(Miles City, MT) The start of the 2018-19 Pioneer men's basketball season is just around the corner and the Pioneers are preparing. The Pioneer men start regular season play at the MonDak Conference Tip-off Tournament against North Dakota State College of Science on November 1 at 7:00 pm in New Town, ND. The Pioneers look to improve on their 10-21 record last season.
Head Men's Coach Chase Tait is optimistic as the start of season looms but realizes there will be many challenges. "We will be looking for quality leadership from returning starting point guard DA Wyche (Houston, TX). DA was second on the team in assists last year and had a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio. He is our only returner with extensive minutes from last year. Also returning are 6'6 Joey Lodine (Manhattan Christian) and guard Evan Harrell (Cut Bank). Lodine will be in the mix in the front court and Harrell is a sharpshooter that should see time at the guard position. We return only 18% (16 PPG) of our scoring from last season off of a team that averaged 89 points per game. We are excited about our newcomers but they have yet to play a game. Until they are in a real competitive setting, it is very difficult to predict the ceiling on our 18-19 team."
The Pioneers have added some size to the roster this season. Enter 6'8 Gedeon Buzangu (Congo), 6'10 Irvin Katumbayi (France), 6'6 Issac Abergut (Australia), and 6'5 AK Kuany (Australia) to the front court. Newcomers at the guard position include Deondre Northey, Akeemis Williams, and Jayvon Lewis all from Las Vegas. New Montana guards include Gabe Gundlach (Miles City), Rylan Gauthier (Park City), and Draven Hart (Lame Deer).
"Right now our team is like an amoeba," commented coach Tait. "We have so many new faces that we really don't know what shape our team is going to take. The month of November is going to have lots of trial and error. We have to have patience with this group and make sure we understand that we are building for January/February. We will take some lumps early, but if we can stay together, keep working hard, and learn from our mistake, I feel that we can build a competitive unit and find a real shape by the time MonDak Conference play starts in January."
The Pioneers have moved from Region IX to Region XIII and the MonDak Conference this season.