This past season for Vandal men’s basketball was nearly unbearable.
The team had an overall 5-27 record, exactly opposite of last season, going 22-9 and finishing second in the Big Sky Conference.
The 2018-2019 season was by far the worst under head coach Don Verlin.
But, that’s the beauty of optimism. The team can only go up from here — at least fans can hope. But it won’t be easy.
The Vandals could be losing as many as five out of 13 players to the transfer route, including freshman guard Cameron Tyson who set the Big Sky Conference freshman record for threes made in a season.
Braedon Cain
The three other players potentially joining Tyson are Cassius Smits-Francisco, Losini Kamara and reportedly Xavier Smith. Luckily none of these players, except for Tyson, were consistent starters.
While having these players transfer all at once hurts, they clearly were not the right fit for the team.
They could all be replaced with players who will mesh better with the system and culture that Verlin has instilled.
In terms of players returning, there are multiple key guys who will still be in a Vandal uniform for the 2019-2020 season. The first being leading scorer and upcoming senior guard Trevon Allen.
Allen was anything but consistent all year, averaging 14 points per game along with 3.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. He also accompanied these stats with a 42% field goal percentage and 73% free throw percentage.
Allen is the all-around utility guard every coach wants. He scores when needed, grabs boards to make the transition game faster, finds the open guy when defenders key in on him and converts at the free throw line.
The next key player that will be returning is sophomore forward Jared Rodriguez.
Rodriguez finished third in scoring for the Vandals with 11.2 points per game and could be considered the most-improved player for the Vandals.
After redshirting in the 2017-2018 season, Rodriguez made an immediate impact last season.
Rodriguez stands at about 6-foot-8-inches as a stretch forward for Idaho who can take his game to the perimeter if his defender is playing off of him. He proved this by shooting 41% from the 3-point line, knocking down 29 out of 70 on the season.
Having this athletic type of a player is huge for the Vandals, and Rodriguez will only improve his game as he gets older.
Next up for returning players is 6-foot-4-inch guard Rayquawndis Mitchell. He started 10 out of 31 games for the Vandals and showed flashes of talent throughout the season, scoring double digits in three games.
Mitchell will now have the potential to be an every-game starter next year, opening the gates for more looks on offense and consistent scoring.
Last but not least, upcoming junior post Scott Blakney will remain in the starting lineup next season. Blakney was the Vandals main post for the year and the team’s second leading rebounder behind Rodriguez with 4.7 rebounds per game. He finished fourth in scoring for the team with 7.5 points per game.
Blakney was already a pretty physical post down low for the Vandals and can start to focus on his offensive game, as well as his defensive presence in the paint.
With 7-foot Oregon State transfer Jack Wilson ineligible until January 2020, Blakney will once again be the go-to big man for the Vandals early in the season.
Regardless of the large amount of players transferring, Idaho will be keeping their core talent on the team for the 2019-2020 season.
With this factoring in, they will have a much better season than this past year.
There will be a higher probability of double-digit wins, making a better performance in the Big Sky Conference.
Allen will be the leader on this team and most likely the top scorer once again as he starts his senior campaign with the Vandals.
Building off the youth of the team this past season can help display the added experience the team will have next year playing under Verlin at the Division I level.
Braedon Cain can be reached at [email protected]