Harald Frey
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
PLAY IT AGAIN: The Bobcats Hope for More Magic in Greensboro on Friday
3/15/2023 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Harald Frey's half-court shot more than three years ago helped spark the run of success MSU continues to enjoy
BOZEMAN, Montana – There was no way to know the last time the Bobcat basketball team landed in Greensboro, North Carolina, what lied ahead.
There was no way to know in mid-November of 2019 that a buzzer-beating miracle shot was part of the script, a shot that would land the Cats on ESPN SportsCenter's top plays, eventually leading to a winning season that might have been any more special had a global pandemic not ended it early.
And there was certainly no way to know when the ball was leaving Harald Frey's hands that it would vault the program into a renaissance that continues to this day. The Cats have won back-to-back Big Sky tournaments with accompanying NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in school history. The team has logged consecutive 25-win seasons since the days of the legendary Golden Bobcats in the 1920s.
But that's what happened. And returning to Greensboro, where it can be argued this whole thing began, seems fitting.
"It's definitely interesting that we're getting to go back there," said Bobcat senior Jubrile Belo, a first-year Bobcat in 2019-20. "We have some good luck there, and I was happy we're going to North Carolina rather than Denver or Sacramento because I remember the whole feel. We went to a nice restaurant the day before, and it was a nice experience all around."
Danny Sprinkle's first season as head coach at his alma mater by opening some eyes, hanging tough from start to finish in an 81-73 loss to nationally-ranked Utah State in Logan. Next came a 93-60 home win over Rocky Mountain, setting up the team's cross-country trip to the Spartan Invitational in Greensboro.
"Those are the first real memories I have of taking over my own program," Sprinkle said, "mostly because of that shot, it was on ESPN, but going down to Greensboro and being with the team for five or six days straight was a great team-bonding experience. It's where we got our first Division I win, it was against Appalachian State, and then we played Greensboro."
One of college basketball's best mid-major programs, with at least 20 wins in six of the last seven seasons, UNCG finished 21-9 in 2019-20. The team's point guard, Isaiah Miller, won Southern Conference Player of the Year honors twice and has played in the NBA G League the last two seasons.
Appalachian State was first up for the Bobcats in Greensboro, and the Bobcats earned a 59-56 win. Senior guard Harald Frey, one of the program's top players of recent times, scored 16 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while senior center Devin Kirby added a dozen points and six boards. Belo snared seven boards.
"That was my first tournament and I remember it being different," Belo said, "a lot of different teams than I'd seen before. It was my first year. It was a fun experience, the gym was rocking, and it was a different style than I was used to, it was more physical. But mostly from that tournament is Harry's shot, that's what I remember."
Harry's shot. It was a true viral moment for Bobcat basketball, when the team Cats beat a legitimate national-caliber team in its own gym. "I think they'd only lost like three (home) games in five years at that point," Sprinkle said, "and the way it ended. Their point guard, who had a stint in the NBA, made an unbelievable left-handed shot, and Harald answered it."
Frey recalls it well. "I've gotten asked about that game a couple times over the years," he said with a smile.
"I remember how tough the whole game was," he remembers "and it was back and forth the whole game. It was tied on the last possession and they had the ball. Their point guard, Miller, made a tough layup against Amin and I knew we didn't have any time outs left. I asked for the ball fast and knew I had about three dribbles. I got as close as I could and let it fly. It felt good when it left my hands and when it went in it was just a rush of emotions. For sure it was one of my best memories at MSU."
The wild celebration on the floor spilled into the locker room, where it accelerated. "I remember the locker room celebration, and I really remember Jubrile," Sprinkle said. "It was his first real (Division I basketball) experience and he was in disbelief. He was more excited than Harald."
Belo concurs. "I honestly couldn't believe it," he said. "When that happened I couldn't believe it, that was the best moment I had ever been in. In the locker room I was in shock, and for a good couple hours, too."
The moment has stayed with Frey, not because he hit the shot that ESPN made a viral moment but because of who he shared it with. "I remember being on cloud nine for such a long time after, and when we got to the locker room it still didn't feel real. We had a real fun group of guys that year who all really cared for each other. It wasn't my moment, I really felt like it was our collective moment and it made it so much greater to share it with them."
One of the interesting sidelights of that trip was the opportunity to meet former Bobcat basketball player Bob Maracich, who played in six games at MSU in 1969-70 before an injury ended his playing career. "MSU kept him on scholarship after his injury," Sprinkle said, "and he's always appreciated that. It was great to get to know him."
Frey said that was a memorable encounter. "He spoke to the team about his journey and what stayed with me was that he said that no matter who we are we all get really, really luck two, three, maybe four times in life. Moments that can change things for you individually, where everything is right and luck is on your side. How we take advantage of those moments is really important and something he's lived by. So when life offers you these chances, don't hesitate and take full advantage of the situation that's presented. Two days later I hit that shot, kind of a cool side to (that trip)."
It may be an exaggeration to say Frey's shot and the success at that tournament – MSU walloped Tennessee Tech 52-39 the next day to win the title – is the seminal moment of Montana State's current success, but Sprinkle said it remains a significant time in the program's development.
"It gave us confidence," he said. "That year (UNCG was) one of the best mid-major teams in the country. Wes Miller was their coach, he's at Cincinnati now. We knew that if we could beat Greensboro at Greensboro then we could go on the road against anybody in our league and have a chance to win. It gave our guys a lot of confidence, especially those new guys, Jubrile and Amin (Adamu) and those guys. Some of them hadn't won before, and you have to get lucky sometimes in order to instill that belief, but after that the belief factor was on a different level."
That belief system has the Bobcats facing Kansas State in its second straight NCAA Tournament on Friday, and Sprinkle looks forward to re-tracing his steps to North Carolina. "The camaraderie we built on that trip carried us through the rest of the year. It really brought us together."
