MSU-N Basketball Preview: Loaded Lights poised for big things

With Shawn Huse at the helm, the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team has been an exercise in consistency. Year-after-year, the Lights continue to pump out 20-win seasons, and at the very least, put themselves in the mix in the race for a Frontier Conference championship.

In other words, the Northern men's basketball program has been solid as a rock, for a long time now.

And yet, heading into the 2019-2020 season, there's a different vibe surrounding Northern hoops. And that's because, these Lights are poised to explode.

Last season, the Lights went 19-14 and 9-9, tying for fourth in the Frontier Conference. It was another very productive season at MSU-N, but with so much talent back in the fold, and an exciting trio of newcomers, Northern isn't just going to be solid this season, they have a chance to be a Frontier powerhouse, and beyond.

"As a coach, you're always excited to start a new season," Huse, now in his 17th year, and who is the winningest coach in Northern history said. "That goes without saying. But, I'll say this, because of this group, I'm probably as excited as I've ever been to get going.

"I really like this team," he continued. "This is a fun group to coach. They're a very high character team, and that's what we want here at Northern. They're all about the team first. That's all they care about, is the team. But they are also a group that has a lot of talent and skill, so that's a really nice combination to have. I just really enjoy coaching these guys, and I know it's going to be a fun season."

Talent and skill might be understating just how good the Lights might be this season, and that's why they were picked to finish second in the Frontier Conference.

Northern returns most of its core from a year ago, including three All-Conference standouts in leading scorer Mascio McCadney (14 ppg), Adam Huse (12 ppg) and Kavon Bey 10 ppg, 6 rpg), who was also the Frontier Sixth Man of the Year last season. Add to that the return of senior point guard Devin Bray and senior center Cedric Crutchfield, and mix that in with the likes of junior James Fry and red-shirt freshmen T.J. Reynolds and Eddie Harmon, and the Lights don't just have talent coming back, they have a boatload of experience and leadership, too.

"It shows every day in practice," coach Huse said. "The group of returners we have, they exhibit so much leadership and they bring so much experience to the table, along with their talent. It's huge. We're also working in some new guys, but with the group we have coming back, I don't have to say a lot in practice. Our guys are coaching each other right now, and that's awesome. That's what you want because when we get into crunch time in these big games, that will carry over. These guys also have great chemistry and they are very bonded, and that's because of the great leadership we have from all of our veteran guys."

Northern's veteran group, with McCadney being such a dynamic guard, Bey being a beast in the paint, Adam Huse being a deadly shooter, Bray having so much experience at point guard, and on and on, aren't alone in the talent department, however.

Huse also brought in three newcomers in David Harris, Gio Jackson and Jesse Keltner to impact that program even more.

Keltner was with the team last semester, while Harris comes to MSU-N after averaging 19 ppg at Highline Community College and Jackson comes in after averaging 18 ppg at Everett CC, and before that, at Shawnee State.

"All three of those guys are immediate impact players for us," coach Huse said. "They are all capable of putting up impressive stats, and all three are going to be really good at this level. But I think, what I love most about them is, while they're all three really talented, they're team-first guys. They just want to compete and help our team win basketball games. They all three care about winning and about helping our team achieve all of our goals. So in about every way possible, those three guys are going to enhance our program, on and off the floor."

On the floor, Northern could be an absolute juggernaut this season. Inside and out, the Lights have scoring options across the board, and of course, they'll do what they always do under Huse, and that's hang their hat on defense. For years, MSU-N has prided itself on being one of the best defensive teams in the country, and that won't change this winter.

"This group loves to compete," coach Huse said. "They get after it on both ends of the floor. They love to work hard and play hard when they're out there. So I think we'll be a pretty dynamic team. I think we'll be able to do what we set out to do on both ends of the floor."

Northern is also setting out to win a Frontier championship and return to the NAIA national tournament in March. But for now, those goals are far away. Instead, the Lights will focus on their non-conference schedule, which includes a tough one right out of the gates against rival Dickinson State, a Nov. 10 exhibition game at defending Big Sky champion Montana, a rematch with DSU Nov. 23 in Great Falls, games in Phoenix against NCAA DII Azusa Pacific and NAIA power Embry-Riddle, as well as the Duck Inn Classic against Alberta-Augustana, among others. Northern also opens Frontier play at home Dec. 5 against Montana Western and Dec. 6 against Rocky Mountain College.

"Like any other year, early on, you want to go out there and learn and grow. Play these games and develop roles and rotations, see what works best," Huse said. "You want to really do everything you can to prepare as best you can for our league, which is going to be really tough again this season.

"Beyond that, though, we want to be as successful as we can be in every one of those games," he continued. "We want to come out smelling like a rose as many times as we can before we start taking on the teams in our league."

With the team the Lights are putting on the floor this season, they might just be smelling like a rose a lot this winter. Yes, Northern is loaded up and down the lineup with talent, size, athleticism, speed, shooters, defenders and just about everything else a program needs to be successful in the Frontier and beyond. And that's why Huse can't help but be excited about the next six months.

"It's just a really great group," Huse said. "There's a lot to like about this team, and I think our fans will really enjoy this group this season.

"As a coach, I'm going to be on edge until the final whistle blows in the final game of the season, whenever that may be," he continued. "That's just the life of a coach. But I am excited about this team and this season. There will be hurdles and challenges and adversity, but all signs point to this being a team that cannot only handle it, but overcome this obstacles. So at the end of the day, I'm excited to go to battle with this group. They're a fun group to coach, and I'm excited to get started and watch this team this season. It's a long season, there's a lot of tough games waiting for us out there, so time will tell. But I know this group is going to be a lot of fun to watch and they're going to play Northern basketball every night. So I'm really excited."

The Lights open their new season next Saturday at home against Providence College. MSU-N plays its first two games of the year in the Armory Gymnasium, as the Lights also host Dickinson State Nov. 8.