Re: Coaching Career of B.J. Hill: Something out of Nothing, Hopefully (CH2K8)
Northern Colorado
2019-2020 Overall Rank:
Conference Rank: #1 Big Sky
Last season was a ball for Northern Colorado, they achieved big time goals which included making their first tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season. That run would be ended as the Bears ran into a sharpshooting Texas Tech team but a 27-5 record to end the season was nothing to complain about. Coach Hill received a couple of offers that would've given him the opportunity to coach at the mid-major level but the 9th year coach decided to continue his legacy at Northern Colorado. Now he's dealing with yet another roster loaded with talent.
2018-19 Record: 27-5
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: B.J. Hill
Coach Record: 149-120 at Northern Colorado
Who’s Out:
The Bears lost a heap of talent this past off-season as they graduated two top scorers in Carlton Hurst and Branford Jones. While these two will be easily replaced this year, the loss of two seniors who provided not only great production but also leadership will be tough to duplicate. Jones ended his career with a 13.6 point average which led the team while Hurst tallied 10.5 ppg. The Bears also notably graduated starting center Herbie Bruff who gave in a good year in his single season he got to play with Northern Colorado after transferring from Tennessee (formally a JC). Bruff faced time on the sideline with an injury but finished the year with 7.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Along with those three, Wyatt Ervin, Branduinn Skeeter, and Stefon Dearman all made their departures as well.
Who’s In:
Northern Colorado brought in three highly touted recruits during the off-season and each of them are expected to do big things in the near future. The highest ranked prospect Coach Hill signed was Luol Diaz, a fundamentally sound power forward who's able to do a little bit of everything on the floor, especially shoot the bal and rebound as a stretch four. Diaz, only weighing 200 pounds, will need to put on weight or he'd mostly be suited at the 3. Marty Brand was another big addition but it may be awhile before we get to see the wing play. Brand suffered from a torn ACL injury during his high school playoffs and it's expected to keep him sidelined for his entire freshman year, with that being said -- the athletic marksman will be redshirted. Latece Dye tops the list as the past #5th ranked center in the nation and #133rd prospect. Latece was a huge pick-up for Northern Colorado as he'll offer a dominant old-school low post game that has drawn comparisons to an all-time great named Tim Duncan. Dye will most likely get the nod in the starting five as a true freshman this year so you'll be able to see if that huge comparison is true or not... Dee Valdez is a transfer from North Texas who'll be playing his first season with NC after accumulating a 5.8 point average for North Texas in two seasons.. The last player in this category is Tyrone Damon, a transfer from Oregon, Damon won't play this season as he will serve his redshirt process but he'll be getting set and when he takes the floor next year he'll most likely be the best player in the conference, no question.
Who to Watch:
Kris Wells put up big numbers as a freshman and I can easily expect that he'll outdo himself and win Conference Player of the Year this season. Wells took the backseat last season behind Wells and Hurst but with this basically being his team this year we may very well see more performances like his career high of 29 points last season. Clement Garner is a name to throw around as well, this sharp shooting guard has been waiting for his chance ever since he arrived to Greeley as the #38th best player in the nation. Garner got the nod over Hurst for a stretch last season and he put up relatively good numbers, he's most likely due to start full-time this season as a junior. I'd also add Latece Dye, Luol Diaz, and maybe even Brad Boone to this list as well.
Final Projection:
There's not too much of an argument going against Northern Colorado easily sweeping through this season. They may have issues with the games set up against Iowa State, Stanford, and maybe Oregon State but outside of those games I would honestly expect this season to be a huge cakewalk. The only issues I'd project them to have will be in the NCAA Tournament where they haven't advanced passed the first round since the 2010-11 season, Hill's first year as the head coach.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Tyler Manilow, Junior, Guard, 5.7 points per game last season
Kris Wells, Sophomore, Guard, 13.3 points per game
Clement Garner, Junior, Forward, 9.1 points per game
Luol Diaz, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
Latece Dye, Freshman, Center, DNP last season
Madness 2019 Basketball Recruits
#63 Luol Diaz
#65 Marty Brand
#133 Latece Dye
Northern Colorado
2019-2020 Overall Rank:
Conference Rank: #1 Big Sky
Last season was a ball for Northern Colorado, they achieved big time goals which included making their first tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season. That run would be ended as the Bears ran into a sharpshooting Texas Tech team but a 27-5 record to end the season was nothing to complain about. Coach Hill received a couple of offers that would've given him the opportunity to coach at the mid-major level but the 9th year coach decided to continue his legacy at Northern Colorado. Now he's dealing with yet another roster loaded with talent.
