No head coach in the Big Sky Conference knew what to expect from Montana State in Brian Fish’s second season.
Fish and the Bobcats struggled to find any sort of success in the first-time head coach’s first season. Fish inherited a program built on top-tier junior college talent and did not reload from the JC ranks. Instead, he tried to empower the remaining players from the Brad Huse era while fusing them with his four freshmen recruits, including Zach Green, who is now in the midst of his second season as a starter.
MSU head coach Brian Fish coaching guard Marcus Colbert
Fish threw his first team into the fire right away. The Bobcats began last season with a road trip that included stops at UCLA and Kentucky. The four-game home stand after losing at Rupp Arena by almost 60 to a team with six NBA draft picks was MSU’s best of Fish’s first season. Montana State posted three wins in four games.
Then the losses started piling up. Montana State lost nine straight games. A win against Southern Utah broke the streak but the Bobcats started another five-game skid two nights later.
The Bobcats had a breakthrough, winning at Northern Colorado and North Dakota for the program’s first round sweep in half a decade. But the final mark cut deep inside of Fish. The Bobcats finished 4-14 in Big Sky play, 7-23 overall.
In the off-season, Fish saw three players graduate and he cut ties with four more. He signed eight new players, including Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year Tyler Hall. He also added freshman forward Sam Neumann, an unorthodox player who has carved out a niche as MSU’s best reserve in the front court. The MSU coaching staff added five players from the junior college ranks — Quinton Everett, Sarp Gobeloblu, Nahjee Matlock, Tyson Kanseyo, Shy Blake — a group that has produced mixed results.
MSU forward Zach Green
The Bobcats have been competitive throughout Fish’s second season. Montana State has not been able to find a winning streak of more than three games but MSU has lost four straight just once. MSU is back in the Big Sky Tournament for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. The Bobcats posted a 9-9 mark in Big Sky play to earn the seventh seed in the tournament, a 14-16 record overall. The seven-win improvement marks the second-best in Montana State history.
“I like what’s going on,” Fish said earlier this season. “I never thought one recruiting class would change it. This class that came is my second one but I got here mid-April. To find a guy late like Zach (Green), if he keeps coming along, I think Zach is a home run. Adding Tyler and Sarp and Q (Everett), how they have panned out is good. But this next incoming class is vital to the program.”
Fish’s recruiting ability is tried and true. He served as a primary recruiter for Billy Tubbs at TCU and for Dana Altman at Creighton and Oregon. His ability to rebuild a program and his ability to manage games have drawn rave reviews from his counterparts as his second season comes to an end.
“Brian is really putting his mark on it,” Eastern Washington head coach Jim Hayford said earlier this season. “They play quick, spread the court, run some great offenses very similar to Oregon. He’s recruited the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, no doubt in my mind. They want to run with you, score with you and they put four or five shooters on the court at once. That’s pretty hard to guard.”
With Hall and senior point guard Marcus Colbert spearheading the attack, Montana State has become one of the most lethal, fast-pace teams in the Big Sky. The unbreakable Colbert averages 16.8 points and 5.3 assists per game in his final season. Hall averaged 20.3 points per game in Big Sky play, drilling 68 of his school-record 95 3-pointers against league opponents.
MSU guard Tyler Hall
“I’ve never been associated with a freshman who has hit more key baskets than him,” Fish said. “He’s only 18 years old. Can you imagine when he becomes a man?”
The duo is part of a nine-man rotation that includes just two players natural to the frontcourt — Neumann and senior Danny Robison, although Robison has been hindered by an ailing elbow all season. Montana State’s starting lineup includes Hall, Colbert, Green and Everett, all four guards. The Bobcats have still been able to hang tough on the glass, holding a +2.4 rebounding advantage, including leading the league with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game.
“Coming into the league, I don’t think people knew how good Montana State is,” Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz said earlier this season. Katz’s Hornets play MSU in the first round of the BSC Tournament Tuesday in Reno. “We hadn’t seen their guys. I think they are awfully good. I’m very impressed with what he has done his second year, Brian Fish. They significantly upgraded their talent. With the way they are playing, they are playing very, very hard and committed. I’m very impressed and it’s a dramatic turnaround. “
MSU’s attack is predicated on the penetration of Colbert and the shooting of almost everyone who steps on the floor. The 6-foot-10 Gobeloglu has hit 50 3-pointers off the bench. Hall is shooting 43.8 percent from distance despite taking 217 3s. The Bobcats are shooting 37.8 percent from deep despite leading the league with 769 attempts.
Montana State’s potency was on full display in a 101-58 win over Northern Arizona earlier this season. The Bobcats set a Big Sky record by hitting 25 3-pointers, the second-most in NCAA Division I history.
MSU guard Marcus Colbert
“They are just more confident,” UNC head coach B.J. Hill said days before his team played MSU in Bozeman. “He’s brought in talented kids but they are more confident in him, more confident in the system. When you have a senior point guard who is as good as Marcus Colbert, it makes it awful hard to come up with a defensive game plan. Then you add Hall and they are one of the toughest teams in the league to guard.”
Fish’s passion for the game and his competitive fire are on display, whether Fish is coaching a Tuesday afternoon practice or a Saturday night battle against rival Montana. He demands the utmost effort from his players and galvanizes their competitiveness with a tough love approach. While MSU has experienced a historic turnaround in Fish’s second season, he remains unsatisfied as he enters his first post-season tournament as a head coach.
“I’ve never lost,” Fish said. “I’m not comfortable in the position I’m in. I’ve always worked for head coaches who won. I’m not comfortable in this spot. I relish that the games are important. I want the pressure. I haven’t been on this side of the ball much. I will continue to pour everything I have into this thing until we get it rolling.”
Big Sky men’s basketball schedule
Tuesday March 8
Game 1 — No. 8 Portland State vs. No. 9 Northern Colorado, 12:05
Game 2 — No. 5 North Dakota vs. No. 12 Southern Utah, 2:35 p.m.
Game 3 — No. 7 Montana State vs. No. 10 Sacramento State, 5:35 p.m.
Game 4 — No. 6 Eastern Washington vs. No. 11 Northern Arizona, 8:05
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
