For over fifty years, the Montana basketball program has been one of, if not, the most consistent team in the Big Sky, earning eleven tournament bids since the 1990-91 season.
Recently guiding the program through a two-year youth movement, head coach Travis DeCuire is the first person to both play for and coach the Griz in NCAA tournament appearances.
Entering the ninth year of his tenure with an overall record of 160-98, DeCuire and his staff are poised to not only retake the reign as the top team in Montana, but they have the pieces to be tops in a very competitive Big Sky conference this upcoming season.
Key Departures
Robby Beasley - 6’3 190 junior transferred to UC Davis, 11.8p, 2.7r, 1.8a, 42.3 2p%, 36.9 3p%, 82.4 ft%, 1.0s.
Cameron Parker - 6’2 170 grad transferred to Portland State, 9.1p, 3.0r, 4.5a, 56.8 2p%, 35.6 3p%, 81.9 ft%, 0.6s.
Derrick Carter-Hollinger - 6’5 212 senior transferred to Bethune-Cookman, 6.4p, 2.5r, 1.0a, 51.9 2p%, 44.0 3p%, 63.3 ft%, 0.5s, 0.7b
Kyle Owens - 6’8 205 senior transferred to UC Riverside, 4.4p, 1.8r, 0.4a, 60.0 2p%, 23.9 3p%, 81.0 ft%, 0.1s, 0.1b
Scott Blakney - 6’8 231 graduated, 3.8p, 1.9r, 66.7 fg% (no 3pa), 0.2s, 0.2b
Over the last two seasons, Montana’s offense has had two of the least efficient seasons in DeCuire’s tenure and last season was last the least efficient defensively. Noting this, it’s important to see how last season’s departures affected this poor efficiency.
On offense, Robby Beasley (2.1 threes per game) is the only departing member of last year’s team who was a consistent threat on the perimeter. The four other departures above combined for 49 made threes, a modest total especially considering point guard Cameron Parker (just 45 three point attempts all season) made it easier for opponents’ to focus their defensive strategy away from the point guard position, especially when Parker was off-ball beyond the arc and even more the case when Parker and Brandon Whitney shared the floor together (25 combined three pointers).
Montana was a dreadful offensive rebounding team over the last two years, failing to rank within the top-300 nationally both seasons. Last season, only Josh Bannan, Kyle Owens, Scott Blakney and Mack Anderson had offensive rebounding rates above 4%. To help put that in comparison, a middle-of-the-road offensive rebounding Big Sky team, Eastern Washington, had six players with offensive rebounding rates above 4%. Both Beasley and Parker had sub 1.3% offensive rebounding rates and Carter-Hollinger was 3.7%, lower than four of EWU’s starters.
In summary, in order to take the next step, DeCuire and his staff needed to focus on perimeter shooting and offensive rebounding during the offseason and later on we’ll discuss how that was addressed.
Defensively, Parker was arguably Montana’s worst guard (1.1 steals per 40) while Beasley was an average-at-best defensive guard (1.3 steals per 40). Kyle Owens was a poor defensive player as well and did not provide enough perimeter shooting for him to justify more than a low-end rotational role in the frontcourt (11 threes made). Derrick Carter-Hollinger was one of the better rim-protectors in the Big Sky while Blakney was not a strong defensive big.
All in all, Montana’s turnover sets the table for an improvement defensively, especially at the point guard position and frontcourt depth.
Projected Starting Lineup
G - Brandon Whitney - 6’1 180 junior
11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 turnovers, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 51.3 2p%, 28.1 3p%, 0.3 threes made per game, 79.2 ft% in 30.2 mpg
G - Aanen Moody - 6’3 177 grad transferred from Southern Utah
6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 turnovers, 0.5 steals, 0.0 blocks, 55.3 2p%, 40.2 3p%, 1.5 threes made per game, 88.2 ft% in 19.0 mpg
W - Lonnell Martin - 6’4 210 senior
6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 turnovers, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks, 35.1 2p%, 33.8 3p%, 1.4 threes made per game, 82.1 ft% in 23.6 mpg
F - Josh Bannan - 6’10 220 junior
15.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.6 turnovers, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, 53.3 2p%, 35.2 3p%, 0.8 threes made per game, 79.2 ft% in 30.6 mpg
F - Laolu Oke - 6’8 215 senior transferred from Metro State (D2)
14.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.7 steals, 0.8 blocks, 66.1 fg% (just one three point attempted), 65.3 ft% in 30.2 mpg
I toyed with having Dischon Thomas and Jonathan Brown starting over Aanen Moody and Laolu Oke, respectively, but I love the balance of this starting lineup even if Oke ends up getting less overall playing time than Thomas.
