The Vandals have a bigger problem than conference affiliation as during this transition their basketball program has almost completely fallen apart.  The Vandals are now at the bottom of the Big Sky and with their cold winters and small town atmosphere (joke here about killing) are not exactly a recruiting juggernaut.  The administration took a chance on a Michigan State assistant Coach named Don Monson to rebuild this program.  Monson is infamous for having recruited Magic Johnson and for God’s sake the Vandals needed someone who could recruit but is behind the eight ball.  Monson will have to do what he has to do and is beating bushes of the Juco schools while trying to get as many long term prospects as possible.  Coming from a state that is not known for much more than potatoes and wide open ranges the Vandals do not get the kind of attention some of the East Coast or bigger city schools get.  This makes recruiting even junior college kids difficult.  The Vandals play in a town that shares it’s name with the Russian capital but is really a ghost town when the students are out for summer break.  Renowned for it’s partying (and infamous now for other things), the Vandals do have solid support with a strong alumnus base and kids that have nothing else to do on cold winter nights but come to the Kibbie Dome for games.  Every game seems like a Toga Party from Animal House in Cowan Spectrum at the Kibbie Dome so they got that going for them but now Monson has to put a product on the floor these rabid co-eds can lose their minds over. 

Speaking of junior colleges the key to this season might well be if Akron refugee Gus Johnson ‘Honecyomb’ Johnson.  A JC transfer (from the hated Broncos of Boise State down south in the Potato State) Johnson has bounced around just about everywhere since his prep days in Ohio.  Johnson actually enrolled at Akron University but changed his mind and pulled out of his commitment.  He played a few games of AAU ball and even got two games in semi-pro league with the Cleveland Pipers before heading west.  The one year in Boise did him well as he dominated (and some say paid his penance) and it showed in his few games he played last year.  Good thing is name is not Brown or they wouldn’t have allowed him to play at all last year which they did.  Johnson is a good offensive player as his skill set is catching up with his athleticism.   He is a tremendous rebounder and one of the best finishers on the entire West Coast. At 6 foot 6, inch for inch there is no doubt he is the best pure athlete to ever suit up sneakers in the Big Sky.  He loves to throw the ball down through the hoop when he gets the chance and has a variety of dunks to entertain the fans.  Johnson can match up with anybody he plays against no matter how big they are or how quick.  He routinely guards the other team’s small forwards.  Being stuck in tiny Moscow right now might not seem like the place to showcase his skills but he will get enough publicity in the Vandals games with old rivals (the PAC 10) that he will get drafted next year.  That is unless one of his tricky knees gives out on him.  Yes, this 24 year old (he is a bit older than his peers with all of his travels) already has knee issues probably due to his transient lifestyle.  Guys with his athleticism and skill set do not fall off tress as there is only a handful (see Julius Ervin or Elgin Baylor or even Connie Hawkins for comparison-yes he is that good) of players who can match up with him athletically.  Johnson and Baylor have a unique connection as the two soon to be pro studs played against each other down in the Treasure Valley albeit while both were attending smaller Universities.  Baylor was representing the College of Idaho and Johnson the BJC Broncos when they met.  College of Idaho is a small NAIA liberal arts school that is a suburb of Boise and the two schools have played many times though they have taken different roads in the short time since then due to the success of the Broncos football team and their infamous blue turf.  There were only about 3000 fans in old Bronco Gym that night but sort of like Woodstock about everyone in Idaho says they were.  The ones that actually were saw a throw down for the ages and the two prodigies matched each other shot for shot (and dunk for dunk) in a game where the stats don’t really matter (and some say were not even kept as it was after all it was not a sanctioned game).  Of course Hawkins is the best example not only on the court but since both have been held up in the courts waiting for eligibility.  The Vandals fans are waiting on edge for the outcome of this one as he is truly a one in a million talent (or at least one in three).  Johnson did have the opportunity to visit a few of the local drinking establishments that Moscow is famous for.  At the Corner Club one night he leaped so high on a beer bet challenge that they placed a nail where he touched.  No one has even come within six inches of touching that nail and that includes Bill Walton who was coming through town on the way to a Grateful Dead Concert (the Big Redhead blamed too much beer and pizza but there might have been other substances as well).  Apparently Idaho has more jumpers than you might think as a JC kid from Twin Falls (Joey Johnson with a 48 inch vertical and no relation to Gus but is related to DJ of Pepperdine fame) supposedly touched the nail and bent it at the 11 foot six mark Johnson Honeycomb became a legend with! 

