Montana State Gets Four Committments

Brian Fish has gotten a head start on next year's recruiting class with three different commitments. I am not sure who reported these first, but I'm getting my information from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The first recruit was Illinois shooting guard Tyler Hall, who Fish first started to recruit as an assistant for Oregon. Last season, he averaged 11 PPG, and shot 56% from the floor and 35% from downtown. Per Gidal Kaiser, he had more than a dozen DI offers, including from Nevada and fellow Big Sky member Northern Arizona.

Fish was on Hall’s trail for a long time, according to Hall and Quad City Elite AAU coach Darren Bizarri. Fish began recruiting Hall during the spring of 2013 — before Hall sprouted from 6-1 to 6-4, scored 31 points in a July 28, 2013 AAU championship game in Fort Wayne, Ind., or averaged 20 per game during an April 2014 AAU tournament in Wisconsin.

The next recruit was small forward Sam Neumann from famous Cretin-Durham Hall in St. Paul, MN. Neumann is 6'6'', and averaged nearly 19 points per game last season. He also averaged 14 PPG as a freshman and 16 PPG as a sophomore. In his career he has made over 100 threes and shot 38% from downtown last year.

“I knew right in the first five minutes I talked to coach Fish that he would be a guy Sam would want to play for,” Kline said Monday. “I was interested to see how they would hit it off on the in-house visit.

“When the MSU coaches left, I said if Sam felt comfortable and solid in Bozeman, this is going to be the place for him,” Kline said. “Trust and faith in his coaches is important to Sam, and coach Fish established that right away.”

Finally, Washington point guard Mandrell Worthy became the third verbal commit. He is 6'3'', and had offers from Seattle and Big Sky member Idaho. Last year, Worthy's team went 23-6 as he averaged 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game, playing as many as four positions throughout his career. He can score, but also seems quite adept at doing all the little things necessary for the team to win.

“Out of necessity, and needing someone with his skill level to score for us when he was a freshman, I basically played him at the 4,” Liley said. “We had enough things we could do that would get him into space so that he’d be able to take advantage of one-on-ones or get off a couple screens to score.

“As much as he scores, his best attribute is the fact he is — he does what it takes for us to win, but he is an unbelievable passer and he makes everyone around him better. That is what Montana State is getting.”

With the signees, we can perhaps see a bit of the style of team Fish will try to build - a quick, athletic squad that can hit shots from the outside. He appears to be off to a nice start in Bozeman.

EDIT: In my original post, I missed the commitment of JUCO guard Quinton Everett. He is 6'2'', and plays for Gillette Junior College. He played last year at Little Big Horn College. Here is a scouting report from Colter Nuanez. From reading it, Fish's desire to play an up tempo game looks even more apparent.

Film: None. Everett plays for former Bobcat great Pete Conway, the head coach at LBHCC. Last season, Everett averaged 19 points per game for Conway’s squad. He shot 42 percent from the field, 35 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 62 percent from the free throw line. If he can improve his percentages, he can average 25 points per game next season.

A scouting report on Everett reads: Ultra strong and excellent quickness and running ability. Iffy “3” shooter or he would be a high-major prospect. Gets a ton of rebounds (5.7 per game), loose balls and finishes with authority at the rim. Can make mid-range shots and 3s, but is a drive 1st, shoot 2nd type of small forward. Will play best for an up-tempo team that keeps him in the open court offensively. Mid-major “3” at lead with an outside shot to play for a higher major team if he’s in the right offensive scheme, improves his shooting.”

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