If there was one thing the Montana Griz had a hard time with during two exhibition games, it was keeping their hands off their opponents.
That will be tested again when the Griz open the basketball season Saturday at Colorado State.
?They drive, they drive,? first-year Griz coach Travis DeCuire said of the Rams of the Mountain West Conference. ?For us, we have to keep them out of the paint.?
And the Griz will need to do it without fouling. Montana was whistled for 53 fouls and sent its opponents to the free throw line 64 times in two exhibition wins.
?That?s been hard for us, but we?ll play defense a little differently as far as contain and see if it works,? DeCuire said.
The Rams return three starters from a team that finished 16-16 a year ago. J.J. Avila, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward, averaged 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Daniel Bejarano, a 6-5 guard, averaged 16.3 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds a game.
?Those two guys are really skilled, versatile and really good rebounders,? DeCuire said. ?Bejarano was their best rebounder from the point guard position last year. He follows his shot. He?ll be a tough guard because he attacks the rim. He?s big and physical. (Avila) plays like a European kid. He?s really skilled, he posts up at 10 feet and can shoot it from anywhere on the floor. He led them in assists last year.
?Those two are a lot to handle in terms of versatility. Then what they have in addition too is a Larry Eustachy deal: a ton of transfers. He has three Division I transfers who are playing who could start for them. Actually four, three sat out last year and one is an automatic qualifier because he already graduated.?
The third returning starter for CSU is Joe DeCiman, another big guard at 6-6 who is the team?s most accurate returning 3-point threat.
The Griz had strong offensive showings in their two exhibition games in which they averaged 99 points. Senior guard Jordan Gregory averaged 19.0 points in those two games, Washington transfer Martin Breunig averaged 16.0 and sophomore point guard Mario Dunn chipped in 12.5 points and 8.5 assists against just three total turnovers. As a team, the Griz shot 47 percent from behind the 3-point line.
?Up until (Wednesday) we?ve still spent a lot of time on ourselves, trying to improve as much as possible before that first game,? DeCuire said. ?We?ll spend a lot of time on ourselves defensively and rebounding.?
The Griz follow up the game in Fort Collins with a trip to Boise State next Tuesday. The Broncos are a completely different animal.
?It?s definitely a tough road trip ahead with two teams that are very different from each other,? DeCuire said. ?Sometimes I think that?s what makes road trips so tough when two teams don?t play a similar style, it?s very difficult to prepare for both at the same time. Fortunately we have a couple of days in between because we?re going to play two different types of defenses against Colorado State, which is attacking the paint, more athletic, probably as good as an offensive rebounding team as we?re going to see. They averaged about 27 free throws a game last year and had 23 offensive rebounds the other night against Fort Lewis. We have our work ahead of us on that one as far as trying to contain them and protect the paint as much as possible.
?On the flip side against Boise State, now you?re trying to protect the 3-point line, minimize 3-point attempts and contest as many shots as possible. They will drive, but it?s a different type of penetration.?
The Griz will play five of their first six games on the road. The only home game between now and Dec. 7 is a matchup with Carroll College on Nov. 26.
?We have our work cut out for us,? DeCuire said. ?Nonconference still at the end of the day prepares you for conference. When you?re in the Big Sky, what you do in November really doesn?t matter in terms of whether you?re getting in the NCAA tournament or not. Our approach is to continue to compete and improve as quickly as possible.?
That will be tested again when the Griz open the basketball season Saturday at Colorado State.
?They drive, they drive,? first-year Griz coach Travis DeCuire said of the Rams of the Mountain West Conference. ?For us, we have to keep them out of the paint.?
And the Griz will need to do it without fouling. Montana was whistled for 53 fouls and sent its opponents to the free throw line 64 times in two exhibition wins.
?That?s been hard for us, but we?ll play defense a little differently as far as contain and see if it works,? DeCuire said.
The Rams return three starters from a team that finished 16-16 a year ago. J.J. Avila, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward, averaged 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Daniel Bejarano, a 6-5 guard, averaged 16.3 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds a game.
?Those two guys are really skilled, versatile and really good rebounders,? DeCuire said. ?Bejarano was their best rebounder from the point guard position last year. He follows his shot. He?ll be a tough guard because he attacks the rim. He?s big and physical. (Avila) plays like a European kid. He?s really skilled, he posts up at 10 feet and can shoot it from anywhere on the floor. He led them in assists last year.
?Those two are a lot to handle in terms of versatility. Then what they have in addition too is a Larry Eustachy deal: a ton of transfers. He has three Division I transfers who are playing who could start for them. Actually four, three sat out last year and one is an automatic qualifier because he already graduated.?
The third returning starter for CSU is Joe DeCiman, another big guard at 6-6 who is the team?s most accurate returning 3-point threat.
The Griz had strong offensive showings in their two exhibition games in which they averaged 99 points. Senior guard Jordan Gregory averaged 19.0 points in those two games, Washington transfer Martin Breunig averaged 16.0 and sophomore point guard Mario Dunn chipped in 12.5 points and 8.5 assists against just three total turnovers. As a team, the Griz shot 47 percent from behind the 3-point line.
?Up until (Wednesday) we?ve still spent a lot of time on ourselves, trying to improve as much as possible before that first game,? DeCuire said. ?We?ll spend a lot of time on ourselves defensively and rebounding.?
The Griz follow up the game in Fort Collins with a trip to Boise State next Tuesday. The Broncos are a completely different animal.
?It?s definitely a tough road trip ahead with two teams that are very different from each other,? DeCuire said. ?Sometimes I think that?s what makes road trips so tough when two teams don?t play a similar style, it?s very difficult to prepare for both at the same time. Fortunately we have a couple of days in between because we?re going to play two different types of defenses against Colorado State, which is attacking the paint, more athletic, probably as good as an offensive rebounding team as we?re going to see. They averaged about 27 free throws a game last year and had 23 offensive rebounds the other night against Fort Lewis. We have our work ahead of us on that one as far as trying to contain them and protect the paint as much as possible.
?On the flip side against Boise State, now you?re trying to protect the 3-point line, minimize 3-point attempts and contest as many shots as possible. They will drive, but it?s a different type of penetration.?
The Griz will play five of their first six games on the road. The only home game between now and Dec. 7 is a matchup with Carroll College on Nov. 26.
?We have our work cut out for us,? DeCuire said. ?Nonconference still at the end of the day prepares you for conference. When you?re in the Big Sky, what you do in November really doesn?t matter in terms of whether you?re getting in the NCAA tournament or not. Our approach is to continue to compete and improve as quickly as possible.?
