Senior guard Michael Dison leads the Cats in scoring
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Michael Dison Energizes Bobcats with Offense, Smile
12/11/2014 4:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bobcat guard shines early in season
Before he saw him pour in 32 points to help his team to its first win of the season, before he had a courtside view of his four steals against Utah Valley, before he witnessed his work ethic in the anonymity of daily practice sessions, Montana State's first-year head coach Brian Fish noticed something else about senior guard Michael Dison.
He saw that smile.
"He's just a fun kid to be around," Fish said. "He's a positive person with a really good personality."
On the hardwood, Fish is the first to admit that Dison entered the season as a still-unknown commodity. "We didn't really know what we had in him (upon arrival at MSU)," said Fish, who opted not to watch video of any previous Bobcat team to allow the current team a fresh start. "He may be five-nine, 155, but he plays like he's six-nine, 255. And he's a really, really good player."
The faith Fish and his staff placed in Dison has paid handsome dividends early in the season. The 5-9 senior from Houston scored a career-high 32 points in the Cats' first win of the season, a stunning 104-81 wipeout of UT Arlington, and paces the team with 14.8 points an outing. Dison is also among the top 15 players in the Big Sky in scoring, three-point field goals made, and three-point percentage.
Bobcat assistant coach Kenya Crandell, who works with the team's guards, said the system installed by the new coaching staff fused well with Dison's skills. "We could see he was the best scoring threat among the returning players," Crandell said. "He's a good fit for this system."
One of the system's attributes that best suits Dison is its pace. "I like the tempo better," he said. "I like getting up and down the court. When I was a scorer in high school I got a lot of shots, they wanted me to shoot a lot, and that's my role in this system. That's the way I always played when I was little, up and down the court. I like playing fast, and I know when I do there aren't too many people that can stay in front of me."
Fish's faith in Dison has freed him up offensively, Dison said. "It eases your mind a little bit, knowing that if you make a mistake or miss a shot you're not coming right out of the game," he said. "It just gives you peace of mind to play without worrying."
Dison's level of faith in himself was tested over the summer when he served as an internship with Northwestern Mutual in Bozeman, gaining hands-on experience in the insurance industry. It was a different sensation than spotting up for a three-pointer.
"I went through the training process to learn about the whole insurance side of the business, and basically learn how to sell insurance and meet people's needs," he said. "You have to talk to people, you have to get out and interact. It's a test of your guts, because it's a tough business. There's a lot of denial, a lot of rejection, and you have to push through that. Athletics helps with that."
A Liberal Studies major, Dison said that inter-disciplinary program benefited him during his summer work. "I really grasped onto the concepts of what they were trying to teach me easily," he said. "It helped getting a bunch of different views from these different classes I've been taking. That works in my favor."
Another positive factor in Dison's development has been his relationship with backcourt-mate and friend Marcus Colbert. "We always talk about that," Dison says with a laugh of his connection with the team's junior point guard. "We have really good (chemistry) on the court, and we're best friends off the court, as well. We feel it when we're playing, but it's funny that people are always telling us that they can really see it in how we play together."
Fish says that watching Dison play has taken a back seat only to getting to know him as a person. "He's been fun to be around," MSU's first-year coach says, "and he's played really, really well."
He saw that smile.
"He's just a fun kid to be around," Fish said. "He's a positive person with a really good personality."
On the hardwood, Fish is the first to admit that Dison entered the season as a still-unknown commodity. "We didn't really know what we had in him (upon arrival at MSU)," said Fish, who opted not to watch video of any previous Bobcat team to allow the current team a fresh start. "He may be five-nine, 155, but he plays like he's six-nine, 255. And he's a really, really good player."
The faith Fish and his staff placed in Dison has paid handsome dividends early in the season. The 5-9 senior from Houston scored a career-high 32 points in the Cats' first win of the season, a stunning 104-81 wipeout of UT Arlington, and paces the team with 14.8 points an outing. Dison is also among the top 15 players in the Big Sky in scoring, three-point field goals made, and three-point percentage.
Bobcat assistant coach Kenya Crandell, who works with the team's guards, said the system installed by the new coaching staff fused well with Dison's skills. "We could see he was the best scoring threat among the returning players," Crandell said. "He's a good fit for this system."
One of the system's attributes that best suits Dison is its pace. "I like the tempo better," he said. "I like getting up and down the court. When I was a scorer in high school I got a lot of shots, they wanted me to shoot a lot, and that's my role in this system. That's the way I always played when I was little, up and down the court. I like playing fast, and I know when I do there aren't too many people that can stay in front of me."
Fish's faith in Dison has freed him up offensively, Dison said. "It eases your mind a little bit, knowing that if you make a mistake or miss a shot you're not coming right out of the game," he said. "It just gives you peace of mind to play without worrying."
Dison's level of faith in himself was tested over the summer when he served as an internship with Northwestern Mutual in Bozeman, gaining hands-on experience in the insurance industry. It was a different sensation than spotting up for a three-pointer.
"I went through the training process to learn about the whole insurance side of the business, and basically learn how to sell insurance and meet people's needs," he said. "You have to talk to people, you have to get out and interact. It's a test of your guts, because it's a tough business. There's a lot of denial, a lot of rejection, and you have to push through that. Athletics helps with that."
A Liberal Studies major, Dison said that inter-disciplinary program benefited him during his summer work. "I really grasped onto the concepts of what they were trying to teach me easily," he said. "It helped getting a bunch of different views from these different classes I've been taking. That works in my favor."
Another positive factor in Dison's development has been his relationship with backcourt-mate and friend Marcus Colbert. "We always talk about that," Dison says with a laugh of his connection with the team's junior point guard. "We have really good (chemistry) on the court, and we're best friends off the court, as well. We feel it when we're playing, but it's funny that people are always telling us that they can really see it in how we play together."
Fish says that watching Dison play has taken a back seat only to getting to know him as a person. "He's been fun to be around," MSU's first-year coach says, "and he's played really, really well."
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