Men anticipate rigorous schedule

Coach Don Verlin announced the “toughest” Vandal men’s basketball schedule yet in his four years at the University of Idaho Tuesday.
Fourteen WAC games, one non-conference game and a Sears BracketBuster will precede the 2012 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
The Vandals open the regular season Nov. 12 at Long Beach State, a Big West title contender and host Palouse rival Washington State Dec. 7 in its first home game in the Cowan Spectrum.
The next day Idaho will travel to Corvallis, Ore., for a showdown with another Pac-12 opponent, Oregon State and its superstar guard Jared Cunningham. The Vandals will maintain their basketball rivalry with Boise State on New Year’s Eve, when the two clash at a neutral site, the Idaho Center in Nampa.
“We’ve got a really good preseason, then we finish the preseason at Wright State and Wisconsin-Green Bay, which are both very good teams… that finish towards the top of their conference every year,” Verlin said.
Idaho will host a pair of preseason exhibition games against NAIA opponent Evergreen State and Division III opponent Willamette on Oct. 28 and Nov. 5 in Memorial Gym.
Additional preseason home games will feature Concordia Portland, Montana State, Eastern Washington and Cal State Bakersfield.
Senior guard Landon Tatum thinks the Vandals will stack up well in this year’s Western Athletic Conference.
“I think we’re going to be able to catch some people off guard. I think our team chemistry is starting off really well right now,” Tatum said. “Having some of our guys back and then I think just having new guys who want to get going and have their first taste of Division I is going to make it even better because they’re going to want to succeed.”
The Vandals’ newest acquisitions will make their WAC debut Jan. 5 when they host Nevada in the Cowan Spectrum. Fresno State will be in Moscow two days later for a Saturday afternoon tipoff.
Verlin said the team has to account for the inexperience of the six new faces on this year’s squad.
“As the year goes on this team has to get better day in and day out,” Verlin said. “There’s some guys who are going to have to play a lot of minutes that to this point haven’t played Division I basketball so if we work hard and continue to get better every day I think we can compete right at the top of the league.”
Idaho will host four-time WAC champion Utah State on Jan. 21. Stew Morrill and a hungry Aggie team will seek revenge on the Vandals, who upset USU and ended a 17-game winning streak, crushing the Aggies’ hopes of an undefeated conference record.
The game will prove to be significant for Verlin, who coached under Morrill in Logan, and senior Deremy Geiger, a former Aggie point guard.
“That’ll be huge. I think the WAC is very good this year with Nevada and New Mexico State returning a lot and Utah State’s won the league the last three or four years in a row,” Verlin said. “I think that’s a huge game for us, you know we’d like to get them down there once and this may be a good year to do it.”
Four community college transfers will make the Division I transition this winter and Tatum, who transferred from South Plains College two years ago, is well aware of the transfers’ playing ability.
“I’m looking at Daz Starke or Wendell Faines down low at the post, helping Kyle Barone, maybe getting another scorer down there, just another power presence inside will really help us in the rebounding and even blocking shots,” Tatum said. “They’re a real physical group.”

About the Author

Theo Lawson Vandal Nation blog manager Sophomore in journalism Can be reached at [email protected]

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