Media professionals and coaches selected the Idaho men’s basketball team to finish fifth in the preseason WAC polls, which were released earlier this week.
Idaho’s Kyle Barone is the only preseason All-WAC selection representing the Vandals. Teams and coaches nominated the junior center to the preseason second team.
Despite returning only one full-time starter from last year’s team in point guard Deremy Geiger, the Vandals recruited junior college talent in the off-season to remain a competitive force in the WAC. Returning players include Barone and Landon Tatum, two veterans who played crucial roles in the team’s success last season.
“The teams that are picked ahead of us are the teams with experience,” coach Don Verlin said. “Nevada returns almost everyone, so does New Mexico State and so does Hawaii, and Utah State’s been the class of the league for the last four or five years so I think we’re picked right where we need to be.”
Though Utah State has controlled the WAC for the last three years, the coaches’ preseason favorite was Nevada, followed by New Mexico State, Utah State, Hawaii, Idaho, Fresno State, San Jose State and La. Tech.
The media poll jumbled the top three, favoring Utah State, Nevada and New Mexico State while placing San Jose State ahead of Fresno State.
Idaho’s 9-7 conference record in 2010-2011 earned them a third place regular season finish but the Vandals crashed out of the WAC Tournament early, falling to San Jose State in the first round.
Barone tends to overlook the preseason polls, which he believes utilized the team’s lack of experience as reasoning for their fifth place selection.
“I think since we had a lot of new guys coming in, that’s why we’re so low but we can’t really focus on that other than just try to prove them wrong and come out and show who we are,” Barone said. “We can beat those teams at any given night.”
A 2010-2011 all-WAC honorable mention, Barone has solidified himself as one of the conference’s most dangerous centers. The 6-foot-10-inch Garden Grove, Calif., native led the conference in field goal percentage as a sophomore and led his team with 5.8 rebounds per game.
“They’re going to look to me to score, rebound and lead the team in every way and I expect the same,” Barone said. “Overall, I think we’re going to play really hard on both ends of the court, we’re going to work for everything, we’re going to make the other team work, score — nothing easy. We’re a tough team and I don’t think we’re going to be easy to get by.”
In three seasons as Idaho’s coach, Verlin has garnered 24 WAC wins, more than triple the amount of conference wins the team had in the three seasons pre-Verlin.
Verlin has set a high precedent for this year’s Vandal team and the WAC may prove to be extremely competitive this season, which will be the last for Fresno State and Nevada.
“I really believe that the four teams picked ahead of us are all equal. I think any one of those four teams could win it,” Verlin said. “Then the other ones, the
bottom four are trying to get into that top four.”
Fans will have the opportunity to witness the 2011-2012 Vandals in action during the Black vs. Gold scrimmage, which will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday in Memorial Gym.