Grizzlies bolster roster with pair of transfers
5/23/2022 12:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Montana men's basketball team added a pair of transfers over the weekend, with Aanen Moody (Southern Utah) and Jonathan Brown (Central Methodist) signing scholarship agreements.
Moody may be a familiar name to Griz fans, as he spent the past two seasons in the league, at Southern Utah. The 6-3 guard thrived from 3-point range, leading the Thunderbirds at a .402 clip, making 53 triples and averaging 6.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
He played in all 35 contests last year, starting seven, averaging 19.1 minutes per game. In 2020-21 for Southern Utah, Moody averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebound and 0.5 steals per game while connecting on 20 3-pointers (.345).
Moody started his collegiate career at North Dakota, where he played two seasons for the Fighting Hawks. In 30 games as a freshman in 2018-19, he led UND with 81 made 3-pointers, doing so on 41-percent shooting. He will have one year of immediate eligibility remaining with Montana.
A product of Dickinson High School, Moody was named Mr. Basketball in the state of North Dakota and twice earned North Dakota Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors. He broke – and still holds – the North Dakota Class A scoring record with 2,139 career points. As a senior at Dickinson, he averaged 30.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.
Brown comes to Montana after starring at the NAIA level, where he averaged 18.6 points per game in 2021-22 at Central Methodist University in Missouri. The 6-3 guard earned NAIA Third-Team All-America honors after scoring in double figures in 30 of 32 games. He will have two years of immediate eligibility remaining.
In addition to his 18.6 points-per-game average – which included 15 games with at least 20 points and a career-high 35 points in an upset win over No. 3 William Penn – Brown averaged 4.2 rebound and 3.0 assists per game last year. He shot .457 from the floor and .372 from 3-point range, earning first-team All-Heart Conference recognition. Central Methodist went 22-11 and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 2018.
Brown played parts of two seasons for Central Methodist, enrolling as a mid-year transfer in January 2021. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2020-21, despite playing in just 10 games.
He started his collegiate career at Fresno Pacific, a Division-II school in California, where he averaged 6.9 points per game. Brown is originally from London, England.
In November, a trio of prep players signed a National Letter of Intent – Isaiah Kerr, Jaxon Nap, Rhett Reynolds – while Big Sky's Caden Bateman will join the program as a walk-on.
Montana also returns the nucleus of last year's team, including four starters – Mack Anderson, Josh Bannan, Lonnell Martin Jr. and Brandon Whitney – in addition to Josh Vazquez, John Solomon and Trey Lawrence.
Moody may be a familiar name to Griz fans, as he spent the past two seasons in the league, at Southern Utah. The 6-3 guard thrived from 3-point range, leading the Thunderbirds at a .402 clip, making 53 triples and averaging 6.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
He played in all 35 contests last year, starting seven, averaging 19.1 minutes per game. In 2020-21 for Southern Utah, Moody averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebound and 0.5 steals per game while connecting on 20 3-pointers (.345).
Moody started his collegiate career at North Dakota, where he played two seasons for the Fighting Hawks. In 30 games as a freshman in 2018-19, he led UND with 81 made 3-pointers, doing so on 41-percent shooting. He will have one year of immediate eligibility remaining with Montana.
A product of Dickinson High School, Moody was named Mr. Basketball in the state of North Dakota and twice earned North Dakota Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year honors. He broke – and still holds – the North Dakota Class A scoring record with 2,139 career points. As a senior at Dickinson, he averaged 30.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.
Brown comes to Montana after starring at the NAIA level, where he averaged 18.6 points per game in 2021-22 at Central Methodist University in Missouri. The 6-3 guard earned NAIA Third-Team All-America honors after scoring in double figures in 30 of 32 games. He will have two years of immediate eligibility remaining.
In addition to his 18.6 points-per-game average – which included 15 games with at least 20 points and a career-high 35 points in an upset win over No. 3 William Penn – Brown averaged 4.2 rebound and 3.0 assists per game last year. He shot .457 from the floor and .372 from 3-point range, earning first-team All-Heart Conference recognition. Central Methodist went 22-11 and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the first time since 2018.
Brown played parts of two seasons for Central Methodist, enrolling as a mid-year transfer in January 2021. He earned honorable mention all-conference honors in 2020-21, despite playing in just 10 games.
He started his collegiate career at Fresno Pacific, a Division-II school in California, where he averaged 6.9 points per game. Brown is originally from London, England.
It has been a busy offseason for the Griz coaching staff, which has added five new members since its 2021-22 season concluded. The Grizzlies nabbed Brown and Moody from the transfer portal, as well as Laolu Oke (MSU Denver) and Dischon Thomas (Colorado State), while also adding Dorell Thomas, an incoming freshman from Skyline Prep in Arizona.Next chapter 🐻#committed #griz pic.twitter.com/A07WTXAeV2
— Jonathan brown (@jwbrown235) May 21, 2022
In November, a trio of prep players signed a National Letter of Intent – Isaiah Kerr, Jaxon Nap, Rhett Reynolds – while Big Sky's Caden Bateman will join the program as a walk-on.
Montana also returns the nucleus of last year's team, including four starters – Mack Anderson, Josh Bannan, Lonnell Martin Jr. and Brandon Whitney – in addition to Josh Vazquez, John Solomon and Trey Lawrence.
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