ISU can now match PSU
Commentary by Dan Thompson
It sure does look like a good time to be a fan of Idaho State men's basketball. It appears coach Joe O'Brien has done it. He has filled all the holes that haunted the team last season and has created a supersquad in the vein of Big Sky champion Portland State.
Boy does it all look good. Next season's team will boast a Jeremiah Dominguez-like point guard (Kal Bay) and a big man even more colossal than the Vikings' Scott Morrison in David Busma. Stir in a pair of talents like juniors Phyllip Taylor and Felix Caspari, and the Bengals can't help but be a favorite for the league title. That's provided all the pieces stay in their places and withstand the tough-love coaching of O'Brien.
But if they do, well, there's a spot in the NCAA tournament waiting for the Bengals. This is a squad built role for role like the Big Sky's last emissary to the Big Dance. Most visibly, there's the aforementioned fill-ins for Mexican jail birds Dominguez and the departing senior Morrison.
The Bengals are also going to sport a 14-and-6 player like Deonte Huff in senior-to-be Matt Stucki and a pair of slashing guards (Donnie Carson and Taylor) who coaches hope can put up better numbers than the 9.1 points per game scored by Vikings guard Andre Murray. Their ability to mimic a few Portland State starters, though, isn't what will make the Bengals better.
Last year, the Bengals had the athletes to play a half with Portland State but not a whole game. The Vikings simply possessed too many weapons. Twelve different players scored more than 10 points in at least one game. This season, though, Idaho State could conceivably go 11 or 12 deep itself and give opponents the same headaches Portland State did.
Think about it. Start Bay, Stucki and Amorrow Morgan at the three guard spots. At forward, Lucas Steijn can play a more comfortable power forward position that allows him to step back and shoot 20-foot jumpers while the 7-foot, 240-pound Busma tussles in the interior. That leaves Carson as the sixth man - arguably the conference's best - and a slew of talented role players to come off the bench.
Austin Kilpatrick - who O'Brien said played last year without much-needed eyeglasses and shot, essentially, by muscle memory - can be the team's sharp-shooter. Taylor, the transfer from a Florida junior college, can shut down a hot shooter and put pressure on a defense by attacking the key in energetic bursts. That's just at guard. Along the front line, the Bengals can cycle in 6-8 Chron Tatum, 6-8 Demetrius Monroe, 6-11 Tom Taylor and 6-8 Felix Caspari. Between them, they can dish out 20 fouls, focus on crashing the boards and play defense.
But can all those bodies co-exist?
It sounds great to play a six-guard rotation, but it only works if egos take a subsidiary role. With all the losing the Bengals will suffer during a treacherous pre-conference schedule, egos could flare up, as could tempers.
Then there's O'Brien's fiery practice demeanor that contributed to the defection of Rich Jackson and Scooter Maye last season and no doubt lowered the team's morale from time to time.
Unquestionably, though, O'Brien can coach. He brought a team without a point guard or a legitimate rebounder to the Big Sky tournament quarterfinals. He persuaded Busma, a guy recruited hard by a Big East team, to winter in Idaho.
So yeah, Bengals fans could book tickets to next year's NCAA tournament openers and do so without ridicule. Heck, with nine juniors, there's a good chance the Bengals could be the favorite to win the Big Sky in 2009-10 as well.
For an athletic department without a director and coaches for volleyball and women's basketball, O'Brien has provided some much-needed optimism.
If for no other reason, fans can at least be thankful for that.
Dan Thompson's column appears Thursdays. With comments or story ideas, call him at 239-3122 or e-mail
[email protected].
