Stephen Madison hobbled off the court in Orem, Utah, hardly able to do so without help.
Jessica Greene | Argonaut
There was a limp in his step and an expression of agony on his face — it wasn’t just a light bump that had sent the senior to the Idaho bench 20 points later, but rather a head-on collision which would leave Madison tangled up on the floor after hitting the deck.
Referees whistled for a charge, though the call paled in comparison to the effect that an injured Madison would have on Idaho’s chances against Utah Valley, top dogs in the Western Athletic Conference.
He’d tweaked his ankle and banged up his knee. The knee has bothered him ever since.
And in the moment, it would have been understandable, possibly wiser, had Madison opted to throw in the towel. Most players at the collegiate level wouldn’t have any reservations in doing so, especially those expected to be in top form come March.
Then again, most players haven’t been in the adverse situations Madison has been in.
“I just think it’s the competitive nature in myself,” he said. “I have to admit there was a little bit in me that was almost thinking maybe I shouldn’t play to make sure nothing else happens to my ankle. At the same time, this is my last year, you only get a certain number of games in your career.”
The kink in his knee and tweaked ankle were distractions, but the grimace on his face was gone and Madison put together the best half of his collegiate career, scoring 22 points in the period to total a career-high 42. He shot 76 percent from the field.
But it wasn’t an outing that left Madison content. His Vandals, who led by eight at the half, would succumb their lead to the Wolverines. Two missed shots with less than 10 seconds remaining meant that Idaho wouldn’t emerge victorious.
“It was tough, it hurt,” said Madison, who pulled down Sekou Wiggs’ missed free throw with 13 seconds remaining, only to watch Glen Dean and Connor Hill miss last-ditch shots.
Idaho coach Don Verlin would say that his forward was in a zone.
“To be honest with you I didn’t know he had 42,” Verlin said. “He was on fire, he was very aggressive that night. The thing I’d tell you is he missed one shot from inside the arc … Once in a while you get in those zones.”
For Madison, it’s more than a “once-in-a while” type of thing. Those around him would say he’s been in that zone most of his life.
The WAC’s leading scorer would say he’s needed to be, carrying the load of his team and now for five months, the title of “father.”
The adversity isn’t a recent development in Madison’s life. He met it on a regular basis in high school and especially between his junior and senior years when a move across the Columbia River meant sacrifices both on the court and in the classroom.
The open gyms at Jeff
Kentucky’s John Calipari was a regular, as was ex-UCLA coach Ben Howland. In fact, everybody who was anybody in terms of the country’s major college coaches came out to watch the open gyms at Jefferson High School. Open gyms that felt more like Portland-area all-star games.
And as the Arizonas and Oklahomas of the nation piled in, the casual pick-up sessions occasionally become heated free-for-alls.
Madison transferred from Prairie High in Vancouver, Wash., to Jefferson, based in Portland, before his senior year. Though it would pit him with the state’s top players on a team that would eventually claim the state’s top prize, the move was academic-based.
Madison knew Prairie wasn’t the right fit and Jefferson provided him with a fresh start and opportunity to retake classes in the evening.
However, it meant his parents, Mike and Phyllis Madison, would have to pack their bags too.
“We thought that we could pay it what it cost to educate Stephen in the Portland public schools and still live in downtown Battle Ground. That wasn’t the case,” Mike Madison said. “We made a decision to get an apartment in northeast Portland … We did it by the buck and we lived six blocks away from Jefferson.”
It was a sacrifice they were willing to make.
“We came down and met with the principal at Jefferson. Great lady,” he said. “She spent five minutes talking to Phyllis and I and about 50 minutes talking to Stephen … She got the picture.”
Jefferson coach Pat Strickland got it too and Madison’s first practice fell on a Monday evening that would coincide with night class. Months later, Strickland would call his first-year forward the most valuable player in two state tournament games — but the coach was adamant with his class first, basketball second philosophy.
“And I knew that was the right decision, right then,” Madison’s father said.
Sacrifices came on the court too, where Madison was no longer “the guy” on his varsity squad. He would have to coexist on the practice court with Terrence Jones, reigning Oregon Class 5A Player of the Year, along with Terrence Ross, whose role was limited to being a practice player due to OSAA transfer regulations.
