Harald Frey has incrementally transformed from a boyish looking high-risk recruit from an under-recruited country into one of the most feared point guards in the Big Sky Conference.
The junior from Oslo, Norway came to Montana State with a resume a mile long. He started playing in Norway’s top league when he was 15 years old. But he arrived on MSU’s campus three years ago looking like a pre-teen.
Still, that skill helped him earn Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors. Last season, he took the next step, earning all-conference accolades.
But this year, Frey’s skills have transformed him into a fierce, versatile player who demands as much respect as any player in the Big Sky.
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5)/by Brooks Nuanez
“Tyler Hall is their star and he’s one of the best shot makers in the history of this league,” Northern Colorado head coach Jeff Linder said following his team’s 73-70 win in Bozeman over MSU. “But Frey is Montana State’s most important player. He is absolutely the straw that stirs the drink. If you don’t slow him down, you will not beat them.”
Linder’s squad has held Frey to nine points in each of the matchups between the two teams. The rest of the conference has not been so lucky.
The southpaw is averaging 19.7 points and nearly six assists per game against the rest of the conference. Since finding a new zone in a 104-82 win over Idaho State — Frey hit four straight heat-check 3-pointers, six triples overall and tied a career-high with 31 points — Frey has been arguably the most unguarable pure point guard in the Big Sky.
“I think the Frey kid is just terrific,” Weber State head coach Randy Rahe said leading up to his team allowing Frey to hit five 3-pointers and score 25 points in WSU’s 94-82 win over the Bobcats. “He has tremendous pace, he can shoot it at all three levels, he’s fearless, he’s a great leader and he’s competitive as hell.”
As Montana State prepares to play at Montana on Saturday night in Missoula, Frey will have a chance to prove himself against one of the top backcourts the league has seen. He will be matched up with Ahmaad Rorie, a strapped former Oregon transfer who is one of the most physically strong and fit guards in the league. Frey will also draw attention from Griz slashing shooting guard Michael Oguine, one of the conference’s most spectacular pure athletes of all time.
If not for an 0-of-4 performance from deep in MSU’s first showdown with the rival Grizzlies — Frey still finished with 15 points and 10 assists — the Bobcats might’ve had the upper hand this year. Montana State lost that game 83-78.
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5)/by Brooks Nuanez
“If he makes two 3-pointers, we are talking about one of the great games in the history of (Worthington) Arena),” Montana State head coach Brian Fish said earlier this season. “He was that good.”
Since that game, Frey has averaged 21 points and six assists, dishing out eight against Eastern Washington and eight more against Idaho. More importantly, he’s picked his spots scoring down the stretch, scoring the majority of his points in the final 10 minutes of each game.
That’s led to Montana State’s recent surge. MSU fell at Weber State on Saturday, but that snapped a four-game winning streak. MSU enters the rivalry game with a 9-6 record in Big Sky play and an inside track on a first-round bye in next month’s Big Sky Tournament in Boise.
“Harry is playing as good as anybody in the league for sure,” MSU senior forward Sam Neumann said. “He’s shooting lights out, getting to the rim. His free throws help him get going. As long as he stays aggressive, we expect more of the same.”
The first time Skyline Sports attended a Montana State practice involving Frey, the then-150-pounder was beyond skilled, rarely missing during shooting workouts. But he struggled the first half of his freshman year.
“Expectations were lower because he’s coming from overseas,” Fish said on Wednesday. “That first 10 games, he was practicing well but it wasn’t showing up in games.
“We knew it was coming, coming, coming. Then it started to show. Now it’s been that way. He’s having a fabulous career. I think he’s easily the best point guard in the league night in and night out because of how competitive he is, how he gets everybody involved. He’s extremely important to our team.”
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5) finishes over Idaho guard Trevon Allen (25)/by Brooks Nuanez
Frey averaged 12.7 points per game and ranked eighth in in the league with 3.4 assists per contest his rookie year. He was the third-fastest Bobcat to 300 career points.
Last season against Southern Utah, Frey notched his first 30-point game. From that point on though, he struggled to shoot the ball. He finished his sophomore year shooting 41 percent in conference play from the floor, 35.2 percent from beyond the arc and just 66.2 percent from the free throw line.
Over the summer, Frey once again found his shooting stroke and his confidence. He played for his country in the FIBA European World Championships. He played on the ball and off the ball, honing his skills to the point of being able to enforce his will against his competition, many of them grown men.
“I have been playing with those guys for a long time and they are men,” Frey said in an interview before his junior season. “They are professional basketball players who play at a high level. The physicality it requires, they bring it every single day. One day is not enough to be good at basketball. I think it’s a good reminder.”
Because of his newfound ability to play off the ball — “I don’t look at myself as only a 1, only a 2, more of just a basketball player,” Frey says — Fish brought in junior college point guard Russell Daniels. He experimented with playing Daniels at the point and Frey off the ball in the pre-season.
“You watch the NBA game and it’s all pick and roll the last few years, the popping around of the basketball continues to get better,” Fish said. “We have tried to pick up our pace a little bit. And when you put the shooters we can put on the floor out there, the ball is moving better.”
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5) finishes against Weber State forward Michael Kozak (11)/by Brooks Nuanez
Frey and the Bobcats struggled through a brutal non-conference where the spent more than 55 days between home games. Before the non-conference finale, Frey was averaging 9.7 points per game.
Then in Montana State’s trademark 95-90 win over Washington State, Frey had the best game of his career. He hit six 3-pointers, went 9-of-12 at the free throw line, scored 31 points and dished out 10 assists.
“That’s pretty much impossible to do in a 40-minute college game,” Fish said after the win.
Since that opening slump, Frey has averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 assists, competitive numbers with any point guard this side of Ja Morant. He currently ranks in the top 10 in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. And his ability to dictate the tempo of the game, especially with his newfound size (185 pounds), Frey is carving out a spot on one of the top two Big Sky all-conference teams in a league flush with talented, veteran guards.
“He’s one of those cerebral guys so with Harry, you can coach him but you better bring the truth to him or he will buck you,” Fish said. “He’ll understand what you are trying to do. He’ll hit you with questions. So he’s not a guy who’s not just a blind soldier. He’s a guy who challenges the staff, he challenges our players to have the stuff make sense. That’s what makes him so enjoyable to coach.”
Frey is currently averaging 18.3 points and 5.1 assists per game, shooting 46.4 percent from the floor, 42 percent from deep and 80 percent from the free throw line. That has Montana State poised to make some noise in the postseason for the first time in more than a decade.
Montana State guard Harald Frey (5)/by Brooks Nuanez
“First of all, I think he’s gotten better every year,” Fish said. “All players can’t say that. He’s attacked it from different ways. His free throws are up. His shooting percentage is very good. His studying of the game is at a high level. He shoots every day at 9:30 in the morning to get extra shots in. His fitness, his attention to detail, his commitment to the game are all starting to come together and it has him playing at a really high level.”
“I’ve been blessed to be around some guys who can shoot it and Harry certainly puts the work in as much as anybody”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
