Idaho State Bengals (9-20, 3-13)
Projected starting five:
Sr. G Chase Grabau
Sr. G Kenny McGowan
Jr. G Melvin Morgan
Sr. F Abner Moreira
Jr. C Jakub Kusmieruk
Important departures:
Broderick Gilchrest (15.0 ppg, 2.2 apg, 1.1 steals per game, 52 3-pointers made per game)
Deividas Busma (11.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.9 blocks per game)
Top returnees:
McGowan: 9.3 ppg, 0.9 steals per game, 34 3-pointers made per game
Grabau: 6.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.4 steals per game
Moreira: 5.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Additions:
Jr. C Jakub Kusmieruk, transfer from Central Florida
Jr. G Melvin Morgan, transfer from Itawamba Community College (15.9 points. 3.4 assists per game)
Schedule highlights:
Toughest nonconference match up: at Oklahoma, at New Mexico or at Utah.
Hardest conference stretch: First four games at Weber State, at Northern Colorado, home against Montana State, home against Montana.
Outlook:
Head coach Joe O’Brien said transfer Morgan “gives us our best true point guard we’ve recruited since we’ve been here.” That’s both good and bad: O’Brien’s ISU record is 54-97, 33-47 in the Big Sky, but the past two years are the first in his tenure that the team hasn’t played at least .500 ball. The Bengals also welcome 7’4’’ 285-pound Kusmieruk, who left sunny Orlando after two seasons to move to snowy Pocatello, the biggest man in the conference. He’ll be challenged by Montana’s Derek Selvig (7-foot, 220 pounds) and maybe just a handful of others in the post, which should help continual growth and development. The Bengals’ growth hinges on the production of Morgan, Kusmieruk and a so-so four-man senior class.
