Idaho Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Could Idaho win the WAC?

That would be a ridiculous statement in any year since the Vandals joined the league for the 2005-06 season. Starting with that season, Idaho went 1-15 in the WAC, 1-15, 3-13 … and then the Vandals posted an out-of-the-blue 9-7 record last season when they were picked to finish last.

Second-year coach Don Verlin, who has a winning pedigree from his days as an assistant coach at Utah State, returns four starters, including star guard Mac Hopson, who averaged 16.4 points and 4.9 rebounds last season.

Idaho returns its top five scorers, its top five rebounders, and adds senior guard Steffan Johnson, who is eligible after transferring from Pacific, where he was an All-Big West performer.

The Vandals lose starting guard Terrence Simmons, who provided some 3-point support, and backup guard Trevor Morris, who was a long-range specialist off the bench. They combined for 209 attempts from behind the arc last season.

The additions of Johnson, UNLV transfer Marcus Lawrence and junior college transfer Shawn Henderson will probably more than make up for those losses in the backcourt.

It’s Hopson (16.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg) who will lead the way, and Idaho has a presence in the frontcourt with 6-9 senior center Marvin Jefferson (9.1 ppg).

Idaho won’t catch anybody by surprise this season, but the Vandals, after making the CollegeInsider.com Tournament last season, appear to have the goods to play in a bigger postseason tournament this time around.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Idaho was pleased to find out in September that it had six games scheduled to be televised by the ESPN networks, including three on ESPN2. “It recognizes the progress being made by Coach Verlin and highlights the improvement of our basketball program,” athletic director Rob Spear said in a release.

• F Luciano de Souza and F Luiz Toledo were starters for Brazil in the World University Games this summer. De Souza averaged a team-high 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts (20-of-50). Toledo averaged 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds as Brazil went 3-3 at the event. Toledo, a sophomore, will be in his first season of eligibility at Idaho after transferring from St. Francis Xavier.

Last Year:   17-16 overall, 9-7 in the WAC

Head Coach:   Don Verlin (career 17-16); second year at Idaho (17-16).

Quote To Note:   “The big-name teams we played last year, they won’t come here and face us on our home court. Our fans will never see them. If you study college basketball, the home team wins 80 percent of the games. I want to schedule home-and-home series, and to do otherwise puts our team at a disadvantage.”—Coach Don Verlin, in the University of Idaho Argonaut, on the team’s scheduling after the Vandals played at Michigan State and Gonzaga last season.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Steffan Johnson is itching to make the most of his only season at Idaho after transferring from Pacific. He was a first-team All-Big West selection in 2007-08, when he averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He had seven games of at least 20 points with the Tigers. Johnson could be the newcomer of the year in the WAC. In a positive sign that coach Don Verlin can put in long-term building blocks, he signed 6-7 forward Corey Stern from Seattle. Stern was one of the top 20 players in Washington last season.

Key Early-season Games:   Idaho has three notable road games in the non-conference schedule. They play at Utah on Nov. 13, go about eight miles over the border for a game at Washington State on Dec. 9, and travel to a very good, veteran Portland team Dec. 22 (the Pilots of the West Coast Conference play in Moscow on Dec. 6). That home-and-home will be interesting as it matches two rising programs that each have designs on a making a run at a conference title.

Program Direction:   After stumbling around and being outclassed in its first few years in the WAC, Idaho appears to have found the man to lead the program—Don Verlin. A former Utah State assistant to venerable Stew Morrill, Verlin has a veteran team and star power in Mac Hopson. He has a veteran team but also has enough in the younger classes—plus he has momentum in recruiting—so Idaho doesn’t appear to be a flash in the pan.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Mac Hopson, G Steffan Johnson, G Kashif Watson, PF Brandon Wiley, C Marvin Jefferson

Roster Report:  

• G Marcus Lawrence is eligible for Idaho after sitting out last season as a transfer from UNLV. He averaged 13.9 minutes, 1.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23 games as a sophomore with the Rebels in 2007-08.

• PG Mac Hopson ranked 18th nationally in assists per game at 6.0 per game. That was also tops in the WAC and his 16.4 points per game scoring average was fourth in the conference.