Big Sky Conference men’s basketball preview

Following, in the predicted order of finish, are summaries of all nine Big Sky Conference teams:

(Current records in parentheses)

Portland State (7-5)

Coach: Ken Bone (296-152 overall, 16th year; 38-34 at PSU, 3rd year)

2006-07 record: 19-13 overall; 9-7 Big Sky, 4th

Players to watch: G Deonte Huff, 6-4, 195, Sr. (11.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg); G Jeremiah Dominguez, 5-6, 150, Jr. (11.7 ppg, 3.3 apg; C Scott Morrison, 6-11, 250, Sr. (10.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg).

Outlook: Dominguez, who redshirted last season after transferring from Portland, is developing into one the Big Sky’s best point guards, and Bone has managed to surround him with well-tested veterans, many of whom are fellow transfers. The Vikings boast as much talent as any team in the conference and would seem to have a splendid chance of reclaiming the Big Sky title they last held in 2004-05.

Montana State (5-5)

Coach: Brad Huse (200-84 overall, 10th year; 16-24 at MSU, 2nd year)

2006-07 record: 11-19 overall; 8-8 Big Sky, t-5th

Players to watch: G Carlos Taylor, 6-1, 185, Sr. (17.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg); C Divaldo Mbunga,, 6-9, 240, Jr. (12.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg); G Casey Durham, 6-0, 171, Sr. (10.2 ppg).

Outlook: Huse returns one of the league’s most prolific scorers in Taylor and has added some much-needed muscle on the low blocks in Mbunga, a first-year junior college transfer. Factor in the steady play of Durham and that fact that the Bobcats are as deep as any team in the Big Sky and one can make a strong case for MSU being the team to beat in this year’s conference title race.

Montana (5-6)

Coach: Wayne Tinkle (22-21 overall, 2nd year; same at UM)

2006-07 record: 17-15 overall; 10-6 Big Sky, 3rd

Players to watch: F Jordan Hasquet, 6-9, 245, Jr. (15.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg); G Matt Martin, 6-2, 193, Sr. (11.9 ppg); F/C Andrew Strait, 6-8, 245, Sr. (10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

Outlook: The Grizzlies are expected to challenge for the league title, but they have lost their last four games, including home matchups against Portland and Cal State Fullerton. Hasquet, a returning all-conference performer, continues to impress, but Strait’s numbers are down considerably from last year, and UM’s prospects could hinge on how quickly he gets his game back on track.

Northern Arizona (7-4)

Coach: Mike Adras (136-110 overall, 9th year; same at NAU)

2006-07 record: 18-12 overall; 11-5 Big Sky, t-1st

Players to watch: F Kyle Landry, 6-9, 235, Sr. (15.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg); G Josh Wilson, 6-2, 205, Jr. (10.9 ppg, 6.1 apg); F Ryan McCurdy, 6-9, 230, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 56.9 fg pct)

Outlook: The Lumberjacks boast the best record among Big Sky teams heading into conference play and seemed to have survived the graduation losses of all-league performers Ruben Boykin and Tyrone Bazy quite well. Landry is one of the league’s most versatile players, and Wilson has made major strides at the point. Look for Adras to have his team in the thick of another title race come late February.

Weber State (4-6)

Coach: Randy Rahe (24-18 overall, 2nd year; same at WSU)

2006-07 record: 20-12 overall, 11-5 Big Sky, t-1st

Players to watch: F Arturas Valeika, 6-9, 225, Sr. (11.7 ppg, 8.8 rgp); G Dezmon Harris, 6-1, 175 Sr. (8.4 ppg); G Juan Pablo Silveira, 6-4, 205, Jr. (8.4 ppg)

Outlook: The Wildcats return three starters from last year’s team that won the Big Sky tournament and earned the league’s automatic berth in the NCAAs. In addition, they boast as much depth and balance as any team in the conference, leaving Rahe, the reigning BSC coach of the year, with only one major concern – replacing last year’s conference MVP David Patten.

Northern Colorado (5-5)

Coach: Tad Boyle (9-28 overall, 2nd year; same at UNC)

2006-07 record: 4-24 overall, 2-14 Big Sky, 9th

Players to watch: F Jabril Banks, 6-7, 230, Jr. (14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg); G Will Figures, 5-9, 150, So. (10.8 ppg, 60.0 3pt pct); G Sean Taibi, 6-3, 210, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

Outlook: The Bears struggled mightily in their first season as a member of the Big Sky last year, but Boyle seems to have put down a solid foundation on which to build. Banks, a first-year JC transfer has made an immediate impact on the wing, and Figures is once again proving to be productive off the bench. Look for the Bears to be vastly improved.

Idaho State (2-7)

Coach: Joe O’Brien (15-24 overall, 2nd year; same at ISU)

2006-07 record: 13-17 overall, 8-8 Big Sky, t-5th)

Players to watch: G Matt Stucki, 6-6, 205, So. (12.9 ppg, 2.5 apg); G Amorrow Morgan, 6-5, 210, So. (9.1 ppg); C Lucas Steijn, 6-11, 240, Jr. (8.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg).

Outlook: With only one senior on the roster, the Bengals are woefully young and short on experience. Steijn, who redshirted at Indiana last season, has proven to be a nice recruiting get, but O’Brien desperately needs someone to pick up the perimeter scoring slack left by the graduation loss of two-time all-league shooting guard David Schroeder.

Eastern Washington (5-8)

Coach: Kirk Earlywine (26-16 overall, 2nd year; 5-8 at EWU, 1st year)

2006-07 record: 15-14 overall; 8-8 Big Sky, t-5th

Players to watch: F Kellen Williams, 6-4, 205, Sr. (11.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg); G Adris DeLeon, 5-11, 165, Jr. (11.0 ppg, 3.0 apg); G Trey Gross, 6-2, 175, Fr. (8.5 ppg).

Outlook: Earlywine, in his first year as a Division I head coach, inherited a mess at Eastern but seems to have sold his inexperienced and undermanned team on the importance of defense. Scoring is another matter, however, and will probably continue to be so throughout the year as the Eagles attempt to compensate of the loss of first-round NBA draft pick Rodney Stuckey.

Sacramento State (2-8)

Coach: Jerome Jenkins (78-131 overall, 8th year; same at Sac State)

2006-07 record: 10-19 overall; 5-11 Big Sky, 8th

Players to watch: G Loren Leath, 6-2, 190, Jr. (17.2 ppg); G Vinnie McGhee, 6-0, 165, Fr. (9.8 ppg, 6.6 apg); F Justin Williams, 6-6, 200, Sr. (7.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

Outlook: The Hornets are long on backcourt talent and feature the league’s leading newcomer-of-the-year contender in McGhee, a quick point guard. Leath has emerged as the Hornets’ go-to scorer, and is the only player to have started every game this season. But unless Jenkins can find a way to beef up his team’s paltry rebounding numbers, it is going to be another long year.