Brian Fish announced his second group of recruits on Wednesday
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Brian Fish Lands Trio of Prep Standouts, Solid People
11/12/2014 5:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Shooting, savvy highlight Fish's first fall recruiting class
Brian Fish likes his second recruiting class of Montana State basketball players a lot. He likes his second recruiting class of people even more.
MSU's first-year head coach infused his program with talent Wednesday, adding guards Tyler Hall of Rock Island, Ill., and Mandrell Worthy of Puyallup, Wash., and forward Sam Neumann of St. Paul, Minn. On the first day to sign student-athletes to binding National Letters-of-Intent, Fish was most pleased with his incoming players' character. "That's the most important thing," Fish said. "We're an education-first university, and we're trying to build a program that reflects that. I really like all of these kids, and I really like their families."
Hall, a 6-4 guard from Rock Island High, averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a junior. He earned All-Western Big Six honors, shooting 56 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the arc. "Tyler's a 6-4 guard, very versatile, and can really shoot it," Fish said. "He has a chance to be a really good player. He's very committed and loyal. He had the chance to play for several different AAU teams but showed loyalty to his team. He plays for a very good high school program. I've known him for a couple of years. Basketball's been very important to him his whole life, and it really shows in his game."
Darren Bizarri, Hall's prep coach, concurs with Fish. "He's a kid that has a really good basketball IQ, and he shoots the ball very well," Bizarri said. "He's very long with an athletic body that he's just starting to grow into and fill out. He's a good player now, but his upside is still very, very good. In a day and age where it's harder and hard to find shooters, Tyler is a shooter."
Bizarri also praised Hall for his work away from the court. "He's a tremendous kid," he said. "He's an advanced placement kid, both his mom and dad are educators, both played college basketball (at Augustana, Ill.). He's just a top-notch kid, and I know that his choosing Montana State is relative to the relationship he developed with Brian (Fish). I know he's very excited to be a Bobcat."
Unlike Hall, who has been on Fish's radar for a couple of years, the 6-6 Neumann "is a guy we saw in April and really liked right away," Fish said. "He played on an unbelievably good AAU team, and even with a couple of guys who could play in the NBA someday Sam stood out as a guy who can shoot the basketball and is a very good passer. He has a little nastiness to his game, he's a tough, gritty guy, and I really like that. He's the guy during this recruiting process that was texting other recruits and really showed some great leadership skills." Neumann prepped at Cretin-Derham Hall High School.
A 6-2, 180 lb guard, Worthy's arrival at Eastside Catholic coincided with that of coach Bill Liley, and the turnaround was immediate for a program that had not logged a winning record in a decade. "Mandrell has been the face of the program since I came here," Liley said. "He's been a starter since day one, when he was coming out of eighth grade, the June before his freshman year, and he's been a major reason for our turnaround. Since his arrival we are 52-28. He's played one through four for us, and we're talking about a 5-11 freshman basically playing the four for us because that's what gave the team the best chance to win. Mandrell is not selfish at all, he's an incredible passer, he can score."
Worthy was first team all-state and all-league last year, and the list of players to pass through that conference includes Doug Christie, Nate Robinson and Spencer Hawes. He averaged 18.5 points, six rebounds and four assists a game as a junior, was named team MVP each of the past two seasons, and is entering his third season as a team captain. "He's had to do so much for us," Liley said. "I could just go on and on about Mandrell."
Fish said that he hopes Worthy's experience in the Bobcat program reflects that of his high school career. "Mandrell went to a high school that hadn't won much before he got there, and now they're one of the top two programs in the state. We sold him on the vision that he can do here what he did in high school. I call him an adjustable wrench player, because he just fits in wherever you need him. He can play the one, the two, the three, he's very athletic."
The addition of the three, Fish said, is a major boost for his program. "I'm unbelievably excited about these three. They can come in and help us immediately."
MSU's first-year head coach infused his program with talent Wednesday, adding guards Tyler Hall of Rock Island, Ill., and Mandrell Worthy of Puyallup, Wash., and forward Sam Neumann of St. Paul, Minn. On the first day to sign student-athletes to binding National Letters-of-Intent, Fish was most pleased with his incoming players' character. "That's the most important thing," Fish said. "We're an education-first university, and we're trying to build a program that reflects that. I really like all of these kids, and I really like their families."
Hall, a 6-4 guard from Rock Island High, averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a junior. He earned All-Western Big Six honors, shooting 56 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the arc. "Tyler's a 6-4 guard, very versatile, and can really shoot it," Fish said. "He has a chance to be a really good player. He's very committed and loyal. He had the chance to play for several different AAU teams but showed loyalty to his team. He plays for a very good high school program. I've known him for a couple of years. Basketball's been very important to him his whole life, and it really shows in his game."
Darren Bizarri, Hall's prep coach, concurs with Fish. "He's a kid that has a really good basketball IQ, and he shoots the ball very well," Bizarri said. "He's very long with an athletic body that he's just starting to grow into and fill out. He's a good player now, but his upside is still very, very good. In a day and age where it's harder and hard to find shooters, Tyler is a shooter."
Bizarri also praised Hall for his work away from the court. "He's a tremendous kid," he said. "He's an advanced placement kid, both his mom and dad are educators, both played college basketball (at Augustana, Ill.). He's just a top-notch kid, and I know that his choosing Montana State is relative to the relationship he developed with Brian (Fish). I know he's very excited to be a Bobcat."
Unlike Hall, who has been on Fish's radar for a couple of years, the 6-6 Neumann "is a guy we saw in April and really liked right away," Fish said. "He played on an unbelievably good AAU team, and even with a couple of guys who could play in the NBA someday Sam stood out as a guy who can shoot the basketball and is a very good passer. He has a little nastiness to his game, he's a tough, gritty guy, and I really like that. He's the guy during this recruiting process that was texting other recruits and really showed some great leadership skills." Neumann prepped at Cretin-Derham Hall High School.
A 6-2, 180 lb guard, Worthy's arrival at Eastside Catholic coincided with that of coach Bill Liley, and the turnaround was immediate for a program that had not logged a winning record in a decade. "Mandrell has been the face of the program since I came here," Liley said. "He's been a starter since day one, when he was coming out of eighth grade, the June before his freshman year, and he's been a major reason for our turnaround. Since his arrival we are 52-28. He's played one through four for us, and we're talking about a 5-11 freshman basically playing the four for us because that's what gave the team the best chance to win. Mandrell is not selfish at all, he's an incredible passer, he can score."
Worthy was first team all-state and all-league last year, and the list of players to pass through that conference includes Doug Christie, Nate Robinson and Spencer Hawes. He averaged 18.5 points, six rebounds and four assists a game as a junior, was named team MVP each of the past two seasons, and is entering his third season as a team captain. "He's had to do so much for us," Liley said. "I could just go on and on about Mandrell."
Fish said that he hopes Worthy's experience in the Bobcat program reflects that of his high school career. "Mandrell went to a high school that hadn't won much before he got there, and now they're one of the top two programs in the state. We sold him on the vision that he can do here what he did in high school. I call him an adjustable wrench player, because he just fits in wherever you need him. He can play the one, the two, the three, he's very athletic."
The addition of the three, Fish said, is a major boost for his program. "I'm unbelievably excited about these three. They can come in and help us immediately."
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