BILLINGS — Word of mouth can be a powerful resource — as in this case for Montana State University Billings.
"One of my buddies from Washington, Cooper Dewitt, was on the team last year and he had a lot of good things to say about coach (Luke Fennelly)," Mason Landdeck told MTN Sports.
That recommendation paid off. Landdeck, a senior and Q2's athlete of the week, arrived at MSUB after earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament MVP honors a year ago with Seattle Pacific. He's been everything Fennelly had hoped for — and then some.
"He's as competitive as they come, he's a gym rat and I've been really proud of him because he's been a huge leader," Fennelly said.
Watch how Landdeck is helping MSUB's push toward the conference tourney:
Aside from his locker-room presence, Landdeck leads MSUB in assists and scoring with almost 18 points a game. He'll deliver a pocket pass on a dime, a deep-3 dagger or drive coast-to-coast with accelerating speed to keep defenses guessing.
"I just love the style that coach plays, and I think it fits my game pretty well," Landdeck said.
Just a couple weeks ago, MSUB's men climbed a mountain they had never summited before by winning at least 20 games for the fourth straight season. Landdeck was a key contributor. He'd suffered a high ankle sprain thought to sideline him for a month, according to Fennelly, but bounced back after only a week to help clinch win Number 20.
"He knows what it takes to win, so he's really come in from Day 1 and taken the reins at that point guard position," Fennelly said.
Landdeck is also on the Bevo Francis Watch List highlighting the nation's top 100 players at small college programs.
MSUB (20-10 overall, 9-8 GNAC) is actually his fifth college team, and Saturday he'll play his old team at Seattle Pacific. It's the final game of the regular season, could be the last of his college career and, as of Wednesday, has GNAC tournament hopes at stake.
With a solid surrounding cast, Landdeck would love to win another conference tourney title and march right back into the madness.