A major theme of this lineup is efficiency: Bannan, Martin, Whitney and Moody ranked within the top-320 lowest turnover rates in the entire nation, each ranking within the top-15 the Big Sky. That level of control allows DeCuire to keep the tempo at the moderate pace that he likes and work the shot clock to ensure that players take the best possible shot.
The inclusion of Oke is two-fold: his insane rebounding rates, especially on the offensive end (4.1 offensive rebounds per game last season), fit a dire need from last season and will help allow Montana to maintain possession or convert on easy buckets after missed shots. The Rocky Athletic Mountain Conference Defensive Player of the Year back in the 2020-21 season, Oke is a disrupting force with the size and athleticism to switch and guard nearly every position. He is not a classic rim-protector, but his constant disruption will help mask the defensive deficiencies of Bannan while Martin is another versatile defender to help balance this lineup.
Moody is one of the more unique guards in the nation. According to KenPom, he finished last season with a 124.0 offensive rating, the 43rd best in the nation achieved thanks to his aforementioned mistake-free basketball and efficient shooting. The backcourt pairing of Moody and Whitney will minimize turnovers and have complimentary offensive styles that mesh nicely: Moody a surefire perimeter threat and Whitney more of a quick rim-attacker who does most of his work inside the arc.
Key Reserves
F - Dischon Thomas - 6’8 235 senior transferred from Colorado State
5.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 turnovers, 0.5 steals, 0.4 blocks, 40.0 2p%, 41.4 3p%, 0.9 threes made per game, 87.2 ft% in 16.1 mpg
G - Jonathan Brown - 6’3 185 senior transferred from Central Methodist (NAIA)
18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 turnovers, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, 52.1 2p%, 37.2 3p%, 2.3 threes made per game, 85.8 ft% in 35.3 mpg
F - Mack Anderson - 6’9 218 grad using extra year of eligibility
3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 1.0 turnover, 0.3 steals, 0.8 blocks, 52.3 fg% (no 3pa), 78.8 ft% in 15.6 mpg
G - Josh Vazquez - 6’3 180 senior
2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 turnovers, 0.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, 34.5 2p%, 36.7 3p%, 0.6 threes made per game, 94.1 ft% in 10.3 mpg
Rounding up arguably the best frontcourt in the Big Sky, Thomas is an exciting addition providing the Griz a confident shooter and a strong rebounder with size. Mack Anderson was the only Griz last year with a better offensive rebounding rate than Thomas’ 8.0%, so the frontcourt trio of Oke/Anderson/Thomas should vastly help Montana’s offensive rebounding woes.
With 6’5 215 Derrick Carter-Hollinger and 6’4 210 Martin playing about half of the team’s minutes at the four last season, there’s a good chance that nearly all of the team’s minutes this season will include two 6’8+ forwards on the floor at all times with a mix-and-match ability depending on the situation. For example, an Anderson/Oke frontcourt is a stout, defensive pairing for end-of-game situations when Montana has the lead. Conversely, the smooth shooting pairing of Bannan/Thomas allows DeCuire to experiment with five-out offensive sets.
A 25+ mpg part-time starter in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Vazquez was relegated to a backup role last season but his lights-out efficiency beyond the arc and on the charity stripe (career 38.8 3p%, 91.6 ft%) make up for his struggles to score interiorally (career 35.1 2p%). Vazquez is also a solid defender, with a 2.0% steal rate ranking second best on last year’s squad.
Originally from London, Jonathan Brown arrives in Montana with a reputation as a smooth shooting three-level scorer and is poised to parlay that success into a microwave scoring role off the bench, however it will be hard for Brown to earn a steady role if continues to generate turnovers at the same rate as he did at Central Methodist.
Depth Reserves
W - Dorrell Thomas - 6’5 185 freshman from Durham, North Carolina, brother of Dischon
Picked Montana over UC Santa Barbara
F - Jaxon Nap - 6’7 195 freshman from Renton, Washington
No other D1 offers
F - Rhett Reynolds - 6’9 180 freshman from Shelby, Montana
No other D1 offers
G - Isaiah Kerr - 6’3 freshman from Palo Alto, California
No other D1 offers
F - John Solomon - 6’8 205 redshirt freshman walk-on from Sarasota, Florida
Picked Montana over Florida State, GCU, Nevada, New Mexico, UC Santa Barbara and South Dakota
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