New-look Vandals have gone to great lengths
Head coach Leonard Perry is about the only thing that isn’t new with the University of Idaho men’s basketball program.
Just four Vandals return who saw appreciable playing time last season, and one of those played in less than half the games. Perry’s staff has two new assistants in George Pfeifer and Leroy Washington.
The Vandals are in a new conference, the Western Athletic, which is considered a step up from the Big West. And Idaho’s traditionally road-heavy non-conference schedule has given way to a rare stretch of six consecutive home games from Nov. 30-Dec. 21. The Vandals had just three non-conference home games last season.
Idaho opens with difficult road tests at Gonzaga on Nov. 18, Washington on Nov. 22 and Washington State on Nov. 26, but the ensuing home stretch could give the young Vandals an opportunity for some success before they begin WAC play Jan. 5. Idaho was 1-8 last year prior to its Big West opener.
“We went through some great lengths (last season) to ensure we had more home games this year,” Perry said. “We lost a lot of seniors last year. It’s important to give this group a base leading into league.”
Perry, who made steady progress in his first three seasons before last year’s 8-22 campaign, went to Serbia, Texas, Troy, Boise and all across the Midwest to bolster his returning roster.
Senior guard Tanoris Shepard averaged 12.1 points and 33.2 minutes last year. Sophomore guard Jerod Haynes contributed 4.9 points and 3 assists per game as a true freshman. Sophomore forward Mike Kale played 10.6 minutes per game and sophomore guard Jason Bowden-Key saw limited action in 14 games.
Idaho will count on newcomers, including JC transfers Keoni Watson, a speedy 5-foot-10 guard; forward Igor Vrzina; and post Desmond Nwoke, who sat out last season. The highly touted Nwoke is coming off knee surgery, which is a “huge concern in terms of his durability,” Perry said. “He’s getting better and stronger.”
Brett Ledbetter, a shooting guard from Southwestern Illinois College, has been sidelined since a nasty fall at practice two weeks ago. Perry is awaiting results of an MRI on Ledbetter’s back.
True freshmen Aaron Smith, from nearby Troy, wing David Dubois and 23-year-old point guard Nebojsa Jakovljevic figure to be in the rotation, along with guard Matt Forge, a former Lewiston Bengal, Perry said. Jakovljevic played six years with a club team in Belgrade.
“This is a young team, very inexperienced with Tanoris the lone senior,” Perry said. “But I like them and they work hard in practice.”
Jakovljevic and Vrzina are Serbian natives. Vrzina played at Hill College in Texas, where he was coached by Swede Trenkle, a former teammate of Perry’s at Idaho.
“I’ve been to Serbia two times. We’re after another good kid there,” Perry said. “It took me less time to graduate (than to travel to Serbia). It’s a long way, but it’s a beautiful country.”
Forward Rob Pankowski, a former Bishop Kelly High (Boise) and Walla Walla Community College standout, is enrolled at Idaho, but he isn’t yet academically eligible. Pankowski spent time with Boise State’s program this summer.