Former WVC star Gataric picked to be all-conference again

From Montana State Billings athletics:

"Returning to the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team after standing out as the squad's most valuable player last season, senior guard/forward Momir Gataric has been unanimously selected to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team announced Wednesday.

"This is a well-deserved honor for Momir," commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "I think this shows what the coaches in our league think about Momir as a player with this vote, considering he is coming off a major knee injury. Momir has a chance to have a great senior season as he gets stronger and closer to one hundred percent."

In his first season with the Yellowjackets, Gataric averaged 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 7, 2015. Gataric started 19 contests, and averaged 29.2 minutes after transferring to MSUB from West Valley College (Calif.).

Gataric recorded a double-double on New Year's Day, notching 14 points and 13 rebounds against Saint Martin's University. His season-high of 25 points came at Simon Fraser on Jan. 10, a performance that led to him being selected as the GNAC Player of the Week.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., native scored in double figures in 15 of the 20 games he played, and was picked as MSUB's men's basketball player of the year at the 2015 Buzzie Awards.

Gataric was one of eight unanimous selections to the preseason all-conference team, and the lone player from MSU Billings represented on the list. Reigning GNAC Player of the Year Andy Avgi of Western Oregon University was selected as the preseason Player of the Year.

The Yellowjackets have their first exhibition game of the season on Saturday, as they host the MSUB Alumni at 3 p.m. at Alterowitz Gym. The game will immediately follow MSUB's women's Alumni Game, scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

The Yellowjackets have another exhibition game at Rocky Mountain College on Oct. 28, before beginning regular-season play with a pair of games at the Cal State East Bay tournament on Nov. 13-14 in Hayward, Calif."