Disappointing season sees Idaho taking step back

It took men’s basketball coach Leonard Perry roughly a split-second to explain what went wrong, in non-Xs-and-Os terms, with the Idaho Vandals this season.

“Just pure mental toughness is what we’ve had,” Perry said, shortly after the Vandals were eliminated by UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West Tournament. “We just didn’t have it this year.”

The Vandals took a big step back this season with an 8-22 record that blunted the momentum built during Perry’s first three years. Perry’s chore is doubly difficult now – he’s rebuilding and his team is entering the Western Athletic Conference, a tougher league from top to bottom than the Big West, Idaho’s home since the 1996-97 season. Part of the reason is Utah State, a Big West kingpin, is also joining the WAC.

“It’s devastating to me personally,” Perry said. “The support I’ve had from the athletic director and president has been incomprehensible and I know everybody wants to win. Sometimes you do have to take a step back to go forward and certainly that’s the case this year. I don’t see it happening again.”

Perry doesn’t plan on stepping out on UI to USC. New Trojans coach Tim Floyd offered Perry an assistant coaching position.

“It’s a standing invite, I really believe that,” Perry said. “But he’s rooting for Idaho. If things weren’t to work out, I would feel comfortable saying Tim would love to have me. I’m trying to get him as a Vandal scholarship donor right now, as a matter of fact.”

The Vandals, aside from a surge early in the Big West season, didn’t follow the blueprint of Perry’s first three teams. Those teams weren’t wildly successful, but they rebounded and defended fiercely and generally out-toughed opponents to give themselves a chance to win.

This team was on the cusp of winning, but rarely came through. Idaho lost 14 games by 10 points or less, including four one-point losses and two overtime setbacks.

“I’ve never been in a season where I’ve lost so many games,” said point guard Tanoris Shepard, one of two returning starters. “It’ll make me mature as a player because I never want to come back to this point. Hopefully, we’ll turn it around next year.”

How? Perry has a plan.

“Next year we’ll be a better defensive team and I think we’ll rebound the ball better,” he said. “I think we did a good job of taking care of the ball. The thing we have to focus on is shooting a higher percentage, which means that we have to execute. The scholarships we give out this spring will be the right pieces for us improving offensively. If I think about the close games we lost, it was executing, blocking out, defense. If we had done that, that would get you quite a few more wins, even with the limited cast we had.”

Idaho’s personnel will be decidedly different next year. Gone are Dandrick Jones, who led the Big West in scoring, and Anton Lyons, the conference’s top rebounder. Dependable rebounder Lionel Jones also departs. Wing Armend Kahrimanovic and forward Matt Anderson, two members of UI’s thin bench, also are seniors.

Forward David Radlovic, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, has another year of eligibility, but he is graduating and isn’t expected to return. Zach Proett, a Mt. Spokane graduate, had knee surgery recently and his long-term status is unknown.

The Vandals will rebuild around Shepard, who bumped his scoring average up to 12.1 this season, and Haynes, who made just 29 percent from the field but appears to be capable on both ends of the court. Forward Desmond Nwoke, a junior-college transfer who sat out this season to recover from injuries suffered in a car accident, should be at full strength. He is a difference-maker, Perry said.

“His body is healed and he’s looked great in workouts,” Perry said. “He can rebound the heck out of it, can finish around the basket and he plays above the rim.”

Other underclassmen are Mike Kale and Jason Bowden-Key, true freshmen pressed into service this season, Dillon Higdon and Tihon Johnson, a J.C. transfer who struggled this season. Lewiston High product Matt Forge, a guard who redshirted, will be in the mix.

“He’s not yet on scholarship but he will be in the future,” Perry said. “He’s a Vandal through and through.”

Newcomers will abound. Idaho has signed three players and there will be more, depending on how many players return from the current roster.

Forward Aaron Smith helped Troy win the State A-1 championship. Forward Igor Vrzina, a transfer from Hill College in Hillsboro, Tex., “is going to be a player for us,” Perry said. “He’ll play everywhere – 3, 4 and 5.” David DuBois, a 6-5 guard/forward at La Follette High in Madison, Wis., “had a great year,” according to Perry.

Rashad Jennings, a 6-8 forward from Chattanooga (Tenn.) State College who made the All-Region VII team, signed with Idaho, but won’t be coming to Moscow. “It’s best for both parties,” Perry said. “We need guys that really want to be here. There are some doubts on both sides.”

Assistant coach Brynjar Brynjarsson has decided to leave coaching for personal reasons, Perry said.