Wheelin' n' Dealin'

[LittleBrave]

Gotta be pleased with how Montana has stepped in and given us quality minutes. He was not as highly touted as our other 2 freshman stars, but obviously has made the most impact.
He is a confident kid and finds the gaps in the D...a strong finisher at the hoop when he drives with his 5' 9" frame.

Wonder if he could be in the running for Freshman POY in the Valley? I imagine he'll be a strong candidate for All-Freshman team.
His A-T ratio (3.5:1) is very impressive by itself, but considering he's just a Freshman...wow!

7.5 ppg and nearly 4 apg coming off the bench, forcing turnovers and playing solid on-ball D.
He could improve in his 3-point shooting. I've noticed his body is off-balance often when he shoots and imagine that affects his accuracy. I remember Hick had that same issue his sophomore season, but he made some tweaks and ended strong.

Big fan of Wheels and could become...the Wheel Deal

 

[Da Coach]

If Montana continues to produce, I think he will have a good chance to land on the All-Freshman team. But Freshman of the Year doesn't appear to be so likely. As I posted in this other thread- https://bradleyfans.com/threads/top-mvc-freshmen.529287/
There are several freshmen who are starting and playing a lot more minutes than Montana, and putting up bigger numbers, which is what voters usually vote by.

UIC freshman Andy Johnson is 8th in the MVC in scoring with 13.9 ppg
Valparaiso freshman Rakim Chaney is 9th in scoring with 13.9 ppg
Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman is 10th in scoring with 13.6 ppg
Murray State's Roman Doman is 20th in scoring with 11.6 ppg
Belmont's Jabez Jenkins is averaging 9.7 ppg
Valparaiso's JT Pettigrew is averaging 9.4 ppg
UIC's Rashund Washington is averaging 9.3 ppg
UIC's Jayce Nathaniel is averaging 8.9 ppg
Evansville freshman Bryce Quinet is averaging 8.9 ppg.

All those freshmen rank in the top 50 scorers (Montana is currently 59th), and several of them rank in the top 12 in rebounding, too.

 

[LittleBrave]

If Montana continues to produce, I think he will have a good chance to land on the All-Freshman team. But Freshman of the Year doesn't appear to be so likely. As I posted in this other thread- https://bradleyfans.com/threads/top-mvc-freshmen.529287/
There are several freshmen who are starting and playing a lot more minutes than Montana, and putting up bigger numbers, which is what voters usually vote by.

UIC freshman Andy Johnson is 8th in the MVC in scoring with 13.9 ppg
Valparaiso freshman Rakim Chaney is 9th in scoring with 13.9 ppg
Illinois State freshman Ty'Reek Coleman is 10th in scoring with 13.6 ppg
Murray State's Roman Doman is 20th in scoring with 11.6 ppg
Belmont's Jabez Jenkins is averaging 9.7 ppg
Valparaiso's JT Pettigrew is averaging 9.4 ppg
UIC's Rashund Washington is averaging 9.3 ppg
UIC's Jayce Nathaniel is averaging 8.9 ppg
Evansville freshman Bryce Quinet is averaging 8.9 ppg.

All those freshmen rank in the top 50 scorers (Montana is currently 59th), and several of them rank in the top 12 in rebounding, too.

Wow some strong freshmen in the Valley!

 

[abouttime]

And the better they get, the sooner they advance up the D-1 transfer portal gangplank

 

[Da Coach]

And the better they get, the sooner they advance up the D-1 transfer portal gangplank

Yep, that's likely. Most of the recent Freshmen of the Year have taken the NIL money bag and transferred.
Here is how that's worked out for some of the recent ones-

2024-25 Freshman of the Year All Wright transferred to Xavier after averaging 15.5 ppg last season for Valparaiso.
He started as a reserve, but has now moved into a starting role and Xavier is playing better with him as a starter. He is averaging 11.3 ppg and shooting 50% from three, best on the team.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5241430/all-wright

2023-24 Freshman of the Year Cooper Schwieger played his sophomore year at Valpo and put up even better numbers. Then he transferred this past spring to Wake Forest. His playing time has shrunk drastically at Wake Forest, and he's only averaging 3.8 ppg in limited time off the bench-

Cooper Schwieger Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Forward Cooper Schwieger on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

2022-23 Cade Tyson of Belmont- he transferred to North Carolina after his sophomore at Belmont, and spent his junior year glued to the bench at UNC. He transferred again this past spring to Minnesota, where he is getting to play again, and he is currently the top scorer in the Big Ten-

Cade Tyson Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Minnesota Golden Gophers Guard Cade Tyson on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

Big Ten stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/stats/player/_/group/7
BTW, note that 4 of the top 12 scorers in the Big Ten are former MVC stars- 1) Cade Tyson, 9) Bennett Stirtz, 10) Rienk Mast, and 12) Tucker DeVries.

