Big Sky Basketball: Predicting All-Conference teams for 2019-20 season

First-Team

Big Sky Basketball showed last year that it didn’t mind voting in a small-ball lineup for its first team. Pridgett and Hall were the tallest members of the 2019 class, clocking in at 6’5″ apiece. It seems that is just the way of life in a league dominated by stellar guard play. This list follows suit – with one exception.

Holland Woods, Jr., Portland State

2018-19 Stats: 15.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 77.8% FT

Portland State got the best news possible this offseason – “Boo Boo” is back. Woods, a fan favorite in the Rose City, tested the NBA Draft waters for a time after his sophomore year but opted to come back to Barrett Peery’s team for another go-round. The 6’0” guard led the Vikings in scoring last season and finished just two assists behind Marcus Graves for the league lead in that category. That performance was good enough for a second-team All-Big Sky nod last year, but Woods will have his eyes set on the first team in 2019-20.

And though there may be a handful of guards ahead of him on the pecking order, the league showed a willingness to stack its top team with backcourt players last season, with Tyler Hall and Sayeed Pridgett clocking in as the tallest players on the list at just 6’5”. So precedent may be in Woods’ favor, especially if he can help guide Portland State to another finish among the top four again.

Mason Peatling, Eastern Washington

2018-19 Stats: 27.6 MPG, 15.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 58.6% FG

Like his teammate Jacob Davison, Peatling was able to parlay an injury-shortened season into all-league acclaim during the 2018-19 season. His injury, however, was during non-conference play, so Peatling was available to help lead the Eagles to a third-place finish and a trip to the Big Sky Tournament finals. The 6’8” senior will have extra room to operate in the frontcourt now that former teammate and fellow All-Big Sky second-teamer Jesse Hunt has cycled through the program.

Peatling is one of the better offensive rebounders in the conference and finished the year with the fifth-most blocks leaguewide during his last full season in 2017-18. His scoring and rebounding totals should see a bump now that he is the team’s elder statesman in the post, too. If the Eagles’ skilled duo – who only played alongside each other in 12 games last year – can join forces and put together full, healthy seasons, this team could be a sneaky team in the Big Sky Tournament yet again. That success could be what pushes Peatling over the top as the only big man on the first team list.

Harald Frey, Sr., Montana State

2018-19 Stats: 33.0 MPG, 17.2 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 38.7% 3P

The Norwegian guard has been a star virtually since day one in Bozeman, as noted by our very own Bryan Mauro a few weeks ago. Frey has raised his scoring average in each of the past two seasons after earning the Big Sky freshman of the year award and has developed into one of the premier floor generals in the league. Only Marcus Graves and Holland Woods had more assists last season, with Frey dealing out an even five per game. When he has the ball in his hands, the senior is comfortable scoring from anywhere on the court, shooting nearly 60 percent at the rim and nearly 39 percent from deep.

With Tyler Hall gone, Frey is set to pick up the torch and try to help the Bobcats improve on last year’s fourth-place finish. There’s certainly not as much talent as there once was around the senior, but Frey has a good enough game to carry Montana State on his back. The question is how far he can take them – and how much recognition his play will bring him from awards voters and draft scouts.

Sayeed Pridgett, Sr., Montana

2018-19 Stats: 29.9 MPG, 15.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG, 60.5% FG

Like Frey and Peatling, the Grizzlies’ wing is coming into this season faced with the task of stepping up into roles once held by now-departed seniors. For Montana, that void was created by the departure of Ahmaad Rorie, who etched his name into Grizzly lore alongside other recent players like Kareem Jamar and Will Cherry. Pridgett has a chance to add his name to that list this season. After excelling in a sixth man role in his sophomore season, the Oakland product broke out as a starter last year. He even wrestled the team’s scoring title away from Rorie, its two-time holder.

But now the team is unequivocally Pridgett’s, will he be able to take his game one step further? He went from a sixth man to a first-teamer in one season. He’s hoisted Big Sky banners and danced in the NCAA Tournaments in two consecutive years. The only thing missing from Pridgett’s mantel is a Big Sky Player of the Year award. He is one of the favorites to bring home the award, but he will face stiff competition from the last entrant on this list.

Jerrick Harding, Sr., Weber State

2018-19 Stats: 33.9 MPG, 21.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 36.6% 3P, 87.0% FT

Harding is coming off two huge seasons in which he has scored over 20 points per game, setting him up for a pretty easy crack at Weber State’s school scoring record. (Yes, even more than Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.) He does have a good shot at passing Jordan Davis into second place in the Big Sky’s all-time scoring ledger, but Harding would need to score over 30 points per game to catch Tyler Hall’s astounding mark of 2,518 career points. And though he is probably the league’s most dynamic returning scorer, that’s a pretty high number.

Still, Harding should be the front-runner for this year’s scoring title with both Hall and Davis out of the picture. His performance last season was enough to land him on the first team, but Harding won’t have the services of big men Brekkott Champman and Zach Braxton to help clear out space for him on the interior. Still, his high scoring could help him add to Weber State’s league-leading 11 Big Sky POY trophies.

With last year’s Player of the Year award going to Jordan Davis, a player who was statistically outstanding on a team that didn’t win the league, recent history would seem to be on Harding’s side in the POY race. But after the gargantuan leap that Pridgett made from his sophomore to junior seasons, it’s tough to bet against him taking it up even one more level. Of course, there’s plenty of dark horses, including Harald Frey. It promises to be an exciting race from start to finish.