Weber State is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a Division I basketball program, and as part of that, has named its all-time team. (https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf9/1556189.pdf?ATCLID=206598367&SPSID=39376&SPID=3470&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=8600" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
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Well, it just so happens the Big Sky is also celebrating its 50th year as a league, and, of course, Idaho State is one of the founding members (as is Weber). If you had to name the 10 best Bengal men's players since the Big Sky started (and there were some really good Bengals pre-Big Sky), who would they be? Here are my nominations. Who would you add/subtract?
1. Steve Hayes (1973-1977)—ISU’s second all-time leading scorer, first all-time leading rebounder, leader in career blocked shots. Leading rebounder and blocked shots average in Big Sky Conference history, No. 6 all-time leading scorer. Led ISU to its greatest win ever, an NCAA tournament victory over UCLA. Had a long professional career, both overseas and with several NBA teams.
2. Willie Humes (1968-1971)--all-time career scoring average leader for both ISU and the Big Sky Conference; still holds five of the top seven all-time single game scoring efforts in the conference, including three 50-plus point games; named to the conference's 25th anniversary team; two-time all-Conference first-team; averaged 31.5 points a game in his two years with the Bengals.
3. Lawrence Butler (1977-1979)--Led the nation in scoring his senior year (30.1 ppg), second in ISU career scoring average (26.9), scored over 40 points three times, two-time all-conference first-team, had the last triple-double in ISU history; second-round draft choice of the Chicago Bulls.
4. Donn Holston (1982-1987)—ISU’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer (1819 points), No. 8 all-time in steals (104), No. 2 all-time in field goals (694), and No. 7 all-time in free throws (363). Ranks 11th on all-time conference scoring list. Highly-athletic wing player who was named two-time first-team all-Big Sky.
5. Jim Potter (1991-1995)—Three-time all-conference first team player, ranks fourth in ISU career scoring, second in rebounds, ninth in rebound average, sixth in steals and seventh in blocked shots. Played on last ISU team to win a Big Sky Conference championship (shared with Weber State).
6. Ron Boone (1965-68)—Put together by far the best professional career of any Idaho State graduate, playing 12 seasons in the ABA and the NBA; was a three-time ABA all-star; played in over 1,000 straight NBA games during one stretch. At Idaho State, Boone ranks 12th on the all-time scoring list, fifth in scoring average (20.00 per game), tenth in field goals and he had the 11th and 12-highest scoring seasons in school history. Boone led the conference in scoring in 1967-68 (21.3 ppg), and was a two-time, first-team all-conference pick.
7. Jeff Cook (1974-1997)—Playing alongside the 7-foot Hayes, the 6-10 Cook gave Idaho State one of the best front-line combos in Big Sky Conference history. Cook, who went on to a nine-year NBA career, is fourth on both the ISU all-time rebounding and shot-blocking lists. He sacrificed a lot of numbers playing alongside Hayes and with several other very talented teammates, but was still named first-team all-conference as a senior, and second-team as a junior.
8. Dave Wagnon (1964-66)—Ranked No. 14 on ISU’s all-time scoring list, Wagnon averaged 24.1 points per game during his Bengal career – third on the ISU career list, and fourth in the Big Sky Conference career rankings. Wagnon still holds both the ISU and Big Sky records for single-season scoring, averaging 32.5 points per game and scoring 845 points during the 1965-66 season. He scored over 40 points three times, including 47 against both Weber State and Idaho. Interestingly, Wagnon was never a first-team all-conference selection, and was named to the second team only once during his two-year ISU career.
9. Arthur Crump (1961-64)—Crump’s career began in the pre-Big Sky days, but his total numbers were impressive enough to include him on this list, even though he played only one season in the conference. Crump is fifth on the all-time ISU scoring list, fourth in scoring average (21 points a game), third in rebounding, and second in rebounding average (11.3). He averaged 24.7 points a game in 1962-63 season, and 22.7 in the first year of the conference, when he was named first-team all-league.
10. David Schroeder (2002-007)—Despite having his career interrupted twice by major injuries, the Salmon, Idaho native finished 10th in career scoring, 8th in career assists, and first in career three-pointers and three-point shooting percentage (43 percent). He proved what a tremendous all-around athlete he was by finishing second in the men’s decathlon in the Big Sky Conference championships. Schroeder was a two-time first-team all-conference selection.
Honorable mention (in no particular order): Scott Henry, Marquis Poole, Tyrone Buckman, Matt Stucki, Ev Fopma, Brand Robinson, Ed Thompson, Terance Fleming, Donell Morgan, Mike Williams and Byron Williams.
