Brian Fish wants to get this one right.
Montana State’s head basketball coach is entering his fourth season at the helm for the Bobcats, one filled with potential with the return of unanimous first-team All-Big Sky shooting guard Tyler Hall and point guard Harald Frey, last season’s Big Sky Freshman of the Year, leading a group that loses just one player from a team that won 11 Big Sky Conference games last season.
Fish has already signed a player he feels has the potential to at least make a run at the league’s top freshman honor next winter in Portland product Isaac Bonton. If the 6-foot-2 combo guard from Parkrose High can fulfill his potential, he could help Fish become the first coach in league history to recruit three straight top freshman. Hall won the award two years ago before rising during a sophomore season that saw him become one of the elite scorers in Division I.
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Bonton and 6-foot-11 Texas big man Luke Schultz both signed with Montana State during the early signing period in the fall. They take over the scholarships vacated by seniors Sarp Gobeloglu and Quinton Everett. This off-season, Mandrell Worthy announced his intention to transfer from MSU and was granted his release after two years playing for Fish, opening up the scholarship Fish is now using to search for the right piece for his team.
Tuesday, the latest potential future Bobcat was on Montana State’s campus. Lassi Nikkarinen, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Helsinki, Finland, visited MSU. He played 30 minutes of pick-up ball with most of the Bobcats’ main returners. The smooth-shooting right-hander showed good pace, solid ball handling and surprising physicality during the session, hitting a collection of open shots and holding his own defensively.
Nikkarinen also holds offers from Hofstra, Niagara and Appalachian State. He also received an offer from Big Sky member Northern Colorado but has informed the Bears that they did not make his top three schools.
Last season playing for the Helsinki Basketball Academy in Finland’s 1st Division I league, Nikkarinen averaged 13.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Nikkarinen’s father, Eero, is a well-respected basketball coach who has won national titles at both the professional and junior levels in Finland.
Following dinner on Monday night and the pick up game session Tuesday, the Bobcats officially offered Nikkarinen. He will visit Hofstra and Niagara before flying back across the Atlantic later this week.
Fish and his staff have been recruiting Europe hard since losing in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in March. Frey hails from Oslo, Norway. MSU brought Norwegian guard Lars Espe in for an official visit in early April. He worked out with the team but did not have a solid scholarship offer from the Bobcats when he signed with rival Montana weeks later.
Montana State has also hosted Antonio Pilipovic, a 6-foot-6, 209-pound swingman from Germany who has serious interest in MSU. A source close to the program said Pilipovic would sign with Montana State when a solid offer is on the table but Fish and his staff are biding their time in an effort to find the perfect fit for their final scholarship.
Nikkarinen is currently the only prospect with a solid offer from the Bobcats.
Last week, Oregon power forward Kavell Bigby-Williams asked for and was granted permission to explore transferring. The 6-11 London native originally signed with Montana State in 2013 but was a non-qualifier. He went to Gillette (Wyoming) College and earned National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year honors by averaging 19 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks per game.
In the spring of 2016, Bigby-Williams fielded offers from Texas, Arizona State, Utah, San Diego State and others before choosing Oregon in April. In an interview with Skyline Sports, Bigby-Williams said he had “no interest in Montana State or the Big Sky Conference” and that “I only signed there because they were the only school I had.
“I never really wanted to go there,” Bigby-Williams continued in his message. “Before I had bigger schools, I had no intention of going to Montana State either.”
Still, sources confirm that Montana State will pursue the athletic rim protector. Last season, he averaged three points and three rebounds in 10 minutes per game in 37 appearances at Oregon.
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