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Unique Lack of Star Power in BigSky this year?

No Star Power in BSC this year?

  • Yes

    Votes: 3 60.0%
  • No

    Votes: 3 60.0%

  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .

CleanHOUSE

Well-known member
I have just been noticing it seems like there are not as many stars/big name guys who are the face of their team this year...guys that scare you and require you game plan around them. Maybe it just feels that way because the Griz have not had a go to guy the last few years, but looking around the league it just doesn't seem like there are a lot of guys who can put up 20 against anybody much less average 20...maybe thats why the league has been getting hammered by bigger conferences cause there are not a lot of guys who can get theirs even when stepping up in competition.

So I guess my question is the BigSky especially lacking in star power this year? Where are the stand out/Stars. A few years ago it seemed like 50% of the teams/the top half of the conference had A GUY/A stud who could carry his respective team and could put up 19-20pts on a nightly basis i.e....
Weber (Lillard, Bolomboy, Jermy Senglin, Jerick Harding)
Montana (Ever since Cherry we've had a guy)
Montana St. (Tyler Hall, Harold Frey)
EWU (4 of last 5 BigSky MVPs)
Portland State (Holland Woods)
UNC (Jordan Davis, Andre Spieght, Bodie Hume)

This year it just seems like the other teams are like the Griz and the sort of have a Default "the guy" someone who is slightly the best player who ends up averaging (a Pedestrian) 13-16pts per game based mostly on volume rather than scoring talent.
Right now in BigSky there are only 4 teams with guys averaging more than 17 which I would grant is better than pedestrian and indicates some consistent explosive ability.
UNC-Daylen Kountz Sr. (18.7 ppg) Transfer from Colorado
NAU-Jalen Cone Soph. (17.8 ppg) Transfer from Virginia Tech
WSU-Koby McEwen Sr. (17.5 ppg) Transfer from Marquette/Utah St.
EWU-Steel Venters Fr. (17.3) Of course EWU has a home grown Frosh challenging for top scorer in Conf
REST OF CONFERENCE
Idaho-Mikey Dixon Sr. (16.3 ppg) Transfer from GCU/SJU/QUIN
Sac St.-Bryce Folwer Sr. (16.3 ppg)
SUU-John Knight Sr. (15.4 ppg) Tranfer from Utah St.
Jubrilo Bello Jr. (13.7 ppg)
PSU-James Jean Sr. (12.9 ppg) Transfer from USD/HAW
UM-Josh Bannan Soph. (12.3 ppg)
ISU-Robert Ford Jr. (10.9 ppg)

Yes I am only looking at scoring so the angle I'm looking from is shallow...let me know if there are some true stars I am overlooking or undervaluing.
 
CleanHOUSE said:
I have just been noticing it seems like there are not as many stars/big name guys who are the face of their team this year...guys that scare you and require you game plan around them. Maybe it just feels that way because the Griz have not had a go to guy the last few years, but looking around the league it just doesn't seem like there are a lot of guys who can put up 20 against anybody much less average 20...maybe thats why the league has been getting hammered by bigger conferences cause there are not a lot of guys who can get theirs even when stepping up in competition.

So I guess my question is the BigSky especially lacking in star power this year? Where are the stand out/Stars. A few years ago it seemed like 50% of the teams/the top half of the conference had A GUY/A stud who could carry his respective team and could put up 19-20pts on a nightly basis i.e....
Weber (Lillard, Bolomboy, Jermy Senglin, Jerick Harding)
Montana (Ever since Cherry we've had a guy)
Montana St. (Tyler Hall, Harold Frey)
EWU (4 of last 5 BigSky MVPs)
Portland State (Holland Woods)
UNC (Jordan Davis, Andre Spieght, Bodie Hume)