Tipoff is 7:40 pm MT, and the game airs nationally on CBS.
#GoCatsGo
There was no way to know in mid-November of 2019 that a buzzer-beating miracle shot was part of the script, a shot that would land the Cats on ESPN SportsCenter's top plays, eventually leading to a winning season that might have been any more special had a global pandemic not ended it early.
And there was certainly no way to know when the ball was leaving Harald Frey's hands that it would vault the program into a renaissance that continues to this day. The Cats have won back-to-back Big Sky tournaments with accompanying NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in school history. The team has logged consecutive 25-win seasons since the days of the legendary Golden Bobcats in the 1920s.
But that's what happened. And returning to Greensboro, where it can be argued this whole thing began, seems fitting.
"It's definitely interesting that we're getting to go back there," said Bobcat senior Jubrile Belo, a first-year Bobcat in 2019-20. "We have some good luck there, and I was happy we're going to North Carolina rather than Denver or Sacramento because I remember the whole feel. We went to a nice restaurant the day before, and it was a nice experience all around."
Danny Sprinkle's first season as head coach at his alma mater by opening some eyes, hanging tough from start to finish in an 81-73 loss to nationally-ranked Utah State in Logan. Next came a 93-60 home win over Rocky Mountain, setting up the team's cross-country trip to the Spartan Invitational in Greensboro.
"Those are the first real memories I have of taking over my own program," Sprinkle said, "mostly because of that shot, it was on ESPN, but going down to Greensboro and being with the team for five or six days straight was a great team-bonding experience. It's where we got our first Division I win, it was against Appalachian State, and then we played Greensboro."
One of college basketball's best mid-major programs, with at least 20 wins in six of the last seven seasons, UNCG finished 21-9 in 2019-20. The team's point guard, Isaiah Miller, won Southern Conference Player of the Year honors twice and has played in the NBA G League the last two seasons.
Appalachian State was first up for the Bobcats in Greensboro, and the Bobcats earned a 59-56 win. Senior guard Harald Frey, one of the program's top players of recent times, scored 16 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while senior center Devin Kirby added a dozen points and six boards. Belo snared seven boards.
"That was my first tournament and I remember it being different," Belo said, "a lot of different teams than I'd seen before. It was my first year. It was a fun experience, the gym was rocking, and it was a different style than I was used to, it was more physical. But mostly from that tournament is Harry's shot, that's what I remember."
Harry's shot. It was a true viral moment for Bobcat basketball, when the team Cats beat a legitimate national-caliber team in its own gym. "I think they'd only lost like three (home) games in five years at that point," Sprinkle said, "and the way it ended. Their point guard, who had a stint in the NBA, made an unbelievable left-handed shot, and Harald answered it."
Frey recalls it well. "I've gotten asked about that game a couple times over the years," he said with a smile.
"I remember how tough the whole game was," he remembers "and it was back and forth the whole game. It was tied on the last possession and they had the ball. Their point guard, Miller, made a tough layup against Amin and I knew we didn't have any time outs left. I asked for the ball fast and knew I had about three dribbles. I got as close as I could and let it fly. It felt good when it left my hands and when it went in it was just a rush of emotions. For sure it was one of my best memories at MSU."
The wild celebration on the floor spilled into the locker room, where it accelerated. "I remember the locker room celebration, and I really remember Jubrile," Sprinkle said. "It was his first real (Division I basketball) experience and he was in disbelief. He was more excited than Harald."
Belo concurs. "I honestly couldn't believe it," he said. "When that happened I couldn't believe it, that was the best moment I had ever been in. In the locker room I was in shock, and for a good couple hours, too."
The moment has stayed with Frey, not because he hit the shot that ESPN made a viral moment but because of who he shared it with. "I remember being on cloud nine for such a long time after, and when we got to the locker room it still didn't feel real. We had a real fun group of guys that year who all really cared for each other. It wasn't my moment, I really felt like it was our collective moment and it made it so much greater to share it with them."
One of the interesting sidelights of that trip was the opportunity to meet former Bobcat basketball player Bob Maracich, who played in six games at MSU in 1969-70 before an injury ended his playing career. "MSU kept him on scholarship after his injury," Sprinkle said, "and he's always appreciated that. It was great to get to know him."
Frey said that was a memorable encounter. "He spoke to the team about his journey and what stayed with me was that he said that no matter who we are we all get really, really luck two, three, maybe four times in life. Moments that can change things for you individually, where everything is right and luck is on your side. How we take advantage of those moments is really important and something he's lived by. So when life offers you these chances, don't hesitate and take full advantage of the situation that's presented. Two days later I hit that shot, kind of a cool side to (that trip)."
It may be an exaggeration to say Frey's shot and the success at that tournament – MSU walloped Tennessee Tech 52-39 the next day to win the title – is the seminal moment of Montana State's current success, but Sprinkle said it remains a significant time in the program's development.
"It gave us confidence," he said. "That year (UNCG was) one of the best mid-major teams in the country. Wes Miller was their coach, he's at Cincinnati now. We knew that if we could beat Greensboro at Greensboro then we could go on the road against anybody in our league and have a chance to win. It gave our guys a lot of confidence, especially those new guys, Jubrile and Amin (Adamu) and those guys. Some of them hadn't won before, and you have to get lucky sometimes in order to instill that belief, but after that the belief factor was on a different level."
That belief system has the Bobcats facing Kansas State in its second straight NCAA Tournament on Friday, and Sprinkle looks forward to re-tracing his steps to North Carolina. "The camaraderie we built on that trip carried us through the rest of the year. It really brought us together."
Tipoff is 7:40 pm MT, and the game airs nationally on CBS.
#GoCatsGo
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