then, Oregon's Devoe Joseph responded by hitting a tough, driving shot to hold the Vikings off.

"That was a tough shot. I thought we played pretty good defense. We just needed to get one stop. We get one there and the game changes," said Head Coach Tyler Geving.

The Vikings had four players in double figures, led by 16 from Chehales Tapscott. But they couldn't overcome too tough performances from their stars.

Charles Odum shot just 4/13 from the field, uncharacteristic for him because he is a very efficient player. Big man Nate Lozeau also struggled to get anything going, finishing with 4 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out.

Portland State will have no time to stew over this game, as they have a big home one against Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday. The Vikings still sit at 5-4, but they don't have a lot of impressive wins. Winning on Thursday would be a really nice one for them to get.

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Player To Watch: Renado Parker of Portland State

If there is one guy you may not know yet, but could be a big factor in the Big Sky race this year, it is Renado Parker. Parker is a transfer that has become eligible now that the first semester is over, and he could be a huge boost off the bench for a Portland State team that is not very deep.

Here is what Coach Tyler Geving had to say about him before the season:

“Renado has done a great job in early season workouts. When you get him the ball on the block, even though he is only 6-5 or 6-6, he is as good as anyone getting the ball in the basket.”

He played two solid seasons at community college, and then went to Idaho. He was in the Vandals program for one semester, and may have been the most talented recruit for Idaho. He decided to move on, and has found a home at Portland State now that he has become eligible. An article from his high school days talks about his talent then, though he had some academic issues (which is likely why he went the JUCO route).

In his sophomore season, he averaged about 14 points and 6 rebounds from the floor, showing an efficient low-post game. He showed all of that talent in his first game back for the Vikings. In 23 minutes, he has 12 points (on 5/6 shooting) and 8 rebounds (including 4 offensive). Teams would take that level of production from their starters, let alone their third big. The key will be whether he can play defense, and that is a huge area of need for the Vikings.

For a team that already has potential All-Conference players in Chehales Tapscott and Nate Lozeau but little depth behind them. That should change now, as Parker is in the mold of Tapscott. He is undersized but he simply gets it done, and should put up nice numbers at the Big Sky level. His production and continued development could be a big factor in whether or not Portland State is a player in the Big Sky.

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