Although its finale proved anticlimactic and downright disheartening, the 2017-2018 Idaho men’s basketball season was fraught with unforgettable happenings, characters, noteworthy numbers and honors.
It began with a radiation of hope. The media and fellow Big Sky coaches had picked the Vandals to finish first in the conference, therefore earning their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1990.
It ended, however, with a blunder. Southern Utah, the No. 10-seed in the Big Sky Tournament, sent Idaho home early.
That was the dimmest point of this season, a season which, for the most part, was composed of exuberant finishes, breakthroughs and a certain quality of play which had been rare in Idaho teams of the past few years.
The lowest points of the regular season materialized after the Vandals were handled by Cal State Bakersfield in the second meeting between the two and when Northern Colorado hammered Idaho for the second time to log a season-sweep on Jan. 25.
That was about as bad as it got between early November and March.
In a time of grieving, like the present, it’s important to alleviate the agony by returning to what made this team special. When it was playing well—streaking wins together, scoring cooperatively, locking down the Big Sky’s best — there was no denying what it could accomplish. Return back for a moment to a simpler time, before the Vandals were absorbed with conference opponents.
Remember senior guard Perrion Callandret’s preposterous offensive start against Washington State? The Vandals scored 11 points in the blink of an eye before the Cougars even warmed up and the Cowan Spectrum would soon be immersed in mania as Idaho cruised to a near-30-point drubbing of its border rivals.
And Dec. 18, when the Vandals paraded into Kalamazoo, made little to no mistakes and walloped Mid-American Conference favorite Western Michigan by 30 in front of various NBA scouts.
In conference play, who could forget the Feb. 17 overtime win over top-seeded Montana? Junior forward Nate Sherwood’s tap-in at the horn solidified what this team was — one that never gave up, could always find ways to overcome adversity and had all of the necessary essentials to make it to March Madness.
But the end came on too strong — it lacked any stage of amelioration. Idaho had put forth teams ailing much worse than this one, yet those still got a shot at a small-time postseason tournament.
The Vandals were not selected for the National Invite Tournament (NIT). With that, set alongside the College Basketball Invitational requirement of a $50,000 payment and the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, a $30,000 home court fee, there wasn’t much to bolster a postseason argument for a senior-laden squad.
At 22-9 (14-4 in Big Sky play), Idaho settled on the seventh best finish, record-wise, in program history. It was surely head coach Don Verlin’s best defensive squad, and when it was clicking, it wasn’t too shabby on the offensive end either.
The Vandals canned 277 3-pointers, a program record, and showcased two of the best all-around scorers in Idaho history — senior guard Victor Sanders and senior forward Brayon Blake.
Those names aren’t uncommon to the Idaho faithful. Sanders has been a factor on the team throughout his four years here; he was a first team all-conference player his junior year, and a second teamer his sophomore and senior year.
Long-balls, floaters, drives and dishes, jumpers off the dribble, beating the screen hedges — Sanders could do it all with the ball in his hands.
Although he wasn’t a first teamer, Sanders averaged 19 points-per-game (fourth Big Sky), refined his ball handling, finished as the No. 2 all-time Idaho scorer (behind Orlando Lightfoot) and even earned a National Association of Basketball Coaches District 6 Second-Team nod.
Blake, who joined Sanders on the NABC District 6 Second-Team, became indispensable as a Vandal in his second year with the program, averaging a near-double-double with 17 points-per-game and 9.6 rebounds. Down the stretch, though, Blake steadily dropped 20 points and pulled down more than 10 boards each contest.
His deeds were enough to secure a spot on the Big Sky First Team. He had more presence on the glass than anyone else in the conference, plus, he could easily drain a slew of triples, score in the paint and consistently net mid-range jumpers.
Looking forward, Sanders and Blake may have a shot professionally — it may not begin with the NBA, but both palpably have the talent to wind up in the league.
Sanders flirted with the possibility of going professional after his junior season but decided against it. Perhaps it was for the best. The Portland native boasted his skillset in front of NBA scouts who may not have gotten the chance to see him otherwise.
For Blake, this season made the difference.
Although he’s technically “undersized” for a forward at 6-foot-7 and about 220 pounds, his all-rounded proficiency could translate well to the next level. Remember that Charles Barkley is only 6-foot-6 and Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green are 6-foot-7. Each is versatile, and versatility in the form of range, paint moves and grit are absolutely Blake’s facets.
However, the 2016-17 Big Sky MVP, Eastern Washington’s Jacob Wiley, was signed as an undrafted free agent to a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets before being waived mid-season. Wiley recently signed with the top-tier German Bundesliga club, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.
Sanders and Blake just might follow in his footsteps.
A professional future may await Sanders and Blake, and for the other four seniors, the Idaho community will not soon forget that optimistic and solid 2017-18 season each of them helped head after years of work.
Looking ahead, Idaho will return two high-volume players next season in sophomore guards Trevon Allen and N. Sherwood. Likely, those two will bring the flash, but freshmen Geno West, Scott Blakney and Garrett Kingman each demonstrated their abilities in snippets throughout the year.
It’s a much less experienced team comparatively, but it will not necessarily be an utter rebuild. Each of the young players had ample time to develop under the direction of six seniors, and because so, this young class could be characteristic of the team they learned from.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95