Tyler Ott Commits to UC Davis

As seen on Nor Cal Basketball:

Ott made an official visit to the school this weekend, and his AAU coach Dwain Schallenberger said the visit went well, which prompted Ott to give his commitment to head coach Jim Les.

Weber State and Southern Utah were both in on his recruitment.

2 Weeks

Well ladies and gentleman, I get married in 2 weeks. :)

Busy with planning and moving today, but expect some more fresh content soon.

Southern Utah's Top Returners

Last season, Southern Utah finished 11-19, 7-11 in the Summit League. For their last year in the Summit League, they would certainly love to go out with a bang and build some momentum for their entrance into the Big Sky.

Their best returner is probably Matt Massey, a 6'9'' C that will be a senior. He is an efficient scorer, as he shot 57% from the field and 73% from the line (and got to the FT line at a decent rate). His rebounding rates were poor for a center, but he brings a lot of offensive skill to the table.

A lot of the rebounding was done by Kyle Davis, (who had a great freshman year, but is not listed on their roster... anyone have any ideas where he went).... and Matt Hodgson (who transferred), so that leaves a big void in the rebounding department. Ramell Taylor might be their best returning scorer, but he is a 6'5'' SF. Still, with his 13.5 DR%, he could see a lot of time. Tyson Koehler will also be counted on, as he is a big body and efficient scorer.

In the backcourt, they return some guys that got a lot of time. One is Ray Jones, who will be a senior PG. He had a 24.0 ARate, but he needs to cut down on his turnovers. A guy that could be a potential difference maker for them is guard Jackson Stevenett, who showed a lot of flashes as a sophomore. He got 55% from the field and 74% from the Line. He also posted decent rebound and assist rates. He could be a solid player for the Thunderbirds.

It could be tough sledding for Southern Utah to finish in the upper half of the Summit League in the final year, but they are not void of talent. It will be interesting to see how things go for them before the enter the Big Sky.

Idaho State Offers Two Players

One thing I have regularly heard from Idaho State fans is that Joe O'Brien hasn't gone for many Idaho players... well, they have just recently offered scholarships to two Idaho Select players.

In the past week both McKay Cannon (Shelley High School, 2013) and Clark Wilkinson (Highland High School, 2013) have received scholarship offers from Idaho State University. Neither has given a verbal commitment at this point.

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Wilkinson, a 6-6 forward, and Cannon, a 6-0 point/shooting guard, played on Idaho Select’s White team this past summer, leading them to an 18-3 record, a championship at the NW Premier Showcase in Seattle and a final-four appearance at the Best of the Summer in Anaheim.

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Cannon, as a sophomore, was a First Team All Conference selection, averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He first came on to college recruiter’s radars when he opened Shelley’s 2010-11 season with a 35 point performance. Cannon is expected to serve a LDS mission after graduating from high school.

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I am not sure there is a lot O'Brien can do to redeem himself in the eyes of Bengals fans... but going after Idaho players certainly can't hurt.

Top Statistical Returners to The Big Sky

For All Games:

Scoring - Will Cherry (Montana) - 14.1 PPG
Rebounding - Chehales Tapscott (Portland State) - 8.1 RPG
Assists - Stallon Saldivar (Northern Arizona) - 5.4 APG
FG Percentage - Emmanuel Addo (Northern Colorado) - 53.7%
FT Percentage - Jordan Richardson (Weber State) - 92.6%
3PT Percentage - Scott Bamforth (Weber State) - 48.8%

Conference Games Only

Scoring - Charles Odum (Portland State) - 15.3 PPG
Rebounding - Abner Moreira (Idaho State) - 7.4 RPG
Assists - Stallon Saldivar (Northern Arizona) - 5.8 APG
FG Percentage - Charles Odum (Portland State) - 56.5%
FT Percentage - Jordan Richardson (Weber State) - 95.0%
3PT Percentage - Scott Bamforth (Weber State) - 55.1%

Just thought it was interesting! All numbers from the Big Sky Prospectus.

Portland vs. Portland State

Craw's Corner has an excellent article on why a Portland vs. Portland State game (or two) needs to happen every year. This is the most telling part, in my opinion:

Even worse, here are some schools which the teams have on their schedule this year at home. Portland has both Concordia of Oregon and Concordia of California, plus they are playing Lewis and Clark, which by the way is 30 minutes from the Pilot campus. Portland State has Walla Walla College and Linfield. Out of respect, it is tough for each school to schedule and actually they do as good as possible, as basketball scheduling is becoming increasingly tough for all D-1 schools.

