On Feb. 6, the Vandals lost at home to Portland State after failing to even score 20 points in the first half. They fought back, scoring 50 points in the second half, but that was still not enough to defeat the Vikings in Moscow. The first half was by far their worst half of the season, and it appeared as if Idaho was not competing at a level of talent comparable to Portland State. It was clear to all the fans packed in the ICCU Arena that the Vandals were outmatched that day.
Just 32 days later, Idaho faced the Vikings in the second round of the Big Sky Tournament. Coming into this game, Portland State was the third-seeded team in the conference and boasted a 19-12 record. The Vandals got off to a hot start and never looked back, claiming their first Big Sky Quarterfinal win ever.
Halfway through the first half, a thunderous Julius Mims dunk began a 16-3 run that lasted over 11 minutes. The Vikings’ lone field goal during this run was an Isaiah Johnson layup. Other than that, this dry spell was very damaging to the Vikings’ chances in this game, as it catapulted the Vandals to a 39-20 lead.
Knowing that Portland State is very capable of erasing large deficits, the Vandals were sure to maintain the pressure, leading by double-digits for around two-thirds of the game. Kristian Gonzalez and Jack Payne combined for 44 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals en route to an 80-70 upset.
“One of our biggest goals was to win a game down in Boise and we got that done, which meant a lot to us,” Mims said. “That quarterfinal win really gave us a lot of hope for the future of the program.”
After defeating the Vikings, the Vandals advanced to the semifinal round to face off with the eventual tournament champions, Montana. Montana claimed a double-digit lead before the second media timeout and maintained it for the remainder of the game. The Grizzlies made 14 three-pointers, compared to Idaho’s five. They also shot 15% better from the field than the Vandals.
The driving factor of Montana’s dominance in this game was their ball movement and transition offense. The Grizzlies had seven steals, which led to 19 points off turnovers. They also had 14 more assists than Idaho, which goes to show how efficient they were at shutting down any rhythm that Idaho attempted to develop.
Leading by as many as 31 at one point, the Grizzlies eliminated the Vandals with a 78-55 win. Idaho finished the season 14-19, but they had not quite found their stride until conference play.
“It is a step forward for us… When conference play came around, I think we showed that we can compete with anybody,” Head Coach Alex Pribble said. “It’s a group of guys that can really shoot the ball and really get hot.”
Their nine total wins against Big Sky opponents were the most since the 2017-2018 season. This is a true indicator that Pribble’s program is trending in the right direction toward becoming a Big Sky championship contender.
“Coach Pribble has done an amazing job coming in and doing what he does as a coach and building this program up from nothing,” Mims said. “I’m really proud of what the team was able to accomplish this year even though we were not able to get it done.”
In classic Rick Pitino style, Pribble has completely uprooted the Vandal basketball program in just two short seasons by developing a strong winning culture. In the NIL era, this is a considerably difficult feat to accomplish in such a brief period.
“The culture’s gotten better, the communication’s gotten better,” Pribble said. “More than anything, we’re focused on building a group of hardworking, high-character, young men who do it the right way.”
The coaching staff instilled this culture into the players, which helped the team’s chemistry continuously develop throughout the course of the season. Mims said that this season was “night and day” compared to last season, and that the team clicked right away.
“We have to think ‘we over me.’ It is a team first atmosphere,” Mims said. “Coach Pribble drilled that into us early. The coaching staff influenced us a lot. They were on us all day every day. They developed more of a family system rather than just a player-coach relationship. It was honestly great to see them grow as a staff as well as us grow as a team.”
The transfer portal has drastically shifted the landscape of college sports, and it makes things significantly more difficult for mid major schools. With the portal becoming so prominent as Pribble arrived in Moscow, the Vandal basketball program was put to the test in terms of recruiting.
Rather than complain about the cards he was dealt, Pribble embraced the NIL era and quickly capitalized on the ability to recruit transfers.
This Idaho team boasted one of the most prolific shooting offenses in the Big Sky. The team has one of the least experienced rosters in Division 1 but still managed to break the school record for three-pointers made in a season. The Vandals finished with a total of 293 three-pointers, which is nearly 10 triples per game.
A substantial portion of the team’s shooting success can be attributed to two first-year transfers: Jack Payne and Kolton Mitchell.
Payne finished his sophomore season as the most well-rounded player on the roster. He averaged 10.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He also shot 36.2% from beyond the arc.
Mitchell averaged 11.1 points, 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He was top 10 in the nation in free throw percentage, finishing at 89.5%, and he shot 34% from beyond the arc.
Now that Idaho has a talented core group of underclassmen, the goal for Idaho is to retain as many players as possible. Pribble believes Mitchell and Payne will be Vandals for a long time.
“Hopefully, if you retain them year after year, as a program you keep taking strides as well,” Pribble said. “You can just try to flip the roster every year and try to bring as much talent as possible, but we’re building this thing year over year.”
Looking ahead to next season, given the departures of seniors Kyson Rose and Mims, the Vandals will need to add some length to the roster. Creating a reliable frontcourt of transfers may be exactly what the Vandals need, seeing as rebounding was one of their biggest struggles in conference play.
Reflecting back on his time at Idaho, Mims feels he was able to adapt rather quickly after transferring from North Idaho College prior to the 2023-2024 season.
“I have had a great experience being a Vandal. The coaching staff treated me great, and I would not give it back for anything,” Mims said. “I feel right at home here. As a player, I definitely made some major growth as far as my mindset on the court and being a leader goes.”
At the end of the team’s summer sessions, Mims learned that he had microfractures in the top of both of his tibias. This required him to need platelet-rich plasma injections in his knees, which set him back six to eight weeks.
“With the help of my teammates, my coaches, and the athletic training staff I was able to overcome this challenge and get back to the game that I love,” Mims said.
In his senior season, despite battling injuries, Mims averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He also led the Big Sky with a 66.1% field goal percentage.
Despite graduating and moving on to play professionally, Mims is optimistic about the future of this program. He says the team battled through everything and became one cohesive unit down the stretch.
“Our biggest challenge was getting out of our own way. When our guys would get down on themselves, it would create kind of a snowball effect,” Mims said. “Throughout the season we were really able to hone in on what we needed to get done. I cannot say enough about my fellas and how they much they have grown this year as a unit.”
Liam Bradford an be reached at arg-sports@uidaho.edu.
Mimi B
Great article..congratulations coach and vandals!!