Brian Fish has a little more wiggle room on his roster after the Bobcats’ most recent departure.
On Wednesday, Fish confirmed that junior center Shy Blake has left the Montana State basketball program. Fish also confirmed that Stephan Holm’s departure is now permanent. Holm, a junior guard from Riverton, Utah stepped away from the team in February for personal reasons and dropped out of school earlier this month.
Those two departures coupled with the graduation of Marcus Colbert and Danny Robison gives Fish four openings for his roster. MSU signed Gilbert, Arizona forward Devin Kirby and Oslo, Norway point guard Harald Frey during the early period. Fish has secured verbal commitments from forward Joe Mvuezola of Miami Dade College and Devonte Klines from Saddleback Community College that each will sign during the late period, which begins on April 13.
Blake, a 6-foot-7 center who came to MSU from Northeastern (Colorado) Junior College, was a regular starter for Fish before suffering a season-ending knee injury four minutes into a 50-point victory over Northern Arizona on February 11.
At Northeastern, Blake earned Region IX South Player of the Year and NJCAA All-America honors. At MSU, Blake appeared in 24 of the team’s 31 games, starting 12. He averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.
“Shy let me know that he wants to continue his career elsewhere and I wish him the best,” Fish said. “I appreciate his contributions this year.”
Holm leaves the Bobcats after two-plus productive seasons. As a junior, the left-handed smooth shooter played 19.6 minutes per game, averaging 6.5 points per content and shooting 42 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We wish Steph the best,” Fish said in a statement when Holm first left the program. “We’re here to support him in any way possible.”
In his career, Holm hit 124 3-pointers, 24 short of MSU’s top 10 all-time list. His 91 3-pointers over his first two seasons were the second-most ever by a Bobcat in that span. Holm drilled seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 25 points in a victory over Texas Arlington last season. He averaged 9.8 points per game last season, third on the Bobcats. He hit four of MSU’s Big Sky-record 25 3s in a win over Northern Arizona earlier this season.
Holm signed with Montana State in 2013 after a standout career at Riverton High. He hit 41 3-pointers and shot 43 percent from beyond the arc during his freshman season playing for Brad Huse at MSU.
