I'm curious how guys like Mslacat and others that have seen more of the Men's team think about these grades.
http://missoulian.com/college/griz/article_6258f670-1235-11e0-b01b-001cc4c002e0.html
http://missoulian.com/college/griz/article_6258f670-1235-11e0-b01b-001cc4c002e0.html
There's little time for Big Sky Conference men's basketball teams to digest those Christmas fruit cakes.
They get back to work this week when league play begins.
The Montana Grizzlies will jump right into the fray against the two teams that were predicted to finish ahead of them in the preseason coaches poll: Northern Arizona (Wednesday) and Weber State (Friday). Both games begin at 1 p.m.
First, though, it's time to hand out the Grizzlies' mid-term grades.
Coaching: A.
The grade is easily justified.
Wayne Tinkle, and his staff of Bill Evans, Andy Hill and Freddie Owens, had the Griz prepared well for their contest at UCLA despite just one day off between games. Their zone defense totally flummoxed UCLA in a 66-57 win and UCLA coach Ben Howland admitted afterward that his team wasn't prepared. That's the same coach who has taken the Bruins to the Final Four twice in recent years.
Example two is Tinkle's one-on-one work with senior center Brian Qvale. Qvale had a sub-par offensive showing in a two-point overtime loss at San Francisco. The Dons' zone defense collapsed on Montana's big man.
When the Griz returned home, Tinkle - one of Montana's top big men ever - and Qvale watched film by themselves. Tinkle showed Qvale ways to beat the zone by "hiding out" behind it. The next time out Qvale had career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds.
Guard play: B.
It's tough to grade the Griz backcourt down with the MVP-type numbers sophomore point guard Will Cherry is putting up. Individually, Cherry would get an A+.
But Montana's most glaring need right now is more consistent play at the two guard. Jordan Wood is still making the transition to Division I and has shown he can defend at this level. Now either he or Shawn Stockton have to show they can hold their own offensively.
Frontcourt: B.
The only thing standing in the way of an A is consistency.
Qvale is one of the top big men in the West, if not the country. He's ninth in the nation in both field goal percentage (63.0) and blocked shots (3.4 per game). While his defense is there night in and night out, he had three single-digit scoring games in the Grizzlies' last five.
Junior 7-footer Derek Selvig has shown flashes of brilliance with his all-around game but he has lacked consistency.
Freshman small forward Kareem Jamar has developed into the Grizzlies' best deep threat and has rebounded well from the three spot. And junior college transfer Art Steward was a revelation, scoring 24 points in the Grizzlies' win over Cal State Fullerton last week.
Overall: B+.
The last time the Griz beat two Pac-10 teams in the same season was in 1992, Blaine Taylor's first year at the helm. That team finished 27-4 after a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Montana's wins over UCLA and Oregon State certainly got the attention of the rest of the Big Sky. But the preseason could have been even better if not for a four-point home loss to Portland and a two-point road loss at San Francisco.
If the Grizzlies' youngsters continue to progress, the team could end up with a higher grade by season's end.
Here's a quick look around the rest of the Big Sky:
Who's the Big Sky favorite now?
Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks were already making a case for themselves with a seven-game win streak during the nonconference season. When reigning Big Sky MVP Damian Lillard of Weber State went down with a season-ending foot injury, that cemented the Jacks as the team to beat.
There's a lot to like, starting with senior guard Cam Jones, a leading contender for MVP honors. The Jacks have their usual stable of 3-point shooters in Gabe Rodgers and Eric Platt, and an extremely efficient big man in Shane Johannsen, who is shooting a remarkable 76 percent from the field.
Should the Jacks win the regular season, they're going to have to find a place to hold the tournament. The Skydome is closed for repairs; NAU will play its home games in Rolle Activity Center this season. One option might be Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott, where the Jacks played a game earlier this season.
Who are the contenders?
Montana. The Grizzlies' first two weeks of league play will go a long way toward determining whether they are contenders or pretenders. Their first three games are against Northern Arizona, Weber State and Northern Colorado, teams that were all picked between first and fourth by the coaches (the Griz were picked third).
Northern Colorado. The Bears are brimming with confidence after the most successful season in school history. Devon Beitzel is a deadly 3-point threat, Chris Kaba can slash to the rim and Neal Kingman is a capable big man.
Darkhorse
Weber State. Calling the Wildcats a darkhorse might be underestimating the two-time defending regular-season champs.
Weber will be without arguably the league's best player in Lillard, but the Wildcats still have Kyle Bullinger and Lindsey Hughey, and newcomer Scott Bamforth hits better than 50 percent of his 3-pointers. Randy Rahe will coach them up and have them in the thick of the fray.
No chance to dance
Portland State. It's not that the Vikings aren't any good, it's that the program isn't eligible for postseason play because of academic deficiencies.
In fact, the Vikings have had a respectable nonconference season while waiting for senior Phil Nelson's return from an injury, which could come this week. The Vikings might not be able to dance themselves, but they'll have a say in who does.
You could add Sacramento State to this category, but for completely different reasons.
Players to watch
Cameron Jones, Northern Arizona. With Lillard sidelined, Jones is the league's leading scorer (17.7 ppg) heading into league play. Not a great 3-point threat, Jones is most dangerous off the bounce.
Devon Beitzel, Northern Colorado. A 44 percent 3-point shooter last season, Beitzel has struggled from deep so far this season, but it hasn't affected his free throw shooting, where he ranks third in the nation at 96.2 percent.
Bobby Howard, Montana State. The senior forward is fourth in the league in scoring (15.8), fifth in rebounding (6.9) and first in taunts received from Griz fans.
Broderick Gilchrest, Idaho State. The senior guard is tied for fourth in the league in scoring (15.8) and will have to carry the load for an ISU that seems to lack punch.
Chris Harriel, Portland State. With Nelson sidelined, the 6-4 sophomore guard has emerged as the Vikings leading scorer at 14.9 ppg.
Glen Dean, Eastern Washington. Last season's Freshman of the Year has played just four games since returning from an injury, but he's averaging 14.3 ppg.
Sultan Toles-Bey, Sacramento State. Somebody needs to score for the Hornets and it appears that will be the 5-10 senior guard, who had 21 points in a loss at Oklahoma.
Lindsey Hughey, Weber State. With Lillard out for the season, the 6-3 senior guard will have to step up his production. He leads the active players in scoring at 11.3 a game.
Brian Qvale, Montana. The 6-11 senior center ranks ninth in the nation in blocked shots (3.4) and ninth in field goal percentage (63.0).
Will Cherry, Montana. The sophomore point guard is a stat-sheet stuffer, averaging 16.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 steals a game, tops in the nation.
