Vandal Hoops: Predicting the Starters

The exhibitions are done, so now for the prognostications. Who’s going to start, who’s going to play and who’s going to redshirt for Idaho basketball? It’s no easy task this year, with the Vandals boasting a ridiculous amount of depth. But we’re going to try.

Here’s our guesses, based on coach Don Verlin’s statement that he’ll play no more than an 11-man rotation. A caveat: these are predicted Opening Day starters vs. Utah. Depending on how fast the incoming talent gets adjusted to Division I basketball, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see some of them work into the starting lineup later in the season.

Starters:

1. PG Mac Hopson, Sr. — A no-brainer here, Idaho’s returning star will run the show again.
2. SG Steffan Johnson, Sr. —  Another no-brainer, Stef is an instant double-digit scoring threat.
3. SG Kashif Watson, Sr. — Last year’s quiet glue guy, no reason to think he won’t be again.
4. PF Brandon Wiley, Sr. — Led Idaho in rebounding in 08-09, and the Vandals need his boards.
5. C Marvin Jefferson, Sr. — He’ll get competition from Barone, but Big Jeff gets the nod for now.

Bench:

1. PG Marcus Lawrence, Jr. — Stef can run the show as PG too, but Marcus will be a solid backup.
2. SG Shawn Henderson, Jr. —  The revelation of the exhibition, he’ll be Idaho’s go-to sixth man.
3. SF Luciano de Souza, Sr. — Big hair, big shots. Need a three-ball in the clutch? Give it to Luci.
4. PF Luiz Toledo, So. — Will rotate with Wiley, and may just about split the 4-spot minutes.
5. PF Corey Stern, Fr. — Showed great poise and skill for a freshman, should see plenty of action.
6. C Kyle Barone, Fr. — May be the much-needed answer to the Vandals’ rebounding woes.

Deep bench:

1. SF Travis Blackstock, Sr. — T-Black is back, walking on for the love of the game. Gotta love it.

Redshirts:

1. PG Landon Tatum, Jr. — This guy’s too talented to sit, but we’ve run out of places to put him.
2. SG Jeff Ledbetter, Jr. —  Solid 3-point production and ball-handling, but no room at the inn.
3. SG Justin Stewart, Fr. — The walk-on from Spokane will get a year to learn Division I.
4. C Joe Kammerer, Fr. — Big Jeff graduates next year, makes sense to save Big Joe’s eligibility.

Good Afternoon Vandal Nation: Nov. 9, 2009

We’re late with the links today, as homework came calling, so let’s get right to them.

The Vandals open their hoops season Friday at Utah and the football team heads to Boise for the rivalry showdown — we’ll have complete coverage of both games on Vandal Nation Live.

Later this afternoon, we’ll post a quick video clip from today’s postmortem press conference with Robb Akey.

Football

• ESPN’s Graham Watson projects Idaho to land in the Humanitarian Bowl against an at-large foe.

• The Fresno State Collegian’s Logan Hopkins reviews the Idaho/Fresno State game.

• The Spokesman-Review’s Josh Wright blogs from today’s press conference, where Akey made some bold statements.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner grades out the Vandals’ performance vs. Fresno State.

• GoVandals.net has a photo gallery from the Vandals game.

Basketball

• GoVandals.net’s Gaylen Wood has a report from Idaho’s doubleheader exhibition victory.

Familiar territory, unfamiliar results: Idaho’s comeback fails

Down big at the half in three of their last four victories, the Idaho Vandals have become known for clutch plays and huge comebacks. But tonight in the Kibbie Dome against Fresno State, Idaho finally found itself all out of miracles.

NCAA-leading rusher Ryan Mathews went 77 yards to the house on the opening play, the Vandals’ offense sputtered early and the Bulldogs held off another valiant last-minute comeback effort to beat Idaho, 31-21.

Fresno State (6-3, 4-1 WAC) opened with Mathews’ longest run of the season and didn’t let up until the game was well in hand. The Bulldogs ruthlessly picked apart Idaho’s defense, scoring on four of their five first-half drives to open a 24-0 lead at the break. Quarterback Ryan Colburn didn’t miss a single pass all night, connecting on 14 of 14 attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown.

