Grizbballfan14
Well-known member
I apologize for the short essay that follows. I had a lot of thoughts about this season I was having trouble organizing into something more condensed. Read at your own peril.
Up until this point much of the focus leading up to the season has understandably been around the talented youth and the potential this team has going forward. While coach DeCuire and his staff have done a great job at recruiting and building this team for the future, I believe they have also done a good job building it to maximize their potential this season. A big part of this team's success will obviously hinge on the performance of Sayeed Pridgett.
As great as the recent graduating class was, I am personally of the opinion that Sayeed was the best player on the team last year. The identity of the team was largely built around Rorie's ability to pace the offense. I think at times this came into conflict when pridgett was the most efficient player on the court. For that reason I think this team could be just as successful even without the incredibly talented seniors from last year's team.
To say nothing of his solid defense, and the fact that he is a tenacious rebounder, Sayeed Pridgett can do it all offensively. He is an effective post scorer, he can attack the basket, find the soft spot in zones, hit mid range jumpers, he is a good passer and he shoots well from 3. He was already capable of finding and hitting his shots and with the amount of work he put in this offseason, I'm confident he's going to be even better.
We also have guys like Kendal Manuel and Jared Samuelson who both shot above 40% from 3 last season. They can help stretch the court to create space and hit open shots when pridgett draws double teams. They also both shoot above 80% from the free throw line.
To be fair their value goes far beyond shooting. Samuelson has familiarity with how DeCuire wants to play and was a decent contributor the first time around. Despite being at the NAIA level Samuelson has developed a lot the past 2 years and has the skill set necessary to be an effective post player. Keep in mind Bobby Moorehead lined up as the 5 for a good part of last season. I hope having Samuelson might allow Pridgett to play the 3 and operate more as a guard, assuming that Anderson plays significant minutes.
Kendal Manuel's value is probably more obvious. He was the top reserve in the conference and co newcomer of the year last year. He can put the ball on the ground and attack the basket. He is long and athletic and can guard a number of positions. If you need any more proof that Manuel is capable of taking that next step as a starter look up his film from playing with Mozambique in the FIBA Africa world cup qualifiers from a couple of summers ago. He is legit.
When Falls gets healthy we all know he is a great perimeter defender. I'm pretty sure I remember DeCuire saying he was their best on ball defender last year. His pacing isnt as good as rorie's and he has a slightly higher tendency to turn it over, but he is capable of shooting and distributing the ball and his off the ball work on offense is great. Not to mention, in my opinion he was the best player in the game against Michigan last March other than Pridgett.
Mack Anderson was young last year and got limited minutes, but those minutes improved, along with his performance as the season went on. His game against Sac State in the conference tournament was impressive and he has had time to continue developing.
He said last season that he learned a lot from practicing with Akoh. Now we have a new assistant who was brought in to develop our post players and he has Steadman to battle with in practice. I think he will be a serviceable post this year and could even play 20 minutes a game.
Eddy Egun seems like a bigger Michael Oguine to me. He has an incredible amount of pace to go along with his skill and court vision. Spending a year to acclimate to division 1 basketball and DeCuire's system should be a huge benefit.
Freddy Brown may give Sayeed a run for his money when it comes to most improved player this season. He has always had the shooting ability and the skills to be a division 1 basketball player. but where he was lacking was athleticism. This off season he has taken huge strides and looks more explosive and physical.
Yagizhan is sort of the biggest unknown for me. He obviously has the size and skill to play division 1 basketball but it will be interesting to see how he is utilized once he can start playing in December.
If you add in the incoming freshman, and hopefully Naseem Gaskin gets approved to play, I think this team will be formidable come conference time. Our Non-Conference schedule is a daunting task and possibly the most difficult one we've ever had but I think this team welcomes the challenge.
I think the team this year is built well to compliment Pridgett's skill set and hopefully continue the success we've become accustomed to. With all of that said, and I apologize for being long winded, a threepeat would be icing on the cake. I think most fans would agree with me that more important than winning this year is reestablishing and hopefully solidifying the identity and blueprint of what is Grizzly Basketball. This team is incredibly young, but luckily they have a leader like Sayeed Pridgett who has done a great job of including everyone. He has worked really hard to establish the chemistry and family bond that has been pivotal to the success of this basketball team. I think this year is more important than any in laying the foundation for what could be a Montana Grizzly basketball dynasty and I dont think it is a coincidence that it is Sayeed Pridgett's senior season. I expect him to have a great season and I think he will be named player of the year in the Big Sky Conference when it's all over.
