When the Idaho men’s basketball team takes on Seattle U Saturday at the Cowan Spectrum, it will be playing a team the Vandals share a lot in common with.
Pete Slippy | Argonaut
Idaho senior Joe Kammerer defends freshman Chad Sherwood during practice in the Cowan Spectrum. The Vandals host Seattle U at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Spectrum.
Like the Vandals, the Redhawks have lost their share of close games this season, coming out with only one win in six conference games.
“Seattle U is a good team, all of their games have been really close,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “I think if you ask anybody in the conference, they’re the best one-win team, they’ve lost some close games like we have.”
The Idaho roster has four players from the Seattle area and five more from the Northwest. It’s easy to see why the Redhawks are the Vandals’ biggest rival in the WAC.
“If I had to say right now who our rival was in this league, I would have to say Seattle U,” Verlin said. “Seattle U is probably the game that our guys look forward to the most.”
Glen Dean is one of those players from Seattle and can’t wait to match up against some old buddies.
“There definitely is some incentive on it,” Dean said. “I know I’m going to see those guys this summer and I’m not going to want to go back home and here them saying ‘Yeah we got you guys,’ so there is a lot on the line with this game. It’s going to be a lot of fun though.”
Dean has been nursing an ankle injury that has kept him out of the lineup for three games, but the Vandals enjoyed an eight-day break that has helped him heal. He said he feels that he is at 75 percent, and hoping to be at 90 percent come game time.
“Once you cross those lines, it don’t matter if your hurt or not hurt, you better be 100 percent mentally because nobody is going to give you any excuses once you’re on that court,” Dean said. “If we decide I’m going to play, I’m 100 percent, and there’s no excuses.”
Seattle is armed with the WAC’s leading scorer, Isiah Umipig, averaging 18.7 points per game. He’s a player that Dean is very familiar with.
“I’ve known Isiah for a long time,” Dean said. “We grew up playing in the same AAU program, Seattle Rotary. Isiah has always been a scorer, he’s always been able to shoot the ball and I’m expecting him to bring it.”
As far as the rest of the Seattle team, Verlin describes them as a big, physical and strong as well as a team that will rebound the ball very well.
Both games last year went down to the wire and were decided by less than 10 points each game Verlin said the same could happen this weekend.
“Last year’s games were really close and that’s the kind of game I expect to have this year,” Verlin said. “I expect a really good basketball game here on Saturday.”
Korbin McDonald can be reached at [email protected]