Texas State Men’s Basketball Season Preview: Shooting Guards

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men’s basketball team is coming off a 15-win season and making its second straight appearance in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Returning six players, including Preseason All-SBC Third Team selection Kavin Gilder-Tilbury, from last year, the Bobcats look to defy expectations with eight new players on the rosters.

In the second of a five-part series previewing the 2016-17 team, TXStateBobcats.com takes a look at the players competing for time at the shooting guard position.

Heading into the season, senior Bobby Conley has the edge in getting the starting nod. He played in all 31 games last season and started two when Ethan Montalvo missed time because of injuries. The Massillon, Ohio native averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during the 2015-16 campaign.

“With a year of experience, I expect Bobby to play better basketball,” said head coach Danny Kaspar. “He had a very strong finish last year, making the game-winning shot against Georgia State in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and playing very well against UT Arlington in the quarterfinals.”

Conley scored six points with his last three points being the game-winning trey with 2.5 seconds left on the clock against the Panthers in the first round of the SBC Tournament. He followed with a 7-point, 4-rebound, 3-assist performance in a career-high 35 minutes against the Mavericks.

Competing for playing time behind Conley is Tyler Blount and Courtney Julien.

Blount is a junior that arrived to Texas State after playing the last two seasons at New Mexico Junior College. He earned All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference First Team honors last season after averaging 15.0 points, 2.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game.

“Tyler is probably the best shooter on the team,” Kaspar said. “He is a new player that is having to learn our system but when it comes down to him being open. Tyler is one of the best shooters we have had since I have been here.”

When shooting from beyond the arc, Blount converted 43.8 percent of his shots on his way to making 85 three-pointers last season. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native showed his long range prowess at Green Run High School where he is the school record holder for career three-pointers made with 236 and treys made in a game at nine.

Julien played in 15 games for the Bobcats during the 2015-16 season. He made 7-of-20 shots and was 4-for-12 from beyond the arc for the year on his way to averaging 1.7 ppg and 0.4 rpg. The best game of his career was against Howard Payne when he scored a career-high 14 points. Half of his point total came at the free throw line when he converted 7-of-8 attempts.

“Courtney is more confident in his role on the team after not playing a lot as a freshman,” stated Kaspar. “He still needs to get more physical and assertive when he is on the court.”

Texas State takes on Southeastern Oklahoma State at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in an exhibition game at Strahan Coliseum. Six days later the Bobcats open the regular season against Florida Atlantic in the opening game of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Season tickets are currently on sale for the 2016-17 basketball season. They can be purchased online at www.txstatebobcats.com/tickets, over the phone at 512-245-2272 or by visiting the Mark and Linda Smith Ticket Office at Bobcat Stadium between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Individual game tickets will go on sale to the general public on November 1.

For the latest on Texas State men’s basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.

Point Guards Preview.