Idaho men have experience to build on under third-year coach Alex Pribble

MOSCOW, Idaho – In season three of his tenure as Idaho’s basketball coach, Alex Pribble’s plan for the Vandals is to put it all together.

“The first year we established the culture. The second year we learned to score at a high level. This year, we want to defend at a top level,” he said.

Atop the foundation laid in the first two seasons, which featured a four-win jump, is a team laden with experience, that has had some success in the Big Sky and that is bigger and more physical than last year.

“In year three, this is where we want to be,” Pribble said.

Idaho earned a first-round bye in the league tournament last season and followed that with an 80-70 victory over Portland State in the second round.

“It showed us how close we are,” Pribble said.

Hanging tough against Boise State to open the season in an 89-83 loss in an exhibition “against a top 50 team,” according to Pribble, suggests to the Vandals that last year was not a mirage. Idaho has been picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky in both coaches and media preseason polls.

The top three scorers return in a pair of aggressive guards, Kristian Gonzalez (11.4 points per game) and Kolton Mitchell (11.1 ppg) and in Jack Payne, a 6-6 redshirt junior who averaged 10.8 ppg playing as an out-of-position power forward for the size-challenged Vandals. This year, he moves to his more natural position as a wing.

“We had to play small last year,” Pribble said. “This year we are going to pound the ball inside.”

Gonzalez and Mitchell were sharpshooters. Gonzalez shot 44.7% from the floor and 35% beyond the arc while Mitchell averaged 40% from the floor and 34% on 3-pointers. Mitchell was a confident player last year, and Pribble says he will be even more so this season.

“He had a great off season, and now he has a year under his belt,” he said.

Gonzalez plays with a fierce abandon that is remarkable to see.

Payne was the only Vandal to make an all-conference team. He was a Big Sky honorable mention.

The Vandals welcome back 6-4 guard Trevon Blassingame, who missed last year recovering from hip surgery. Against the Broncos, he scored 7 points and made two steals.

“He sets the tone. He is our motor. The kids feed off him,” Pribble said.

New this year are 6-11 senior Brody Rowbury, a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana, and 6-7 freshman Jackson Rasmussen. Rowbury “is our big man in the middle. He is extremely tough,” Pribble said, and Rasmussen “doesn’t look like a freshman.”

Last year at Southeastern Louisiana, Rowbury averaged 8.6 ppg and 5.4 rebounds per game. He also blocked 11 shots.

Another experienced addition is 6-2 senior Biko Johnson. At Division II Fort Lewis College, he averaged 16.3 ppg and was an efficient scorer, hitting 39.8% of his shots, 35.4% on 3s.

The Vandals are truly an Idaho team. Rowbury and Rasmussen are from Meridian, Payne from Boise, Mitchell from Coeur d’Alene and redshirt junior guard Titus Yearout from Lapwai.

“That is by design,” Pribble said. “We want to make sure we are recruiting our back yard. The talent level is improving locally.”

In the Big Sky, Pribble expects Montana, Northern Colorado and Portland State to be top contenders, however “the conference is wide open,” he said.

Idaho has a challenging nonconference schedule featuring road games at Washington State, South Dakota State, at Western Athletic Conference reigning champion San Diego and at Notre Dame. Stacking wins early is less a goal than toughening up for the Big Sky schedule.

“Every season is a unique journey,” Pribble said.

Building on their experience from the past two seasons, the Vandals begin this journey with a good map to where they want to go.