With just 8 minutes left in the game, the Vandals (7-3, 4-2 WAC) looked poised to make another miracle comeback. Fresno State’s lead was cut to 16 and Idaho was driving deep into Bulldog territory looking to make it a one-score game. But tailback DeMaundray Woolridge coughed up the ball near the red zone and Pat Hill’s squad was able to burn enough clock on the ensuing possession to seal the victory.

Idaho coach Robb Akey said his squad dug itself much too deep of a hole to climb out of.

“I’m disappointed, very disappointed. We did not play good football tonight,” Akey said. “A good football team can’t spot another good football team. We can’t let them get in front of us that much that early in the ball game.”

The Vandals were forced to start Brian Reader at quarterback for the first time. First-stringer Nathan Enderle was sidelined with a bruised rotator cuff suffered against Louisiana Tech. Reader finished strongly, ending with 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12-25 passing, along with his first rushing touchdown.

But the game’s opening half was a rough introduction to the starting job for Reader, who completed just two passes for 29 yards in the first 30 minutes of play. Idaho’s drive chart looked thusly: missed field goal, punt, punt, punt, punt. The Vandals managed just 118 yards of offense to the Bulldogs’ 248.

To be fair, not all the blame falls on Reader — several catchable passes were dropped or mishandled by the Vandals’ receiving corps, which appeared to be struggling to come to grips with his passing style. The result, however, was the same: incompletions, stalled drives and a zero on the scoreboard for the half. That’s the first time this season Idaho has failed to score in the first half, and only the second scoreless half of the year.

“We had a lot of penalties and mistakes in the first half,” Reader said. “There was nothing unexpected, we knew what was coming, we just weren’t executing.”

In the second half, Reader appeared to get in sync with his receivers, connecting on 10 of 15 attempts, including 14- and 69-yard touchdown strikes to Max Komar and Maurice Shaw. Idaho’s defense also stiffened up, allowing just a single touchdown from the Bulldogs’ offense. But the damage was already done.

Akey praised Reader’s performance at quarterback, rejecting the idea that he was to blame for the offense’s slow start.

“No, I think Brian did a damn good job. He got himself going, took some shots, made some plays and ran in for a touchdown,” Akey said. “Our troubles were execution, and it didn’t have anything to do with the quarterback.”

Defensive end Aaron Lavarias, who again faced reporters’ questions about the Vandals’ struggles on defense, made no excuses for his unit’s performance. He credited the Bulldogs’ powerhouse offense for simply playing better than the Vandals could handle.

“Some of the young guys out there might be struggling to adjust to the speed of the game. You can’t really replicate Fresno State with our scout team,” Lavarias said. “We played really bad football for the first half, and that’s not offset by the good football we played later on.”

The Vandals head to Boise on Saturday for their final road game of the year, a renewal of the intra-state rivalry against the Boise State Broncos. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Mountain time, 12:30 Pacific.

Vandal Football Gameday: Fresno State

It’s Gameday in Moscow! The 7-2 Idaho Vandals face off against a 5-3 Fresno State Bulldogs squad that can get bowl eligible with a road win in the Kibbie Dome, where the Vandals are undefeated this season.

There is word that Idaho’s starting quarterback Nathan Enderle will be a gametime decision against Fresno State, as he’s been suffering from a bruised rotator cuff in his throwing arm. Backup Brian Reader has been getting most of the reps in practice this week.

We’ll bring you all the action from the Kibbie Dome with our exclusive play-by-play liveblog, Vandal Nation Live, starting at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. We’ll have frequent scoring updates on the Vandal Nation Twitter. The game is also telecast live on ESPNU.

Click here for Vandal Nation Live!

This Weekend in the WAC

The Utah State Aggies play the Hawaii Warriors in Honolulu tonight at 7 p.m. Pacific. We previewed both of today’s WAC games this morning. Click here for the lowdown.