It would be a great intra-city rivalry... hopefully the two schools decide to get it done in the future.

Good Words For Tim Miles

Coach Tim Miles from Colorado State went to college at the University of Mary, in my hometown of Bismarck, ND. That is one reason I like him.

Another is that he is a darn good coach. A third is that he seems a likeable guy, and he is definitely funny, as chronicled by Yahoo! writer Jeff Eisenberg. Miles has converted me to a Rams fan.

Jamal Webb - PG For North Dakota

If you make a list of the best mid-major point guards next year or in 2 years, there is a good chance that Jamal Webb will be on that list.

He had an impressive freshman season for the surprising Fighting Sioux. His best attribute is his playmaking ability, as he had a 29.7 ARate (5.4 APG), 88th in the country and an excellent mark for a freshman. He can make plays for other guys and looks for them, and that is obviously an important trait for a PG.

He is also a good looking shooter from outside. He shot 40% on 3s, which is certainly a respectable enough and definitely enough to keep defenses honest. Curiously, he only shot 55% (44/80) from the FT line, a number that will have to go up. He is an efficient shooter overall though, as he also shot a solid 48% from 2s. Not bad marks for a freshman.

He can be dangerous defensively as well with his quick hands. His 2.9 Steal% was best on the team, and resulted in an average of about 1.5 steals per game. He has the potential and athletic ability to be a lockdown defender.

Of course, his game is not without holes, and the biggest is his propensity to turn the ball over. He had a whopping 30.0% TO Rate, which is bad. He turned it over nearly 4 times per game, and if he is going to take the next step as a PG, he needs to cut down on the turnovers. If he does that, he can be a great college PG, because all of the other tools are there.

Jamal Webb is a guy not a lot of people (outside of North Dakota fans) have heard about, but he is a guy that Big Sky fans will want to get to know, because he could be very good by the time North Dakota enters the conference. He is a great distributor, solid outside shooter, and potentially excellent defender. If he can cut down on the turnovers and improve his outside shot a bit, he will be one of the best mid-major point guard in all the land.

Northern Arizona Schedule Released

Finally, the last of the Big Sky teams has released their schedule, as NAU has theirs finalized. Will go more in depth on it at a later date.

2011-12 Big Sky Prospectus Released

Will have a lot more to say about things in the Prospectus eventually, but for now, you can take a look at the Prospectus here [PDF]

Another Bobcat Recruiting Target

From the zen of all things Bobcat athletics, mslacat:

I have heard from a couple sources that the Bobcats had a couple recruits in this past week end (September 16-17). One of them was Jake Belford of Battleground high school in the state of Washington. Belford is a 6-9 center forward who seems to have gone on a growth spurt as of ate. As a sophomore he was listed at 6-5, junior 6-7 and over the summer he has been consistently listed at 6-9.

One of the places he no doubt saw it was Sea Town Sports, which tweeted the news on the 16th.

Kevin Cacabelos from Sea Town Sports also noted that C Ty Egbert will be visiting Montana State on October 1st-2nd.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

This is a little old... but an interesting article that deals with the other side of Yahoo! Sports jaw-dropping article on Miami athletics.

At the very least it causes me to stop and think about what really happened, and whether we should believe everything Yahoo! is telling us.

Chase Grabau

Idaho State is full of uncertainty and question marks, and they will likely have some new faces in big roles. One of the holdovers is Chase Grabau, who will be one of the Bengals key players as a senior.

In his first year at Idaho State (after spending two years at North Platte CC, the 6'5'' G showed a nice, versatile game for the Bengals. In 27 minutes, he averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG. He was a very solid role player for them, but they hope he can take the next step and become a solid starter.

His best attribute is his versatility. He is a solid rebounder for his size, as he had a respectable 13.4% DR%. He can also make some plays for others, as his 15.6% ARate (along with the fact that he averaged 5 assists per game his sophomore year in Junior College) would attest. Finally, he makes things happen defensively, snaring 1.4 steals per game and a steal percentage that ranked 177th in the country last year.

He is efficient offensively. He shot 37% from downtown, which is enough to keep defenses honest. He shot nearly 50% inside the arc. He is certainly not going to be a main option for Idaho State offensively, but he does enough that he is not a liability scoring the ball. Combined with his playmaking ability, and he is a nice guy to have out there.

