Bengals complete roster with the addition of Minot State transfer Connor Hollenbeck

Three months ago the erosion began, and it didn’t end until the Idaho State men’s basketball team lost 10 scholarship players.

That was 82% of its scoring, 69.5% of its rebounding and 87% of its assists generated by scholarship players.

Oh, and the Bengals lost an assistant coach, too, for good measure.

It’s been a long, hard slog for ISU head coach Ryan Looney and his remaining staff to replace all those players, but it all came to an end Thursday, when the Bengals announced their final recruit for the 2024-25 season.

“We’re done!” Looney stated in a triumphant text message to the Idaho State Journal.

The final piece of the puzzle turned out to be Connor Hollenbeck, a 6-foot-7- inch forward from Division II Minot State in North Dakota. Hollenbeck, who will join the Bengals as a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility remaining, averaged almost 12 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for a Beaver team that finished 20-9 overall and 15-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

“I could not be more excited about the addition of Connor Hollenbeck,” Looney said. “He has played 2,434 minutes of college basketball. Connor is a skilled forward with a lot of experience. He will be a tough matchup in the Big Sky.”

Hollenbeck is the ninth scholarship player recruited by ISU this spring − two from Division I, two from Division II, one from NAIA and four from junior colleges. ISU has two returning lettermen in guard AJ Burgin and forward Isaiah Griffin, and two redshirt freshmen − center Evan Otten and guard Jayden Brown.

Hollenbeck is getting his shot at Division I basketball after years of being a “late bloomer.” He stood only 5-10 and played point guard for his dad at St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City, South Dakota through his junior season.

Asked what it was like to play for his father, Hollenback responded dryly:

“I’d put it this way — you don’t like it when you’re in it, but when you’re out of it, you kind of understand why it’s so tough and how it can help you in the long run.”

Then he sprouted up to 6-7 over the next two years, earning an opportunity at North Dakota State College of Science, a junior college, before transferring to Minot State.

He earned all-conference honors this past season for the Beavers, shooting 46% from the field, 31% from the 3-point line, 77% from the free throw line, posting a 63-53 assist-to-turnover ratio and grabbing 22 steals with 12 blocks. His high games at Minot were 31 points, including six made 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

“I would describe my game as hard-nosed and versatile,” Hollenbeck told the Journal. “I’m 6-7 with guard skills. I can run the break, I can shoot from the perimeter, but I also can post up on mismatches. Defensively, I’m a good rebounder and I can get some deflections or blocks.”

Hollenbeck connected to Idaho State through two of his former junior college coaches, one who knew Bengal assistant coach Joe White, another who had coached with Looney.

Looney envisions Hollenbeck as a stretch four who can come in and create mismatches with his skills, and who can grab a rebound and lead a break. He’s also looking for Hollenbeck to be a leader on a team that is definitely going to start out, at least, as a mishmash of different parts from different places.

Looney and his staff, which now includes two new assistants who were also added to the mix this spring, will get their first collective look at all those pieces starting June 10, with summer workouts on campus.

“It’s going to be interesting, it gives us a lot of time to get on campus and get to know each other,” Hollenbeck said of the upcoming summer drills. “A big part of it is going to be team chemistry — it’s half on the court, and half getting to know each other. On the court, we’ve got to get a lot of work done in a fast amount of time. But we’re all coming from a high level of basketball, and with that experience, we know what it takes.”

Hollenback is graduating from Minot State with a degree in business management, and plans on enrolling in a certificate program in business organization at ISU. He hopes to play two or three years of basketball overseas, then return to the states to either pursue a career in coaching or business.

Here is a look at the final ISU roster for next season:

Guards: Dylan Darling, transfer, Washington State; Quinten Meza, transfer, Wofford; Jayden Brown, redshirt freshman; AJ Burgin, returning letterman; Jake O’Neil, transfer, College of Idaho; Cam Slaymaker, transfer, Southern Nazarene University.

Wings: Joey Madimba, transfer, Howard College; Isaiah Griffin, returning starter; Cheikh Sow, transfer, Cloud County Community College.

Forwards/Posts: Evan Otten, redshirt freshman; Blake Daberkow, transfer, Central Community College; Jackson Greene, transfer, Eastern Oklahoma State College; Connor Hollenbeck, transfer, Minot State University.