Yesterday, Boise State beat Louisiana Tech, 45-35. Tomorrow evening, Nevada visits San Jose State to complete the four-game WAC slate. New Mexico State has a bye week.

Pregame Roundup

• Here’s the Idaho official pregame notes and the Fresno State official pregame notes.

• Matt Dessert of GoVandals.net has a game preview and a handy Idaho depth chart.

• The Lewiston Tribune’s Jesse Baumgartner says Idaho doesn’t have much margin for error. We agree.

• With a look at yesterday’s basketball scrimmage and today’s football game, it’s the Spokesman-Review’s Josh Wright.

• The Idaho Statesman’s Nick Jezierny thinks the Vandals’ top priority has to be stopping Ryan Mathews. We agree.

• Daniel Lyght of the Fresno Bee has a complete pregame breakdown.

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake has a game preview focusing on Idaho’s comebacks.

WAC Football Preview: Nov. 7

This weekend’s four Western Athletic Conference contests this weekend are spread across three days. Yesterday, Boise State survived a scare from Louisiana Tech to win in Ruston, 45-35.

Here’s today’s matchups, all times Pacific.

• Utah State (2-6, 1-3 WAC) at Hawaii (2-6, 0-5 WAC), 7 p.m. (ESPN360)

This is a matchup of two of the WAC’s bottom-dwellers, but don’t let that fool you. The Aggies are a much better team than their record indicates, with their three conference losses coming by a combined 10 points. For the Warriors, the postseason hopes are on the line — this is their last shot to remain bowl-eligible. A slim hope, yes, because Hawaii needs to win all five of its remaining games to do so, but it’s a hope nonetheless. Utah State, too, could squeak into a bowl at 6-6 if they win out. Whichever team loses this game answers their postseason questions: No.

Utah State’s offense has been a powerhouse, led by Diondre Borel’s 240 yards per game in the air and Robert Turbin’s 110 yards on the ground. But they’ve been unable to stop anyone else from scoring, and have made a series of crucial fourth-quarter errors to cough up games in the waning minutes. The Warriors were turned upside down in the third game of the season, as #1 quarterback Greg Alexander went down with an ACL injury. Hawaii hasn’t won a game since, and sophomore Bryant Moniz, thrust into the starting spotlight, has been underwhelming at best. Neither team’s record is great, but look under the hood and the Aggies have been far more impressive.

• Fresno State (5-3, 4-1 WAC) at Idaho (7-2, 4-1 WAC), 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Akey’s Army returns to the Thunderdome at night on national TV for the second time this season. Undefeated at home so far, the Vandals face one of their toughest challenges yet: a Fresno State squad that rolls up 260 yards per game on the ground on the strength of NCAA-leading tailback Ryan Mathews. Stopping him is impossible for even the WAC’s best teams, as Boise State found out. Idaho’s task will be tough enough: just slow him down. If the Vandals can’t keep him in check, this game could get real ugly real fast.

But all is not lost for the Vandals — Fresno State’s defense has been unspectacular, and if there’s one thing Idaho is capable of doing, it’s putting points up on the scoreboard. Bulldog quarterback Ryan Colburn hasn’t done much through the air, so if the Vandals can get ahead early and make the game a shootout, it could be tough for Fresno State to effectively utilize Mathews. Given the Vandals’ defensive struggles of late, that’s a very big if. The game could hinge on turnovers — Colburn, like Idaho QB Nathan Enderle, has proven pick-prone. Defensive TDs could be huge for either team.

Packed house rewarded with exhibition sweep

Idaho’s Memorial Gymnasium played host to a loud and proud capacity crowd tonight as the Vandals swept their hoops exhibition doubleheader.

The evening’s first celebration came after the Vandal women took down NAIA Eastern Oregon in a slugfest, 61-43. Two hours later, Idaho’s men claimed an 87-61 victory over Division II St. Martin’s.

Neither win was perfect — the women struggled to find a shooting touch, while the men had trouble finding a defensive groove. But both squads well used the experience of 40 minutes on the hardwood against outside competition to prepare for their regular season openers next week. The men begin Nov. 13 at Utah, while the women open at home against Gonzaga on Nov. 16.

