The University of Idaho men’s basketball team has added six new faces to the roster for the 2020-21 season. The Vandals have added five recruits to their 2020 class.
Recruiting has been a challenge for college coaches across the nation as it is currently in a dead period with coaches unable to meet recruits face-to-face. Recruiting during this time has caused coaches to meet with recruits through Zoom meetings and analyze their talent through game footage.
“We can’t bring them to campus to show them everything that we have to offer here, but we’ve had a great deal of success attracting the right type of young men,” Zac Claus, head coach of UI men’s basketball, said. “We did all of our recruiting watching them on film, and then all of our meetings were through open calls, texts and Zoom meetings. It’s worked out well for us and we’re really happy with the guys we got. We’re ready to keep plugging away and moving forward.”
The Vandals’ new recruits are guards Hunter-Jack Madden, DeAndre Robinson, Kendall McHugh, Ethan Kilgore and forward Tanner Christensen.
Hunter-Jack Madden
According to govandals.com, Madden is a 6-foot-1 guard from Sydney, Australia who signed with the Vandals in April. Madden played high school basketball at Shore School in Sydney where he led the team in points, rebounding and assists in his senior season.
He averaged 24.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and was selected to the All-Australian Schoolboys Team. He joined the Sydney Kings, an Australian men’s professional basketball team, in the 2019-20 season as a developmental player. Madden will wear the number five for the Vandals this season.
DeAndre Robinson
Robinson is a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Monroeville, Alabama who signed with the Vandals in May. Robinson attended Tallahassee Community College last season averaging three points per game while playing through injury. In his freshman season, Robinson played for Wheeling University averaging 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He also had a season high of 33 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Robinson went to Monroe County High School and averaged 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Robinson was the team captain and earned Second Team All State in 2017. Robinson will wear the number 13 for the Vandals this season.
Kendall McHugh
McHugh is a 6-foot-1 guard who is from Centreville, Virginia and signed with the Vandals in April. McHugh went to Santa Margarita High School where his school won the California Interscholastic Federation basketball championship in 2019.
Last season, McHugh played for the College of Southern Idaho where he started in 29 games. He averaged 10.6 points and 2.6 assists as a freshman. He was named to the Section 18 Second Team. McHugh will wear the number 11 for the Vandals this season.
Ethan Kilgore
Kilgore is a 6-foot-5 guard who is from Gower, Missouri and signed with the Vandals in November 2019. Kilgore attended East Buchanan High School and helped his team to back-to-back second place finishes in the Missouri Class 2 District 16 Tournament.
He was named First Team All-State for three consecutive years and was named a McDonald’s All-American nominee. Kilgore is the all-time leading scorer for East Buchanan with 2,487 points. Kilgore will wear the number 20 for the Vandals this season.
Tanner Christensen
Christensen is a 6-foot-10 forward who previously signed with the Vandals in 2018 before leaving for his LDS mission. Christensen played at University High School and is from Spokane Valley, Washington. He averaged 16.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as a senior.
He was team captain during his junior and senior seasons and was named to the First Team All-Greater Spokane League.
The Vandals look toward the future with young talent as five seniors will be graduating after this season. Senior forward Scott Blakney gave his insight on how he will look to mentor the new recruits this season.
“When new guys join the team, there’s a lot to learn about our team culture, so I want to help them in showing them how we do things and how we operate as a team,” Blakney said.
The Vandals had their first official practice on Wednesday as they prepare for the season to begin next month.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic.