THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Up to Vandal men to keep the momentum rolling

If anybody could use some of the good vibes from Idaho’s football team this fall to rub off on them, it would be the Idaho men’s basketball team.

The Vandals are just 18-67 over the last three seasons, and seen a large amount of roster turnover each season.

“It’s been fun to be a part of the momentum in this athletic department, starting with Jeremy (Clevenger) and his soccer team, and Jason (Eck) and his football team,” said Zac Claus, beginning his fourth season as Idaho men’s coach. “It gives us something to be excited about, watching the energy around campus and in the building has been awesome.”

Idaho returns just two guys that played much during last year’s 9-22 campaign — senior guard Rashad Smith and sophomore guard Yusef Salih.

“To only have two guys that played meaningful minutes a year ago returning may sound daunting,” Claus said, “but this is the most talented group we’ve had in a number of years, from 1-15. We know we have the necessary size, length and availability to compete. Now it’s time to stop talking about it and see what we can do on the floor.”

That’s pretty strong talk.

One of those newcomers Claus is counting on is Isaac Jones, a 6-foot-9, 242-pound junior center from Wenatchee Valley College.

“We are silly lucky to have him,” Claus said. “You can throw the ball into him to go get a basket. He has incredible efficiency around the basket; marvelous touch around the basket.”

AS FOR the returnees …

“Rashad simply has a presence about him … he’s got an unbelievable ability to knock down shots,” Claus said. “Yusef, he’s going to bust his tail defensively, and has improved his ability to knock down shots. Both guys will continue to be heavily relied upon.”

One newcomer folks around here have heard of is Titus Yearout of Lapwai, the state’s player of the year in 1A Division I last year.

Claus said he hasn’t decided whether Yearout will redshirt this season, or play.

“That is a young man that brings it every day, as far as work ethic,” Claus said. “Inarguably one of the nicest young men I've ever been around. He probably has the biggest jump from the level he played at to the level he's about to play at. The kid’s a treat to coach; he’s growing and improving daily.”

Increased scoring is all well and good, but …

“This group has to defend,” Claus said. He said the Vandals will indeed be better defensively, because of “their increased size and length that we have.”

ONE PROGRAM that has been among the Big Sky’s best in recent years is Idaho’s women’s basketball team.

Jon Newlee has taken the Vandals to the postseason in seven of his 14 seasons as coach, including three trips to the NCAA tournament.

This year?

The Vandals hope to be deeper than last year’s 14-18 squad, which basically played seven players and finished 11-9 in conference.

“I had to play Beyonce (Bea) major minutes, Syd (Sydney Gandy) played more minutes, TJ (Tiana Jackson) some more minutes than she needed to,” Newlee said. “It hurt us the last five minutes in the semifinal vs. Montana State. We were just out of gas, part of stretch of 11 games in 21 days.

“Now, it’s a whole new world,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of talent, and that’s going to be my job to find minutes for those guys.”

Among the freshmen are forward Brooke Malone, forward Sarah Brans, and guards Rosa Smith, Jaiden Bea and Asha Phillips. Malone redshirted at Idaho State last season.

“I need to see growth from our freshmen and our transfers,” Newlee said. I definitely I have high hopes for our freshmen … they all bring something different.”

For the first time since the 2016-17 season, Newlee will be without guard Allison Kirby, who led Timberlake High to back-to-back state titles in 2016 and ’17, and played in 133 games over the last five seasons (thanks to COVID-19) in Moscow.

Beyonce Bea, a first-team all-Big Sky selection last year, is back for her senior season. And Newlee said she could play any of the five positions for the Vandals, including point guard as kind of a Luka Doncic-type, with “that size to get to her spots and get her shot,” he said.

SO WE’LL see. The Vandals have a shiny new arena in its second year, no longer playing in the curtained-off corner of the Kibbie Dome.

It’s the second year of the ICCU Arena.

Like Claus said, there’s momentum in Moscow from the fall sports, most notably the surprising Vandal football team.

The Idaho women’s basketball team is set up to succeed again this winter.

That leaves it up to the Vandal men to continue the momentum from the fall.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.