Idaho 87, St. Martin’s 61

Idaho coach Don Verlin was pleased with some aspects of his team’s performance in their one and only preseason exhibition tuneup, but he didn’t mince words when talking about their trouble spots.

“We have to get better defensively,” Verlin said. “We weren’t solid all night in post defense and I’m disappointed in how our post guys did there. We didn’t do a good enough job contesting shots, either. Give them some credit, (the Saints) are good, but they had wide-open looks.”

One place the Vandals weren’t lacking: offense. Idaho lit up the scoreboard, as four players hit double figures and one just missed out. Guard Steffan Johnson led the way with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, while guards Mac Hopson and Shawn Henderson and center Marvin Jefferson poured in a dozen apiece. Freshman center Kyle Barone nearly pulled off a double-double, scoring 9 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

Henderson, a JC transfer from North Idaho College, made an attention-getting debut in a Vandal uniform. He caught fire in the second half, going 5-for-5 at one point. Henderson finished 6-for-7 with 12 points while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists in 15 minutes of action.

“I just started feeling it and I got in the zone,” Henderson said. “Coach wanted me to attack the basket and that’s what I did. The shots started falling and that was that.”

Idaho 61, Eastern Oregon 43

If it’s possible to be disappointed with a victory, this would be it. The Vandals shot an awful 36 percent on the night, with stat lines like Bianca Cheever’s 2-for-10 and Yinka Olorunnife’s 1-for-8 being the rule. Nor was there much to smile about defensively — only endless bricks from the NAIA Mountaineers kept the game from being close. Coach Jon Newlee made his displeasure clear.

“We got so much to work on. With Gonzaga coming in here, it’s scary, to be honest with you,” Newlee said. “I didn’t like our defensive communication or our decision-making with the basketball. We had 18 turnovers against these guys and it wasn’t like they put a whole lot of pressure on us. That wasn’t bad execution, it was bad choices.”

This story will be continually updated.

Vandal Nation Live: Idaho Hoops Doubleheader

Tonight the hardwood of Memorial Gym echoes with the squeaks, pings and shouts of Division I college basketball, as the Idaho Vandals men and women square off against exhibition foes in a hoops doubleheader.

Vandal Nation Live will bring you play-by-play commentary and chat from both of tonight’s games.

The Vandal women take on the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers starting at 6 p.m. Pacific — we’ll have pregame at 5:30.

Click here to join!

The Vandal men take on the St. Martin’s Saints starting at 8:20 p.m. Pacific — we’ll have pregame at approximately 7:50.

Click here to join!

WAC Football Preview: Nov. 6

There are four WAC games on the lineup this weekend, spread across three days. Yes, welcome to the land of the mid-majors, where Friday and Sunday football are the rule, not the exception. The TV is king. Here’s today’s matchup, in Pacific time. We’ll post up a preview of tomorrow’s games then.

• Boise State (8-0, 3-0 WAC) at Louisiana Tech (3-5, 2-3 WAC), 5 p.m. (ESPN2)

It’s do or die time for the WAC’s southern Bulldogs. They must win three of their last four games to even get a sniff at a bowl bid, and that task starts tonight. Unfortunately, they’re playing the WAC’s undisputed juggernaut, and they’re playing badly hurt. Louisiana Tech’s two best offensive weapons — RB Daniel Porter and WR Phillip Livas — are questionable due to injuries that were aggravated last week against Idaho.

The Broncos, too, have everything in the world to play for. To have a shot at a BCS bowl, they need to complete an undefeated season — and do it convincingly. QB Kellen Moore may get his second 300-yard passing game of the season against a depleted La. Tech secondary. The Bulldogs are undefeated at home this season, and they’ve given Boise State trouble in Ruston before, but haven’t ever been able to seal the deal — their last win in the series dates back to 2001. Given the Broncos’ momentum and the Bulldogs’ roster of walking wounded, don’t expect it to happen tonight.