2018-19 Record: 27-5
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: B.J. Hill
Coach Record: 149-120 at Northern Colorado
Who’s Out:
The Bears lost a heap of talent this past off-season as they graduated two top scorers in Carlton Hurst and Branford Jones. While these two will be easily replaced this year, the loss of two seniors who provided not only great production but also leadership will be tough to duplicate. Jones ended his career with a 13.6 point average which led the team while Hurst tallied 10.5 ppg. The Bears also notably graduated starting center Herbie Bruff who gave in a good year in his single season he got to play with Northern Colorado after transferring from Tennessee (formally a JC). Bruff faced time on the sideline with an injury but finished the year with 7.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Along with those three, Wyatt Ervin, Branduinn Skeeter, and Stefon Dearman all made their departures as well.
Who’s In:
Northern Colorado brought in three highly touted recruits during the off-season and each of them are expected to do big things in the near future. The highest ranked prospect Coach Hill signed was Luol Diaz, a fundamentally sound power forward who's able to do a little bit of everything on the floor, especially shoot the bal and rebound as a stretch four. Diaz, only weighing 200 pounds, will need to put on weight or he'd mostly be suited at the 3. Marty Brand was another big addition but it may be awhile before we get to see the wing play. Brand suffered from a torn ACL injury during his high school playoffs and it's expected to keep him sidelined for his entire freshman year, with that being said -- the athletic marksman will be redshirted. Latece Dye tops the list as the past #5th ranked center in the nation and #133rd prospect. Latece was a huge pick-up for Northern Colorado as he'll offer a dominant old-school low post game that has drawn comparisons to an all-time great named Tim Duncan. Dye will most likely get the nod in the starting five as a true freshman this year so you'll be able to see if that huge comparison is true or not... Dee Valdez is a transfer from North Texas who'll be playing his first season with NC after accumulating a 5.8 point average for North Texas in two seasons.. The last player in this category is Tyrone Damon, a transfer from Oregon, Damon won't play this season as he will serve his redshirt process but he'll be getting set and when he takes the floor next year he'll most likely be the best player in the conference, no question.
Who to Watch:
Kris Wells put up big numbers as a freshman and I can easily expect that he'll outdo himself and win Conference Player of the Year this season. Wells took the backseat last season behind Wells and Hurst but with this basically being his team this year we may very well see more performances like his career high of 29 points last season. Clement Garner is a name to throw around as well, this sharp shooting guard has been waiting for his chance ever since he arrived to Greeley as the #38th best player in the nation. Garner got the nod over Hurst for a stretch last season and he put up relatively good numbers, he's most likely due to start full-time this season as a junior. I'd also add Latece Dye, Luol Diaz, and maybe even Brad Boone to this list as well.
Final Projection:
There's not too much of an argument going against Northern Colorado easily sweeping through this season. They may have issues with the games set up against Iowa State, Stanford, and maybe Oregon State but outside of those games I would honestly expect this season to be a huge cakewalk. The only issues I'd project them to have will be in the NCAA Tournament where they haven't advanced passed the first round since the 2010-11 season, Hill's first year as the head coach.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
Tyler Manilow, Junior, Guard, 5.7 points per game last season
Kris Wells, Sophomore, Guard, 13.3 points per game
Clement Garner, Junior, Forward, 9.1 points per game
Luol Diaz, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
Latece Dye, Freshman, Center, DNP last season
Madness 2019 Basketball Recruits
#63 Luol Diaz
#65 Marty Brand
#133 Latece Dye
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