The BengalBlog!

How Fast is Tavoy Moore?

2010-09-22T15:07:00.009-06:00

Z103 DJ Brad Collins, who is a Bengal enthusiast, recently was struck with an entertaining idea while watching the Idaho State at Northern Colorado football game; “Tavoy Moore looks fast, but just how fast is he?” Many armchair fans have become so desensitized by the speed of athletes that they think they could somehow be in the same realm as collegiate players. On Wednesday afternoon Collins experienced Division I speed first hand by racing head-to-head with Moore in the 40 yard dash. Last week Moore was named National Punt Returner of the Week and Kickoff Returner of the Week by the FCS as well as Big Sky Player of the Week for his efforts.

After hitting the weights hard and tiring himself out in the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center Moore came down to Holt Arena where Brad Collins and the timing mechanism were set up for the 40 yard dash. Unfortunately, the timer was struggling a bit with the automatic start, but luckily Head Track and Field Coach Dave Nielsen, who is being honored with the Distinguished Service Award at Homecoming, was there to step in and set the timers off by hand which means that naturally due to human error and timing the speeds recorded for Tavoy are a fraction faster than listed.

Moore smoked Collins in the first race by 1.2 seconds leaving the Z103 DJ 12-15 yards behind when he crossed the finish line. Moore's 40 yard dash was clocked at 4.58 seconds while Collins rolled in at 5.78 seconds. It just isn't a fair fight pinning the average Bengal fan against the 5-7 junior transfer who was named National Punt Returner and Kickoff Returner for the FCS.

Collins was given a second shot at trying to beat Moore, but fell behind by 1.5 seconds in the second match up. Video footage of the competition will be available on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at the Idaho State main athletic webpage. The video will also be teamed up with the Get on Board videos that have been produced all season. For now, we will just entice you with photos of the race!

(Photo 1: No Brad in site at the 25 yard line)

(Photo 2: Moore at the 32, Brad just getting to the 22)

(Photo 3: Moore sooo fast the camera can't even catch him as he crosses the finish line, 12 more yards for Brad to cover before he gets to the end.)

To give fans a better idea of Moore's talent, he posts the second best punt return average with 34.44 in the nation. He posts the fourth best All-Purpose return average with 211.67 yards per game in the nation.

BENGAL FOOTBALL...GET ON BOARD!!!!

Unexpected Talents...Traveling with ISU Football

2010-09-17T16:05:00.005-06:00

Idaho State football finished practice on Thursday, grabbed a hearty meal and headed out to begin its journey to Greeley, Colo. where the Bengals will play Northern Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 18 in ISU's first Big Sky contest of the season. The Bengals stopped in Rawlins, Wyoming for the night after a five or so hour long bus ride.

In the morning the team ate breakfast together. Defensive lineman Rustin Phillips finished his meal early and found a piano in the dining hall where he proceeded to play a collection of Top 40's hits for the team while they finished eating. Idaho State sports information was able to grab a quick video of Rustin playing Usher's "Love in This Club". A talented musician, Rustin can play the piano, the drums, the ukelele and the harmonica. He is also learning to play the guitar. Rustin taught himself how to play the songs he knows from listening to the radio.

After breakfast the football team took a four hour drive to Greeley, Colo. Once here they ate sub sandwiches for lunch then hit the books hard studying for their classes.

Football Cleans Up at Extreme Home Makeover

2010-08-25T15:47:00.003-06:00

The Idaho State football coaching staff and select players spent three hours Wednesday morning helping with clean up for the Extreme Makeover T.V. show that built a house for a family in need in downtown Pocatello.

Roughly twenty coaches and players tore down barricades and helped with heavy lifting during the clean-up process. Idaho State football players who did not have class or who could donate an hour or two of service between classes volunteered their time.

(Since the picture was so tiny in the story online, I've included it in the Bengal Blog!)

(Left to right: Andrew Benavides, Mike Rigell, Coach Steve Amrine, Coach Phil Earley, Head Coach John Zamberlin, Thomas Steiner, Coach Jon Clark, Chris Holmesley, Coach Nick Whitworth, Coach Drew Miller, Michael Colleran, Coach Kenyon Blue, Head Strength and Condition Coach Mark Campbell, Coach Junior Falevai)

-Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Defense... DARK SIDE!

2010-08-20T19:16:00.004-06:00

Idaho State's football team was asked to maintain its energy and focus during its second practice of its final day of two-a-days on Friday. The Bengal defense added fun as well when they began to chant "Defense... DARK SIDE!" at the start of every play during a period of practice. In case you missed it, here is a glimpse of the practice. Watch Keith McGowen disrupt Kyle Morris' intended pass for Tavoy Moore as the defense brings the noise!

...and just to be fair to the offense, they did break through and make some excellent plays as well. Watch Kelvin Krosch spring into the air to catch a pass from Morris as the offense upsets the Bengal D!

The Bengals worked hard, pushed their limits and made practice fun and enjoyable. If you want to see Idaho State in the flesh come out to the South Practice Field on Saturday, August 21 at 10 a.m. and watch the Bengals at their second scrimmage of the season.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

PLAY BALL! Bengal Soccer at Wrigley Field

2010-08-20T17:50:00.008-06:00

The Bengal women's soccer team was given a special excursion while on their first trip to start the 2010 season. The night before their first game at Marquette (Milwaukee, Wis.) on Friday, August 20, the team was able to catch a game... a baseball game! The soccer team visited the historic Wrigley Field to watch the Chicago Cubs play the San Diego Padres. The Bengals were ecstatic to attend the game and had a blast even if the Padres wrapped up the series with a four game sweep overcoming the Cubs 5-3. ISU will return to the windy city to play Loyola Chicago on Sunday, August 22 at 11 a.m. MT

Photo #1 (left to right): Freshman defender Liv Zabka, junior forward Taylor Powell and junior keeper Bailey Williams.

Photo #2 (left to right): Powell and Williams in their seats.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID
(Photos provided by Taylor Powell)

Gutierrez Update

2010-08-18T18:47:00.004-06:00

Matt Gutierrez is to be the newest reserve quarterback for the Bears. Gutierrez arrived at camp Tuesday evening, and his signing is expected to be announced Wednesday morning.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Bengals are on the Prowl

2010-08-17T19:00:00.003-06:00

Former Idaho State quarterback Matt Gutierrez is on his way to training camp to visit with the Chicago Bears, sources say. He may be taking a vacation in the Windy City or perhaps a longer stay as a new backup quarterback. Nothing is official, but keep your eyes open and ears in check because we may hear more about the former Bengal in weeks to come.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Frank's Epilogue

2010-08-16T11:08:00.006-06:00

Sigh, So this is it...this is really kind of bittersweet as I look back on 12+ years here at Idaho State. In case anyone has missed it, I am leaving my position here as Asst. A.D. for Media Relations to take a similar position with the University of New Mexico.

Honestly, it was an offer I couldn't pass up, as there are some benefits there that ISU just can't match, although I won't say that necessarily makes it a better job. What it does do is give me a new adventure. I will get to run the office there and try new things, much like I did here. I will work specifically with men's basketball and men's tennis, and assist a bit with football. It's less travel, more home games, and a bigger conference in the Mountain West. I still get to hit Salt Lake and Boise every year ... well, SLC this year, Provo after that, and Boise starting next year, and my two oldest daughters live in Boise, so that is a bonus.

I would be lying if I said I loved every minute of my 12+ years here, but certainly the frustrating things were few, small, and very far between. I have watched hundreds of student-athletes graduate and move on to great things...one of my favorite stories is of Akilah Lacey, who played football here and is now a member of the Pocatello police force, protecting the citizens of a town who showered him with so much affection as a player. I've been greatly affected by things too. I will never forget being woken up by a phone call that freshman Jacori Rufus was killed in an accident while driving home over Spring Break, or some of the other close calls that thankfully turned out OK.

As far as student-athletes go, I've had to privilege to get up close and personal with so many tremendous competitors, from Jared Allen to Stacy Dragila to David Schroeder, and many, many others. Perhaps none is more special that AnnaMarie Hofstetter, who was not only maybe the best player in ISU's 12-year soccer history, but was a First Team Academic All-America pick as well, proving to be the very best of both student, and athlete.

As far as coaches, I've worked with great ones. From those that are gone such as Gordon Henderson, Larry Lewis, Doug Oliver, Jon Newlee, Mike Welch, and Ardie McInelly, to the current group of coaches, who are not just fantastic to work with, but are great people who care deeply about their players and this school. I just can't stress that enough to the fans...the coaches are desperate for success and spend most of their waking time working towards it.

It's funny, I've worked for five A.D.s in 12 years here, and all had their positives. I was hired by Irv Cross, and then worked with Howard Gauthier, Jim Senter, Paul Bubb, and finally Jeff Tingey. I've had great working relationships with all, but personal friendships with some, but I'll say this, as young on the job as Jeff is, what he has been doing in his short tenure here is nothing short of spectacular. He is learning how to navigate the roadblocks that show up at his door, and he is raising money, and hiring good coaches. The GPA is up, and the wins will follow...for a guy literally thrown into the fire (Jeff and I had many a conversation before he got named the interim a few years back), he has done some great things, and I'm absolutely positive this athletic department is in good hands with him running the show.

One of my favorite things about ISU has been the assistants I've worked with, from my first Reed Hollinshead, who got married and left the profession for the Idaho Housing Authority (he is still there too!), to in order, Wendy Broker (left here for Purdue), Derek Smolik (left and became the head SID at two Division II schools), Jason Erickson (Director of Information at the WAC) to my last assistant, Katie Zigars, I'm excited that I was a part of the beginnings of so many great media relations careers. Even our current graduate assistant Jamie Schroeder is great and will no doubt make like a former G.A. of the office Michelle Railsback-Smith, who is on staff at Boise State, and go to big places.

I've had 12 years worth of media folks, and some great ones. One of the early ones, Jones Schwartz, is now working at SNY in New York and hosting NY Mets games, and Kellis Robinett is covering Kansas State football and men's basketball. I've worked with great announcers from Russ Eisensteing to Jim Fox to Jerry Miller to Mark Liptak and Brad Bugger, and many others in between. I've greatly enjoyed the ISU media, and hope the Albuquerque media is just as gung-ho and talented.

I've also greatly enjoyed interacting with the fans. This blog in particular, which won an award two years ago, was done with the fans in mind. When I got to ISU, stats were not computerized, and the website was, well...it wasn't really a website. Now, 12-years later, as my last little gift, you guys are getting one heck of a new site courtesy of the folks at Sidearm. We have livestats, live free audio (Russ Eisenstein gets a big assist on that one), live streaming (Mike Pritchett and KaLee Kopp get those big assists...like HUGE assists there), blogs, chats, video reports...I'm proud I was able to update ISU's internet presence like that. And what is great is the new person that follows me...they will do all that and more, and I welcome following ISU as a fan now and seeign what goes on.

But without a doubt, while I'll miss many things about ISU...the people, the athletes, the fans, even Holt Arena...I will miss the people of Pocatello. I raised three daughters here, and I can't imagine a better place to do it. I will miss our friends, my wife's school teachers who welcomed her with open arms, and just the general feeling that Pocatello people are just good regular folks.

There's probably many people I didn't mention that I should have (Jay McMillin comes to mind LOL) and I'm sorry about that...too many folks to thanks and remember.

So with that, I'm off to Albuquerque (Rio Rancho actually), and I am excited to live in a place with nine Panda Expresses, a couple of Olive Garden's, and one PF Changs. There are some former Bengals down there at the school, and with facebook, and www.isubengals.com, I can definitely keep up with how the teams are doing.

One last thing...support these student-athletes and coaches...they are working so hard to make you all proud. As an alum of ISU (grad. degree in 2006), I know I'm already proud of them, and proud to say, I will always be a Bengal! Let's take the Big Sky, and GET ON BOARD!

Frank Mercogliano

Babies On Board

2010-08-14T00:13:00.004-06:00

The Idaho State football coaching staff has had a lot to be thankful in the past three months as three different coaches each welcomed the birth of a child, most recently Coach Nick Whitworth (Running Backs) and his wife Erin on Thursday, August 12 to their son Colt, the couple's second child.

Three months ago Coach Brian Strandley (Defensive Coordinator/DL) and his wife Erica had their first child, daughter Brianna (named after her dad) and just a month later Coach Drew Miller (Wide Receivers) and his wife Diana also welcomed their first daughter. You can bet on seeing their kids sporting ISU gear during the Bengals home opener on Saturday, September 4 at 3:35 p.m. at Holt Arena.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Playing Overseas

2010-08-13T12:46:00.003-06:00

Idaho State is continuing to make its presence overseas as another one of ISU's men's basketball players will be headed to play ball in Europe. Amorrow Morgan, who was ISU's leading scorer last season averaging 17 ppg, is leaving today to play for West-Brabant Giants of the Eredivisie, which is the top professional league in Holland. He will join most recent basketball players to hit the European continent, Matt Stucki who competed for Germany last season and David Schroeder who played for France. Talk of Rolando Little finding an overseas team to play for is a possibility, but nothing has been locked down yet.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Bouncing Back

2010-08-13T12:28:00.003-06:00

Idaho State has several players bouncing back from injuries incurred in the 2009 season. Check out the story "Ward, Clayson Battle Way Back to Field" by Mark Liptak written for the Times News about two players who are just a few of many to have bounced back from their injuries: Bryant Ward and Braeden Clayson.

Another article along the same lines is Jay Heater's "ISU Player Comes Back From the Brink" about Andrew Benavides' recovery since his neck injury during ISU's game at Northern Arizona that doctors feared would leave Benavides paralyzed. However, this reselient player is back on the field today waiting to be cleared. He is currently helping the coaches, calling players and working with the players. This gives him the opportunity to fully understand and learn the offense and defensive sides inside and out for when he returns. If he clears a nerve test Benavides will be able to compete this year if he wants to, and boy does he want to! Or he will redshirt this season and play for the Bengals in 2011. Either way the Bengals will have an experienced and knowledgeable player helping them.

--Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Volleyball Makes a Splash with Team Photo

2010-08-12T12:44:00.004-06:00

I would probably have to say that our volleyball athletes can be the silliest of all as far as their personalities. It is never a dull moment with those players. Today the team took their head shot photos for the website and media guides as well as their team photos. With a minor camera problem slowing down the process in the beginning the girls entertained themselves by playing pictionary on the white board in the photographic studio, throwing out random topics for drawing ideas. Some of my favorites were Breanne Van Every (featured in the action photo to the left) drawing cricket for the sports theme. She drew a picture of the insect cricket and a bat, Katie Grajewski was able to get everyone to guess "crabby" the emotion by drawing a boat and something that honestly resembled more of a jellyfish than a crab. Finally, assistant coach David Hyte unsuccessfully tryed to get players to guess Talledega Nights for the movie theme by drawing Ricky Bobby, but needless to say his skills were lacking.

