Griz Great Gets Coach of Year Honor

University of Montana Grizzly basketball fans will always remember this player! And he's not doing too bad as a coach, either. Today those accomplishments were rewarded, as were those of a current Griz!

Montana senior forward Martin Breunig has been named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association 2015-16 men’s All-District VIII team, based on voting from its membership of over 900 writers nation wide.

Breunig is one of only 10 players selected to the prestigious all-district team that represents schools from seven states including Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Montana.

While Breunig is the only Montana player to be recognized by the USBWA, former Griz player and coach Larry Krystkowiak earning the District VIII Coach of the Year award for leading the No. 12 Utah Utes to a 24-7 season, and second place in the Pac-12.

A 6-8 senior from Leverkusen, Germany, Breunig was named to the Big Sky first team all-conference squad this week, the second time in two years he has earned that distinction.

Breunig is currently No. 22 on Montana’s top all-time scorers list with 1,072 points in two years at UM. Martin is one of only two players to reach 1,000 career points in just two seasons with the Griz, the other being Anthony Johnson. Heading that list is Coach Krystkowiak, who is the Grizzlies’ all-time leading scorer with 2,017 points, and leading rebounder with 1,105.

Congratulations to a couple of very nice guys with lots of great things still ahead in their basketball careers! And our thanks so UM Sports Information Director Eric Taber for the big news.  DB