Starters
Robert Harris
The junior point guard just may be on the verge of a breakout. A capable shooter and an offensive spark cutting to the basket, he’s been an improvement in the position since the beginning of the season. Turnovers will be a bit of a problem and he’s not the best ball distributor, but Idaho can work around that for now. 3/5
Connor Hill
The growth of Connor Hill continues. His concerted effort to become more of an offensive presence inside the paint is visible, but when he is on from 3-point range is when he’s the most effective. Hill shot early and often and almost always in the face of pressure to nail 4 of 6 shot attempts. It seems Hill is stepping up to the challenge of needing to have a quick shot-release to be effective in the face of pressure, since teams are very rarely leaving him uncovered coming off of screens. 4/5
Stephen Madison
It was just an overall solid night for Stephen Madison. He was efficient from the field, scored 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and dished out two assists. This was all while having to sit most of the second half with four fouls. But the team stepped up and held the lead without him. Getting to the free throw line five times is good for Madison, as Idaho will be at its best when Madison is attacking and opening things up for other players. 3/5
Kyle Barone
Hard not to laud a guy for grabbing 18 boards in only 31 minutes of action, but a lot of those boards had more to do with opportunity. Idaho allowed Texas-Arlington to get off 64 shots, with the Mavericks missing 40 of those. That’s 40 board opportunities in 40 minutes, and UTA got 11 offensive rebounds. Still, Kyle Barone is probably the best rebounder in the WAC and him grabbing 17 defensive boards played a part in Idaho being able to withstand a late UTA push to allow Idaho to close out the win. Barone got to the free-throw line seven times and very rarely took a bad look at the basket, instead going in aggressively to either lay it in or draw a foul. 4/5
Mike McChristian
Turning into more of a role player than anything, McChristian is still solid in that 3-guard role. It’d be nice if Idaho tried to space him out in the perimeter and let him shoot more, as he’s pretty solid from beyond the arc. If teams start accounting for him it could open up a lot more for Madison and Hill. McChristian went 1 of 3 on the night, all from long range, and finished with three points. It didn’t help that he fouled out, though. Nights like this might happen often, McChristian’s main asset to the team is his defensive prowess and ability to add some length to the rebounding in the backcourt. 2/5
Bench
Mansa Habeeb
Hustle, hustle, hustle. Habeeb brought it all night, getting to the free throw line six times and defending well. Habeeb has been turnover prone most of the season but his role was limited to getting the ball and attacking. Idaho needs that. 4/5
Joe Kammerer and Wendell Faines
Kammerer has been playing some minutes more out of need than anything else, playing 14 minutes of and scoring six points on the night. I’m not sure he’s the answer of what Idaho wants in the post defensively. With Wendell Faines playing less and Marcus Bell being noticeably absent it seems there is some depth issues in the post-player department. 2.5/5
Denzel Douglas
Idaho coach Don Verlin may need to re-evaluate what Douglas brings to the team. He’s a good hustle player in pushing the ball up and down the court but when Idaho does that, the team tends to get wreckless with the ball, and Douglas isn’t a great half-court option. Douglas does help the team when teams try to go full-court press on the Vandals, which is why he tends to play later in games now. But he’s not much of an offensive spark or ball distributor. It’s been a frustrating go as of late for Douglas. 2/5
Sean Kramer can be reached at [email protected]