The University of Idaho Argonaut

University of Idaho post Jessica Graham goes for a basket during an exhibition game against Northwest Christian Sunday in Memorial Gym. The Vandals won 82-52 and will host Eastern Oregon in the exhibition contest Friday in Memorial Gym. The regular season starts at home against Gonzaga Nov. 16. Kate Kucharzyk/Argonaut

Looking to follow up on their best season in a decade, Mac Hopson led the Idaho Vandals out onto the Memorial Gym floor Friday night for a 20-minute, season-opening intra-squad scrimmage. The action was fast, furious and imperfect, and coach Don Verlin was mostly happy with what he saw.

“I liked how hard our guys played,” Verling said.  “They’ve competed hard throughout the practices and the team chemistry is really coming together. We’ve still got a lot to improve on, but I’m really happy with the progress so far.”

Freshmen center Kyle Barone showed he may be the answer to Idaho’s rebounding troubles last year, grabbing eight boards to lead the team in cleaning up the glass.

“Kyle has done a great job, and Vandal fans ought to be extremely excited because he has the chance to be one of the best big guys ever to wear the Idaho uniform,” Verlin said. “He’s so long and he’s active and shoots with a nice touch. He will be a very good player for our program.”

Another change immediately apparent: team speed. Verlin told reporters earlier this season that Idaho would be exploiting its depth by going to a fast-paced offensive set, and the Vandals didn’t disappoint.

Newcomers Landon Tatum, Marcus Lawrence and Shawn Henderson created opportunities all over the floor offensively, as both halves of the team ran the floor with aplomb. Three-point specialist Jeff Ledbetter had an off shooting night, but the buckets he did make showed a sweet touch.

This year, the Vandals clearly have the personnel to go five or six deep into the bench — and the battle for starting positions is sure to be fierce, as Verlin confirmed.

“We’ve got a lot of guys competing for spots and time, but they’re all doing it the right way,” he said.

One spot where the Vandals still struggled was the free-throw line. Verlin didn’t mince words about the need for his team to improve dramatically in making the freebies.

“We have to get better (with free throws), and we’re going to have to just keep working at it. I will find the guys who can do that, because that’s what we have to do to be successful,” Verlin said.

The Vandals open their season on Friday at 8 p.m. in Memorial Gym, when they’ll square off against exhibition foe St. Martin’s. That game will be Idaho’s final chance to tune up before traveling to Utah on Nov. 13 for the regular season opener. 

“We’re bigger, stronger, faster and deeper,” Verlin said. “Now we (as coaches) just have to mold them together in the next two weeks.”