Up until this point much of the focus leading up to the season has understandably been around the talented youth and the potential this team has going forward. While coach DeCuire and his staff have done a great job at recruiting and building this team for the future, I believe they have also done a good job building it to maximize their potential this season. A big part of this team's success will obviously hinge on the performance of Sayeed Pridgett.
As great as the recent graduating class was, I am personally of the opinion that Sayeed was the best player on the team last year. The identity of the team was largely built around Rorie's ability to pace the offense. I think at times this came into conflict when pridgett was the most efficient player on the court. For that reason I think this team could be just as successful even without the incredibly talented seniors from last year's team.
To say nothing of his solid defense, and the fact that he is a tenacious rebounder, Sayeed Pridgett can do it all offensively. He is an effective post scorer, he can attack the basket, find the soft spot in zones, hit mid range jumpers, he is a good passer and he shoots well from 3. He was already capable of finding and hitting his shots and with the amount of work he put in this offseason, I'm confident he's going to be even better.
We also have guys like Kendal Manuel and Jared Samuelson who both shot above 40% from 3 last season. They can help stretch the court to create space and hit open shots when pridgett draws double teams. They also both shoot above 80% from the free throw line.
To be fair their value goes far beyond shooting. Samuelson has familiarity with how DeCuire wants to play and was a decent contributor the first time around. Despite being at the NAIA level Samuelson has developed a lot the past 2 years and has the skill set necessary to be an effective post player. Keep in mind Bobby Moorehead lined up as the 5 for a good part of last season. I hope having Samuelson might allow Pridgett to play the 3 and operate more as a guard, assuming that Anderson plays significant minutes.
Kendal Manuel's value is probably more obvious. He was the top reserve in the conference and co newcomer of the year last year. He can put the ball on the ground and attack the basket. He is long and athletic and can guard a number of positions. If you need any more proof that Manuel is capable of taking that next step as a starter look up his film from playing with Mozambique in the FIBA Africa world cup qualifiers from a couple of summers ago. He is legit.
When Falls gets healthy we all know he is a great perimeter defender. I'm pretty sure I remember DeCuire saying he was their best on ball defender last year. His pacing isnt as good as rorie's and he has a slightly higher tendency to turn it over, but he is capable of shooting and distributing the ball and his off the ball work on offense is great. Not to mention, in my opinion he was the best player in the game against Michigan last March other than Pridgett.
Mack Anderson was young last year and got limited minutes, but those minutes improved, along with his performance as the season went on. His game against Sac State in the conference tournament was impressive and he has had time to continue developing.
He said last season that he learned a lot from practicing with Akoh. Now we have a new assistant who was brought in to develop our post players and he has Steadman to battle with in practice. I think he will be a serviceable post this year and could even play 20 minutes a game.
Eddy Egun seems like a bigger Michael Oguine to me. He has an incredible amount of pace to go along with his skill and court vision. Spending a year to acclimate to division 1 basketball and DeCuire's system should be a huge benefit.
Freddy Brown may give Sayeed a run for his money when it comes to most improved player this season. He has always had the shooting ability and the skills to be a division 1 basketball player. but where he was lacking was athleticism. This off season he has taken huge strides and looks more explosive and physical.
Yagizhan is sort of the biggest unknown for me. He obviously has the size and skill to play division 1 basketball but it will be interesting to see how he is utilized once he can start playing in December.
If you add in the incoming freshman, and hopefully Naseem Gaskin gets approved to play, I think this team will be formidable come conference time. Our Non-Conference schedule is a daunting task and possibly the most difficult one we've ever had but I think this team welcomes the challenge.
I think the team this year is built well to compliment Pridgett's skill set and hopefully continue the success we've become accustomed to. With all of that said, and I apologize for being long winded, a threepeat would be icing on the cake. I think most fans would agree with me that more important than winning this year is reestablishing and hopefully solidifying the identity and blueprint of what is Grizzly Basketball. This team is incredibly young, but luckily they have a leader like Sayeed Pridgett who has done a great job of including everyone. He has worked really hard to establish the chemistry and family bond that has been pivotal to the success of this basketball team. I think this year is more important than any in laying the foundation for what could be a Montana Grizzly basketball dynasty and I dont think it is a coincidence that it is Sayeed Pridgett's senior season. I expect him to have a great season and I think he will be named player of the year in the Big Sky Conference when it's all over.