. Well, it just so happens the Big Sky is also celebrating its 50th year as a league, and, of course, Idaho State is one of the founding members (as is Weber). If you had to name the 10 best Bengal men's players since the Big Sky started (and there were some really good Bengals pre-Big Sky), who would they be? Here are my nominations. Who would you add/subtract?
1. Steve Hayes (1973-1977)—ISU’s second all-time leading scorer, first all-time leading rebounder, leader in career blocked shots. Leading rebounder and blocked shots average in Big Sky Conference history, No. 6 all-time leading scorer. Led ISU to its greatest win ever, an NCAA tournament victory over UCLA. Had a long professional career, both overseas and with several NBA teams.
2. Willie Humes (1968-1971)--all-time career scoring average leader for both ISU and the Big Sky Conference; still holds five of the top seven all-time single game scoring efforts in the conference, including three 50-plus point games; named to the conference's 25th anniversary team; two-time all-Conference first-team; averaged 31.5 points a game in his two years with the Bengals.
3. Lawrence Butler (1977-1979)--Led the nation in scoring his senior year (30.1 ppg), second in ISU career scoring average (26.9), scored over 40 points three times, two-time all-conference first-team, had the last triple-double in ISU history; second-round draft choice of the Chicago Bulls.
4. Donn Holston (1982-1987)—ISU’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer (1819 points), No. 8 all-time in steals (104), No. 2 all-time in field goals (694), and No. 7 all-time in free throws (363). Ranks 11th on all-time conference scoring list. Highly-athletic wing player who was named two-time first-team all-Big Sky.
5. Jim Potter (1991-1995)—Three-time all-conference first team player, ranks fourth in ISU career scoring, second in rebounds, ninth in rebound average, sixth in steals and seventh in blocked shots. Played on last ISU team to win a Big Sky Conference championship (shared with Weber State).
6. Ron Boone (1965-68)—Put together by far the best professional career of any Idaho State graduate, playing 12 seasons in the ABA and the NBA; was a three-time ABA all-star; played in over 1,000 straight NBA games during one stretch. At Idaho State, Boone ranks 12th on the all-time scoring list, fifth in scoring average (20.00 per game), tenth in field goals and he had the 11th and 12-highest scoring seasons in school history. Boone led the conference in scoring in 1967-68 (21.3 ppg), and was a two-time, first-team all-conference pick.
7. Jeff Cook (1974-1997)—Playing alongside the 7-foot Hayes, the 6-10 Cook gave Idaho State one of the best front-line combos in Big Sky Conference history. Cook, who went on to a nine-year NBA career, is fourth on both the ISU all-time rebounding and shot-blocking lists. He sacrificed a lot of numbers playing alongside Hayes and with several other very talented teammates, but was still named first-team all-conference as a senior, and second-team as a junior.
8. Dave Wagnon (1964-66)—Ranked No. 14 on ISU’s all-time scoring list, Wagnon averaged 24.1 points per game during his Bengal career – third on the ISU career list, and fourth in the Big Sky Conference career rankings. Wagnon still holds both the ISU and Big Sky records for single-season scoring, averaging 32.5 points per game and scoring 845 points during the 1965-66 season. He scored over 40 points three times, including 47 against both Weber State and Idaho. Interestingly, Wagnon was never a first-team all-conference selection, and was named to the second team only once during his two-year ISU career.
9. Arthur Crump (1961-64)—Crump’s career began in the pre-Big Sky days, but his total numbers were impressive enough to include him on this list, even though he played only one season in the conference. Crump is fifth on the all-time ISU scoring list, fourth in scoring average (21 points a game), third in rebounding, and second in rebounding average (11.3). He averaged 24.7 points a game in 1962-63 season, and 22.7 in the first year of the conference, when he was named first-team all-league.
10. David Schroeder (2002-007)—Despite having his career interrupted twice by major injuries, the Salmon, Idaho native finished 10th in career scoring, 8th in career assists, and first in career three-pointers and three-point shooting percentage (43 percent). He proved what a tremendous all-around athlete he was by finishing second in the men’s decathlon in the Big Sky Conference championships. Schroeder was a two-time first-team all-conference selection.
Honorable mention (in no particular order): Scott Henry, Marquis Poole, Tyrone Buckman, Matt Stucki, Ev Fopma, Brand Robinson, Ed Thompson, Terance Fleming, Donell Morgan, Mike Williams and Byron Williams.