2023 Runner-up FOY was Robbie Avila, who transferred to St. Louis. He continues to perform at a high level-

Robbie Avila Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Saint Louis Billikens Center Robbie Avila on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

2021-22 Tucker DeVries- after an injury-shortened year at West Virginia, he is playing his senior year at Indiana for his father, and doing pretty well, averaging 16.8 ppg for undefeated and Top 25 ranked Indiana.

So I guess the lesson is that if they get the NIL offers, they probably should take them, but be careful and make sure it's a good fit. Cade Tyson picked North Carolina because he grew up in North Carolina and was a lifelong UNC fan and always wanted to play for them. But that turned out to be a wasted year for him.
And for some reason, Cooper Schwieger is not fitting into the playing rotation at Wake Forest. Maybe they should just avoid ACC schools, or more specifically, schools in North Carolina.

 

[yoda]

Wow some strong freshmen in the Valley!

agree but I think it gets amplified by the fact that any decent MVC players above the freshmen level look to portal elsewhere...
....leaving lots of open playing time for some of the freshmen to shine where they might not have had the opportunity
otherwise...plus a lot of schools are rebuilding with transfers & DII guys leaving some very good freshmen for the mid-majors to scoop up.
We saw that in 2015-17 when BU rebuilt with almost all freshmen and several got picked for All-Freshman Team.

 

[Tommy]

Yep, that's likely. Most of the recent Freshmen of the Year have taken the NIL money bag and transferred.
Here is how that's worked out for some of the recent ones-

2024-25 Freshman of the Year All Wright transferred to Xavier after averaging 15.5 ppg last season for Valparaiso.
He started as a reserve, but has now moved into a starting role and Xavier is playing better with him as a starter. He is averaging 11.3 ppg and shooting 50% from three, best on the team.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5241430/all-wright

2023-24 Freshman of the Year Cooper Schwieger played his sophomore year at Valpo and put up even better numbers. Then he transferred this past spring to Wake Forest. His playing time has shrunk drastically at Wake Forest, and he's only averaging 3.8 ppg in limited time off the bench-

Cooper Schwieger Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Forward Cooper Schwieger on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

2022-23 Cade Tyson of Belmont- he transferred to North Carolina after his sophomore at Belmont, and spent his junior year glued to the bench at UNC. He transferred again this past spring to Minnesota, where he is getting to play again, and he is currently the top scorer in the Big Ten-

Cade Tyson Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Minnesota Golden Gophers Guard Cade Tyson on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

Big Ten stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/stats/player/_/group/7
BTW, note that 4 of the top 12 scorers in the Big Ten are former MVC stars- 1) Cade Tyson, 9) Bennett Stirtz, 10) Rienk Mast, and 12) Tucker DeVries.

2023 Runner-up FOY was Robbie Avila, who transferred to St. Louis. He continues to perform at a high level-

Robbie Avila Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Saint Louis Billikens Center Robbie Avila on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

2021-22 Tucker DeVries- after an injury-shortened year at West Virginia, he is playing his senior year at Indiana for his father, and doing pretty well, averaging 16.8 ppg for undefeated and Top 25 ranked Indiana.

So I guess the lesson is that if they get the NIL offers, they probably should take them, but be careful and make sure it's a good fit. Cade Tyson picked North Carolina because he grew up in North Carolina and was a lifelong UNC fan and always wanted to play for them. But that turned out to be a wasted year for him.
And for some reason, Cooper Schwieger is not fitting into the playing rotation at Wake Forest. Maybe they should just avoid ACC schools, or more specifically, schools in North Carolina.

This entire post is so disheartening.

 

[LittleBrave]

This entire post is so disheartening.

Agreed Tommy - I guess we should feel blessed that most of our guys choose to stay with the program year after year...a rarity in college hoops these days.
From the short time I was able to spend with the group of guys before the season started, it seemed there is a real strong bond and brotherhood among them. Quanny and Burch are very close maybe b/c of their Milwaukee ties...and then there's Jackson and Montana from the same HS in Houston.

 

[yoda]

a couple more not so success stories-
Evansville's Chuck Bailey had a fine freshman year in 2023-24, was Freshman of the Week four times,
then portalled to Nevada (Alford always does a good job recruiting MVC players), and found it hard going.
Didn't play much, averaged 2ppg. Now this year, getting 20 min per game and avg 7.6ppg, less than the 8.4ppg he avg at Evansville

Gabe Pozatto, arguably one of the best 2 freshmen last year in the MVC portalled to Xavier along with All Wright.
He got injured (knee) and hasn't played yet - and no timetable to return.

Evansville's 2nd best player in 2023-24 (behind Humrichous) Yacine Toumi portalled to Seton Hall and wasted an entire
season deep on the bench playing little, scoring just 59 points. This year, he portalled out to Hawaii- so at least he's prob enjoying it more.
(6ppg)