Eventually the camera was fixed, but the pictionary game continued until all the photos were taken. Then the team traveled to the Rendezvous to take their team photo. In fact, the volleyball team is the first program to take their photo in front of the Rendezvous which turned out to be a pretty silly time. Just after we scoped out the best location for a photo and had all the players and coaches aligned on the new grass that has been put in, the sprinklers went off! Who knew sprinklers would be going off at noon. Some of our girls got pretty soaked which turned into a fit of hilarity. The players and coaches were moved to a different section of the grass and continued to take photos. Then the timers must have kicked in (or someone was playing a prank) as the sprinklers went off again! An even greater fit of laughter ensued but poor Karissa Legaux and Haylee Thompson-Brock were sitting right in front of the sprinklers and probably received the most damage. We decided with our luck we would move the players to concrete only and took their photo on the walkway in front of the Rendezvous Center. The photo came out very nicely and I can't wait to put them up on the website! Even if it was a more difficult task than usual, it made for an entertaining afternoon.

-Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

Hansen Competes for "Miss Mashed" Title

2010-07-30T21:59:00.002-06:00

Idaho State forward Alex Hansen has been nominated to compete in the "Miss Mashed" college soccer player contest hosted by the mashedreport.com. To vote for Hansen, the Bengal star who "unleashes the furry" with her flip throw, go to the "Miss Mashed" site and leave a comment on her profile with "She gets my vote!".

The contest is from now until August 31 with the winner being named Miss Mashed September 2010 and will be featured in an in-depth Q&A in September.

Click here for Hansen's profile.

Negative comments will not be counted. Even if you have a positive comment about one player, a negative comment about another will eliminate your vote. BENGAL FANS GET OUT AND VOTE!

--Assistant SID, Katie Zigars

"Get on Board!"

2010-07-27T12:55:00.003-06:00

I'm sure you Bengal fans have been watching our fun video clips with student-athletes where they show off their talents to the extreme! First we had Russel Hill easily throw out a 45-yard pass through a whole about the size of a basketball hoop. Talk about accuracy! We also had Russ throw a 65-yard pass to a tight end sprinting down the Babe Caccia Field blindfolded, but the accuracy one was so amazing I had to go with that video.

Then we had Dave Harrington punt a ball into the men's scoreboard at the top of Holt Arena. He actually did that feat twice in a row because I wasn't quick enough to catch his face when he said "Get on Board" at the end. He gracefully accepted the task again and bombed it in the scoreboard. He was also the one who informed me that the video may have made your internet explorer page come up white for the last few weeks. I guess the code we use for it to play as soon as you clicked www.isubengals.com didn't sit well with Internet Explorer. For those of you who have missed the videos because of that issue or missed the previous videos because you were on vacation I will put up a site that will house all the videos we have done with the Bengals showing how they prepare for the season. We are going to try and make it a weekly thing throughout the year with all the sports, so keep checking back on Wednesday's to see our latest videos on the main page and the soon to be new link on the site that will show them all!

Next week's video will feature Brendon Garcia. I asked what he could do and he showed me two amazing executions that I frankly didn't know was something a kicker could do. You guys will definitely have to check these out. I haven't decided which one we will put up and I don't want to ruin the surprise, but a little hint can't hurt, right?! One video has to do with a lack of placeholder and the other with threading a needle.

The next sport we are going to start throwing in the mix is soccer. Highlighting senior Lauren Ryan, junior Alex Hansen and a newbie Liv Zabka to start. Geez those girls have got talent! It's truly amazing the quality of players we have at Idaho State, in every sport. They all have such unique gifts and are so fun to watch when they play the sport they love. Their is a passion and a fire for the game which is always fun to see. Shooting these videos is a nice way to share their abilities with the community that Bengal fans don't always get to see. I hope you guys are enjoying them!

--Assistant SID, Katie Zigars

Miles High Indeed!

2010-07-14T12:17:00.007-06:00

Courtesy of Brandon Cruz, former sports anchor at KIDK a few years back, comes this link, which he sent me on facebook. We all knew him as Miguel Antoine "Slim" Millien, but many folks now know him as "Bones" Millien with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Well, watch this link and the embedded video of Slim at Rucker Park in New York grabbing an alley-oop and dunking it reverse. The guy he dunks over? Terrell Owens...yes, that Terrell Owens. How sweet is that...here's the video (the dunk occurs about 37 seconds in with some slo-mo and a quick sound bite from Slim at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVGaJam4J80

and here is the article on yahoo...

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Former-Idaho-State-star-dunks-on-Terrell-Owens-a?urn=ncaab%2C255935

and oh yeah...TMZ!!!!

http://www.tmz.com/2010/07/13/terrell-owens-slam-dunk-rucker-park-video-footage-street-baller/

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2010-07-13T16:42:00.004-06:00

(The previous post that was sitting here at the award winning Bengal Blog has been deleted by the author to comply with a request. Please enjoy the other portions of the post...they are fantastic and exciting...Frank)

Website Training Thursday/Site Progress Update
Katie and I will go through training on Thursday morning, which is going to be exciting because we have lots of questions to ask, but looking into Sidearm's back end system, man it looks impressive. we should be able to do plenty, including being able to have in progress scores now, which I didn't realize.

Currently we are in the design phase of the program, meaning we have sent in all the information and specs on things we want, and they are doing the basic layout and design now....here is some of the things we are doing.

*Basic design is black
*Horizontal Drop Down Menu with the following
---Men's Sports
---Women's Sports
---Tickets
---Fan Center
---Multimedia
---Student-Athletes
---Athletic Department
---Facilities
---Donor Info
*Front Page banner is animated
*Sport pages are specific to sport
*Four Rotating stories on the front, three smaller, and three headlines
*E-Newsletter
*RSS Feed
*Facebook Integration (this is totally cool)
*Twitter Integration (also cool)
*Text message updates (insanely cool)
*Homepage video player
*Splash pages
*Calendar of upcoming events
*Schedules
*Photo Purchase
*YouTube Channel
*Online Store
*Online Donation Form
*Online Recruiting Form
*Ask the AD
*Livestats

And the one I just found about at CoSIDA, but I believe we will be able to have an iPhone application made for the site for those iPhone users (and to anyone who hasn't seen the iPhone4 vs HTC Evo video on youtube, it's hilarious...the language is pretty bad so you are forewarned, and I won't link to it because of that, but oh my is it funny).

Anyways, we are all really excited about the site here, and looking forward to getting to start working on it for real, instead of training.

We are Viral...Wanna Help?
So one of the thing at CoSIDA I saw was the tremendous push towards video stuff, meaning Katie and I have got to get our flips out more. That being said, we brainstormed an idea. The basis for these viral videos is the NFL Fantasy Files clips, which are awesome, but mostly done with trick cameras. We don't have that technology, so we have to get our student-athletes to really do these crazy cool things. With that being said, our first one is now done, (starring Russel Hill). Please grab it, post it on myspace and facebook and pass it around. More are coming...

Teichert Signs Danielle Downs and JUCO Transfer Vanessa Muir

2010-07-06T14:59:00.005-06:00

PHOTO: Danielle Downs signing her NLI papers to play for Idaho State.

Pocatello, ID – Head Coach Chad Teichert has inked two more players, junior college transfer Vanessa Muir and freshman Danielle Downs, to the Idaho State volleyball team bringing Teichert’s total signee count up to four athletes. The six-foot duo will join the Bengal squad for the 2010 season.

Muir, a 6-0 middle blocker transferring from Casper College, was named North Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference and All-Region Middle Blocker last season. She helped her team to two regional championships in her career at Casper College.

"Vanessa has a lot of collegiate level experience having played junior college ball,” said Head Coach Chad Teichert. “She's an athletic kid and I’d like to think she can contribute right away but we put the best people on the floor so we will see.”

At Star Valley High School Muir was named All-State in volleyball and helped her team to back-to-back State championships in 2004 and 2005, as well as a second place finish in 2006. She is a well rounded athlete competing in both basketball and track at Star Valley. She captured the State Championship in the High Jump and was named All-State in track as well as being named All-Conference in basketball.

PHOTO: Danielle Downs hitting a jump serve.

The Bengals continue to grow as they gain a 6-0 outside hitter Downs. As a team captain she led Davis High School to three State play-off appearances, including a fifth place finish in 2009. Downs was named All-Region and All-Area First Team in 2009 by the Standard Examiner. The Salt Lake Tribune named Downs Second Team while the Deseret News gave her Honorable Mention in 2009.

Downs excelled in club volleyball as she made back-to-back national appearances with Club V 17’s in 2008 and Club Xtreme 18 in 2009. With Club Xtreme she helped her team win the Far Western Tournament and placed in the top half at nationals in Florida. The outside hitter also excels in the classroom graduating with high honors and a 3.99 GPA. She earned All-Region, All-State and an AP Scholar Award in 2009.

"She will bring ball control and a good arm,” said Teichert. “She's a pretty good all around volleyball player with good athleticism. She can hit the ball pretty well."

Muir, a middle blocker, and Downs, an outside hitter, will join signees Lori Mendenhall and Kylee Searle for the 2010 season for Teichert’s third year leading the Bengals.

-Katie Zigars, Assistant SID

Vella Earns Malta Gold in Europe Championship

2010-07-06T13:40:00.005-06:00

Hey Bengal Fans! It seems that the ISU athletic website will be unable to update for awhile. The services that house the website are moving to a new building. In the mean time this is what you have missed...

Vella Earns Malta Gold in Europe Championship

Yerevan, Aremenia – Forward Ashleigh Vella notched 13 points and eight rebounds in Malta’s 74-65 victory over Armenia to capture the Division C Europe Championship. Vella, who holds dual citizenship in Australia and Malta, helped her country defeat Scotland, Wales, Moldova and Armenia on the way to the gold medal.

“We are excited about Ash’s opportunity to play international basketball. The experience she is gaining is very valuable and will help her to continue to develop as a good forward,” said Head Coach Seton Sobolewski. “It doesn’t surprise me the Ashleigh’s team won the championship. Everything she sets her mind to do she accomplishes it.”

The Bengal scored 13 points in the championship game, hitting 57.1 percent from the field as well as knocking down a trey. Against Scotland, Malta’s first contest of the tournament, she scored seven points and made 12 rebounds during the 64-35 victory.

Malta then defeated Wales 81-43, where Vella posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. It was also her most accurate game hitting 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the field. Her 12 points and 8 assists effort against Moldova helped Malta clinch its appearance in the finals against Armenia, defeating Moldova 85-57. She also chipped in four rebounds.

During the course of the competitions she averaged 12.3 points, 9 rebounds and 4.3 assists, the fifth best mark in the tournament. Vella also was the second best leader in minutes for the tournament average 37.3 per game. Earning Malta a gold medal isn’t a first for Vella as she helped her team capture the championship in the Games of the Small States of Europe held in Cyprus in June of 2009.

-Katie Zigars, Assistant SID

Men's Basketball to Take Preseason Canadian Tour

2010-07-03T01:05:00.002-06:00

The ISU website is undergoing maintenance, so this will eventually show up over there, so I'll post it here for now.

	ISU will head north in August

July 2, 2010

Pocatello, ID --- With just four returning players and a host of newcomers, head coach Joe O'Brien knew that much of preseason practice in October and November would be about getting his team to bond, gel and learn his system of play. Well, O'Brien and company can get a big head start on the 2010-11 season as he has announced that the team will embark on a preseason tour of Vancouver, British Columbia in August, playing three games as part of Basketball Travelers, Inc.

The team will be able to practice from August 5 through August 13 before heading out on a long bus ride to Vancouver, where the team will play three games over a four-day period from Monday, August 16 to Thursday August 19. The only definite opponent set up so far is the University of Fraser Valley, who will host Idaho State on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm Pacific Time.

The Bengals return just four players from last year, one of which, Deividas Busma, redshirted after playing just seven games due to an injury. Also returning is Broderick Gilchrest, who started at point guard and is a senior, senior guard Mike Lacey, and junior guard Sherrod Baldwin.

The trip allows ISU to take advantage of a new rule in place this year that allows incoming players to take part in an international tour if they have taken and passed three hours of summer school, meaning seven of the eight newcomers will join the team. Only Kamil Gawrzydek, who is not in summer school, will not make the trip. A team can take an international trip once every four years.

"A tour like this is a tremendous benefit to us with all the new players we have entering the program," said Joe O'Brien. "Not only will we get a week's worth of practice, but we will play three games against other schools that will allow our staff to evaluate our team in a game setting."

O'Brien added, "The trip will also allow for the team to really get to know each other and bond, since a bus ride to Vancouver isn't exactly a short trip, but that is only going to benefit us down the road."

The team after the tour will have a chance to visit some of the sites of the 2010 Winter Olympics, including Whistler, British Columbia before heading back to Pocatello. "Culturally, this is a chance to really enhance the collegiate experience for our team, to see another country, and to see some of the places in the Olympics that they got to see on television will make this a great experience, not just for basketball, but educationally as well."

New Fiscal Year! I'm Liking Me some 2010-11!!!

2010-07-01T14:09:00.004-06:00

Hey gang, well, I haven't been blogging too much, but I think folks will enjoy the reason for that. Well, the main reason for that...true, I took a little vacation with my 14-year old daughter to Colorado so she could see her first major league baseball games. Also true..within 10 minutes of being in the ballpark at Coors Field a Milwaukee Brewer bullpen catcher tossed her a baseball.

Also true, I took about 10 days to go to Los Angeles to get presented with my van (you can watch it and my perfect zinger on Michael Emerson on youtube) and then I spent some time in Mesa, Arizona as the official scorer for the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament. However, much of my time has been spent on a special little project I think you fans, and heck, anyone associated with the Bengals should be excited about.

Go to this page here...look at that map where Pocatello is located. See it? We have officially joined the ICS/Sidearm family, and we have been actively working on the new site, which is now in the design phase.

This is really really really exciting, and what has already been a tremendous amount of work is only going to become more work for us down here, but in the end it will be so worth it. Without going too deep and boring you folks to tears, there will be an Ask the A.D. section, text messaging of scores if you sign up, conference standings on the sport pages, individual sport page headers (so football players are on the football page, women's cross country on the WXC page, etc.), a fan center (with all off our marketing and promotions information, facebook, twitter, blogs, photos, wallpapers, etc.), donor information area, and new live stat applications (including soccer and softball). It's going to be fantastic. Oh yeah....an ONLINE STORE for Bengal gear! FINALLY!!!!! And the heaven's opened and the choirs sing! I'm more excited about that then anything else actually.

Also, I should mention that we have had a wonderful relationship with CBS properties for eight years, and they have been great throughout this process. They got us into a solid web presence, and now we are taking the next step.

I'll try to post updates here as we are in the process of stuff, but ICS has all the photos for the headers and design, and they have the basic info on the types of layouts that we are looking for. Should be great stuff.

HOOP NEWS
This will be on the site tomorrow once I get all the info, but the men's basketball team will be headed to Canada for a preseason three-game tour. This tour in mid-August is a huge advantage for ISU with all the newcomers, and most will be able to make the trip since they are in summer school already. Should be three games in the Vancouver area, so Bengal fans in that area should be on the lookout for us.

