After virus ends title hopes, Yotes look to reload for next season

For a team that openly talked about playing with a chip on its shoulder, the biggest chip for the College of Idaho men's basketball team just may have been with the way their national title dreams ended.

The Yotes were the favorites at the NAIA Division II Tournament, earning the No. 1 overall seed, but saw the tournament canceled on March 12, one day after their first round win, due to the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak.

A week later, the Yotes have had a bit of time to process everything that happened in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are now in the process of adjusting to a life of online classes, as the school suspended in-person classes, beginning Wednesday.

But when they do return to the court, the chance to make another run at a title will certainly be on the Yotes' mind.

“We haven't had a chance yet to talk about our future as a team, but I know here in about a week and a half when our spring break is over officially, the message will be sent out and we're going to ramp up and we're going to go at this thing again,” College of Idaho coach Colby Blaine said. “We have 12 guys coming back who know what it took to accomplish what we did this year and I know they're hungry to do it again.”

Things will be a bit different next year for the Yotes, as the NAIA merges its two divisions into one. Instead of a 32-team bracket, there will be a 64-team bracket broken down into regional tournaments that take place on campus sites. The winners of the regional tournaments will meet at a neutral site. Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston will also be joining the Cascade Conference.

The Yotes finished this season with a 31-3 record — ironically the same record that Marty Holly's 1995-96 National Championship team finished with. They went 23-0 against Cascade Conference opponents in the regular season and conference tournament. With its 67-49 win against Northwestern (Iowa) on March 11, the College of Idaho extended its school-record winning streak to 25.

The Yotes were scheduled to face IU Kokomo in the Round of 16 on March 13 before the NAIA canceled all remaining winter championships.

The NAIA had considered naming a national champion in sports where tournaments had not been completed, but ultimately opted not to. Had it done so, the College of Idaho likely would have been able to claim its second men's basketball national title.

Despite the untimely ending, Blaine said there was still a lot to be proud of this season.

“There is no way to put a stamp on the end of your season, unless you finish with a win,” the coach said. “Lucky for us, we did. We won the last 25. I think our team just takes a lot of pride in the fact that we maximized the entire season.”

Even though they might not have gotten the team title, the Yotes did picked up a few individual accolades from the NAIA on Thursday. Blaine was named the NAIA Division II Coach of the Year, while Talon Pinckney was a first-team NAIA Division II All-America Team selection. Nate Bruneel was also a NAIA All-America honorable mention.

Both Pinckney and Bruneel are graduating seniors, as is a third starter, Jake Bruner. But the Yotes will return eight players who appeared in at least 25 games this season, including starters Ricardo Time and Connor Desaulniers.

“In elite programs, you're always replacing your best players every year,” said Blaine. “Three years ago, we replaced Aziz Leeks and Roosevelt Adams in the same situation. They were both All-Americans. Last year we lost four of our top six scorers. What we're excited about is we know the formula works, player development works and we have the right guys. You've seen huge jumps in Ivory (Miles-Williams) and Jalen (Galloway) this year and I expect them to take another huge jump next year.”

The Yotes have also signed two Idaho high school stars, who Blaine said could both make an impact right away.

Tyler Robinett, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Middleton who was the 4A Southern Idaho Conference Player of the Year, will give the Yotes another body in the post. Wood River's high-scoring guard Johnny Radford will give the College of Idaho more offensive fire power. According to the Idaho Mountain Express, Radford — who was the 4A Great Basin Conference Player of the Year — averaged 27.1 points per game his senior season and had a school-record 51 points in a district tournament overtime win against Burley.

Blaine said the Yotes will look to sign at least one more player before next season starts.