Good Morning Vandal Nation: Nov. 6, 2009

If you’re a Vandal sports fan, you’ve got to be on cloud nine right now. There’s three games in the next 36 hours — men’s and women’s basketball tonight, football tomorrow. We’ll bring it all to you right here at Vandal Nation.

Vandal Nation Live will have play-by-play coverage of every game:

• Women’s basketball vs. Eastern Oregon, pregame at 5:30 p.m., tipoff at 6.
• Men’s basketball vs. St. Martin’s, pregame following the women’s game, tipoff at 8.
• Football vs. Fresno State, pregame at 6:45 p.m. Saturday, kickoff at 7:30.

Coming today, we’ll preview this week’s WAC football action and continue our Vandal Spotlight series with point guard Landon Tatum.

Vandal volleyball is on a hot streak, as the women knocked off Louisiana Tech last night to notch their sixth straight win. Idaho is now guaranteed a berth in the six-team WAC Volleyball Tournament.

Now for your morning links.

Football

• We’ve got our Better Know a Foe report on Fresno State, with Fresno Bee reporter Daniel Lyght.

• The Argonaut’s Jennifer Schlake previews tomorrow’s Idaho/Fresno State battle.

• The Fresno Bee’s Bryant-Jon Anteola takes a look at the Vandals’ gridiron resurgence.

• Lyght listens in to Idaho coach Robb Akey’s radio show.

• ESPN’s Graham Watson says Louisiana Tech has a “monumental challenge” on its hands tonight vs. Boise State.

• The Spartan Daily has a video preview of Sunday’s San Jose State/Nevada matchup.

• The Vandals will get manhandled by the Bulldogs, Sports Illustrated writer Stewart Mandel predicts.

• How bad are things for Hawaii football? The Honolulu Police Department has taken to cracking jokes at the Warriors’ expense, Honolulu Advertiser writer Curtis Lum reports.

• The Logan Herald-Journal’s Wade Denniston looks at this week’s Utah State/Hawaii battle.

• New Mexico State needs to make good use of its bye week, the Las Cruces Sun-News’ Teddy Feinberg blogs.

Basketball

• We previewed tonight’s men’s hoops exhibition game vs. St. Martin’s.

• I’ve got a profile of the Vandals’ senior point guard Charlotte Otero in The Argonaut. Ilya Pinchuk previews the women’s exhibition against Eastern Oregon.

• The Sports Network joins the chorus and predicts Idaho to finish fourth in the WAC.

One last tuneup: Vandal men ready for tonight’s hoops exhibition

Idaho point guard Mac Hopson goes up for a jumper over forward Luiz Toledo in last week's intra-squad scrimmage. Nick Groff/Argonaut

Tonight’s matchup between the Idaho Vandals and the St. Martin’s Saints may be an exhibition game — but don’t tell coach Don Verlin or his players that. To them, it might as well be the NCAA Tournament. Well, almost.

“You always have to take these games seriously,” Verlin said. “We’re going to go out there and play to win.”

Point guard Mac Hopson leads four returning starters as the Vandals hit the Memorial Gym floor for Idaho’s first action against an outside foe this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Vandal Nation Live will bring you all the action from courtside starting at 7:30 p.m.

The Saints are a Division II team, competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They lost their first exhibition game on Sunday, falling to Eastern Washington by the score of 98-61.

Even with their comparative lack of depth and talent, D-II squads can be dangerous foes in exhibition games. On Tuesday, the LeMoyne Dolphins stunned the basketball world by knocking off Syracuse — a Top 25 squad that made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year. Two years ago, Grand Valley State upended Big 10 power Michigan State.

“Any team can win any game,” Verlin said. “St. Martin’s is a traditionally good Division II program and we’re looking forward to a challenge on Friday night.”

This exhibition will be Idaho’s first and only tuneup against outside competition before beginning the regular season next Friday against Utah. That gives tonight’s game special importance, Verlin said.

“This is our chance to rehearse everything we need to do to win this season,” Verlin said. “I’ve always thought we had an advantage over a sport like football with these games. We use exhibitions to cover all the game situations and even stuff like pregame warmups and scouting.”