Jones wound up at Kentucky with Calipari, where he won a National Championship with the Wildcats his sophomore year before declaring for the NBA Draft and eventually digging up a starting spot on the Houston Rockets.
Ross followed a similar path, but did his two-year stint at Washington. The 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion starts occasionally for the Raptors and tied Vince Carter’s franchise record with his 51 points in a January game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to his prep coach, stepping out of the limelight didn’t bother Madison.
“A lot of times people won’t step into a situation where they’re coming out of a school where they are the guy, they’re going to another school where there’s another guy or two that could probably be in front of them,” Strickland said. “It says a lot about his character.”
Without Madison, Jefferson was a top contender in the state’s 5A classification. With him, the Democrats were all but poised for a three-peat at the 2010 state tournament.
“We just knew how good he was … We knew we would have a better team with him playing with us,” said Ross, who had a close-up view of Madison’s development into a complete player when the pair played AAU ball together, though Ross was only an onlooker at Jefferson.
“Growing up I saw him as a shooter,” Ross said. “And now he has an all-around game so he just developed at such a fluid rate that really, it was fun to see.”
Madison, nicknamed “Potsi” by his teammates, even learned a thing or two about dunking, Ross’ bread and butter.
“Potsi always had bounce, he could jump, he could really jump,” Ross said. “He always had the upper hand in that department.”
Madison led all scorers — including Jones — with 20 points to beat Grand View in the championship game, the final stamp on his high school career.
By the time it was over, Madison was a vital piece to one of the famed Jefferson squads.
“I thought the transition was great, it really looked like he was there for four years,” Strickland said.
While Madison conversed with Pac-12 coaches, most preferred he take the junior college route initially.
Ben Howland, the longtime UCLA coach who led the Bruins to three Final Four appearances, was one of a few that envisioned him playing in Moscow.
“He knew coach (Ray) Lopes who’s at WSU now, and he was like ‘Yeah that would be a great place for you,'” Madison said. “It was always cool to have those big schools out there who knew of me and put my name out there.”
Verlin was keen on nabbing the Rivals.com two-star prospect and had been since Madison impressed at an Idaho summer camp.
“It was a good steal,” Verlin said. “What we sold Stephen on was a chance to turn the program around … and he’s done that.”
Letting the game come to him
In the Madison household, the stakes were higher than high.
Mike and Phyllis Madison met while playing on the respective men’s and women’s basketball teams at Concordia University in Portland, oldest sister Darcy followed suit also playing for the Cavaliers and Katie Madison split years at the Palouse universities, playing two at Idaho before transferring to neighboring Washington State for three more.
“I feel like that’s pretty high expectations … I think it motivated him seeing his sisters accomplish that and for him to do it in the fashion that he’s done it,” Katie Madison said.
His dad says he’s always had a knack for the game, which allowed him to play a high level at a young age. From the third- and fourth-grade games at the Montlake Community Center, the same one that Washington Wizards small forward Martell Webster played at, to the seventh- and eighth-grade northwest Rotary Style circuit, where Madison’s teams played the likes of Georgetown’s Josh Smith.
While some players plateau, Madison has drastically improved each year. His numbers at Idaho can confirm that.
As a freshman, Madison averaged 3.7 points per game coming off the bench for the Vandals. That year, 21 of his 39 made field goals came from 3-point range. Idaho fans watched those numbers balloon his sophomore and junior seasons, when Madison averaged 12.1 and 14.1 points per game, respectively.
But even as the WAC’s leading scorer this season, tallying almost 20 points per game, Verlin has seen bigger gains in other areas.
“Where Steve has improved the most is rebounding,” he said. “You look at his rebounding stats year-to-year-to-year-to-year, he’s become a really, really, good rebounder.”
He’s averaging more assists, steals and blocks than he has in previous years and for a brief period of time, led his team in all five major statistical categories — the only player in the nation to do so.
Thus, he’s helped to nullify the absence of 2013 WAC Player of the Year Kyle Barone, who carried a bulk of the scoring and rebounding load from a season ago.
“I really think a lot of times the guys who have the best senior years are the ones who let it come to them,” Verlin said. “I hadn’t seen a guy step in and make that kind of transformation and that’s just a credit to him.”
Does the do-it-all senior wish his teammates would pick up the slack in a few areas? Sure, but as long as W’s continue to appear in the win/loss column, he’ll have it either way.
“Other people should have more assists or more rebounds, either way for me, as long as we’re winning it doesn’t really matter,” Madison said. “It’s a tough thing.”
Tough may be the best way to describe Idaho’s season thus far. Unfulfilling may be another.
The Vandals, who will be a No. 5 seed at the upcoming WAC Tournament, finished conference play 7-9 after dropping six of their first eight conference games. Madison, just like his sixth-year coach, has never won in the conference gala, played at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Hooping for Harper
The newest member of the Stephen Madison fan club can’t articulate the difference between a pick-and-roll and a moving screen but she’s been the fuel behind many of his 20-, 30- and 40-point games this season.
Madison’s girlfriend Hilary gave birth to Harper on Oct. 19, 2013, 21 days before Idaho opened up its 2013-14 slate.
Since then his now four, almost 5-month-old daughter, has been to nearly all of the Vandals’ home games and makes the trip from Spokane with Hilary whenever the opportunity arises.
Initially, the unexpected newborn meant long nights for Madison, who often contemplated how he would make ends meet.
“It’s a lot to take on even when you are ready for it. Being not ready for it was a lot to think about,” Madison said. “It was a crazy experience.”
That’s where his support crew came in handy.
The first conversations didn’t come easy for Madison, who breathed a sigh of relief once his family, friends and coaches backed him.
“He came home at the beginning of April then told us and he asked for some advice and he did what we told him to do,” Madison’s father said.
The first tip: schedule a one-on-one with Verlin.
“He went to Verlin, not to the assistant coaches that’s easier to talk to. He went to Verlin and had an unbelievable meeting, in Stephen’s eyes, for an hour,” Mike Madison said.
Verlin said the key to handling such a unique situation is, “embracing it, not fighting it.”
The coach has seen other players go through the same scenario, most of who did so with the utmost success.
“That was my message to Steve when he told me that was going to happen. One thing you have to realize is you’re not the first person who’s had this wonderful opportunity,” Verlin said.
“Embrace” is exactly what Madison has done, although Harper has forced him to restructure, reorganize and fine-tune his time management skills.
Those close to him were confident the experience wouldn’t be too overwhelming for Madison.
“I think he was ready for it,” Katie Madison said. “I knew he would be a great father someday and I knew he would be able to handle it. He’s stepped up to a lot of challenges throughout his career. He’s proved it along the way so I knew he’d be alright.”
The stresses of being a father, which initially was “a lot to take on,” have somewhat subsided and the 22-year-old relishes the time spent with Harper.
“There’s nothing like having a kid of your own,” Madison said. “I don’t really look at it like a stressful situation because my daughter makes me happy every time I see her. She just makes me want to be a better person.”
Madison, who would love to follow in the footsteps of his ex-high-school teammates Jones and Ross, is grateful to have them in his corner.
“To be able to workout with them, it gives you a good taste of what the next level is like,” he said.
His performances as of late may be worthy of an opportunity to play in the NBA’s Summer League. The breakout showing at Utah Valley was telling of that, but Madison would rather point to another game — Idaho’s Senior Day match-up against third-place Grand Canyon.
Madison put on a clinic, his team echoed and Idaho etched out a crucial conference victory, and everyone was on hand to see it. The onlookers included Mike and Phyllis, Katie, who made a surprise visit from San Antonio, Darcy, Hilary, Harper and Madison’s 90-year-old grandparents, who also surprised their grandson.
It was another signature performance from Madison. Thirty-four points, 80 percent from the field, 9-of-10 from the free throw line and six rebounds.
Most importantly, it was an 83-77 win.
“It was great to play well in front of all of them and get the win. It was just a great day,” Madison said.
Next up, the daunting conference tournament in Las Vegas, where the Vandals have fallen short one too many times, and exactly three times while Madison has been with Idaho.
People are anticipating he’ll help turn the tide for a program that has built a sense of desperation in recent years.
But Madison’s story is littered with these expectations and he comes through more often than not.
“You put yourself at the bottom and you’re looking up and you want to reach everything you got,” he said. “I mean, I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve done here. I’ve done probably a lot more than what a lot of people expected.”
That’s not to say topping Missouri-Kansas City Thursday at the Orleans Arena wouldn’t be a sweet beginning to the end of Madison’s career.
“We just want to win.”
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]