Seventh in a series
Part 6 - Zharon Richmond, Men's Basketball Freshman
Part 5 - Hannah Collins, Women's Basketball Freshman
Part 4 - Izela Alvarez, Volleyball Freshman
Part 3 - Maddi Vigil, Volleyball Freshman
Part 2 - Natalie Cabiad, Women's Soccer Freshman
Part 1 - Kylee Clarke, Volleyball Freshman

BILLINGS, Mont. – As time wound down and the score continued upwards at Alterowitz Gym on Nov. 14, Montana State University Billings men's basketball freshman Kobe Terashima found himself in an increasingly unique situation.
 
The Yellowjackets had the game against Yellowstone Christian College won by halftime (54-10), but with just over a minute left in the game murmurs began to rise from MSUB's bench that caught Terashima's ear. "I think there was about 1:30 left and somebody let me know that I needed one more rebound," said the Boise, Idaho native.
 
Sure enough, in just the third game of his collegiate career, Terashima's stat line read 12 assists, 10 points, and nine rebounds. Although he came close over the final 90 seconds, he never got his hands on the magical 10th rebound that would have spelled a rare triple-double.
 
Had the former Southern Idaho Conference 5A Player of the Year completed the feat it wouldn't have been new territory, as Terashima recorded two triple-doubles during his career at Rocky Mountain High School. His ability to effect the game on multiple levels makes him a promising prospect to facilitate the Yellowjackets' offense for years to come. "Rebounding has been one of my key things, and I try to grab as many as possible," said Terashima. "I love to get my teammates the ball, and I am more of a passing point guard."
 
While Terashima's monster game against YCC was hardly MSUB's toughest competition this season, his numbers have translated at a similar level over the first 18 games of his career. Entering Saturday's home game against Western Washington University, Terashima second in the GNAC in total assists with 76 and ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 4.2 per game. Terashima has seen a major increase of minutes as of late, averaging 28.7 minutes per game after starting the year at 15.0 minutes per game in his first seven contests. Since his spike in court time, Terashima has had multiple assists in 10 of those 11 games, and has had his two highest point totals of the year with 19 against Chaminade and 17 against Western Oregon.
 
In his last 11 games Terashima has had eight games with a total of at least two in three of the four main guard categories (points, rebounds, assists, and steals), and four games with at least two in all four categories. In the eyes of head coach Jamie Stevens, Terashima's production has been exactly what the team needed after a pair of key injury losses early in the year.
 
"Kobe has really grown over the last nine games," Stevens said. "After we lost both Tyler (Green) and David (Simental), Kobe was put in a role that forced him to play a lot of minutes. He has responded to that. It is fun to see his growth and is exciting to think about his future."
 
In addition to his high production offensively, Terashima has protected the ball well when in his possession. He ranks seventh in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio at 1.7, and is the only freshman and one of just two underclassmen in the top-10 in the league in that category.
 
Terashima has always been comfortable with the ball in his hands, having been a point guard for as long as he can remember. A two-sport athlete through high school, Terashima also starred on the soccer pitch following in the footsteps of his father Kelly who played the same two sports.
 
Playing for the Idaho Select travel ball team, Terashima explained that his greatest growth as a player occurred between his sophomore and junior year of high school. That's when he sprouted up to his current height of 6-foot-1, and gained a firm grip on the game both mentally and physically. "I always wanted to play college basketball growing up as a kid, and during my junior year that became real," Terashima said. "I loved the atmosphere the team had when I came on a visit at MSUB, and they kept talking about wanting to create a winning culture."
 
Now in his second year, Yellowjacket assistant coach JC Isakson was one of the assistants on Terashima's traveling team and helped put MSUB on the freshman's map. "JC started talking to me going into my senior year of high school and told me to keep in touch," said Terashima.
 
With MSUB on his radar, Terashima piloted his prep team to a remarkable 26-1 record during his senior season, which culminated in a state title and was the highlight of his high-school career. From there, the 'Jackets knew they had a recruit with the potential to lead a championship-caliber team.
 
"Fortunately for us, bringing JC on staff helped us greatly as he was a former coach in that program and really took the lead on Kobe's recruiting," said Stevens. "When Brad (Schmit), JC, and I watched Kobe in the summer circuit and on his official visit, we knew he was a kid we would love to coach."
 
While Terashima's upside ultimately intrigued MSUB's staff to make him an offer, seeing playing time in all 18 games so far is not a guarantee for any true freshman. Terashima, who wears the No. 1 jersey, has taken advantage of the opportunity and indicated that the faster pace of the college game hasn't hindered his progression. "At the beginning of the year it felt fast, but I just had to work on learning to make different reads than I did at the high-school level," said Terashima, who turned 19 on New Year's Eve. "It has been really fun. Sometimes you're playing against guys who are four or five years older than you, but you just have to try to feel comfortable and keep getting better."

Senior guard Kendall Denham has been vital in Terashima's development thus far, imparting his knowledge from five years in the program onto the youngster. Just as Terashima's numbers have been perhaps better than expected, Denham is on his way to the best year of his career with 11.9 points per game. "Kendall has had a huge influence on me, being the starting point guard here and teaching me a lot," Terashima said. "He knows how this league is and how you have to play, and he has really been pushing me to become a lot better."
Terashima added that fellow first-year Yellowjacket Tyler Green has assisted with his mental game, and the two Zacks – Rollins and Lessinger – are like his "big brothers."
 
Not only has Terashima been trusted to run the offense in the second rotation, but he has walked into one of the most explosive shooting teams in the NCAA. The 'Jackets have made an NCAA Division II leading-207 threes this season, and have hovered around the top mark in the entirety of Division II all year. Just over halfway through the season, the 'Jackets are on pace to make a run at the MSUB single-season record of 394 threes (1996-97). "It feels amazing knowing that you have guys who can hit threes all around you," Terashima said on MSUB's team 3-point field-goal percentage of 40.3. "You can get a ton of assists playing like that."
 
Studying business management, Terashima has ambitions to be a coach once his playing career subsides, and also commented that being a teacher interests him. When asked about his career playing goals, Terashima commented that he is determined to help the 'Jackets make a run at a GNAC title and earn a bid into the NCAA tournament.
 
"You have to show up every night in the GNAC, and there are no easy games," Terashima said. "You have to bring it every day in practice, and nothing is given to you."
 
Though Terashima settled for his first-career double-double in the game against YCC, his invigorating performance gave everybody a glimpse at the type of player he has the ability to be in his four years at MSUB. In the waning seconds of MSUB's narrow 73-71 loss at Hawaii Pacific University on Dec. 19, Terashima grabbed an inbound pass and streaked the length of the floor for a layup in all of three full seconds. That set up a game-winning three attempt by Zack Rollins that just rattled out, but MSUB wouldn't have had a chance to win the game if it weren't for Terashima's 94-foot burst.
 
"Kobe is tough and he is fearless," Stevens said. "He doesn't necessarily look the part on the court, but if you watch him on a daily basis you will see that the guy can play. He has one speed, and it's full throttle at all times."