This year it just seems like the other teams are like the Griz and the sort of have a Default "the guy" someone who is slightly the best player who ends up averaging (a Pedestrian) 13-16pts per game based mostly on volume rather than scoring talent.
Right now in BigSky there are only 4 teams with guys averaging more than 17 which I would grant is better than pedestrian and indicates some consistent explosive ability.
UNC-Daylen Kountz Sr. (18.7 ppg) Transfer from Colorado
NAU-Jalen Cone Soph. (17.8 ppg) Transfer from Virginia Tech
WSU-Koby McEwen Sr. (17.5 ppg) Transfer from Marquette/Utah St.
EWU-Steel Venters Fr. (17.3) Of course EWU has a home grown Frosh challenging for top scorer in Conf
REST OF CONFERENCE
Idaho-Mikey Dixon Sr. (16.3 ppg) Transfer from GCU/SJU/QUIN
Sac St.-Bryce Folwer Sr. (16.3 ppg)
SUU-John Knight Sr. (15.4 ppg) Tranfer from Utah St.
Jubrilo Bello Jr. (13.7 ppg)
PSU-James Jean Sr. (12.9 ppg) Transfer from USD/HAW
UM-Josh Bannan Soph. (12.3 ppg)
ISU-Robert Ford Jr. (10.9 ppg)

Yes I am only looking at scoring so the angle I'm looking from is shallow...let me know if there are some true stars I am overlooking or undervaluing.

Dillon Jones, WSU, by far the best "player" in the league.....13.4 pts, 10.5 rbs per game...plus every hustle play in every game.....
 
From an analytics standpoint, here are what some sites list as the best Big Sky players this year.

Barttorvik.com (D-1 games only)
1. Kountz - UNC
2. Jones - WSU
3. Acliese – EWU
4. Johnson – UNC
5. Dixon – UI
6. Fowler – Sac
7. McEwen – WSU
8. Bergensen – EWU
9. Fausett – SUU
10. Venters – EWU
11. Cone – NAU
12. Parker – Mont
13. Belo - MSU
14. Kuxhausen – UNC
15. Knight - SUU

Player Efficiency Rating (PER – All games played)
1. Belo
2. Acliese
3. Jones
4. Fowler
5. Kountz
6. Parker
7. Bannan - Mont
8. Knight
9. McEwen
10. Jean -Marie – PSU

Evan Miya. Com (D-1 games only – minimum 300 possessions played)
1. Knight
2. Parker
3. McEwen
4. Moody – SUU
5. Johnson
6. Hume – UNC
7. Jones
8. Belo
9. Jawara – WSU
10. Jongkuch – UNC
11. Spurgin - SUU
12. Fausett – SUU
13. Bergensen
14. Bishop – MSU
15. Kountz


Players on all 3 lists
1. Kountz
2. Jones
3. McEwen
4. Parker
5. Belo
6. Knight

So while you hit on most of the players just with scoring, if you really excel at another facet(s) of the game, the overall performance can move you ahead of people that primarily score.

For example, my personal opinion is that Dillon Jones is the MVP of the conference. He is averaging 13.4p/10.5r and is an absolute beast. So while his scoring numbers aren’t quite as high as the others you mentioned he is amongst the conference leaders in many different categories including leading the conference in rebounds.

I think some of the others suffer in some of these ranks based on how poorly their teams are playing. Sac St, ISU, Idaho and NAU are amongst the worst in D-1 basketball.

Venters is listed as a Freshman, but this is actually his 3rd year in the program. He redshirted a year and got the Covid year. This is one of my pet peeves about college rosters this year is that there is no uniformity. Bannan is listed as a sophomore for example, but if he played for EWU he would be listed as a freshman.
 
Very interesting to see the analytical breakdown of the players in BigSky thanks for that.
I would also agree with Parker being our best player...I think he is our only player that can get his in some way against anybody. Maybe a hot take but I think his passing is overrate and his scoring skills are way underrated. I think he is actually has the best dribble drive on the team...great positioning and body control and patience he gets his shot up and finishes better than anyone on the team. Also pretty good from 3pts (super low slow release and requires being wide open though unfortunately)
 
I prefer high school recruits. They can blossom. Look at Kysko and Micheal Ray from days gone by. And any number of players since.

Our problem this year is that a key class--the Owens, Vazquez, DCH one--has not really blossomed. All are capable of big nights, but all have been inconsistent. At a time we might have expected a bona-fide all-Big Sky player from that class, we simply don 't have one.