Monson would like nothing better to have Johnson available for this season but he is attempting to build a program here and is attempting to recruit some four year guys though most of those are regional players.  Leading the way of these four year Monson recruit for the Vandals last season was guard Brian Kellerman.  This Richland Washington native (151 miles on US-395 from Moscow) enjoyed a tremendous freshman year where he became a huge fan favorite at the Kibbie Dome.  This kid plays hard and tough and has become quite proficient at the most important skill you need in basketball.  A potent shooter, Kellerman does not have the athleticism to contend with other more gifted guards but makes up for it with heart and smarts and a rainbow jumper.  He is six five 195 and uses his size to get off his jump shot and the three point line has become his friend.  He is almost as good of a passer as he is a shooter and he has great size for a guard.   He has already developed a reputation as the guy the Vandals went go to for big shots and he came through often.  Kellerman is also a good defender who knows how to fill the passing lanes and get some easy steals.  He is not as athletic of some the other wings he has to guard and that was a problem especially since Monson went three guard most of the year and Kellerman was actually guarding some small forwards at times. Still, Kellerman was there for the bell from the get go and had a solid all-around season and adjusted well to whoever Monson put next to him and whatever position he had this gamer suit up for!   

Freshman forward Orlando Lightfoot is the future of this program. A tremendous athlete is his own right, Lightfoot loves to score.  He will shoot form anywhere and can really light it up.  He will post up but loves to fire from the balcony.  His mentality is to score and the team has accepted that.  He is not really selfish but just loves to score.  Lightfoot actually led the Vandals in scoring over Johnson and has a game made for the pros but needs to become a bit more disciplined.  And he needs to guard somebody once in awhile.  If you could read this kids mind I am sure all you would see is him getting ready to throw up another shot from anywhere he gets the ball (he averaged unbelievably less than an assist a game).  This kid was a High School All-American in Tennessee and committed to the run and game of Oklahoma with Billy Tubbs but could not qualify due to grades.  Assistant Larry Eustachy saw him and brought him to Moscow somehow and the rest is history.  The Vandals do have a history of like many of their players being a stepping stone for coaches.  It is not quite the end of the world but Moscow is definitely a last chance for some of these kids and coaches who want a second chance.  Eustachy, Tim Floyd and Kemit Davis have all stopped off here on their way up the ladder.  Lightfoot joins Johnson (and many more) who have come to Moscow for a shot and became legends in this small town.  With Johnson gone this is Lightfoot’s town for the next three years and the Vandals will rise up the totem pole of the Big Sky as far as this kid will take them!  Now if he could do anything but score and board he might be the guy for the job but until he gets a little less selfish the only things going up in Moscow will be his stats. 

Senior Gary Simmons is an undersized shooting guard but he can play. Simmons comes in with the most experience on the roster and is really expected to be the go to guy.  The five foot eleven Simmons can really elevate and is a great shooter.  Simmons is the only real carryover from the Wars of the PCC and more than held his own against those much bigger schools (and players).  He came into last year as the go to guy but that changed as Kellerman developed.  An Idaho native who had a legendary high school career in small town Twin Falls Simmons will not be forgotten in Moscow for his incredible career but in the end he was just too small to guard other shooting guards. Simmons will most assuredly start again this year as the Moscovites love him but his minutes might be in jeopardy as this team moves forward into respectability in this conference.  Speaking of guys who could replace him, Sophomore Phil Hopson came off the bench last year to give the team more size.  Kellerman had been playing the three in a three guard set and this team was just too small.  An inconsistent performer, Hopson does not sparkle at all times but at 6’6 200 this leaper gives the Vandals a more balanced and obviously bigger team.  Hopson is another local kid (Spokane Washington) who has shown in his limited time in Moscow he does come through in the clutch when his number is called. He gave Monson the type of athlete he needed at the three as he can defend athletic wings and helps much on the boards.  He did not get a huge amount of minutes overall but he is the only Vandal that played in every game. 

