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BIG SKY MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL:
- Montana
- Montana State
- Northern Colorado
- Weber State
- Northern Arizona
- Portland State
- Idaho
- Idaho State
- Eastern Washington
- Sacramento State
BIG SKY MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA POLL:
- Montana State
- Montana
- Weber State
- Northern Colorado
- Northern Arizona
- Eastern Washington
- Portland State
- Idaho State
- Idaho
- Sacramento State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL BIG-SKY TEAM:
-Trent McLaughlin – Northern Arizona
-Brian Goracke – Montana State
-Brandon Whitney – Montana
-Miguel Tomley – Weber State
-Brandon Walker – Montana State
-Julius Mims – Idaho
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Montana managed 25 total wins last year and are the preseason favorites (at least amongst the coaches) despite having just one regular starter back. They do have some solid grad transfers coming in as well as some guys that saw minutes off the bench. Brandon Whitney is a solid guard, and Money Williams is back in the lineup after missing all of conference play due to an injury. So, the Grizz have some pieces.
-Montana State was a modest 9-9 in Big Sky play last year, but expectations are higher this year with three returning starters and some other key additions to the roster. Montana State did win the Big Sky Tournament last year, so it makes sense they would be expected to carry that momentum into this season.
I like the next two teams better than the first two teams…
-Northern Colorado did kind of taper off in the last couple weeks of the season last year, but they still have a good year overall and with three starters back I would think they would be picked as one of the favorites to win the league. Jaron Rillie is a solid and experienced guard, Brock Wisne is a strong player in the frontcourt, and Taeshaud Jackson II actually averaged a double-double last season. This team has some solid pieces and I actually think they are one of the teams to beat.
-Weber State really caught fire in the second half of conference play last year. They did lose their first conference tournament game, but they were 8-2 in their last ten regular season games. With three starters back this year, this is another team that can make some noise in the league. Miguel Tomley, who was a standout player at Idaho State last year, also transfers in and joins the roster. So, this is a team with experienced players that can produce. I would not be shocked to see them win the league this year either.
-Northern Arizona returns four of their top-five scorers and perhaps returns more of their key pieces than anyone else in the league. Having said that, they won just 14 total games last year and finished 7th in the conference, so while that experience may result in a few more wins this year, I do not see them finishing much higher than the middle.
-Portland State struggled last year and with just one starter back those struggles will likely continue into this year. They did win 17 total games, which was an improvement over the previous 3 years, but it will be hard to keep building on that now that they have had to overhaul their roster.
-Idaho has just been so bad for so long. But, slowly (albeit VERY slowly) they may be showing signs of getting better. They won 11 total games a year ago, and while they were just 9th in the conference, they did manage 5 total conference wins. Three starters are back, Julius Mims is a solid forward who can score and go to the glass, and they may be able to continue to build on that win total and finish a little higher in the standings this year.
-Idaho State had an unspectacular 14-20 season last year and with four starters gone they are tasked with rebuilding. Or…perhaps just building, I suppose. They do have some guys transferring in that were standout players at non-D-1 schools, so if they can step up then this team should win at least a few games.
-It seems a little crazy seeing Eastern Washington this low in the preseason polls, especially since they have won 20+ games each of the last two years and were the 1st place team a year ago. The problem is that most of last year’s team, including the coach, is now at Washington State. Dan Monson takes over as head coach, and he had a nice run at Long Beach State. I do think he can get this program back to the top of the conference if he is given a little bit of time…but not this year.
-Michael Czepil takes over as head coach at Sacramento State. They were the last place team a year ago and are not expected to do much better this year. They do not have a lot of guys who have experience as solid contributors at the D-1 level.