FORMER BENGAL HOOPSTERS GETTING HIRED
As the softball coaching search continues here at ISU, kudos to former Bengal greats Mandi Carver and D'Marr Suggs, who each picked up coaching duties in the last few days. Mandi, one of the all-time greats at Idaho State University and a no-brainer first ballot Hall of Famer in my mind, was hired at Cal State Bakersfield, meaning ISU might get to see her when we go there for basketball on December 7. D'Marr got hired onto to Louis Wilson's staff at Adams State as a graduate assistant. Two years ago D'Marr came to our game with UNC in Greeley, so this is a great opportunity for him.

SCHEDULE STUFF
Both basketball non-conferences are pretty set (the men have one opening for a home game if they can swing it), so those schedules will get released once the conference schedule is finalized (it's new this year with a Thursday/Saturday/Monday set up). ISU has a home weekend the same weekend as the conference track championships in Holt Arena, so we are working on swapping out a date, and once that's done, we will be able to release it. ISU is a home team in the bracket buster, although that will be in Reed Gym due to the Simplot Games, and it will be a split doubleheader most likely with the women, who host Montana that day as well.

OK, I'll keep you informed on the website stuff...keep sending in suggestions and thought on what you'd like to see....I haven't gotten much from you guys...

FM

Playing the APR Game...

2010-06-07T17:19:00.006-06:00

In college athletics, lots of acronyms make or break players, coaches, teams … acronyms like RBI, or PPG, or PCT. Fans know these acronyms and stats, and can spout them off without hesitation. I still to this day know that in 1982, National League Cy Young winner Steve Carlton hit .218 while National League home run champion Dave Kingman hit just .204, albeit with 37 home runs (I didn’t even have to look that up, and no lie, in high school I was on the Quiz Bowl team mostly for the sports knowledge and that question came up…I was the only egghead who even remotely had a shot at that and I nailed it).

However, there is another acronym that programs, and college coaches, more and more are getting judged on, and it’s a stat that is increasingly becoming as important as wins and losses. It’s three little letters with a mighty big punch.

APR

Academic Progress Rate … a Division I system only that is greatly misunderstood, and in reality, probably hurts schools at ISU’s level more than BCS schools and leagues, but it is a system that is here to stay, and so the game, as they say, is afoot.

APR seems like a simple process to figure out in theory. Of course, to me, a car engine and how it works is a simple process in theory…put gas in, turn the key, and hey, it works. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that, and the same can be said with regards to APR.

In its simplest form, APR basically takes a student-athlete and breaks them down into two parts per semester, eligibility and retention. For this exercise, we will utilize a fictional player to make this easy…Charlie Brown (Bengal fans are chuckling I’m sure). Charlie Brown is worth two points per semester, one point for retention (staying in school) and one point for eligibility (being eligible the next semester), so if Charlie Brown is eligible and still at ISU after his fall semester, then he gets two points out of two. After the spring semester, if Charlie Brown comes back in the fall eligible, then he gets another two points out of two.

Seems simple enough, but it’s really not…especially on the retention area. If Charlie Brown leaves ISU but is eligible, then he is a 1-for-2 (he gets the eligibility point but loses the retention point). But there are exceptions…if Charlie Brown leaves school with a 2.6 GPA and transfers to four-year school, whether or not he plays sports, then the retention point is dropped completely, and Charlie is just a 1-for-1 for his last semester (the real world example of this is Taylor Marchione, who played softball last semester and is transferring to Oregon State to be closer to her family. Taylor isn’t going to play softball at Oregon State, but her GPA is high enough that Taylor’s APR score for the spring 2010 semester is 1-for-1, not 1-for-2. If they transfer to a junior college, then you lose the point.

Sometimes you can save that retention point in ways that only the really big schools can, for things like becoming eligible for the draft, or personal hardship, or many other ways that I can’t even think of.

Sometimes, you get nailed for having kids graduate…seriously. Lucas Steijn for men’s basketball cost ISU two points because he didn’t fill out the official graduation form, meaning that according to the NCAA, he didn’t graduate, even though he did. Since he was out of eligibility (having played four years) and not returning to ISU (since he graduated), Lucas was an 0-for-2…despite graduating.

In APR, the magic benchmark score is 925 … that score is figured by taking all the points earned in a sport, and dividing it by all the points possible. Let’s say a team for an academic year gets 46 points out of a possible 49, that percentage is .939, and then you multiply that by 1000, and that APR score would be a 939.

If a score is under 925 for four years (The overall APR is a four-year rolling score, which means every year the newest score will replace the oldest score, so a score stays in the equation for four years), and if a team has an 0-for-2 student-athlete, at that point, a team might incur penalties, but I’ll be honest, I don’t understand how some of the penalties come about.

Now, the reason all of this is coming out is to kind of put in layman’s terms the APR, because on Wednesday at noon or so, the NCAA will release their APR penalties, and while ISU was given high marks from the NCAA and given public recognition for having a perfect score in women’s cross country, ISU is going to get dinged pretty good in football.

By pretty good, what I mean is losing scholarships, counters, and practice time. ISU will lose two counters, meaning on national signing day, you can only get 23 kids instead of 25, and ISU will lose 3.84 scholarships (this is a change from what I posted yesterday, as I now have access to the official stuff, and it's 3.84, not 6.3 scholarships which is better). The practice time is four hours, meaning the team can only have 16 hours of countable time together, and they must take two days off a week, not one. That penalty is probably the one that hurts early in the season when school is in session, as during the actual season the team usually late in the season had Sunday and Monday off, so that will start earlier.

The good news is that this is not new news to ISU and the department, and it actually helped us get some things we sorely needed, the number one thing being an extra academic advisor in the form of Quinton Freeman. “Q”, as he was known when he was ISU’s starting safety back in the early 2000s, takes the pressure of 270 student-athletes off of Matt Steuart and gives ISU two academic advisors instead of one. The other thing that was implemented pretty quickly after we realized what some of the numbers were (and let’s be honest, of the 15 sports, ISU is doing really well in 13 of them, it’s football and softball that are struggling, and the softball thing is really tied to the coaching instability and the newness of the program) is what Jeff Tingey called the APR Improvement Plan.

This plan was modeled after some programs at other schools that have had the same issues and it has worked. The basic parts of the plan are as follows (this is from our release which is coming out when the NCAA announces the APR stuff nationally) …

“All potential student-athletes are required to have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (excluding all PE activity classes). Matt Steuart, assistant A.D. for academics, and the Registrar's office will determine the GPA by removing PE activity classes, and all potential student-athletes need to either have scored at least an 18 on both their English and Math scores on their ACT or scored at least a 450 on both their English and Math scores for the SAT. In addition, Steuart will approve all transcripts along with the Office of Academic Affairs, and Steuart will also approve all scholarship tenders.”

This plan has been in plan already through this recruiting class (the one signed in February), and I can tell you it’s been an adjustment for everyone in how they handle recruiting, because there are some kids that normally you would recruit that you just can’t right now. Basically, until the APR scores go up, it’s hard to justify taking a chance on a kid because the downside (a kid not making it) is too great a risk to take.

The bonus is that there is clear evidence that the plan works and can really help not only a program with APR issues, but really help other teams with staying out of what I refer to as “APR Hell”. The real issue is APR is like a soft chair…easy to get in it, and hard to get out of it. Kudos to coaches like Joe O’Brien, Brian Jannsen, and Allison Gibson who understand how to play the APR game (and make no bones about it, there is a game to it), and next year once O’Brien has four years of APR scores from his own time here at ISU, he is going to rank among the nation’s top programs.

Coach Z has really been snake bit a good deal with the retention issues, because he runs into a situation where in football, kids don’t pan out. A walk-on leaving the program like Ben Laporta doesn’t hurt, and Kyle Blum graduated, so that doesn’t hurt. The Keith Goins’ and Kenny Viser’s of the world? Those hurt. That’s been a learning process for the football coaching and recruiting staff, and they are getting better. We won’t know this year’s score until the fall, but the early indications are it will be better, but I couldn’t fathom a guess as to where or how much.

The really interesting thing is to watch the official NCAA release and look at how many penalties are incurred by BCS schools (i.e., schools that have the money, resources, and academic infrastructure in place to help avoid penalties), and look at how many are from mid-major and smaller conferences (i.e., schools that need more funds/manpower/stuff/computers). John Canzano of the Oregonian has a great piece about APR and the issue at Portland State here and he talks about some of the loopholes and things much clearer than I can.

In the end, it’s going to look and sound bad, and it was a hot topic way back when on the Bengal Den and around the ISU internet presence. Make no bones, it’s a cause for concern, but it’s one of those things where it was seen coming down the pike and the solution was put in place a while back to get a handle on it. I suppose there are bunch of woulda/coulda/shoulda things that might have prevented this from even happening, but the only thing we can do about the past is learn from it so that we don’t repeat it. What Bengal fans should feel good about is that for the most part, ISU’s programs are doing well in the APR, and a plan is in place to round out the programs that are on the low end.

---Frank

Rolling out the red carpet for the fans....

2010-05-20T15:09:00.003-06:00

Gang,

I hold in my hand a pair of contracts...contracts for websites. Very exciting stuff....I get the final presentation over the phone, and then hopefully one of these will be signed and sent to the company we are going with, and then it is a nine-week sprint to an August 1 launch date.

While I'm happy for Idaho State and the athletic department at the latest web evolution (as I mentioned in this blogpost, which also touches on a contest I entered), I'm excited for our fans. We can have a splash page! Drop downs with ticket information or alerts ... just some good things...but here is the deal. While the website has to serve Idaho State's functions for an athletic department, it needs to serve the fans as well, and that's where you guys come in.

Over the next 10 days or so, I'm going to be in Los Angeles for the LOST finale showing at the Orpheum Theater (and to get photos with my grand prize of the DHARMA Van from the show, since I won the video contest!), and then I'm headed to Arizona to serve as the official scorer for the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament. I have asked the coaches of the various sports and teams what they want in a website...but what do you guys want? Is there anything on the web that you go "Why can't ISU have that?" All I ask is be reasonable knowing the limitations on dollars and staffing, but let me know, because it could be something I hadn't even thought of, and it could be very doable. I would prefer that you email me at mercfran@isu.edu, and in the subject line put WEBSITE IDEAS, so I can immediately save it in the right folder and I can identify what it is right away.

I know we are looking at incorporating our blogs, facebook , and twitter into the new site, I want rotating pictures on the stories on the front page, sport specific headers...heck, I'm kinda wanting different livestats ... but touch base on what you the fan want, or what you the parent want. As always, no guarantees, other than I will listen to everyone's suggestions.

With that, I've got laundry to do if I'm going to be on the same red carpet as Michael Emerson (and that's not even a lie!!!!)

---Frank

Miller Ranch Stadium Did Happen and It's Coming....

2010-05-07T00:49:00.003-06:00

So someone wanted to know why there is nothing yet on the website about Miller Ranch Stadium (it was way to smart-alecky a comment to publish, but the point was valid). However, here is why there is nothing on there yet.

I got back from the ground breaking at about 2:30 or so, and I was in the office for not long at all, basically only long enough to download the video files onto my laptop. I then set up a few interviews for folks (Joe O'Brien, coming to an Idaho State Journal near you on Wednesday with a big recruiting wrap-up) and then I had to pick up a Suburban at the motor pool to help shuttle softball players down to Weber State for the games on Friday and Saturday. Then I had to get my dad's allowance (seriously), and then shovel food in my mouth in order to get my daughter to her softball game at 4:45 (I was late). She played from 5:30 to 6:50 (won 6-5 on a bases loaded error trying to pick a runner off first with two outs...yeesh), and then had hockey until 9 pm or so (a big 7-1 win with 34 saves thank you very much).

From there it was come home, shower (I stink after games after wearing all that equipment), and then after a quick snack, I edited the video while watching Survivor (Spoiler Alert...Russell is pure evil). Once I got the video done, it was too big to load to youtube, so I had to download Windows Movie maker on my computer to shrink the file, which took forever as my connection at the house was SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. Once that was all done, I started the youtube upload, and it's after midnight and there is still two hours left on the upload. Usually this is way faster, but that's why it's not up there yet. Hopefully before I bus out in the morning.

FYI the plan is to post some photo updates of the progress throughout the summer.

FM

Here's a sneak peak for you....

2010-05-05T15:49:00.003-06:00

....OK, I've been sitting on this and didn't want to post on the main site without Joe's quotes, but RECRUITING IS OVER!!!!! (YEAH!) Here is recruit #8, Kamil Gawrzydek (and I have no clue how to pronounce that just yet)

A Kamil Makes Eight, ISU Signs North Platte’s Gawrzydek

6-11 center completes recruiting class for 2010-11 season

Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State University Joe O’Brien and his coaching staff have probably earned a little R-&-R as O’Brien has announced the signing of 6-11 center Kamil Gawrzydek of Teresin, Poland for the 2010-11 season, completing a large eight-man recruiting class. Gawrzydek joins Abner Moreira of Western Wyoming Junior College, Nick Mason of Memphis Southwind High School, Chase Grabau of North Platte Community College, Justin Brunswick of Middletown Madison High School, Kenny McGowen of the College of the Sequioas, Brandon Glanz of Las Vegas Coronado High School and Andre' Hatchett of Tucson Santa Rita High School. Gawrzydek’s signing completes the 2010 recruiting class, one that features four JC transfers and four high school seniors.

Gawrzydek, who was a college teammate of Bengal recruit Chase Grabau at North Platte CC, was slated to be the starting center last year before injuries derailed his sophomore season. He ended up playing in 23 games for North Platte, and 223 minutes total. Despite that, he still shot .686 from the field and averaged 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in less than 10 minutes of action. Despite his limited minutes he still finished third on the team in blocks as well.

North Platte last year went 29-6 and won the NJCAA Region IX championship, advancing to NJCAA National Tournament for the first time in school history.

So as soon as I get Joe's quote, that will be on the site, so it's a sneak preview for all the bloggers that read this.

And Now Help Me Win a VAN!!!!
I entered a homemade video into a contest sponsored by the Jay and Jack Lost Podcast, and it got picked as a finalist. I've already won a finalist prize, which is a replica of the LOST four-toed statue, but the winner of the internet vote wins a real Dharma Initiative Van. This is totally for real, and I could use help from the Bengal faithful...all you have to do is go directly to my video here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0vbxxHtcRg

and click the thumbs up button underneath the video. You have to be logged into Youtube to do that, but I really would appreciate it. Thanks gang

Patience Is a Virtue in Spring Recruiting

2010-04-16T09:57:00.026-06:00

When it comes to college basketball recruiting, patience is a not only a virtue, it's a requirement. Unlike college football recruiting, where probably 95 percent of the players sign their letters of intent on the first day of the signing period, basketball recruiting seems to drag on interminably. Especially if you are a coach waiting to hear from a potential recruit.

Dan Angell of the Journal did an interview Thursday with Sac State Coach Brian Katz about his recruiting class to date, and you can just hear the anxiety in Katz's voice as he talks about waiting to hear back from three of his targets.

