Late last week, Montana State head coach Brian Fish received a phone call from a Southern Eastern Conference head coach who Fish has been friends with for years. His message affirmed to Fish that patience, especially early, is the key to building a program.
“He said, ‘Coach, you are young so remember, you have to learn how to practice first before you learn how to play,” Fish said following Thursday’s practice with his team’s November 3 opener 10 days away. “That sums it up. We are learning how to practice right now. That’s what it takes. I know it’s Year 2 but it’s really Year 1 in building a program. Guys are starting to come to the forefront and seeing where it’s helping them and we are seeing it in their play.”
MSU head coach Brian Fish addresses the ‘Gold team’ in practice. Clockwise from Fish:Tyler Hall, Zach Green, Shy Blake, Danny Robison, Marcus Colbert
Fish took over as Montana State’s head coach last April. He had to scramble to assemble a roster because of the late timing of his hiring. Without much returning fire power from a team that had finished fourth in the Big Sky Conference two years ago, the Bobcats posted a 7-23 record in Fish’s first year as a head coach.
In the off-season, Fish went to work reassembling his roster. He cut senior guard Terrell Brown, freshman center Bradley Fisher and freshman point guard Joey Frenchwood. MSU saw Eric Norman, Blake Brumwell and Michael Dison graduate. The Bobcats return just senior point guard Marcus Colbert, senior forward Danny Robison, junior shooting guard Stephan Holm, sophomore wing Zach Green and sophomore forward Quinn Price from last year’s squad.
Fish signed eight players, including five from the junior college ranks: guards Nahjee Matlock and Quinton Everrett, forward Sarp Gobeloglu and posts Shy Blake and Tyson Kanseyo. The Bobcats also added prep stars guards Tyler Hall and Mandrell Worthy and forward Sam Neumann.
Everett had surgery on his hand last week and is out indefinitely. Price has not participated in practice in recent weeks due to a knee issue that he will have scoped before the season. Worthy has a bone chip in his knee that has limited his practice time and will likely redshirt. Gobeloglu and Neumann have been in and out of practice due to lingering illness and varying health issues.
MSU forward Sam Neumann defends coach Brandon Lincoln in practice
The sum result has been a short-handed team during the first couple weeks of fall practices. Montana State assistant Brandon Lincoln has become a full-time practice player in recent days. Cooper Olson, a walk-on from Westby, and Dallas Lussier, a former Park High (Livingston) standout, have provided extra bodies for practice.
“I’m a little concerned we aren’t getting up and down, scrimmaging because of sickness and injuries,” Fish said. “Sometimes, you can do some systems half court and you get up and down and they don’t’ look good. I’d like to get some more up and down in and get a better feel for that.”
The other largest factor regardless of health is that Fish must get his new players acclimated to his up-tempo, demanding practices. Fish is a perfectionist with a no-holds-barred coaching style so his patience has been tested at times this fall. Helping a quintet of former junior college players and three freshmen get used to the schedule and demanding regimen has been trying thus far.
“You have to learn that you have to get off the court and get into rehab, learn that you have to ice, learning that you have to prepare, learning you have to eat at the right time before practice so you can get out and perform,” Fish said. “Every day now, we have competition at some positions so if you don’t come ready to play or you are a little tight, you are in trouble and you might fall on the depth chart.”
“It’s almost night and day. You might play a 32-game junior college schedule and play against five guys, five games where the guy is good or better than you and the other 25 if you just show up, you’re the man. If you look at our schedule, 11 of the first 12 games we play, they are going to be better than you so you better be skilled, you better be able to execute the offense and the system to off-set some of the abilities they have.”
MSU head coach Brian Fish coaching an in-bounds play to Tyler Hall
The MSU coaching staff is experimenting with an array of lineups leading up to Tuesday’s opener against Northwest Indian College at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The rest of MSU’s non-conference schedule includes a trip to Hawaii for a tournament (Hawaii-Hilo, Hawaii and Nevada will be there); a home and home with San Jose State, a home and home with Wyoming, a trip to Utah Valley, a home date against Nebraska-Omaha and a road trip that begins at SJSU and finishes with stops at North Dakota State, Buffalo and Syracuse. The Bobcats open Big Sky Conference play on New Year’s Eve in Cedar City against Southern Utah.
“I think the roles with this group will evolve as the year goes on,” Fish said. “It would not shock me if our opening starting lineup on November 13 (Hawaii) is not even close to what it is come March 8.”
Fish wants to employ a lineup that features two guards who can handle the ball with equal prevalence and a third guard who can attack and score from the wing, he said. He wants to play a four-man who can stretch the floor and a post player.
Thus far, the 5-foot-11 Colbert, the 5-foot-11 Matlock and the 6-foot-4 Hall have been the primary ball handlers. Fish said all three could play together. The 6-foot-4 Everett and the 6-foot-4 Green are the top candidates to play the slashing wing position while Hall could also see time when he’s not running the point. The stretch four spot will be occupied by Robison, a 6-foot-8 Billings West product, and the 6-foot-6 Neumann until Gobeloglu is back healthy. The 6-foot-9 athletic yet raw Kanseyo and the bullish yet unpolished 6-foot-7 Blake will man the post position.
MSU guards Steph Holm (left) and Nahjee Matlock (right) play the top of a 2-3 zone
Regardless of who plays where, the Bobcats will put a priority of playing fast and getting up and down in transition.
“Last year, we got zero transition points in the paint,” Fish said. “Last year, I thought our offense gave us open looks and the execution was very good. But you can’t count on that constantly to be your scoring. You have to score on the break.”
A season ago, Montana State posted a 4-14 Big Sky Conference record. MSU lost 14 of 15 games during a single stretch as MSU seemed to be over-matched physically night in and night out.
Fish believes he has upgraded his team’s athleticism, pointing to the fact that last season he had several players with high body fat percentages and now boasts a roster with no one with more than eight percent body fat. He likes the size he’s added in the front court to take over for the lithe Norman and the vertically challenged 6-foot-5 Brumwell. Fish thinks Hall is a star in the making that could be a contributor right away. He praises Green’s improved confidence and physical improvements. Fish likes Colbert and Robison’s leadership. Now the Bobcats need everyone to catch up to the Division I game in a hurry.
“We are asking them to do things they’ve never done before,” Fish said. “They’ve always been THE guy. THE guy can do what he wants and be good. They can’t do that now. They have to buy in and do what we ask them. We need it now.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