Senior Dwight ‘Red’ Morrison will presumably start at the center position.  Another Spokane kid, it is right over the Washington border after all, Morrison gives the Vandals some toughness and a little bit of size underneath.  Morrison goes 6’8 220 and can board.  He is better suited as a four but this team does not have anyone on the returning roster (or that they are recruiting for that matter) who is anywhere near seven foot.  Morrison does not score much but sets a mean screen and is by far the best choice up front especially if Johnson is deemed ineligible.  Fellow senior Ken Maren and junior Roger Davis are battling to start if Honeycomb won’t be your baby for the Vandals.  Maren is that rare out of the region recruit as he hails from Milwaukee and was kind of thrown into the starting lineup when he got to Moscow.  Lacking for height as always, then Coach Wayne Anderson saw this 6’8 skinny kid and put him in the lineup from day one.  He did not score much but his defense developed quickly.   Davis is even bigger at 6’9 and better on the boards but Maren’s defense should give him the nod once again unless well you know the rest.  There is an entire crew of upperclassmen on the roster biding for minutes up front but none are as big as these three and if any of the new kids can play then Monson will go in that direction almost  for sure! 

Point guard for the Vandals is the biggest concern.  Seniors Jim Thacker and Dale James are the incumbents but neither is exactly going to remind you of the Magic Man.  Heck, Thacker is at the opposite end of the spectrum as he goes 5’7 and would rather score than pass.  Another transfer Thacker did start most of last year in his first year in Moscow but was not particularly productive averaging less than three assists a game with over 4 turnovers.  James at 5’11, on the other hand, rides horses about as well as any man. Monson understands he must feel his need and has brought in three potential starters from either the Juco route or through the transfer portal including a kid from Kansas who actually played for the Jayhawks.  More than likely one of these three will start and lead this team this year. 

The bench for the Vandals will be well used!  Senior Chuck White has been a mainstay since he arrived three years ago.  This 6’4 195 from over that border in Kirkland Washington can flat score and helps on the boards.  He took a backseat to Kellerman last year but will get continue his role as supersub again this year.  Senior Jerry Skaife can score but was behind the eight ball after transferring from Columbia Basin JC last year.  He is not a point guard which the team needs and kind of got lost in the shuffle behind Simmons and Kellerman.  Fear not as Skaife also plays Wide Receiver for the Vandals.  6’2 junior Steve Weist can score on the wings but is not good defensively.  Weist never met a shot he didn’t like and was second on the team in scoring two years ago but lost his starting role to Kellerman last year.  Sophomore Kenny Luckett gave Monson some good production in the backcourt in limited time last year.  Luckett was mainly a JV stud but this 6’5 wing can score and showed in his time on varsity he can help on both ends. The aforementioned upperclassmen battling to stay on the roster sounds like a law firm and perhaps a few of the septet of  Kruger, Pritchett, Moreland, Pipkin, Wheeler, Nelson and Schlotthauer will end up doing so as after all this University does feature a law school.  For now these guys are fighting to get whatever leftover minutes are available after Monson gets his recruits on the court.  They are really just security if Johnson is not available (yes it would take 7 men to replace him and even then it would not be close to his productivity) but even then none of this group is big enough or good enough to play more than an ancillary role for the Vandals.      

The Idaho Vandals are on the upswing again after years of toiling in the basement of the Big Sky. New Coach Don Monson has brought in a truckload of JC talent from around the country with the help of some great recruiting assistants to this out of way little town in the middle of BFE!  This infamous partying college town looks forward to any event during the winter in cold Moscow Idaho and basketball games are a good of reason as any to party (they really don’t need a reason here).  Any time the Yellow and Brown can win a few games in a row in any sport this crazed (and drunk) fans go crazy and the after game parties are out of control.  This school might not still be trying to keep up with the Joneses of the Pac 10 but they will still keep playing games as long as there fans (most of who transfer down to Boise after a couple of years) still bleed that yellow blood.  I-D-A-H-O. Idaho, Idaho.  Go! Go!. Go!

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