So you can imagine the anxiety around the Idaho State basketball offices these days as the Bengals attempt to bring in eight new players. ISU Head Coach Joe O'Brien told Angell earlier in the day that he is hopeful he can round up that recruiting class over the next two weekends, when he plans to bring in a number of recruits each weekend. O'Brien could at least breath a bit of a sigh of a relief on Thursday, when his first spring recruit, 6-6, 220-pound forward Brandon Glanz (above) of Las Vegas, faxed in his letter of intent.

Some Bengal fans, myself included, were more than a bit apprehensive about how the Bengals' spring recruiting efforts were progressing when no signees were announced on Wednesday, the first day of the signing period, and when there were no publicly-acknowledged commitments by recruits. But we should have reminded ourselves that ISU basketball coaches historically have been recruiting well into May most years. Final Four weekend is always a "dead period" for recruits, and ISU coaches also try to manuever visits around the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, which brings a distinct, shall we say, "air" to Holt Arena for a week or so every spring. (Every college has its unique recruiting challenges, but I have to think horse manure ranks right up there with the most unique).

The signing of Glanz, who joins fall recruit Andre Hatchett, a 6-4 guard/forward, is the first step to addressing one of the Bengals' biggest needs this spring: big bodies who can rebound and defend the post. David Busma, the 7-foot center who redshirted last year, is the only returning big man on the roster. Just from looking at his promotional recruiting video, Glanz appears to have the skills to see time at all three forward spots. He used his athleticism to average 25 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks a game, impressive numbers no matter who you are playing against. To become a more polished inside presence in the Big Sky Conference, Glanz also will have to start putting together more of a back-to-the-basket, post-up game.

More to Come

Hopefully next on the Bengal shopping list are: a couple more post players, preferrably JC kids who have the experience and physical maturity to step in and start; a couple of wing players who can hit the three; and another point guard who can back-up returner Broderick Gilchrest, and perhaps allow him to slide over to the two guard for periods of time. That's a nice, comprehensive list to shoot for and it would be great if O'Brien really could wrap it all up over the next two weekends. But nobody knows better how flakey spring recruiting can be than coaches trying to complete a roster. Or, how critical patience is during that time.

No More Numbers

I took down a previous blog post, "The (Almost) All Numbers" edition, after being told that many of the numbers in the post (which all came from the Idaho State Board of Education web site) were inaccurate. I apologize to ISU football Coach John Zamberlin and Athletic Director Jeff Tingey for reporting inaccurate salary figures. And I apologize for drawing inaccurate, or possibly over-dramatic conclusions from those numbers. Frank Mercogliano is my balast, and he has to occasionally pull me back from the ledge when my "glass half-empty" side rears its ugly head in this blog space. I think it's latent cynacism left over from days as a political reporter and former sportswriter. It's one of my many character flaws I'm attempting to correct.

--Brad Bugger

Bengal Recruit Defines Toughness

2010-04-14T13:36:00.012-06:00

You often hear coaches talk about "toughness" in their players as a desired quality. Well, you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody "tougher" than new Idaho State women's recruit Abyee Maracigan (left). The 5-9 junior college transfer, who signed with the Bengals today, is a two-time all-American guard who also led her high school team to the Arizona state championship. But her accomplishments on the court are nothing compared to what she's had to overcome to get on the court.

Maracigan tore the ACL in her left leg in the first game of the national junior college basketball tournament this spring. That led to her fifth knee surgery -- the other four were to repair torn ligaments and the meniscus in her right knee. Oh, and to top that off, Maracigan broke her wrist -- twice -- this past season, but, after sitting out just two weeks, still managed to take the court for her Pima College team.

Bengal Coach Seton Sobelewski will have to wait until Maracigan arrives in Pocatello this summer to see how her rehab is going from her latest surgery, and make a determination if she'll be able to compete this coming season. But if her past tenacity and "toughness" are any indication, she'll probably be ready to step on the floor and compete the day she arrives in the Gate City. "If anything, this makes me stronger," Maracigan told the Arizona Daily Star after her latest surgery. "I've been through the rehab process so many times that it has changed me. I appreciate the game more than ever. Don't be surprised if I'm running again by next week."

Maracigan is more than just tough, though, she's a proven winner. Her high school and junior college teams put together a combined 145-28 record over the past five seasons. Pima College went from 5-22 the season before she arrived to 28-6 and third in the nation her first year there. "She's a glue kind of a player," Todd Holthaus, her coach at Pima, told the Daily Star. "She's just a winner of a kid. I told her she was the 'First Aztec,' my first real recruit. I would start building with her. "

Maracigan was one of two new recruits announced by Sobolewski on Wednesday. The other was another young lady used to winning -- Springville, Utah's Jessica Jensen, a 6-1 forward who led her Utah 4A state championship team in rebounding and blocked shots. Jensen averaged only 8.5 points a game her senior season, but she had to share the ball with Lexi Eaton, Utah's Player of the Year as a junior. She helped Springville to the state runner-up her junior year.

Maracigan and Jensen join point guard Sheryl Bitter, post player Cydney Horton and wing Kara Jenkins, who signed with ISU in the fall. Sobolewski still has scholarships to give and he and his staff are out looking for a true, back-to-the basket post-up threat to replace departing senior Oana Iacovita, and they remain involved with other recruiting prospects.

--Brad Bugger

Off-Season Mismash

2010-04-07T15:21:00.023-06:00

As we wait for more hard news, beginning with the opening of the spring signing period for basketball next week (April 14), here are some tidbids to nibble upon....Idaho State's women's team will have at least one more scholarship to offer for next year than Coach Seton Sobolewski anticipated, with the news that freshman shooting guard Brea Matthews is leaving the program, along with walk-on teammate Rayneiqua Edwards. Matthews is reportedly transferring to a school in California and does not intend to play basketball....Air Force's women's team is still under contract to come to Pocatello next fall, but it turns out the Bengals won't be facing their former coach, Ardie McInelley (above), who was fired with two years (and about $355,000) left on her contract. Ardie's last two Falcons teams failed to win a conference game. She finishes her Air Force career with a 57-201 record overall, just 12-124 in Mountain West Conference play. Two former Bengals, ISU Hall of Famer Holly Togiai and Cassie Bro, were on Ardie's staff at the Academy, as was current Bengal assistant Angela Munger.....There has been no confirmation out of Weber State yet, but rumors are flying on the Wildcats message board that swing-man Franklin Session, the Big Sky newcomer of the year, is transferring. This will be a story worth watching...As I've noted many times in the past, a lot of things can happen in the off-season, and most of them (trouble with the law, transfers, academic issues) are bad. The University of Georgia, who will host Idaho State on Nov. 6, is having one of those off-seasons. The Bulldogs recently kicked linebacker Montez Robinson off the team following his arrest for battery, and then suspended freshman quarterback Zach Mettenberger, one of four contenders for their starting quarterback job, from the opening game of the season after his arrest on DUI and other related charges...Former Idaho State offensive coordinator Bruce Barnum, one of the really good guys in coaching, is back in the Big Sky Conference as coordinator at Portland State. Word is "Barney" is introducing the "pistol offense" to the Vikings, which his new head man, Nigel Burton, is bringing with him from Nevada...As expected the State Board of Education approved increases in fees for the three state universities this week, thereby raising the cost of athletic scholarships to athletic departments. The board approved a nine percent increase in Idaho State fees for next year. According to figures ISU submitted to the State Board of Education in February, the athletic department anticipates spending almost $1.7 million on student aid in this fiscal year....Gus Johnson, one of my favorite NBA players to watch as a kid and a former Boise Junior College Bronco and University of Idaho Vandal, was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced this week. Johnson was one of the first great leapers in the game, and he made his name shattering backboards with thunder dunks. Before his pro days, he played three years for the Vandals after a season with then-Boise JC in the early 1960s. While in Moscow, he displayed his great jumping ability at the Corner Club, a local night spot, where he leapt from a standing start and touched a spot on the rafters 11 feet 6 inches off the floor. The owner of the Corner Club put a nail in the rafter where Johnson reached the appex of his leap, and for years athletes and wanna-be's came from miles around to try to touch the nail. Reportedly, even 6-11 UCLA All-American Bill Walton failed in an attempt to hit the nail from a standing start. The nail remained untouched until, ironically, a junior college basketball star named Joey Johnson, who also happened to be a world class high jumper, hit it on his third try while visiting the bar on a trip to a game at North Idaho College in the mid-1980s. Here's the great irony in that: Joey Johnson's father, former Celtics guard Dennis Johnson, was also inducted into this year's Hall of Fame class. Sadly, both Johnsons, Dennis and Gus, have died, Gus of brain cancer at 48, and Dennis at just 52 years of age.

--Brad B.

Behold My Peeps

2010-04-02T09:31:00.005-06:00

You know being that I do go to church when I'm actually in town on a Sunday and don't have a game (an increasingly rare occurrence these days), I'm kind of an Easter fan. I remember getting a new goalie stick one Easter that was a complete shock. I remember getting a chocolate bunny in a New York Mets jersey (I could only eat the ears) and I remember the year my birthday fell on Easter, and we celebrated with a big cookout with my friends.

But nowadays....I don't look forward to Easter. Sure, I could say it was because my 14-year old got Easter Egg dye all over the counter and had to bleach it out (and no I wasn't home for this), or it could be because I'm not a fan of Cadbury Eggs. But no, I hate Easter because of one thing...Peeps. Yes, those peeps up there in the photo... those disgusting, ugly, heinous things that pass as Easter goodness. Why do those things get resurrected every April? I have had a weird aversion to them since I was a kid...I hate them...look at them...they are so creepy. This borders on how much I get sick at the sight of a bowl of cereal with milk (wifey handled the breakfast for the kids, thanks).

Anyways...people, especially my family, know I hate those things....so what did I find on my desk this morning? Peeps. In my phone (not on....in)? Peeps. On my computer? Peeps. In my drawer? Peeps. I'm scared to go to the bathroom right now. How can I thank for this besides my daughter? Well...Jeff Tingey signed the giant poster that they also left in my office, so I think I know my daughter's accomplice. I do enjoy working here! OK, onto some real stuff.

Tournament Expansion
I'm guessing that Brad might touch on this more, but this whole tournament expending to 96 teams looks like a done deal, and it's sparking plenty of debate. ESPN's Dana O'Neill has a great piece on why it's a monumentally stupid idea. There's plenty of arguments either way, but before I get to the one I want to talk about (which NO ONE IS MENTIONING), let's talk about why this is going to happen.

Money.

See, that was easy, wasn't it? Now, far be it from me to give the NCAA grief about expanding the tournament and maybe opting out of their mega-billion dollar contract with CBS during a massive recession, but let's look at how this will absolutely murder the smaller school conference such as say, oh , I don't know....the Big Sky.

Right now, there are 65 teams in the tournament, and 64 games, but the NCAA grants what they call a unit to 63 games, as the two play-in game winners don't receive a unit for that game, only for winning and advancing into the field of 64. Never mind that the play-in game contains two teams that automatically earned entry into the tournament field and the play-in game should have the final two at-large teams trying to play their way into the tournament (and yes Utah State, I'm looking at you).

Anyways, a unit is defined as a game, and a unit carries over for six years, so let's take this year. Montana played in one game, and was credited with one unit (well, the Big Sky gets it). The Big Sky has six units from one team in the tournament for the past six years, plus we are still getting a unit because of Montana's win a few years back over Nevada, so we have seven units. Each unit gets assigned a dollar amount based on the NCAA Tournament (last figure I saw was $152,000 per year, so one unit equals about $912,000 over the course of six years. That money is divided equally among the conference teams usually (it is in the Big Sky).

Now let's look at the Big Ten. They had Ohio State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin all make it, so that's five units. But Michigan State played in four games and will play in five, Purdue three, Ohio State three, Wisconisn two and Minnesota one. The Big Ten actually gets credited with 14 units this year. that's $2,1 million kids....or 13 times more than what the Big Sky got (Michigan State can get to six units, but not seven...there is no bonus unit for winning the title).

Now...let's say the tournament expands to 96. How are we paying this out? Even though the contract is bigger, the payments per unit might be slightly smaller per unit since there are more units (96 instead of 64). Now, this doesn't affect the big conferences, because they will be the leagues supplying most of the teams to get the field to 96. ESPN's Joe Lunardi said that if the tournament this year was a field of 96, 13 Big East teams would make the tournament. What's funny is like two years ago only 12 teams qualified for the Big East Tournament. Brilliant.

So a league now like the Big Ten...instead of getting 14 units this year, might get 17 or 19 units...and how do you ignore the units for the 32 teams with a first round bye? You have to pay them, otherwise teams will prefer to be a 9-seed, kick some 24-seeds butt, and get the payout for the conference while the 8-seed sits on their thumbs.

But all of that...that's not my argument to why this is dumb. My argument is because you are fundamentally changing the tournament, and making it SO MUCH TOUGHER for the bigger schools. You don't believe me? Let's look at Montana from this past year.

The Grizzlies were a 14 seed. Now, people keep assuming that when you add these other 32 teams (31...forgot the playin fiasco), that they will be the bottom 32 teams...but there is no way that will happen. Those 32 teams will push the 14, 15, and 16 seeds currently all the way down to the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th seeds. So Montana, instead of opening against #3 New Mexico, will get to play the #11 seed instead, who would be one of the first teams out (probably a Dayton or Rhode Island or Illinois). Then the winner of that game will face off against the #6 seed, say Notre Dame. Seems a little easier for the #22 seed than the old way as the #14 seed, no?

But what about the #1 seed....Duke. How much tougher is it for the Blue Devils. Well, they get a bye, but that's not Arkansas-Pine Bluff or Winthrop waiting for them as the #16 seed, because they are now the #24 seed and getting eliminated by the #9 seed. Now, Duke now gets the winner of the #16/#17 game, probably a team like Memphis or South Florida. Not quite the same as Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but hey, they are only playing once that first weekend anyways.

And yes, they are going to have the same opening weekend, meaning the first Thursday and Friday are 16 games, and Saturday and Sunday are 16 games. then the second round will start on Tuesday, meaning teams will play Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. Say you are the #9 seed like Northern Iowa...here's a potential schedule.

Tues., March 16, travel to first round site
Wed., March 17, practice day at opening rounds site
Thurs., March 18, Opening Round game (#9 vs. #24)
Fri., March 19, practice day at opening rounds site
Sat., March 20, Round of 64 game (#9 vs. #8), fly back home late after the game to Cedar Rapids, do laundry in a hurry
Sun., March 21, Fly to Second week site
Mon., March 22, practice day at second week site
Tues., March 23, Round of 32 game (#9 vs. #1) .. think UNI beats Kansas with this schedule? Let's say they do....
Wed., March 24, practice day at second week site
Thurs., March 25, Sweet 16 game (who knows who they are playing at this point)
Fri., March 26, practice day at second week site
Sat., March 27, Elite 8 game
Sun., March 28, Fly home

Now, is the NCAA serious? Really? This is your schedule for STUDENT-ATHLETES. And you still want to hold schools to an APR standard?

Other arguments I've heard is that it will help coaches keep jobs, which I don't think will happen...I think more coaches will lose jobs (AD to coach: You couldn't make it in a 96 team field? Really?)

