Valley city's rise to the top
After a quiet couple of years, Valley City State University men’s basketball is back on the rise. The Vikings have held a consistently steady place in the North Star Athletic Association conference, floating in the middle rankings for about four years. The Vikings are currently receiving votes for national competition and have a 18-6 (.750) overall game record, with an 9-5 (.643) North Star Conference record. The Vikings have not had a winning record since the 2015-2016 season, in which they went 22-11 (.667) overall and 8-5 (.615) in the North Star Conference.
Viking photos - "2.13 MBB vs Dakota State" Source: Hannah Anderson (VCSU)
In the 2016-2017 season, VCSU welcomed Coach Ryan Montgomery to lead the men’s basketball team. With a shift in coaching staff, new players and perhaps a new overall atmosphere, the Vikings have gone through the steps to rebuild the program. When asked about his methods to bring the Vikings to where they are now, Coach Montgomery explained that it has been pure belief and trust in the program:
Belief. That’s it. I never strayed in believing what me and my staff believed in when we got here. We wanted to run a student first, talented basketball program. Things had to be changed and certain stigmas needed to be eliminated. Those tough times were the cost of change and there was no way around that. We are not all the way there yet. We need to take the last step but we are on the path. Lots of people doubt and want immediate success. That’s not what brings consistency in winning. True devotion to who you are and what you believe in will show success eventually. - VCSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Ryan Montgomery
Building a new program takes time. Ryan came to Valley City State knowing this and has prepared himself and his staff for this to be the year when everything takes off. There
are certain principles that must be developed over time, and this team has taken their individual talent and adapted to those principles to create a strong team. This year’s team has a wide range of diversity and personality, but all of the players work together to offer new perspectives on different things. This allows for great strength and flexibility for all of the players, offering great depth and opportunity for the Vikings.
VCSU Men's Basketball Head Coach Ryan Montgomery talks to player Eddie Oyet before a substitution. Source: Hannah Anderson (VCSU)
When looking at the individual players on the Viking roster, there is great depth and talent available. This has been extremely beneficial in the success of the team. With four players averaging double digits in points per game, one can see how the distribution seems to be considerably evenly spread. There is not one specific shining start on this team. Everyone has their own talents and knows how to use them effectively on the court. That is why this team is so great to watch. Any night could be “someone’s” night, and if a team tries to shut down one player, someone else will step it up. Coach Montgomery says, “We are a good basketball team. We have the talent needed to win at a high level and we have the experience. You don’t win very many games without those characteristics.” He is completely right. There is a lot of talent for the Vikings this year, and Coach Montgomery utilizes that to his advantage, pulling about 11 players off the bench each game – that is what we like to call depth.
Coach Montgomery, as mentioned previously, has been the head coach at VCSU since the 2016-2017 season. From that time, his coaching style and philosophy has adapted beyond that of how he was traditionally coached. When asked about how he has changed his coaching philosophy throughout the years, Ryan said that he has shifted towards more “positivity and constructive motivation.”
“Today’s players do not respond negative talk or intense criticism. In my playing days or early coaching years, those were the norm. Now we have to adapt and filter more positivity into our philosophies and creative ways to motivate when players don’t perform.” - VCSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Ryan Montgomery
With this shift in coaching, players and team chemistry – VCSU has had an exceptional season. The Vikings had a strong start, winning nine games in a row from November to January, before they took a loss to Bellevue University on Jan. 9, 69-77. Only three days later, on Jan. 12, the Vikings bounced back with a major victory over Oak Hills Christian College 105-48. The Vikings have been working hard all year to get stronger, play smarter, and build team chemistry. Coming together as teammates and friends, this group has excelled both on and off the court, building friendships and succeeding in the classroom as well. The VCSU men’s team has a team GPA above 3.0 – proving their dedication to both basketball and their education.
Coach Montgomery explains what he believes makes VCSU to be set apart: “Our depth and level of play. We play intense and fast. We create mayhem all game and we pride ourselves in that.” This scrappy team proves themselves with their outstanding team stats:
- 83.6 pts per game
- 48.7 field goal percentage
- 38.4 three-point percentage
- 69.6 free-throw percentage
- 32.2 rebounds per game
- 10 steals per game
*Additional stats can be found on the VCSUVikings website
The following video features highlights from the VCSU men's basketball victory over Mayville State University on Jan. 30:
This team has a wide variety of players on its roster. These men are all incredibly versatile – they can shoot outside, inside, take a drive into the paint, draw fouls, dunk, etc… This is a talented group of young men whose work is proving to be effective on the court.
The Vikings are leading quite the successful season, and there will not be much change within the next season. With only one senior, Connor Entzi, on the men’s team this year, there is great potential for the next few years to come with this team. Because Coach Ryan Montgomery integrates multiple players of various ages on the court, one can assume that this team will lead success in the future as well.
Viking men will host Dickinson State University in the first round of playoffs for conference play on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Valley City.
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**Stats from VCSUVikings
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