2009-10 Conference Primers: #22 – Big Sky
Posted by rtmsf on October 14th, 2009
Glenn Junkert of GrizzlyJournal.com is the RTC correspondent for the Big Sky Conference. Click here for all of our 2009-10 Season Preview materials.
Predicted Order of Finish:
- Weber State (22-9, 12-4)
- Montana (20-8, 11-5)
- Montana State (16-12, 11-5)
- Idaho State (13-16, 10-6)
- Portland State (14-15, 9-7)
- Northern Arizona (11-17, 8-8)
- Northern Colorado (12-18, 5-11)
- Eastern Washington (8-21, 3-13)
- Sacramento State (7-22, 3-13)
All-Conference First Team:
- Anthony Johnson, Montana
- Damian Lilliard, Weber State
- Steve Panos, Weber State
- Phil Nelson, Portland State
- Bobby Howard, Montana State
All-Conference Second Team:
- Amorrow Morgan, Idaho State
- Will Bynum, Montana State
- Dominic Waters, Portland State
- Brandon Moore, Eastern Washington
- Shane Johannssen, Northern Arizona
MVP: Anthony Johnson, Montana
Impact Newcomers:
- Franklin Session, Weber State
- Eric Platt, Northern Arizona
- Raason Young, Montana
What You Need to Know. Last year Weber State senior point guard Kellen McCoy earned his Big Sky MVP medal by shaping his young teammates into a cohesive unit early. The Wildcats shrugged off a home court loss to Montana State and promptly forged a commanding conference lead with a league-wide road sweep, a rare feat in the Big Sky, though three other stellar guards — Montana’s Anthony Johnson, Montana State’s Will Bynum, and McCoy’s teammate, frosh Damian Lilliard — had second-half performances equal to McCoy’s, the Wildcat senior was a shoo-in for directing his cats to a rare 15-1 record in league play.
Predicted Champion. Weber State (NCAA Seed: #14). Weber State basketball IS coach Randy Rahe, and what Rahe has done best in four years at WSU is: 1) Recruit a balanced combo of quality junior college and freshman talent; and, 2) Demand the utmost in ensemble discipline and teamwork from his players on the court. The result? Deuces wild: two league titles and two “coach of the year” awards in his four years at WSU. The Wildcats graduated seniors Kellen McCoy and Daivin Davis, but Rahe will rely on the leadership of sophomore guard Lilliard, who’s expected to get support from highly regarded JC transfer Franklin Session. Otherwise, Rahe’s stellar coaching should be enough to earn the Cats a second straight league title.