Also...Um...Mr. NCAA...the ladies would like to know about their tournament. You know, the whole gender equity thing. The NCAA has said it's not about money, but that many of their tournaments have expanded, and the men's tournament doesn't have a solid enough percentage of teams making the postseason tournament. Well guess what...the women have the same amount of teams, so I guess you better expand theirs too, or someone somewhere will have themselves the world's easiest lawsuit to win.

Or they could keep the greatest tournament in America the way it is. What do I know...

Football Might Not Practice Today....
John Zamberlin just came down to inform me that due to the expected weather, they might cancel practice. Watch the main site for that information.

Speaking of football, Channel 6 has a new sports anchor in Matt Gittins, and if you go here and click on the 3/30/10 sportscast, you can see him and his first report on Bengal football. I honestly hadn't watched any local news lately since I've been catching up on my DVR stuff (LOST/FlashForward/V/Survivor/The Office/Family Guy/The Marriage Ref ... I've been gone, can you tell?), but he's pretty good...I think you guys will like him. Scott Bemis and Alyssa Chin had a pair of stories with Coach Z previewing spring ball, and a nice piece on Phil Earley.

Heck, even I tried a rudimentary hand at a video report.

And of course, you can keep up with Kelvin Ang and his spring practice musings, as he is at all the practices.

This blog was a long one, but everyone enjoy your Easter! Softball and track and tennis all have events so watch the main page for the information...and do not send me any more Peeps...seriously, I have enough here.

----Frank

Spring Season Kicks-Off

2010-03-30T16:02:00.004-06:00

Spring is in the air as ISU football is kicking off their first spring practice as I type. The athletes are charged with energy and are ready to put in the hard work necessary to start the 2010 season on point. This spring will look a little different for returning players with the additions of Phil Earley, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks, and Jon Clark, offensive line assistant coach, to the staff. Football practiced in helmets today and will do the same on Wednesday, the Bengals will be in full gear on Friday. The team will end spring practice with its spring game scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 in Holt Arena.

Idaho State soccer and volleyball have been working hard during their spring seasons as well. The Bengal soccer team hosted Utah Valley early in March and will be lacing up their shoes for five more competitions including an alumni game. Two-time Coach of the Year, Allison Gibson has given its post-season practice and spring season a special name, project 2010, as the Bengals push to improve on their second place finish in the Big Sky Conference Tournament last season. The schedule for the remainder of spring is as follows:

SPRING SOCCER
April 10 - BYU Tournament
vs. Weber State, 10 a.m.
at Brigham Young, 2:30 p.m.

April 17 - at Boise State
vs. Walla Walla Community College 4 p.m.

April 18- at Boise State
at Boise State, noon

April 24- at Davis Field (Pocatello, ID)
vs. Alumni, 1 p.m.

Bengal volleyball is in full spring fever too and have been hitting the court hard in preparation for its third season under Head Coach Chad Teichert. Idaho State volleyball has a spring tournament at Utah Valley on April 10 where they will play Salt Lake City Community College as well. The Bengals will also compete on April 17 at Utah State.

--Asst. SID, Katie Zigars

Jared Allen on TV Tonight

2010-03-30T10:23:00.004-06:00

I know spring football begins today, but you can get a little Idaho State football tonight on Versus. Jared Allen, All-Pro defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings, will join Matt Iseman in the Sports Soup studio tonight, March 30^th at 9:00 pm Mountain Time to share hosting duties helping to review and re-cap the week in sports.

If you know Jared, you know this will be good.

Frank

The Five Degrees of Separation Blog

2010-03-22T19:48:00.043-06:00

One of the great things about college athletics is the endless web of relationships that extend across the country among coaches, administrators, athletes and ex-athletes. I'll expend a few electrons this week on some of the Idaho State and Pocatello connections that have popped up via the Internet recently: former Idaho State assistant basketball coach Louis Wilson (above) was recently named the head coach at Division II Adams State. Wilson, who was on Doug Oliver's staff at ISU for eight years, comes to Adams State from Cal-Northridge, where he was recently promoted to associate head coach. He inherits a team that finished 8-19 overall and 5-14 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Louis' son, Jacques, played at Century High School and recently completed his collegiate career at Eastern Oregon....

....Greg Byrne, son of former ISU student body president and current Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, was recently named athletic director at Arizona. Byrne, 38, moves to Tucson from Mississippi State, where he was one of the youngest Division I ADs in the country when he was hired there two years ago. He's already had the experience of firing the football coach and replacing him at MSU. His dad, Bill, served as the long-time athletic director at Nebraska before departing for Texas A&M. He was fast friends with the late Dubby Holt going back to Byrne's days as student body president and Dubby's as ISU athletic director....

....This one is kind of a stretch, but new Hawaii basketball coach Gib Arnold has a loose connection to Pocatello. His father, former BYU coach Frank Arnold, started his coaching career at Pocatello High School. Arnold, who was hired by Hawaii from his latest position as an assistant at USC, has other Idaho roots -- his only head coaching experience was at College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, where he led CSI to the national junior college tournament in 2004 and 2005....

....Josh Fuller of Rexburg's Madison High School was recently named the outstanding player in the Upper Snake River Valley by the Idaho Falls Post Register. The 6-foot-7 forward, who signed with Utah in the fall, averaged 21 points and nearly eight rebounds a game for the Bobcats. He is the son of former Bengal forward David Fuller, who played for ISU from 1989 to 1991....

....Future Bengal point guard Sheryl Bitter of Shelley was also honored by the Post Register, named to their first-team all-area squad....

....Another future Bengal, Andre Hatchett, a 6-4 wing man from the Tucson area, was recently named to the Arizona Republic's second-team 4A all-state team. Hatchett led his Santa Rita team to the Arizona state title, along with teammate Terrell Stoglin, a Maryland signee. Hatchett scored 26 points in the championship contest....

....And finally, here's a gratuitous Kentucky link for my broadcasting partner and fervent UK supporter Mark Liptak. Kiel Turpin, a 7-foot-1 center who could barely walk and chew gum at the same time in high school, has come on with a rush, leading Lincoln College of Illinois to the Division II junior college national championship and earning MVP honors last week. Turpin is the son of former Kentucky and NBA center Mel Turpin. Oh, and there is an Idaho State connection here. John Hutchinson, former graduate school dean at ISU, is the outgoing president of Lincoln College. Hutchinson is retiring after five years at the school to become a higher education head hunter.....

Big Sky Basketball is Officially Over

Northern Colorado became the last Big Sky Conference school to hang up the foot wear this year, losing to Pacific 63-59 in the second round of the College Insider Tournament in Greeley Monday night. The Bears, who had a school record 25 wins just three years after being the lowest-rated Division I team in America, hosted two games in the CIT, which is geared toward so-called "mid-major programs." They beat Portland last week before losing to the Tigers. In order to get the host role, they had to put up $31,000 a game. Northern Colorado estimated they needed 2,400 fans in their 2,900-seat facility in order to break even on each game. They drew only 1,800 in their opener, but had almost 2,600 last night.

Weber President in a Powerful Position

Weber State University President Ann Millner may not know it, but she is one of the 18 most powerful people in college basketball right now. Dr. Millner is part of the 18-member NCAA Division I Board and Executive Committee. She and her 17 fellow presidents will make the ultimate decision on whether to expand the NCAA basketball tournament. The NCAA has until July 31 of this year to decide whether to continue its contract with CBS to televise the tournament, and a lot people are speculating the NCAA will expand the tournament to 96 teams in order to increase television revenue, whether it be from CBS or another entity. The NCAA gets 90 percent of its revenue from the tournament television contract.

--Brad Bugger

Sobolewski Growing in the Job

2010-03-16T07:18:00.023-06:00

There were some pretty good coaching jobs turned in by Big Sky Conference women's basketball coaches this year: Wendy Schuller took an Eastern Washington team picked in the bottom half of the league to a regular season championship; and Jamie Craighead, the youngest Division I coach in the country, reinvented the Sacramento State program, winning a school record 10 conference games and initiating her own brand of "40 minutes of hell." So I don't expect Idaho State head Coach Seton Sobolewski (left) to win conference coach of the year honors.

But the second-year Bengal mentor did a great job as he continues to grow into his position at ISU. He took a team that lost its top scorer and rebounder in Michelle Grohs, and its steals and assist leader in Jenna Brown, mixed in six freshmen, all of whom played significant minutes, endured a brutal non-conference slate, and wound up tied for second in the conference with ten wins. Sure, the loss in the first-round of the tournament to Portland State was disappointing, but finishing with a .500 overall record after playing such a difficult non-conference slate was something to relish.

As further testament to Sobolewski's coaching, consider the Bengals were 5-0 in games decided by five points or less, 3-1 in overtime, and finished 4-4 on the road in Big Sky games. He also shook off the loss of 6-5 freshman center Ashlee Rigter, who left the program before ever playing a game, and the mid-season unavailability of wing players Morgan Wohltman and Chelsea Pickering due to illness and injury, respectively. It was no coincidence the Bengals finished the season with a six-game winning streak after both returned to the lineup, but Sobolewski managed to keep the Bengals together while they struggled during their absences.

The next phase in Sobolewski's coaching "growth," if you will, comes next season, when the Bengals lose leading scorer and rebounder Oana Iacovita, assist and steals leader Andrea Videbeck and defensive stalwart Devin Diehl. Those three seniors depart with 53 percent of the Bengals' scoring, 44 percent of their rebounding and 63 percent of their assists in conference play.

The good news is that Sobolewski has built a nice foundation for the program with the six freshmen who got significant playing time this past season. Aussie Ashleigh Vella was the most consistent of the frosh, starting 29 of 30 games and averaging 8 points and 5.6 rebounds a contest. She started off the year focusing primarily on rebounding, then shifted to becoming a regular double-figure scoring threat. She shot almost 53 percent from the field in Big Sky play, 40 percent from the three-point line.

The other freshmen all played roles this year, but some of them are going to have to take that next step in development and become key contributors next year. Wohltman is a great three-point shooter, but needs to work on quickness and creating her own shot. Kaela Oakes got 13 starts at point guard, but shot only 27 percent from the field in league play. Two-guard Brea Matthews and power forward Ashley Smith need to become more aggressive on the offensive end of the court. And Shannon Byrne, well she needs to start living up to her many physical skills, which Seton has praised all year. The 6-3 lefthander runs, jumps and shoots well -- now she needs to translate that ability into something more than the five minutes, two points and one rebound a game she averaged in conference play.

Pickering and guard Andrea Blodgett hopefully will grow into leadership roles as the key seniors next year, and Sobolewski's early signing period recruiting class produced three players who will likely see some minutes next year: post Cydney Horton, point guard Sheryl Bitter and wing player Kara Jenkins. Because Sobolewski has built some depth and versatility on his roster, none of those freshmen will have to carry an inordinant burden next year, however.

That young depth also has given Seton the ability to gamble a bit in spring recruiting. He already has one commitment from a high school forward this spring, and he's going to use his final three scholarships to pursue high-risk, high-reward prospects where he may be going up against a stronger level of competition. He's pursuing a couple of players who could be "difference makers" this spring. If they sign, they could elevate ISU to the next level in the Big Sky Conference; if they don't, well the Bengals should still remain competitive for the next several years as a very young team -- and a young coach -- continue to grow together.

Broncos Look for New Coach

Boise State made the decision to fire head basketball coach Greg Graham, and eat the last year of his $362,000 a year contract, not, primarily, because of his up-and-down win-loss record, but rather because of raging apathy in the Boise Valley. Graham, just two years removed from a WAC championship, was axed last week on the heels of a season that saw BSU draw an average of just over 3,100 fans a game to spacious Taco Bell Arena. I know when I broadcast the ISU-BSU overtime loss to the Broncos at TBA in 2008, I was stunned at how much the game-day atmosphere had deteriorated in Boise. There was simply no life in the place.

With the Broncos knocking on the door of the Mountain West Conference, they need a relatively healthy and vigorous men's basketball program to enhance their appeal to MWC administrators.

The success of the BSU football team has certainly raised the bar on expectations for the basketball program. I see some parallels between Boise and Missoula, which used to be a great college basketball town, but has seen enthusiasm and attendance for its basketball program drop in almost inverse proportion to the way Montana's football program has grown in dominance. The Griz, who won a first-round NCAA tournament basketball game not so long ago, and won over 20 regular season games this year, still averaged just over 3,300 fans a game.

The Broncos and Griz are also feeling the national fallout from the dropping interest in college basketball. As we've noted before, attendance and television ratings for college basketball are diving all over the country, and Boise and Missoula are not immune.

It will be interesting to see what impact Graham's demise will have on Idaho State's future basketball schedules. ISU Coach Joe O'Brien was working on a home-and-home deal with the Broncos before Graham's firing.

With the announcement that Eastern Washington is keeping men's coach Kirk Earlywine for at least another year, it appears the Big Sky Conference coaching rosters, on both the men's and women's sides, will be stable going into next season. That's barring any late-breaking developments, of course. Last year Portland State's Ken Bone was hired for the Washington State opening, and Sac State's women's coach departed in late spring for an assistant's job at Oregon. Both were replaced by assistant coaches from the existing staffs.

Football Tidbids

I got a chance to chat with Bengal football Coach John Zamberlin last week for the final episode of Bengal Review, and came away with some nuggets of information. First, Coach Z told us he's adding Josh Fetter, a former defensive line coach at Portland State, to his staff. Fetter, who played at Idaho with current Bengal defensive coordinator Brian Strandley in the 1990s, worked for both Tim Walsh and Jerry Glanville at PSU. I'm assuming he'll take over the duties of Joe Cullen, who went back to the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaquars.

Zamblerin also noted that, even though it's off-season, football players are still not immune to the injury bug. He told us that incoming freshman quarterback Justin Level will not take part in spring ball due a knee injury; and transfers Jahmel Rover (running back) and Bo Hudeen (linebacker) are both struggling with leg injuries that could restrict their spring availability. Returning linebacker Phil Arias is also dealing with a stomach ailment that could sideline him as well.

Coach Z said the search for a kicker/punter continues. He brought a prospect to campus last weekend but they haven't confirmed his academic status as yet.

--Brad B.

Office Closed

2010-03-15T10:27:00.006-06:00

If all seems quiet on the media relations front in the next few days ... that's because it's going to be pretty quiet around here. Our entire office will be working the Spokane Regional from Thursday through next Sunday, with a full days drive there on Wednesday and back on Monday. The only event going on this weekend is a women's golf tournament....that's it. No softball, no tennis, no track ... no nothing. Weird, right?

There will be some football popping up this week though. I'm waiting for the official eights and weights from the Pro Day stuff that goes on today (I just found out about that one). That is going on at Holt Arena from 11:30 (the guys who are done with their eligibility), and then upcoming seniors at 2:30, and everyone else around 3:30ish or so. Mark Campbell takes the weights and heights at that event and will get those to me, and then I can have the prospectus finalized. That reminds me...last year I got a bound prospectus from Oklahoma....bound. Full color cover. Money is great, isn't it? This year by the way Oklahoma's spring guide is 100 pages....100 pages? ISU's 2001 media guide for the fall season...i.e. the one that counts, was only 96 pages.

