Idaho men’s basketball displays the past, present and future in the season opener

Nov. 9 was historic for Idaho. In the first regular-season men’s basketball game in the ICCU Arena, the Vandals celebrated the past, present and future of their program.

Idaho hosted Long Beach State, who is coached by Dan Monson — the son of the famous former coach: Don Monson. In the pregame festivities, Don Monson and players from the 1982 Sweet 16 team were honored in a special presentation.

Monson led the Vandals to their greatest period of men’s basketball in the history of the school. From 1978-1983, he led the Vandals to two NCAA tournament berths, one NIT tournament berth and reached the Sweet 16 in the 1982 NCAA Tournament.

In four of the five seasons he coached the Vandals, they finished top three in Big Sky standings, and won the conference twice.

Monson finished his Idaho coaching career with an overall record of 100-41. After he left, he took the head coaching position at the University of Oregon. He coached there from 1983 to 1992, then coaching the 36ers for a season of the Australian-based NBL. He retired from coaching at the age of 60.

Don Monson’s son, Dan Monson, has followed in his father’s footsteps. After graduating from Idaho in 1985, Dan Monson almost immediately started his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 1988, he became an assistant at Gonzaga, where he stayed and became head coach in 1997.

Just a season after coaching Gonzaga to an Elite Eight appearance, Monson accepted a head coaching position at Minnesota in 1999.

Monson coached for Minnesota until 2006, when he took the position at Long Beach State, where he remains.

However, all of that was celebrating the past.

Nov. 9 was also about answering questions about the present and future of the team. How would the Vandals perform after only winning one game last season? How would the team perform with ten out of its 14 active players being freshman or transfers? Would energy be high in the brand-new arena?

The answer to the latter: absolutely. The arena erupted when junior guard Rashad Smith hit a three pointer — the very first three-pointer to be made by the Vandals in the ICCU Arena (at least during a regular season game).

The arena was not at capacity, but the attending fans did well to fill in the gaps with noise. The student section was especially active, leading chants of “air ball,” “you can’t do that,” and “Last Chance U.” The last chant was directed towards Long Beach State senior forward Joe Hampton, who was featured on the Netflix show of the same name as the chant.

Despite the energy, it was still a six-point loss. More so, a six-point loss after leading by as many as 12 at one point during the game. It was a game that the Vandals could’ve won, and some fans might think that they probably should’ve won.

The team was a new one, and it showed. Smith, who had 12 points in the first half, got pulled for most of the game after having three fouls. But he did come back at the end of the game to get a critical block against Hampton. But Smith’s absence was felt by his team.

“(Smith) is arguably our best defender,” coach Zac Claus said. “It was unfortunate he played a good chunk of the game in foul trouble … but he will bounce right back. I have no doubt we will continue to lean on him heavily on both ends of the floor, but especially from a defensive standpoint.”

Ultimately, fouls made the biggest difference in this game. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, but free throws accounted for four out of the six points the Vandals lost by. Long Beach State attempted 29 free throws and made 20, whereas Idaho attempted 19 and made 16. Seven out of the nine players to receive playing time for Idaho tonight had at least three fouls.

These are crucial mistakes that cost the team the game, but mistakes that can be fixed. With the mistakes, came things Idaho did well and can continue to improve upon in the practices and games to follow. The Vandals made 15 of their 31 free throw attempts. That is four more three points made than Long Beach State even attempted.

In addition to the three-point barrage, junior guard Trevante Anderson, a transfer from the University of San Francisco, made no effort in making his name known amongst the Vandal faithful.

Anderson went 8-13 from the field with 26 points, eight assists, four rebounds and a steal. Anderson was the leader of the offense, but after the game attributed it to teamwork.

“I feel like my teammates did well to be in the right positions and doing their job,” Anderson said. “Evidently, it helped me put the ball in the hole and make plays. They played their hearts out today.”

This is the beginning of a new era for Idaho basketball, and with any new era, particularly in sports, it usually doesn’t start off the best. Despite not coming out of the arena with the win, this is a game the Vandals can learn from, both to improve their strengths and to shore up their weaknesses.

The men’s team will play their next home game Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. against George Fox University.

Live coverage can be found on Twitter @VandalNation

Teren Kowatsch can be reached at [email protected]