What does a head coach do when his team loses its top three scorers from a season ago?
When Idaho men’s basketball coach Don Verlin faced this very scenario this offseason, it seemed he decided to trust that his recruiting process over the past few seasons had netted talent.
The decision seems to have paid off for Verlin and the Vandals as junior guard Perrion Callandret and sophomore guard Victor Sanders have developed into an explosive offensive duo for the program on the perimeter.
Callandret has emerged as one of the team leaders from the guard position after appearing in all 30 games for the Vandals last season, when he provided a substantial role off the bench.
The junior has already tallied a team-leading 342 minutes on the court for the Vandals this year and averages 13.4 points per game. Callandret also leads the team in assists with 21 and has collected 39 rebounds.
But perhaps the most notable surprise for Idaho this season is the presence of Sanders on the perimeter. The sophomore leads the team with 146 points and a 43.5 shooting percentage from behind the arc.
“When anyone on the team is hitting shots like Vic, it makes it easier for me and for our coaches as well, because we can call plays for him and find ways to get him open,” Callandret said.
In addition, Sanders possesses one of the lowest turnover rates when compared to other starters on the Vandals roster, and is responsible for just 18 of Idaho’s turnovers this year.
“Vic always seems to play with a lot of energy,” Verlin said.
The consistent offensive presence from Sanders and Callandret helps fill a role left behind by former Vandal guards Connor Hill and Mike Scott, who led Idaho in scoring last season with an average of 16.4 and 14 points per game respectively.
In addition, the Vandals lost the team’s third-leading scorer in Sekou Wiggs, who transferred in the offseason to Alaska-Anchorage, a Division II program.
In a recent interview with Anchorage media, Wiggs said he left Idaho because he felt his play was not evolving in Moscow.
Despite the absence of this high-scoring Vandal trio, Verlin and Idaho have already established a productive offensive attack from the perimeter, beginning with Sanders and Callandret.
In Saturday’s game against Arkansas-Little Rock, the duo combined to score 25 of the Vandals’ 29 first-half points. Sanders eventually finished the game with 24 points, while Callandret added 15.
“Whenever someone is hitting shots like that, you always try to find ways to get them the ball,” Callandret said.
While the two have put up big numbers for the Vandals, the rest of the Idaho offense has been slow to develop. The next leading scorer for the Vandals, Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, averages six points per game.
Verlin said despite the consistent production from Callandret and Sanders, the team would need to find ways to incorporate other players into the offense in order for the Vandals to have more success.
“I look at it as team basketball,” Verlin said. “We’ve got to execute better and we’ve got to play better team basketball. I don’t really care who scores the points.”
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom