MOSCOW, Idaho – The 2023-24 Idaho men's basketball season tips off on Monday at 8 p.m. when the Vandals travel to take on Washington State at Beasley Coliseum.
How to Follow
Idaho vs. Washington State // Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.
Watch:
Pac-12 Washington
Live Stats:
StatBroadcast
Listen:
The Varsity Network or
GoVandals.com/Listen
Tickets:
wsucougars.com
Opening Night
The Vandals accepted the challenge to play a formidable opponent right out gate, as they face off against a Power Five competitor to open the regular season for the first time since the 2009-10 season (94-87 win at Utah).
UI is 37-23 (.617) in season openers since 1963-64 and is 4-6 in their last 10 matchups to begin the season. The Vandals suffered a 68-63 loss on the road against Denver to begin last season.
The Series
The Vandals will make the short nine-mile trek to Pullman, Washington on Route 270 to face the Cougars for the 278th time. The two programs previously held college basketball's longest-standing rivalry series before ending the streak in 2022-23. WSU owns a 167-110 lead over Idaho.
Idaho looks to snap a four-game losing streak to the Cougs' and earn its first win over WSU at Beasley since the 2014-15 season. The two programs faced off in 2021, where Washington State earned a 109-61 win at the ICCU Arena.
Notables
First-year head coach
Alex Pribble leads a new era of Vandal men's basketball after spending the past four years at Seattle U as the associate head coach. He helped lead the Redhawks to back-to-back 20-win seasons and the program's first WAC regular season title during his tenure.
Redshirt junior forward
Terren Frank will look to bounce back after being limited to six games in 2022-23 as he was sidelined due to injury. The second-year Vandal averaged 10 points, six rebounds and 1.7 assists in limited action. Redshirt sophomore
Jack Hatten returns for his third season at Idaho after appearing in seven games while redshirt freshman
Titus Yearout rounds out the three returnees from a season ago.
Pribble and his staff brought on board 12 newcomers, including nine transfers and three freshmen.
The Vandals welcome impact transfers
Julius Mims (North Idaho College),
Trevon Blassingame (Fairleigh Dickinson),
Tyler Mrus (Alaska Fairbanks),
Quinn Denker (Cal-State San Marcos),
EJ Neal (CC San Francisco),
D'Angelo Minnis (Western Washington),
Tyler Linhardt (Washington),
Cooper Church (Arizona Western) and
Kyson Rose (Walla Walla CC) to the fold. Freshman newcomers
Kristian Gonzalez,
Takai Hardy and
Miles Klapper will also suit up for the first time in a Vandal uniform.
Significant additions in the front court feature
Kyson Rose and
Julius Mims. The two junior college transfers posted successful sophomore seasons and will fill in the forward position with their proven scoring and rebounding ability. Rose is fresh off of receiving NWAC Player of the Year honors at Walla Walla Community College after averaging 22.6 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. The Kennewick, Wash. native led the league with 678 total points and 258 field goals while shooting 62 percent from the field. Mims makes the short trek south from Coeur d'Alene, where he spent two seasons at North Idaho College. He started in 44 of 45 games over his tenure while posting 16.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over his sophomore campaign in 2022-23.
The backcourt and wing positions showcase a mix of veteran leadership along with a versatile group of underclassmen. Minnis will be the lone senior on the roster using his last year of eligibility to play for the Silver and Gold after spending four seasons at Western Washington. Minnis totaled 83 starts and 1,081 points in three seasons while recording his best season in 2022-23 with a team-high 14.3 points and career highs in shooting with a 49.3 percent clip from the field and 44.4 percent mark from three. Denker makes his debut at Idaho after spending a season each at Cal State San Marcos and West Valley College. The San Jose native made the most of his time at San Marcos, averaging 14.5 points per game and posting efficient shooting numbers that included 43.9 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 92.2 percent from the foul line.
Key wing transfers in
Trevon Blassingame,
Tyler Mrus and
EJ Neal will give Idaho versatility on the perimeter with previous success at their last stops on both the offensive and defensive end. Blassingame played in 24 games at Fairleigh Dickinson, an NCAA Tournament team that knocked off the #1 Purdue Boilermakers in the first round. Mrus is a proven three-level scorer by way of Alaska Fairbanks. The Seattle native started in all 24 games for the Nanooks while averaging the second most points on the team at 11.9. After spending two seasons at City College of San Francisco, Neal looks to bring his two-way approach to the court in Moscow. The Bay area product averaged over 11 points per game in 2022-23 and became the program's charge record holder after taking over 100 charges in his two seasons.
The freshman class is led by
Kristian Gonzalez, a guard from Mater Dei Catholic High School. Joining Gonzalez is 6-7 forward
Takai Hardy and lefty specialist
Miles Klapper.
Scouting Washington State
Washington State posted a 17-17 overall record last season and an 11-9 mark in the Pac-12 Conference. The Cougs fell in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament to Oregon, 75-70 before falling in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament to Eastern Washington (81-74).
WSU was picked 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll with 94 points.
The Cougars welcome back eight returnees from a season ago, including Andrej Jakimovski. The senior guard averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 21 starts in 2022-23.
Up Next
The Vandals welcome California State Northridge for the 2023-24 home opener on Thursday, Nov. 9. Action is set to get underway at 6 p.m. from ICCU Arena.
Tickets
Single-game and season tickets are available now. For more information, call the Vandal ticket office at (208) 885-6466 or visit
GoVandals.com/tickets.
Follow
Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Facebook, Instagram, and X at @VandalHoops, and with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen. All home and conference contests will be streamed live through ESPN+.
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