Seems weird to talk about how improved a .500 basketball team is... but, at the University of Idaho, the break-even point is celebrated by some fans.
Hey, it's been a down decade or so in football and men's basketball. Football has shown small glimpses of potential. But basketball, under new head coach Don Verlin, could be a factor in the WAC this year.
Now, please don't take the "could be a factor" and translate that into, "Will thinks Idaho is gonna win the WAC."
Not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that, at 6-6, there's a reason to start going to Idaho basketball games again because they're no longer an easy mark for most opposing teams.
It largely hinges on two newcomers-- Washington State transfer Mac Hopson and junior college transfer Marvin Jefferson. In Jefferson, the Vandals have something they arguably haven't had since... well, I don't know when: a legitimate post presence who can score, defend, and rebound. And foul. A lot (41 personal fouls in 12 games). If the coaching staff can find a way to keep Jefferson on the floor, the Vandals will be a handful for a lot of teams when conference play begins.
Hopson, on the other hand, is an early frontrunner for All-WAC honors. His basic stat line (16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game) would probably be enough to have people talking about him as a WAC Player of the Year candidate if (a) he played anywhere else but Idaho, and (b) it was late February instead of late December. If he keeps it up... and Idaho stays at least in the middle of the pack... his name deserves to at least get mentioned in the conversation.
The duo has a nice complimentary cast in Kashif Watson, Brandon Wiley, and Luciano deSouza, which gives Idaho something else it hasn't seen in quite some time-- balance, particularly on offense.
Right now, the Vandals are 5-1 in Moscow and 1-5 anywhere else. That will need to change if the Vandals want to seriously entertain the notion of putting 14-16 wins on the board. The team isn't as good as the 50-plus point whoopin' they put on UC-Irvine earlier this year and it isn't as bad as the 30-some point halftime deficit they faced at Gonzaga.
What they are is an improved basketball team, a team that could be a thorn in a lot of WAC teams' sides this winter.