Now onto a bunch of things around the office/school/department you folks might find interesting..

Football Team Collects Food for the Idaho Food Bank
Nice job by Wes Horrocks of Channel 3 covering the proceedings here. Not sure why they went with the orange jerseys though.

Thankfully Southern Utah's Quarterback Won't be the One Going Off This Time
Back in 2000, South Utah quarterback Matt Cannon led the Southern Utah Thunderbirds with three rushing touchdowns and 1,153 yards rushing. Well, not really, it only seemed like it...it was actually 262 yards, and it still is the record for the most yards by a visiting player, as SUU beat ISU 62-24 (on Homecoming....uugh).

Now, a much different cannon is being talked about....one that actually goes boom. It's been pretty funny from my end, because a fan is putting all of this together, and sinking some $$ into it (I'll get him a Bengal Foundation membership for all of this at the very least), but some folks seem to be against it, harping on that you can't shoot a cannon in the dome. Really? They have fireworks during concerts in here, and a cannon will not be any louder than the freakin' Monster Trucks that rev themselves up outside of my office that forces me to go home early. It's not shooting a real cannonball, it's just powder...it will be fine, really. And yes, the man doing this (who by the way is in the Army, so yes, he knows of what he speaks) has talked to the folks needed, including the guy who runs the building, who is all for it. So, we got the building folks to OK it, the team OK'ed it, and the players OK'ed it. Be warned...we might very well have a cannon shooting at home games.

LOST Video Contest
Some folks might wonder "What does Frank Mercogliano do on a Sunday in his downtime?" Well, I make contest e ntries for LOST. If I get in the top 10, I'm coming back here begging for votes, because I want that van. If I don't make the top 10 I'll post the thing on Youtube anyways....

If you haven't been watching the greatest show on television....you don't even have to miss the NCAA Tournament, because it is on Tuesdays. Just go to Hulu.com, and catch up on the first five seasons, and you can be caught up in five weeks.

Charlotte's Web
Let me tell you a little story. Sit down...please...get a brownie or some chips. Back in 1998 when I came to Idaho State, the ISU athletic website sucked. It was HORRID. I had never done anything with the internet or a website ever, and so it continued to suck for a few months. It really was bad. Well, in the fall of 1998, a friend of mine named Ray Emery helped me revamp it so that we had a way to update it, get stats and news and rosters and stuff on there, and it was serviceable. Here is what it looked like back fall of 1999 (look at how cute the football page was back then), here is it in December of 2000, and in October of 2001, and the last incarnation of to old www.isu.edu/athletic site, the day before we switched to www.isubengals.com.

Flash forward to 2002, and ISU unveiled www.isubengals.com, which actually debuted on August 9, 2002, and it now more note worthy because I had a goatee at the time. At the time, we were ahead of the pack in terms of a website, it was clean, fast, organized, and everyone in Bengalville was happy, and kudos went to Howard Gauthier, who was the A.D. and agreed to spend the money and make the switch.

Well, it's 2010, and we have had the exact same website for the last eight years, and while I will still say it's totally function, we have no bells and whistles, and we are trying to keep up with the Joneses while trapped in the sites mandated design (case in point, there is NOTHING but white space on the right side of the page, and the videos we post are just sort of crammed into the page).

Now, we can fix that, but it would cost money. Eventually the question becomes this...do you keep adding and fixing, or do you just start over? Do you keep fixing your car, which is functional and runs, but can't maybe do everything you want, or do you just go down to Meador's and get a new car? Well, we are approaching the new car portion of the discussion.

We are looking at potentially switching our website for a radical redesign, very possibly with a new company. CBS College Sports, formerly CSTV, formerly Fans Only, formerly something else I can't remember, is getting a bit cost prohibitive, and so we are looking at a different company possibly, that handles and caters to more schools our size (view Montana State's website for an example).

So this is where you guys come in....what do YOU want in a website? There are things Katie, Jamie and I definitely want (more dedicated spots for video, facebook and twitter links in a better format, and a better layout graphically), but if you have any comments or suggestions on what you want to see on a website (be reasonable), email me at mercfran@isu.edu. If the cannon thing is any indication...yes, we listen to folks down here. We may not do it, we may not agree, but no idea is too dumb to be listened too, as Mr. Garrison was so nice to point out a few years ago.

Former Bengals in the Tourney
Amazingly enough, two former ISU Bengals are both in the NCAA Tournament. Paul Bubb, now the Sr. Associate Athletic Director at Murray State, will no doubt accompany the Racers to San Jose as the #13 MSU Racers take on #4 Vanderbilt, and Russ Eisenstein had possibly the best call of the day on Saturday (it's the inside the second video clip here...nice to have that in-house TV production eh?) as his Ohip Bobcats shook off an 7-9 conference record, and a #9 seed in the conference tournament to earn a 14-seed and head to Providence, RI to face off with the #33 Georgetown Hoyas. Dance boys, dance....

It sure was interesting ...

2010-03-15T10:24:00.002-06:00

This blog entry is from women's basketball announcer Mark Liptak...enjoy.

It sure was an interesting and unexpected season wasn’t it fans?

The 2009-2010 Bengal women’s basketball season was like a wild ride at Six Flags. It had twists and turns, climbed hills and shot into valleys. It provided dramatic moments that we’ll remember for a long time and ultimately ended much too soon.

But what a ride it was while it lasted.

This team played a brutal non-conference schedule. It had six freshmen play major minutes. It had to overcome injuries as well as the difficulties that being in Pocatello cause from a travel standpoint. It had to play, at times, back to back Friday-Saturday conference games. It even had to overcome a “locker room” set up right next to a swimming pool. (I’m not joking!)

Yet when all was said and done, they had a winning regular season, increasing their win total by four from the previous year. They won ten conference games, upping that mark by three from the previous season and they finished in a tie for second place. They made the conference postseason tournament again for the second time under the current coaching staff and seventh time overall, a school record. No one and I mean no one, was predicting that when this club got ready to take the floor at St. Mary’s to open the year.

Seton Sobolewski and his staff guided this club through the growing pains and the uncertainties that all young clubs face. The players accepted that guidance, and learned their lessons well. The foundation has been set which will lead to a lot more success at a higher level in future years.

This team took the up’s and down’s in stride…they took it with a smile, a laugh, sometimes a tear but they took it.

To me it’s hard to point to one moment, one highlight, or one event when I think back on the season… there were a lot to choose from.

Ashleigh Vella’s put-back shot at the buzzer to beat Utah State and start the team on a run where they won eight of 10 comes to mind. The blow out win over Great Falls where little used players like Kari Green and Rayneiqua Edwards scored their first collegiate baskets is remembered. How do you not include Oana Iacovita destroying Montana State with 31 points to open up conference play and start her down the path that would lead to a first team all conference selection or Andrea Videbeck, not once but twice, going 10 for 10 down the stretch from the free throw line to sink Weber State and Portland State? Do we overlook Morgan Wohltman coming off the bench and drilling a game tying three with time running out to tie Sacramento State and give ISU a chance to win in overtime and stretch a winning streak to six in a row?

It’s not a stretch to say that every single active player on the roster this year can look at themselves in the mirror and say “I helped, I made a contribution to the success we had. I wasn’t just along for the ride.”

It was that team spirit, that drive to excel, that caused Iacovita to jump up and down on the court and then throw herself into Vella’s arms after a win against the Hornets of Sacramento State. At the same time Chelsea Pickering, with an expression of pure unadulterated joy was running to chest bump with Videbeck. Winning mattered to this team; they “got it.” They figured out what they had to do, when they had to do it, to get wins. Sometimes, like my partner Brad Bugger said, it was “winning ugly,” but it was a win and winning is beautiful.

Next season will be another challenge. Expectations will be higher- yet this team will be even younger. They’ll have six sophomores and at least four freshmen on the roster next year. They lose Iacovita, a definite low post scoring threat. They lose Videbeck, one of the top point guards in the league. The question will be, can the returning players raise their game to a higher ground and take the next step? It will not be easy but does anyone doubt that they can do it?

Fans you’ll want to be a part of this. Jump on this bandwagon sooner rather than later…this coaching staff, these players, is going to make you proud and you’ll want to say that you were there when it was really starting up.

One final note on next season’s recruiting class. As of this writing Seton has three signees and a fourth who just made an oral commitment. I’ve met three of the players and I can tell you, they are big, they are strong and they appear to be young women of great character. There are still a few scholarship openings and Seton and the staff are continuing to look for more individuals who are willing to make the sacrifices needed to win.

This is a team, a program, on the rise.

It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to broadcast the games. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoy bringing them to you. Have a safe and wonderful off season and I hope we’ll get together again next November when they throw the ball up on the 2010-2011 campaign.

Mark Liptak

Griz Johnson Sets New Standard

2010-03-11T07:01:00.025-07:00

Wow. That's about all I can say about the play of Montana's Anthony Johnson (right), who set a new standard for excellence in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship in Ogden last night.

Johnson set a conference tournament record by pouring in 42 points -- 34 in the second half -- to lead the Grizzlies to a 66-65 win after they trailed by 20 points at halftime. Johnson's performance was truly epic, one of those efforts that Big Sky fans will be talking about for the rest of their lives. Consider the circumstancs:

Montana looked absolutely dead in the water at half time, flat and lifeless. Weber was getting every loose ball, making every hustle play and totally dominating the game, while the Griz turned the ball over 14 times in the first 20 minutes.

This was in Weber's house, where the Wildcats have won 86 percent of their games under coach Randy Rahe, in front of a largely hostile crowd that didn't want to see their team squander home court advantage in the conference tournament for the second year in a row.

The stage was huge and brightly lit -- on national television (ESPN-2), with an NCAA tournament berth on the line.

By the middle of the second half, everyone knew Johnson was the guy -- he was making every play, taking every important shot, and Weber was doing everything it could to keep the ball out of hands.

In the end, none of that mattered. Johnson scored 25 of Montana's last 26 points, including a two-pointer that gave the Griz their ultimate lead with 15 seconds left. "It's hard when somebody's unconscious like that," said Pocatello High graduate Nick Hansen, who got to witness history up close and personal as the Wildcats' shooting guard. "Even when you have a hand in his face and he's still making it. I don't really think we let down defensively, I think that he just played out of this world."

In my 30-plus years of watching Big Sky Conference basketball, I would have to say only the 36-point effort by Weber State's Harold "The Show" Arceneaux in the Wildcats' win over North Carolina compares with Johnson's effort last night. Sure, Idaho's Orlando Lightfoot had a few of those "unconscious" nights when nobody in the building could stop him, but not with an NCAA tournament berth on the line on national television. Johnson, who was just about everyone's pre-season pick for Big Sky Player of the Year, had the added satisfaction of putting on his show in front of Weber's Damian Lillard, who actually won the POY honor when the Wildcats captured the regular season title again.

So Johnson, the senior out of Tacoma, and his teammates head to the "Big Dance," where they will likely be a 15 or 14 seed. The Wildcats will have to settle for an NIT berth, and Northern Colorado will wait in the wings to see if the CBI or CIT tournaments call. But all three Big Sky teams will be hard-pressed to follow the performance that Anthony Johnson provided Wednesday night in Ogden. It's a night Big Sky basketball fans will never forget.

--Brad B.

Three Factors Sank Bengals

2010-03-03T12:18:00.039-07:00

We've all had plenty of time to ponder the demise of Idaho State's men's basketball team, whose season mercifully came to a conclusion Saturday in Cheney, Wash. The Bengals, who were picked to finish third in the conference by the coaches and fourth in the media pre-season poll, whimpered to an eighth-place conclusion, finishing ahead of only perennial cellar-dweller Sac State. To make matters worse, the Hornets swept the season series with ISU.

Quick and dirty, these are my three keys to the Bengals' melt-down this year:

Defense -- or lack thereof. Basketball stathead Ken Pomeroy publishes numbers in key areas such as defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 defensive possessions); effective field goal percentage (which factors in three-point defense); turnover percentage; offensive rebound percentage; three-point shooting percentage defense; and two-point shooting percentage.

The long and short of it is that Idaho State was terrible in all these key defensive departments. There are 347 Division I basketball teams. Idaho State finished 341 in effective defense, 337 in effective field goal percentage defense, 331 in turnover percentage, 301 in defending against offensive rebounds, 315 in three-point field goal percentage, and 331 in two-point field goal percentage.

If you look at last season's numbers, you'll see Idaho State was in the low 200s to the high 100s in just about every major category. In fact, if you look at ISU's three previous seasons under Joe O'Brien, their defense has never been close to ranking this poorly in those key factors. We've had Joe and both his assistants, Geoff Alexander and Tim Walsh, on our coaches' show this year, and every time you ask them to pinpoint a reason why the team has struggled this year, they all say the same thing: lousy defense.

Why was the defense so bad? That's the $100,000 question. Lack of effort and heart? No true big man to clog the middle? The loss of Matt Stucki who, at 6-6, could guard every position on the floor, which is key to the Bengals' switching man-to-man? I don't pretend to have an easy answer to the question, but my eyes told me ISU was bad on defense and, in this case, the statistics tell me my eyes didn't deceive.

Lack of Development Among the Seniors: All of us -- coaches, fans, analysts -- all of us have a tendency to look at young players and mentally project where they will be when they are seniors. I know when I looked at Amorrow Morgan, Donnie Carson, Demetrius Monroe, Austin Kilpatrick and Chron Tatum after their sophomore seasons, I saw the potential for a great team by the time this campaign rolled around. But it didn't happen, and one reason is that Morgan was the only one of those young players to develop into an all-conference quality player over his four years here.

Amorrow increased his productivity significantly every season, from 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds as a freshman, to 9.7-2.9, 13.6-3.3 and 16.9-3.7. Only a significant ankle injury late in his senior year kept him from having one of the best seasons of any Bengal in the last decade.

Other than Row, however, only Monroe got significantly better over his four-year career: from 2.2-1.6 as a freshman to 9.3-7.2 as a senior. And Monroe's lack of physical strength meant that most of his productivity came in the non-conference portion of his senior season. He had five double-doubles by the first of January -- and two thereafter.

The other veterans finished their ISU careers consistently inconsistent. Here are their numbers from their first to their senior years: Kilpatrick: 5.3-1.5, 7.3-2.5, 4.2-1.8, 7.0-3.3; Carson: 1.4-.5, 6.2-2.5, 6.4-3.6, 4.7-3.0; Tatum (came to ISU as a sophomore): 4.8-2.4, 6.6-3.5, 5.8-4.0.

Why the lack of development? Again, you can offer up any number of potential answers, including acknowledging that maybe we just over-estimated their ability. I won't pretend to know the answer, but it's plain the growth many of us expected and hoped for simply wasn't there.

The Failure of the 2008 Recruiting Class: When O'Brien finished his second year on the job at ISU, he started feeling the pressure. He had one year left on his contract, the guy that hired him was gone, and he knew he had to make strides to keep his job. So he took a calculated gamble and brought in four junior college players to join with five returning juniors in a no-holds-barred bid to win the league by 2010.