Meantime the next class of Bannan, Beasley and Whitney looks like they're developing nicely, while the following class of Braggs, Solomon, Wetzel and Kriegmont remains a complete mystery.

I do like the prospects in the current high school class--Rhett Reynolds, Jaxon Nap and Isaiah Kerr. Jaxon Nap immediately makes the national All-Name team.

Kids are like screwballs. You don't know how they're going to break. We need a few more to break over the heart of the plate.
 
sacstateman said:
CleanHOUSE said:
I have just been noticing it seems like there are not as many stars/big name guys who are the face of their team this year...guys that scare you and require you game plan around them. Maybe it just feels that way because the Griz have not had a go to guy the last few years, but looking around the league it just doesn't seem like there are a lot of guys who can put up 20 against anybody much less average 20...maybe thats why the league has been getting hammered by bigger conferences cause there are not a lot of guys who can get theirs even when stepping up in competition.

So I guess my question is the BigSky especially lacking in star power this year? Where are the stand out/Stars. A few years ago it seemed like 50% of the teams/the top half of the conference had A GUY/A stud who could carry his respective team and could put up 19-20pts on a nightly basis i.e....
Weber (Lillard, Bolomboy, Jermy Senglin, Jerick Harding)
Montana (Ever since Cherry we've had a guy)
Montana St. (Tyler Hall, Harold Frey)
EWU (4 of last 5 BigSky MVPs)
Portland State (Holland Woods)
UNC (Jordan Davis, Andre Spieght, Bodie Hume)

This year it just seems like the other teams are like the Griz and the sort of have a Default "the guy" someone who is slightly the best player who ends up averaging (a Pedestrian) 13-16pts per game based mostly on volume rather than scoring talent.
Right now in BigSky there are only 4 teams with guys averaging more than 17 which I would grant is better than pedestrian and indicates some consistent explosive ability.
UNC-Daylen Kountz Sr. (18.7 ppg) Transfer from Colorado
NAU-Jalen Cone Soph. (17.8 ppg) Transfer from Virginia Tech
WSU-Koby McEwen Sr. (17.5 ppg) Transfer from Marquette/Utah St.
EWU-Steel Venters Fr. (17.3) Of course EWU has a home grown Frosh challenging for top scorer in Conf
REST OF CONFERENCE
Idaho-Mikey Dixon Sr. (16.3 ppg) Transfer from GCU/SJU/QUIN
Sac St.-Bryce Folwer Sr. (16.3 ppg)
SUU-John Knight Sr. (15.4 ppg) Tranfer from Utah St.
Jubrilo Bello Jr. (13.7 ppg)
PSU-James Jean Sr. (12.9 ppg) Transfer from USD/HAW
UM-Josh Bannan Soph. (12.3 ppg)
ISU-Robert Ford Jr. (10.9 ppg)

Yes I am only looking at scoring so the angle I'm looking from is shallow...let me know if there are some true stars I am overlooking or undervaluing.

Dillon Jones, WSU, by far the best "player" in the league.....13.4 pts, 10.5 rbs per game...plus every hustle play in every game.....

Yes, can't overlook how good he is. You didn't mention he brings lockdown D and can guard anyone in the league on top of that. Did it all vs the Griz the other night.
 
I'll add that I think Bannan is getting a bit overlooked in the discussion. Versus Weber when they finally got the O on track they were getting him the ball down low and he was using post moves or kicking it back out quickly. Result was better spacing and perimeter guys reversing the ball for open looks at 3 and the whole O started clicking with some inside/out action. Agree with the prior point that Parker is really the only perimeter guy that can get by a defender off the dribble to make things happen. So if Parker or Bannan aren't on the floor the ball gets dribbled and passed around the 3 point line until the shot clock winds down and they end up with a less than optimum shot. As we were discussing this in Weber half two the Griz had a possession where the ball never got inside the arc the whole time. No spacing, makes them easy to defend and tough for the good guys to get points. Plus his stats save for a slightly less FT% have markedly improved. He and Parker are the catalysts on O for better or worse, hopefully people around the league will notice come time to recognize all Conference squads.
 
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