Joe O'Brien is looking for a solid season to try to save his job. If that is going to happen, he will need big minutes from Chase Grabau, and for him to step up and become a solid starter for the Bengals. He will have a key role for this team as a senior and as a guy that can play some different positions.

Some More Montana State Recruiting Targets

Mslacat takes a look at a couple more guys the Bobcats are targeting - Matt Colbert and Trey Dickerson.

A Look At Northern Arizona's Recruiting Class

Coach Mike Adras lost arguably his two best players last year in Cameron Jones and Shane Johannsen, who both graduated. Thus, it brings importance to this year's recruiting class.

The best seems to be Danny Cheek, a 6'4'' SG out of California. Cheek is a great athlete that has the ability to attack the rim off the dribble. He averaged 15.3 PPG last year. He also has solid defensive potential. He could be the best freshman recruit entering the Big Sky this season.

Another guard that was signed is James Douglas, a 6'0'' PG. He averaged 17.3 PPG and 4.8 APG as a senior last year, and could have a nice future as a scoring guard. He is not super quick, but will find a role in the Big Sky. He probably won't get a ton of time this year, but he will be a nice player for Mike Adras.

The third guard signed is Colin Gruber, a 6'3'' guard that is a proficient scorer. Last season he averaged an impressive 26.6 PPG and 11.6 RPG, and set records at his school for points and steals. He is the son of a coach, and has at least Nor-Cal Basektball thinking he will have a nice career:

Gruber will need to add strength -- as do most freshman entering college basketball -- but Coach Mike Adras run a guard-oriented style and a number of other D-1 coaches are going to rue the day they passed on Gruber.

Northern Arizona also added a JUCO guard in Jywrell Wison (pronounced Ja-rell), who is a 6'3'' combo guard. Last season he averaged 24 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG. He will be a nice fit in Mike Adras' guard-oriented offense with his versatility.

Two JUCO big men were signed. The first was Max Jacobsen. At 6'8'' he averaged 22 PPG and 8 RPG. He is a threat to score in the low post, but can also come out and hit the 15 footer. He will definitely get a look in a frontcourt that is full of question marks. Also important to note that though Jacobsen is a JUCO guy, he will still have three years of eligibility remaining. He originally committed to Portland State out of high school.

More depth will be provided by Ephraim Ekanem. He averaged about 8/6 last season, and will give Adras some minutes, though his ceiling is a bit lower than Jacoben.

Mike Adras lost a lot of talent after last season, so this was an important recruiting class for him. NAU signed 6 players - 4 guards, 2 forwards - 3 high school players, 3 JUCO. There is a lot of talent there to be sure, so it will be interesting to see who plays this year, and how everyone comes together. Adras has proven himself to be a solid program builder, so it is not hard to envision these guys bringing success to Northern Arizona.

Interview With Sacramento State AD

Sac State Sports had a good interview with Bill Bradley, athletic director for Sacramento State.

Speaking of basketball, how is the men’s program progressing under Coach Brian Katz?

We’re really excited about this year. Coach really feels that this team is one he feels the best about. It reminds him of his experiences down at Delta (Junior College). The talent level, the character of the team, I’m personally excited about. We have some really good kids. You’re going to see significant change in success for them. Now, I’m not going to say that we will win 25 games, but I think we’re going to compete differently than we have in the past. It is going to be a fairly young team. We’re going to rely on a couple freshman and a couple sophomores to lead us in to the future.

There are a few other good basketball nuggets, so check it out.

Where Will Sacramento State Get Their Offense From?

Last season Sacramento State had one of the worst offenses in the NCAA. Their AdjO of 90.1 ranked 319th in the country, and last in the Big Sky. Their EFG% was a dreadful 44.4%, 322nd in the nation. Their turnover percentage was 22.5, 293rd in the country. They shot 30.4% from 3-point range and 43.8% from 2s. They had an inordinate number of shots blocked.

Other than that, their offense was just fine!

After last season, their first and third leading scorers graduated (though I am not positive this is a bad thing. Leading scorer Sultan Toles-Bey shot 34% from the field - though in the interest of fairness he had an excellent 32.0 ARate), and their 5th and 6th leading scorers transferred. All of this begs the question - where are they going to get offense from?