For a whole host of reasons, the gamble failed. Of the five players O'Brien signed in the spring of 2008, two played only one season and left the program (Kal Bay and Felix Caspari), two played one year and were unavailable for most or all of this past season (Phyllip Taylor and Deividas Busma), and one (Sherrod Baldwin) has proven to be nothing more than a role player to this point in his career.

The Bay-Caspari duo from Eastern Utah were particularly big mistakes. O'Brien was looking for a fulltime point guard and decided to take Bay, who began his career at Colorado, as his primary point guard candidate. Bay turned out to be more of an under-sized shooting guard with limited point guard skills, played only 24 games because of injury, and left the program by the end of his first season. His good friend, Caspari, who was a serviceable back-up forward and energy guy, then waited until right before the start of this season to decide he was no longer interested in playing basketball -- far too late to allow O'Brien to recruit a replacement.

Busma, the 7-foot center, played only seven games this season before being sidelined by a stress fracture in his foot. O'Brien expects him to return next year, but there's something about bad feet and big guys that makes me nervous (Bill Walton, anybody?). And Busma, who has shown fleeting glimpses of athletic ability that both excite you and perplex, has yet to provide any kind of consistent production during his time at ISU. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds as a junior, 3.4 and 2.4 in his brief stint this season.

Taylor, meanwhile, was academically ineligible this year. The coaches have talked consistently about how he has improved offensively during practice, and we saw glimpses of that when he put up 23 points in the pre-season scrimmage. But none of that ability was available this past season, when the Bengals definitely could have used a third or fourth offensive weapon.

In summary, ISU has gotten very little production from that recruiting class, and passed on a good three-point shooter and potential local favorite in Pocatello High graduate Nick Hansen, who wound up at Weber State.

If you wanted to add a fourth factor to this year's disappointment, you could certainly talk about injuries. The Bengals lost both Morgan and point guard Broderick Gilchrest, their two "money producers," to significant injuries during conference play, Busma was out from the end of November on, and backup big man Rolando Little missed several weeks after he passed out while jogging on Christmas Eve.

But as much as those injuries hurt the Bengals, I'm not convinced they would have made the post-season tournament even if everybody had been largely healthy. This was one of those teams that, for whatever reasons, just never seemed destined for success.

--Brad B.

EXCEL-lent

2010-03-01T15:58:00.006-07:00

So one of the unexpected perks of not having a men's basketball team playing anymore is I got to really look at the women's basketball standings....and boy are they a mess. It reminded me of a few years ago when entering the final weekend of the regular season, Eastern Washington was in first place, and then there were six teams at 6-7, with Portland State at 5-8 ... crazy, crazy stuff. Well, everyone is asking poor Katie Zigars what the scenarios are...can ISU finish second? Can they get a bye? Who will they play? Where will they play?

Well, that's where my morning went....back to high school math. I'm guessing a lot of folks don't remember much of their high school math stuff, but I was fairly proficient at it (obviously based on what I do for a living), so I busted out the tried and true EXCEL spreadsheet and went to work.

Basically, the standings are as such...

EWU 11-4
SAC 9-5
ISU 9-6
PSU 9-6
UM 8-6
MSU 8-6
UNC 5-9
NAU 3-11
WSU 3-12

and basically, there are seven games left

UM @ NAU (Thursday)
MSU @ UNC (Thursday)
SAC @ ISU (Friday)
PSU @ EWU (Saturday)
MSU @ NAU (Saturday)
UM @ UNC (Saturday)
SAC @ WSU (Saturday)

Now, there are 128 different possible outcomes of those seven games...so what I did was map out all 128 (once you know the number it's easy...for the UM/NAU game, I listed UM as a winner the first 64 slots, and then NAU as the winner the last 64, then on the next ro, MSU as the winner the first 32, then UNC the next 32, and then repeat. I did that all the way to the last game, SAC at WSU, which just alternated SAC and WSU on the line, giving me 128 different seven-game outcomes.

Now, no matter what happens in those seven games, someone somewhere will be tied (my favorite was the EWU winning the title at 11-5 and then SAC, PSU, ISU, UM, and MSU all finishing 10-6), and there is one scenario where there is a tie for 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th...crazy stuff.

This much is known. EWU will host with a win over PSU or a SAC loss to either ISU or WSU. If SAC sweeps and PSU beats EWU, than SAC is 1st, EWU is 2nd, and PSU is 3rd. EWU has clinched a bye.

SAC can finish from first through sixth, PSU, MSU, ISU, UM all can finish anywhere from second to sixth.

If ISU is the 3 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 4 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 5 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 6 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC

To get the #2 seed, ISU must have at a minimum a win over SAC and an EWU win over PSU...then it's various combinations of other things. The good thing is after the two games on Thursday, ISU will have a shot at second, no matter what.

Anyways, the spreadsheet is in two places...one is hanging in Seton's office, and the other is spanning the length of Katie's shelf above her desk, along with the tiebreaker key. If the Big Sky agrees with everything I'll post that sucker here, because it's kind of awesome in it's own demented sad (but social) way...Here is what it looks like (sorry these are a little craptastic...took them on my phone)

that's all of it taped together

a blurry closeup of the names

five feet worth of scenario goodness

Senior Night
Brad Bugger touched on it, but a great chance to see a game on Friday night at Reed and honor Oana Iocavita, Devin Diehl, and Andrea Vidabeck, who have all been great to have around.

I'm gonna get to finally see a women's game, and I'm excited to see the league's biggest surprise in Sacramento State, who were 0-4 and are now 9-5, and just putting up points like crazy. They came back from an 18-point deficit at Northern Colorado by putting up 63 ... 63(!!?!?!?!) points in the second half against the Bears. Geez.

Softball Up to 3-4
ISU's softball team rock and rolled over the weekend against the College of Idaho, winning 10-1 and 11-3, with Brittany Olsin going nuts, going 5-for-7 in two games with three doubles, a home run, and 6 RBI, including five in game two.

Idaho State's 3-4 record is the best in the PCSC Mountain Division...

Idaho State	0-0	3-4	0.429	W2
Utah Valley	0-0	3-5	0.375	L3
Portland State	0-0	4-8	0.333	L1
Northern Colo.	0-0	3-9	0.250	W1
Seattle	0-0	1-8	0.111	L1
Weber State	0-0	0-10	0.000	L10

...so that's always good.

Also, I want to touch on something, and I'm only doing this because I'm gonna guess the same pinhead who posted some serious misinformation on the Bengal Den message board contacted Kelvin at the Idaho State Journal trying to stir up some controversy. This past weekend assistant coach Shelly Prochaska handled the team, and she will do the same for the Arizona State tournament this weekend, because we granted head coach Andrea Wilson some time off to tend to a personal family matter.

Of course, the phone call I got from Kelvin was that he got a tip that we placed Andrea on administrative leave. I can confirm and end all those rumors right here....Andrea Wilson is dealing with a personal issue and will be back with the team shortly. What sucks is I even had to put that out there, but I know how rumors get started...

Good Hearts...
One last thing....having traveled with the men's basketball team all year, I can tell you that it was fun to see the team busting their butts all the way through the final whistle on Saturday with nothing to play for. I credit that to the kinds of people that Joe O'Brien has recruited, and all six guys should get their degrees either this year or next, which is really what it is all about for those guys.

Videbeck Takes Bengals to New Level

2010-02-28T13:42:00.059-07:00

When Claire Faucher's career ends at Portland State later this spring, she will undoubtedly go down as one of the best point guards in Big Sky Conference history. Faucher has recorded over 1000 points and 500 rebounds, is the all-time Big Sky Conference assist leader, and ranks No. 5 on the all-time steals list. But a funny thing happened to the Viking star on the way to rallying her team in the last couple of minutes of the PSU-Idaho State game Friday night: Andrea Videbeck (left).

With the Vikings down by seven and 1:34 to play, the 5-9 Faucher took the 5-4 Videback to the basket, looking for a hoop and possibly some harm to get PSU back into the game. Instead, Videbeck blocked Faucher's shot, got fouled on the other end of the floor and drained two free throws. A few seconds later, Faucher took the in-bounds pass, turned quickly upfloor and watched as Videbeck stripped her clean for a steal. Another foul, two more Videbeck free throws, game over.

That sequence was the best, but not the only, example of how Videbeck has simply taken control during the Bengals' current five-game winning streak that has lifted them into third place in the conference standings. During the three-game ISU home stand that began with an overtime win over Weber State a week ago and continued through wins over PSU and first-place Eastern Washington, Videbeck has averaged 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

The two-time transfer from Fresno State and Chandler-Gilbert JC scored 18 second-half and overtime points to rally the Bengals from 15 down against Weber State, drained 10 for 10 from the free throw line to hold off Portland State, then nailed four three-pointers to boost ISU to a quick start against the first-place Eagles. Other Bengals, most notably fellow senior Oana Iacovita, have contributed to ISU's hot streak, but nobody's made more money plays than the pride of Gilbert, Arizona.

And probably no player has been a bigger surprise in the Big Sky Conference this year. Coming off an illness-induced redshirt season which followed a junior campaign in which she averaged only 1.5 points and 2.6 assists per game, Videbeck was in a battle just for playing time at the beginning of this season. Indeed, true freshman Kaela Oakes got the starting call early in the year as Videbeck shook off the rust from her redshirt year. Videbeck has started only 19 of the Bengals' 27 contests so far this season.

But she is clearly in control now, ranking in the top 15 in seven different statistical categories during Big Sky play, including minutes (33 per game), scoring (seventh--14.7), assists (third--6.0), and steals (ninth--1.7). And she is absolute nails from the foul line late, hitting 40 of 44 free throw attempts in the final two minutes of games. Twice she has gone 10 for 10 from the line down the stretch to seal victories.

Videbeck hasn't been perfect, of course. Turnovers continue to be her bugaboo (she gave up eight against PSU and has two double-figure TO games this year -- against Montana and Sacramento State). She will get her biggest test of the year this Friday, when the Hornets come to town still with an opportunity to steal the Big Sky Conference regular season title. Sac is the quickest team in the league and their pressure drove Videbeck (a dozen turnovers) and the rest of the Bengals crazy in the Hornets' win earlier this year. But the way Andrea has continued to grow and respond to the pressure over the course of the season, I certainly wouldn't bet against her on senior night.

MVP Who?

The race for the Big Sky Conference women's MVP is about as unpredictable as the league standings right now. Typically, the coaches honor the best player from the best team. But this year, Eastern Washington, who still has a game-and-a-half lead over Sac State for the regular season championship, would be hard-pressed to offer up a convincing MVP candidate. The Eagles are deep and talented, but as a result, they don't have any player who averages over 28 minutes a game. That has limited the stats for star Eagle players like Julie Piper, who is probably their best MVP candidate while ranking 15th in Big Sky scoring (12pg) and fifth in rebounding (8pg).

If Sac State should happen to sneak in the back door and win the league, I could see one of two Hornets winning the MVP honor: Emily Christensen, who ranks sixth in league scoring (15.4) and eighth in rebounding (7); or Charday Hunt (second in scoring, 19.6, 17th in rebounding--5.0).

Certainly the most impressive statistical season has been generated by Northern Arizona freshman Amy Patton, who will undoubtedly win newcomer of the year honors. She leads the Big Sky in scoring (21 ppg) and rebounding (9.7) in league games only. But the Axers are currently in eighth place and league coaches almost never give MVP honors to players for teams that don't make the post-season playoffs.

ISU's Iacovita could make a reasonable case for MVP honors, ranking fourth in the league in both scoring (16.6 in league games) and rebounding (8.3). At the very least, she'll be a first-team all-league selection.

--Brad B.

Refs: Can't Live with 'Em, Can't Kill 'Em

2010-02-23T08:58:00.079-07:00

Like most lifelong basketball fans, I grew up being a ref baiter. I gathered with my friends in junior high school, screamed childish taunts and embarrassed the heck out of my parents. I came from a high school where basketball was a town-wide ritual on winter weekends, and we developed a very creative student section. If we weren't picking on specific players from the opposing teams, we were working over the officals -- all of whom we knew by name, of course.

Then it was off to Northwestern where the athletics were terrible, so making fun of other teams' athletes -- and the officials -- was really the only relief. The older we got, the more clever the taunts became, of course. At least, that's what we thought.

When I became a sportswriter, all "taunting" was over, but when I switched to news reporting, I was back in my seat at Holt Arena, giving the stripes what-for. I've managed to embarrass two wives during that time, and I dare say, I'm not alone. Next time you're in Holt or Reed for a men's basketball game, watch how many men are red in the face from screaming at an official -- and how many of their wives are red in the face from embarrassment.

I've observed a number of different coaches work the officials over the years, too, and they all have their different approaches. I'm told that Vergil Fletcher, who won two Illinois state championships and over 700 games at my high school, was a real ref baiter in his younger days. By the time I saw him, in his 50s and 60s, he never said anything to the officials. He did his best John Wooden imitation -- sitting quietly on the bench with a rolled-up program in his hand, occasionally pointing out an instruction or two during play, but essentially leaving the players -- and the officials -- alone, at least until there was a time-out.

I also sat behind the Indiana bench when the soon-to-be undefeated national champions beat Northwestern in 1976 and listened while Bob Knight turned the air blue with epithets -- some at his own players, many at the men in stripes.

As an announcer, I've had to battle my demons. The Big Sky usually issues friendly notices once or twice a year to the league announcers, reminding us that we're not supposed to criticize officials. When I first started working Idaho State games in 1994, I still spent a lot of time squeeling about officials' calls and, every once in a while, my broadcast partner Jim Fox would have to remind me to shut up. Of course, Jim was a big homer, too, and he got his hand slapped more than once by the league. I got more than a few comments during those days from former Bengal offensive lineman Kent Marboe, who went on to be a prominent high school official in Idaho Falls, imploring me to "lay off the officials."

Russ Eisenstein, my play-by-play partner a couple of seasons ago, was adamant about not ref-baiting. He felt it was unprofessional and detracted from the broadcast. I have to admit he's probably right, especially judging from the amount of criticism I read on other team's message boards about the "home announcers" whose feeds are used for Big Sky TV. But at times I can't help being swept away in the emotion of a hard-fought game, and I will always be a homer at heart.

I guess I can't say much has changed in basketball in my four-plus decades of watching it as a fan, sportswriter and sportscaster. Men and boys still scream, women still cringe, and the officials still get an occasional call or two wrong. In the Big Sky Conference, you might be led to believe they get a lot of calls wrong. You can go on most any fan web site in the Big Sky and see threads like this one on the Weber State board, authored by a Northern Colorado fan: "Big Sky Refs...Are They the Worst?"

Frankly, I doubt it, but then how do you measure such things? One thing I do know is that many "Big Sky officials" aren't just Big Sky officials. In fact, if you go to a cool little web site entitled Stat Sheet.com, select Big Sky Conference and click on the refs tab, you'll get a listing of the most active officials employed by the league. If you click on the names of those officials, you'll see the other conferences that also employ them: principally, the PAC 10, West Coast, Mountain West and Western Athletic Conferences. You'll see, for example, that ten of the 14 most active Big Sky officials work in other leagues. Probably the two busiest are Chris Rastatter, who also works PAC 10 and Mountain West games, and Michael Greenstein, who refs in the West Coast and PAC 10.

