The University of Idaho Argonaut

Idaho guard Mike Hall might be new to the four year university scene, but he is not new to the game of basketball.
Hall, one of the many junior college recruits on the Vandal men’s basketball team, is making quite a show during his first year at Idaho. The junior is transitioning well to Division I athletics, which was apparent in his record-breaking performance against San Jose State on Jan. 21, during which he sank nine-of-10 three point shots. Hall not only broke a school record in the San Jose State game, but was also named WAC Player of the Week for Jan. 21-27.

“It’s always just kind of nerve racking when you come in and see all the people, the size difference and strength and speed and all that, but I can score here like I can at any other level and I’m starting to realize that,” Hall said.
Jan. 21 was not the first time Hall has hit nine three’s in a game. Last year Hall drained nine-for-12 from the arc in the first round of the NJCAA National Tournament.
“We watched him just go off at the national tournament last year, and we recruited him to hit the three ball,” Idaho coach George Pfeifer said. “Everyone has a void to fill — the three is his void.”
The Cincinnati native’s basketball career began in a third grade Saturday league. Since that point, he has had basketball running through his veins. At Troy High School, in Troy, Ohio (roughly 1,500 students,) Hall was recruited to play on the varsity squad as a freshman. Hall remained on varsity throughout all four years of his prep career.

When he graduated, Hall was recruited to play his freshman year in college at Cincinnati State, but he relocated himself after just one year.
“I didn’t like the situation there coming back my sophomore year, so I transferred to a school in Dallas called Lon Morris Junior College,” Hall said.
Lon Morris finished sixth at the NJCAA National Tournament last year, where Hall earned all tournament honors averaging 18.8 points per game.
Though Idaho is Hall’s third college in three years, he says that he is here to stay for the rest of his college career.
“I had a lot of pretty big schools recruit me, but I visited here and liked it. I liked coach Pfeifer and the other assistant coaches, and I just felt pretty comfortable here, so I decided to come this way,” Hall said.
Other schools that recruited Hall include­ No. 22 Kansas State (14-4), West Virginia (15-5), University of Alabama Birmingham (13-6), Kentucky (9-9) and the University of Cincinnati (9-11).

“There were some pretty big ones, but big schools just tell you what you want to hear. They could have three All-Americans playing on their team,” Hall said. “Here I get a chance to start and to play, that’s what it’s all about.”
One of the most striking things about the team’s self-proclaimed funny man is his belief in the 5-14 team around him.
“I just try to let (the team) know that it’s possible to make a big change in the course of the season, and next season as well, if we just work hard at it,” Hall said. “I just want everyone to see what we as a team are capable of, and to pack out the Cowan Spectrum one time just to see how it rocks.”