The guy that seems the best best to lead them in scoring is junior John Dickson, a 6'6'' forward. He was an honorable mention Big Sky performer, and finished 2nd on the team in scoring last year behind Toles-Bey. He scored 10.9 PPG for the reason, but upped that to a team-best 12.6 PPG during conference play. His best attribute is his ability to get to the line. He shot 139 FTs last year, making 76.3% of them, a solid number. If he can stay away from shooting 3s (5/39 last year) and focus on what he does best, he will be a nice building block for Coach Brian Katz.

Another returner that will have a big role is Jackson Carbajal, who booked a lot of minutes last year as a freshman. At 6'3'' he will be handling the ball a lot, which may or may not be a good thing (had an almost 3:1 TO:A ratio last year). He took more 3s than 2s, but made 31% of 3s compared to 57% of 2s. He needs to take better care of the basketball this year, and he will likely be one of their leading scorers.

Walter Jackson is another guy that put in solid minutes for them last year, though he was more of a selective scorer. He is a 6'5'' G/F combo that averaged 6.0 PPG last year, but did it with a very efficient 49% shooting (though he too needs to avoid the 3 ball). He is also a solid offensive rebounder, and his 8.7% OR% was highest on the team of anyone that played as many minutes as he did. He started 19 games last year, and should get a starting role again.

Then, there are two newcomers who I think could have a big role in the offense. The first is Dylan Garrity, a 6'2'' G who averaged over 20 PPG last year in high school. He is a dangerous outside shooter, and I think could have command of the offense sooner rather than later. I am excited to see how he plays for the Hornets.

Another key guy could be JUCO F Anthony Costentino, who scored 18.7 PPG last year. At 6'7'' he can play both forward spots, and his versatility will be key for a team without a ton of depth. He can score both inside and offense, and should be their best offensive threat down low. He should get all of the minutes he can handle right away.

Who do you guys see as leading Sacramento State in scoring? Anyone I am missing that will have a big impact?

Weber State Makes Offer to Jared Stutzman (Class of 2014)

Via DeAnte Mitchell:

SG Jared Stutzman '14 picked up his second offer today from Weber State per his AAU coach. He also holds a Utah offer.

Since that posting I believe he has also received an offer from Utah State.

Here is a nice writeup on him over at USU Stats.

The Importance and Potential of Tate Unruh

When Devon Beitzel graduated, Northern Colorado lost their best player, and perhaps the best shooter in the Big Sky Conference. While he will have to replaced by a hodge podge of guys (no one player is going to match his production from last season), but one of the guys that looks like he could be a leading scorer for the Bears is Tate Unruh.

As a redshirt freshman last season, Unruh played in 17.3% of the team's minutes, but he was very effective in that time. Unruh was 8/16 from 2-point range, and 13/31 from downtown. He is a great shooter - in high school he finished his career fourth as Missouri's all-time leading 3-point shooter (46%) and 2nd best FT shooter (87%).

He does need to add some strength. He is 6'4'', 170 pounds and still growing into his frame. A quote from BJ Hill from last season said he had grown 5 inches in the past year and a half, so it is not surprising that he is wiry at this point. If he adds strength, it will make him all the more dangerous. He could also improve his ballhandling and ability to get to the basket, as that would give him even more room to maneuver on the outside.

With the loss of last year's Big Sky Conference POY, there is room in Greeley for someone to step up and take command of the team, and become the leading scorer on the team. Don't be surprised if Tate Unruh is one of the best offensive players in the Conference by the end of the season. He has the pedigree and skills, and by all accounts he has the work ethic to get the job done. If he can make the leap from his freshman to sophomore year, UNC will be sitting pretty heading into the Post-Beitzel Era.

Northern Colorado Misses On A Couple Recruits

From a few days ago, an article in the Laramie Boomerang (which, in case you are wondering, is Laramie's voice since 1881) has an article on a couple of guys that were also being recruited by Northern Colorado.

Jason McNamaren from Torrington, WY, and Josh Adams from Parker, CO, both committed to play for Larry Shyatt and the Cowboys.

McManamen averaged 15.7 points and 9.9 rebounds last season in leading the Trailblazers to an overall record of 25-5 and a third-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament.

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McManamen also talked to Northern Colorado and Montana during the recruiting process.

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Adams was the sixth man at Chaparral as a sophomore before becoming a starter last season. He averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season in helping the Wolverines to an overall record of 15-11.

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Adams also was being recruited by Northern Colorado, Portland, Boston College, Hawaii and South Dakota.