2016-17 MSU-Northern Basketball: MSU-Northern men poised for new successes

For what must have seemed like an eternity now for Montana State University-Northern head men’s basketball coach Shawn Huse, roster continuity has been hard to come by. In recent years, the Lights have had to reload on a yearly basis, and that has been due to graduating great talent.

And while Northern did lose several big-time players from last year’s squad, as a new season dawns, roster continuity isn’t something Huse has too much concern with.

Northern, which went 19-12 a year ago, tying for fourth in the Frontier Conference, begins the new season with a big list of returning players, 11 in all and eight who saw significant game action last season. And that fact has Huse excited about not only the season starting, but the potential team the Lights can be.

“Overall, we’re still what I would call a young team,” Huse said. “But that’s not because of lack of guys coming back in our program. We have a big core group of guys back, and a lot of those guys are going to fill key roles this season.

“We also have three seniors back, and we’re going to really lean on their leadership and experience,” he added. “Especially early on. But in terms of our roster, and guys knowing what’s going on and where we’re at in practice at this point, we’re way ahead of where we’ve been in the last few years to start a season, and that’s a nice luxury to have.”

Northern did lose three starters from last year’s squad, including All Frontier Conference performer and leading scorer Warren Edmondson, as well as starting point guard Tevail Lee and forward KJ Rech. And those types of players are never easy to replace.

Still, many of the Lights who will fill those roles were in the rotation last season, and that makes the transition much easier. The Lights return a pair of starters in senior David Straughter (6-5), who averaged 10 points and five rebounds on his way to All-Conference honors a year ago. Also back is 6-10 junior Ryan Reeves, who seemed to come out of nowhere last year for the Lights, but quickly became one of the most dominant big men in the league, averaging four points and five rebounds and leading the Frontier in blocked shots.

The Lights will also rely heavily this season on senior point guard Badhasa Margarsa, senior shooting guard Tyler Chandler, who averaged 10 ppg off the bench a year ago, and forward William Walker (6-6), as well as key returners like Dylan Tatarka, Justin Dunsmore and Kevin Oberweiser, all who saw plenty of action last season.

“The guys coming back, they know our system,” Huse said. “They know what we want to do and what we expect, and that’s big for us, to have that many guys that already know exactly what we do when the season starts. The last few years, we’ve really had a bigger mix of new guys and returning guys and it always takes a lot of time to bring that together. So, again, I still feel like we’re a pretty young team, but we do have a big group of guys that have experience, too.”

Also in the mix this season for what should be a very deep Northern roster are five newcomers, including three who red-shirted for the Lights a year ago, including shooting guard Adam Huse (6-1), point guard Devin Bray (5-9) and forward Seth Christiaens (6-10). All three spent last season learning the ropes, and working on their game, and all three have high potential according to Huse.

“The three red-shirts we have coming back, they’re all very good players,” Huse said. “They need the experience still, but all three have come a long way since they got here as freshmen, and they, along with a lot of our other young players, are going to have to step up and fill roles.”

Huse also added three new players to the mix in the offseason, and two of them will vie for key playing time immediately. Junior point guard Cameron Epps (5-9) averaged 11 points and two assists per game last year at Des Moines Area Community College, while junior guard Charles Porter (6-2) poured in 19 ppg, as well as grabbed four rebounds per night for Umpqua Community College a year ago. Former Box Elder great Jerrod Four Colors also signed with the Lights and will red-shirt this season.

“We do have a lot of guys back,” Huse said. “But we’re going to expect the new guys and the young players to step up and play big roles for us this year, and we feel like all of those guys are capable of doing that. They just need experience now.”

As for what Huse expects his team to look like on the floor, no matter the roster, that doesn’t change.

The Lights will strive to once again be one of the best defensive teams in the Frontier, just as they have been for much of Huse’s tenure. Northern led the Frontier in scoring defense a season ago, and has been either first or second in that category the last seven seasons. The Lights should also be a strong rebounding team again this season, while offensively, Huse said, his system may not change much, but his the team and depth he has at his disposal this season may allow the Lights to be a bit more diverse.

“Defensively, I expect us to be very active, and I think we can be a bit more disruptive this year,” Huse said. “That’s not to say we weren’t last year because we led the league in points allowed, and we had three great seniors who were a big part of that. So to be better than that this year is hard to do, but I think we have a chance to do that, and I’m excited about that.”

And on both ends of the floor, one big reason why the Lights have a chance to make strides is because of the emergence of Reeves. Northern has succeeded for years being an undersized team, but with Reeves presence in the paint, especially with a year under his belt, he has become a force, and a game-changer for the Lights.

“Having a presence like Ryan brings allows us to match up with any team we face,” Huse said. “Having that size and the presence in the paint allows us to match up with teams in a different way than we’ve been able to in years past. We have a chance to really control the paint now and that’s exciting.

“Offensively,” he continued. “We can gain some advantages in different ways this season, too. We won’t change our identity, but with our size, and the guys we have around that size, I think we can be a little more versatile and create a few more matchup problems for our opponents. Again, that’s not to take anything away from the guys who graduated last year, because they were very good offensive players. I just think this team has the potential to create a few different looks we haven’t been able to in the past and that’s a nice luxury to have.”

Of course, potential has to be realized and executed on the floor, and Northern will get ample opportunities to do that early in the season. The Lights open at home with Yellow Christian College and also play non-conference home games against New Hope Christian and Salish Kootenai College, as well as University of Alberta-Augustana. Northern will also be tested against NAIA competition at the Phoenix Classic in November, as well as two games at the UGF Classic in Great Falls among others. As is the norm now in the Frontier, the Lights also open conference play with trips to Montana Tech Dec. 1 and defending league champion Lewis-Clark State Dec. 3.

“Our schedule is one that will certainly test and prepare us for conference play,” Huse said. “Obviously, the three games we play in Phoenix will be against top NAIA teams so that will be really good for us. We have some exciting home games too. We have a Thanksgiving Classic this year, and that’s something we haven’t had in the past so we’re excited about that. But overall, our schedule will test us, but also give as chances to get a lot of guys some valuable experience before conference play really gets going.”

And, at the end of the day, the Frontier Conference, and contending for a league championship is what it’s all about. And though that’s a long way off right now, Huse is excited and feels his team has the potential to do exactly that this winter.

“We’re always shooting to be in that top three in our conference,” Huse said. “And I don’t see any reason why this team can’t do that. Of course, I’m always going to feel that way about our program.

“Now, we need our young guys and our new guys to grow and step up over time,” he continued. “And we need to continue to grow as a team during these first few months of the season. Because, at the end of the day, this team is still young, and we need to be patient with them, but also push them to get better at the same time. They’re a great group of guys, they’re working hard and their fun to coach, and they have a lot of potential to do big things this season. So we’ll have to just see how it all plays out.”