Why is this important? Well, for one it illustrates that no league "owns" its officials. They are independent contractors who cut their own officiating deals on a game-by-game basis. I don't know this for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised if some entry-level Big Sky officials are also working community college or lower division games while they try to earn their "stripes" (pardon the pun) in the big leagues. I do know that three Big Sky men's officials also work women's games for the league: Bob Scofield, Ty Elkin and John Weeks.

Yes, the Big Sky Conference does have a coordinator of basketball officials, Marla Denham, who is based in the Phoenix area, and she is charged with overseeing the assignments, training and assessment of officials who work Big Sky games. She got to recommend to Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton, for example, that he suspend former Big Sky official Eric Curry a couple of seasons ago, when Curry made his famous "non-call" on what should have been a technical foul against a Montana player for signalling a time-out the team did not have.

Of course, Curry's "suspension" from Big Sky games meant little to him in the grand scheme of things. He continued to work for other conferences, got an NCAA tournament assignment that year, and has now moved on to "bigger and better things," working for the Mountain West and Big Ten conferences. And Curry's particular situation points out how difficult it is for a league like the Big Sky Conference to manage its officiating crews.

The best officials, and despite his gaffe, I did consider Curry to be one of the best in the Big Sky, move on to more lucrative assignments in more prestigious conferences. For example, Pocatello's Scott Thornley, who has worked several Final Fours, used to work in the Big Sky Conference in his younger days, but he's doing only Big 12, WAC and Mountain West games now. When I checked the Stats Inc. PAC 10 officials listing, I found a total of a dozen refs there who at one time worked in the Big Sky. Of that 12, only Ratstatter and Greenstein still take Big Sky assignments. If they continue to improve and move up the seniority ladder, there may well come a time when they will stop taking Denham's phone calls, as well.

Bottom line is that when it comes to officiating (much like it is with coaching), the Big Sky is a developmental conference. It is taking young officials on the way up, mid-career officials on the way out, and older officials on the way down, and trying to meld them all into cohesive crews that work together and enforce a relatively similar style of play. Good luck with that.

As hard as it may be to make that work, nobody is offering Denham or her officials any sympathy. That would be un-American, kinda like thanking a homeplate umpire for working hard after he called you out on a borderline pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning. It just ain't happenin'. But I will admit that after reading this ESPN story that followed well-known referee Tim Higgins around the East Coast for a few days, I was almost willing to acknowledge that officials are people too. Almost...

Warning: Old Guy Reminiscence

Mark Liptak, my broadcast partner on ISU women's games, sent me a remarkable link the other day, to a college basketball game played a generation (mine) ago. It marked the 40th anniversary of the LSU-Kentucky game in which Dan Issel (55) and "Pistol Pete" Maravich (64) combined for 119 points in one game. Kentucky won the game, 121-105, but that was secondary to the show Maravich and Issel put on for the fans.

Tom Parker, who was from my high school, played for Kentucky in that game (pauper: he had a mere 18 points and 11 rebounds), and I remember watching it in my living room at home with my brother. The early 1970s were great days for young college basketball fans. The UCLA dynasty was at its height, scoring was at a premium and defense, well defense could be a rare commodity in those days. It was a time of great individual scorers like Maravich (who averaged over 40 points a game during his three-year career), Austin Carr, Travis "Machine Gun" Grant, Freeman Williams, Dwight "Bo" Lamar, and William "Bird" Averitt.

Keep all of that in mind as you watch this ten minutes of soundless video. It was a different game in those days. One thing you'll notice right away is that neither LSU nor Kentucky had any players of color -- nothing but white guys, even in 1970. It wouldn't be until an African-American 7-footer named Tom Payne joined the Wildcats a season later that Kentucky's team would be integrated. Collis Temple was LSU's first African-American basketball player, joining the Tigers the same season as Payne debuted. The Southeastern Conference didn't really begin to fully embrace African-American athletes until the late 1970s.

The other thing you will notice from the video is the emphasis on one-on-one offensive play and the lack of double-teaming and help-side defense. Even though I think of this game as having been played in my modern era of basketball, it really was the dark ages for defense.

Finally, I'll use this as one more platform for pushing for Idaho State's Hall of Fame board to do the right thing and welcome former Bengal great Willie Humes into the hall at its induction ceremonies next fall. Many of you remember my shock when I discovered around this time last year that Humes, who is ISU's all-time career scoring average leader (31.5 points a game) and still ranked No. 10 on NCAA career scoring charts, is not in the ISU Athletic Hall of Fame. I asked if anybody knew where Willie is these days, and some fans e-mailed me links suggesting he is still coaching girls basketball in Columbus, Ind.

When I asked former long-time ISU Sports Information Director Glenn Alford why Humes was not in the Hall of Fame, he said "no one has nominated him." He also noted cryptically that Willie's shot attempts were rather high, and his shooting percentage comparatively low. I get all that, but as you can see from the Issel-Maravich video, that's how college basketball was played in most places east of Westwood in those days. Even if Humes was an unrepentant gunner, I think he's paid for his sins and its time for him to be duly recognized as one of the greatest offensive players in Idaho State history.

By the way, after being told that "no one nominated" Willie last year, I sent a letter to the Hall of Fame committee so nominating him. A couple of months later, I get a letter back saying my nomination was "too late" for that year's class, but they would reconsider him next year. Well, next year is here, folks, and Willie ain't gettin' any younger. Let's do the right thing and bring him back to Pocatello nearly 40 years after he put up over 50 points in a single game on both Montana State and Northern Arizona. I don't care how many shots he put up -- nobody's done it since.

Tidbits

College basketball attendance is suffering around the Big Sky Conference, and the University of Montana is no exception. The Griz, who derive a significant amount of revenue from their women's program, are going through an uncharacteristically mediocre year this season and that, plus the flagging economy, is hitting Montana right in the wallet. UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day cites tough times and what I think is really the root of attendance decline, simply too much basketball on television. When a storied program like Iowa's is drawing fewer than 5,000 fans a game to watch Big Ten basketball, folks have to start asking some questions about how advisable it is to continue to develop new networks and outlets for watching basketball on television....It appears the Big Sky connection to Washington State's athletic program may continue, with the announcement last week that Wazzu has offered its open athletic director's job to former Montana AD Bill Moos. A highly successful AD at Oregon for many years before running afoul of Nike Chairman Phil Knight, Moos has been farming and ranching near Pullman while living off a fat contract settlement from the University of Swoosh. Moos hasn't announced if he'll accept the job yet, but was interested enough to visit campus last week. He would replace another Big Sky expatriat, former Portland State AD Jim Sterk, who is leaving for San Diego State....Sterk, by the way, gets the quote of the day honor with this discussion of how nearly all athletic directors live out their usefulness in time: "I said in an interview in San Diego that AD years are like dog years," Sterk said. "You have to make decisions based on what you think is right for the program and some people may, or may not, disagree. Over time, that may build up with some folks." PS: AD years are strikingly similar to politician, university president or head coaching years.

--Brad B.

The Zombies Are Still Alive

2010-02-22T07:43:00.004-07:00

Have you ever watched a really good zombie movie? I'll admit that I'm not a biggie for the scary movie genre, but I can respect the zombie movie. Shaun of the Dead is one of the better ones out there among the more recent zombie movies (the cell phone thing is hilarious), and it's really hard to top the original Night of the Living Dead (first part of 17 is here ... seriously, the opening credits just creeps me out to this day), except if you believe the internet hype on the Peter Jackson directed Dead Alive, which is supposed to be pretty funny).

Well, I feel, much like our fans, like we have been watching a zombie movie masked as Idaho State's men's basketball season, because they Bengals, er, the Zombies can't be killed (apparently our opponents aren't going for the head or taking out our brains). Seriously, have you ever seen a team that constantly looks dead in the water, only to be given renewed hope later in the day or week? To recap...Idaho State could afford to lose to Weber State if Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona swept their weekend series' with Portland State and Eastern Washington, and the two Montana schools sweep Sacramento State. So what happens? Northern Arizona down two in overtime with 5.0 left sends Julian Olubuyi on a Tyus Edney-esque length of the court dash to tie the game, and then survive a point blank miss in the second OT to win by one, and then NAU bests Eastern Washington in OT on Saturday. Northern Colorado meanwhile survived the loss of Devon Beitzel and swept, and Sacramento State came up empty in the Big Sky state, leaving the zombies breathing once more.

So what's left for the Zombies? Well, Idaho State gets into the conference tournament as the #6 seed in one of two ways...ISU is in automatically with two wins OR they get in with this scanario...ISU defeats Portland State, Weber State defeats Eastern Washington on Friday and Portland State on Sunday, and Sacramento State loses once to either Northern Arizona or Northern Colorado. That second deal works because ISU wins a 5-11 tiebreaker with Portland State, or with Portland State and Eastern Washington, but not with Portland State, Eastern Washington AND Sacramento State.

It's funny, talking shop with Geoff Alexander, he and I picked out after the NAU game that even though they were the closest team to us, because of the schedules and the fact we still had one game with Portland State left, that PSU would be the team we would have to catch...and he was dead-on accurate.

Anyways, watch the Zombies and the Vikings on Big Sky TV Friday night, because the season is coming down to that one right now.

Women's Basketball Scenarios...
Still a little to early to tell, but two wins clinches a spot, or a win and a Northern Colorado loss, or two UNC losses. TUESDAY EDIT: After finally getting to the bottom of a bizarre 8-8 tie between Idaho State, Portland State, Montana and Sacramento State, and going down several tiebreakers, ISU would still be 6th in that scenario, so yes, one win and they are in, one one loss by UNC.

Oh My Word....
Some of you might have forgotten we had a tennis team, but the women's broke a 25-match losing streak that dated back to March of 2008 with a 4-3 win over North Dakota on Saturday.

New O-Coordinator An Engaging Character

2010-02-16T15:02:00.021-07:00

I had my first meeting with new Idaho State offensive coordinator Phil Earley (right) on the coaches' show Monday night, and I must say he charmed the socks off me. Earley, who has a coaching resume longer than Larry Brown, is engaging, funny and sharp. I'd be shocked if this guy can't recruit.

But can he design and run an offense? We'll find out next fall. What I wanted to know Monday night was exactly what kind of offense he'll be expecting the Bengals to execute. The apparent answer? A little bit of everything.

"Multiple" was a word Earley used a lot in discussing his philosphy. He admits to being a Mike Price-Dennis Erickson, one-back disciple in his formative years, but he says he's been enough places and coached for enough people that he truly believes in the value of "multiple" looks on offense. To that end, the Bengals, who have been largely a one-back team since Larry Lewis arrived on the scene in the late 1990s, may be playing with more tight ends and fullbacks than we've seen since the late Babe Caccia was running the Bengals in the 1960s.

Indeed, ISU invested scholarships in junior college tight end Andrew Zamora and Pocatello High fullback Wes Howard this year, and they already have four experienced tight ends on the roster. That doesn't mean we'll see the Bengals consistently lined up "old school," though; it just means Earley is going to make it a much bigger guessing game for opposing defensive coordinators, who in the past really had only to spend most of their preparation time on the five-wide, spread attack.

Who will be running that offense on the field? Well, Earley, who has just started working with incumbent quarterback Russel Hill during winter conditioning, is impressed with Hill's work ethic and commitment. And the new Bengal coach acknowledges he's just cocky enough to think he can make Hill a better quarterback next year. Judging from the fact that he's coached quarterbacks everywhere from Syracuse to Auburn, and from San Diego State to Idaho, it's hard to dismiss Earley's self-confidence.

ISU head coach John Zamberlin was on our show as well, and he noted that, with no disrespect to Hill, the Bengals haven't exactly been a juggernaut with him at quarterback. So there is no guarantee Hill will be the No. 1 quarterback when ISU opens its season next September against Western Montana. Certainly incoming junior college transfer Grayson Galloway, he of the "prototypical" drop-back mold at 6-5, 220 pounds, will be given a long look in fall camp. But you get the impression from just talking with Earley for five minutes that he's the kind of guy who will build a bond with Hill and the other quarterbacks on the roster during the upcoming spring practice sessions. That time together has to give Hill a big advantage over Galloway, who won't be here for spring practice.

I did ask Earley how he feels about the "revolving door" approach to quarterbacks, which has been an issue at ISU in recent years. In summary, he said: 1) He is pretty firm about setting out his playing time expectations for his quarterbacks from week to week, and sticking to it; 2) He has no problem pulling a quarterback in mid-game for a series or two of "observation" if he's struggling, but only if he has a backup he has confidence in.

Earley said he'll start installing his offensive system when spring ball starts in early April, but it will definitely be a "slimmed down" version. He wants to keep things simple because he wants the players to be focused on execution in spring. Earley talked about "toughness" a lot Monday night, and in my experience, that's kind of unusual from an offensive coordinator. He wants to keep his offense simple in the spring because he wants to see which of his players want to hit; he doesn't want them worrying about complicated schemes when they're supposed to be exploding off the football.

So it'll be fun to watch this entertaining guy install his system and philosophy, and see what comes of it. As someone who was a bit skeptical about his vagabond coaching career, I'll admit it: I've become a Phil Earley fan.

Personnel Updates

During our show Monday night, Zamberlin was asked for an update on the status of three Bengals who were academically ineligible last fall. He reported that cornerback Kelvin Miller is back in good standing, and in fact is competing in indoor track this winter. Cornerback Kenny Viser is back at the University of Nevada re-taking some classes in an effort to get back into academic good graces. And linebacker Jeremy Gibson is still in school at ISU trying to regain his eligibility. Viser and Gibson will probably be question marks at least until after summer school.

In answer to a question about whether he will consider moving one or more of a bevy of young quarterbacks to new positions, Zamberlin said no, he wants to see them all learn the offensive system and compete for playing time, at least initially. He noted that Riley Sessions, a quartertback from Salmon who signed with ISU, will be going on an LDS mission before he enrolls, as will Capital High defensive end Beaugh Meyer.

As far as position switches are concerned, the only one Zamberlin specifically noted was that Minh Williams, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines as a true freshman last fall, will probably stay on the offensive side of the football this year.

Zamberlin said he's continuing to look for a punter/placekicer to challenge redshirt freshman Brendan Garcia, and he's got an in-state candidate for the position who was supposed to visit recently but had to cancel because of basketball commitments. ISU is in the process of rescheduling that visit.

Finally, on the coaching front Zamberlin said he's interviewing a candidate this week for the position on the defensive coaching staff. He's looking for somebody who is familiar with the current scheme the Bengals run, and the candidate who's coming in fits that description.

--Brad B.

SID Musings...

2010-02-16T10:27:00.006-07:00

So as I sit here the morning after another bizarro basketball game in which I can't figure out (like we gave up 82 points), I started thinking about certain things, as a person tends to do. I should mention that this thinking started while watching the reruns of the Pyramid on the Game Show Network at midnight (total aside, but was there ever a better game show minute then the Pyramid's Winner's Circle? Any game where a prepositional phrase is considered illegal is something I'm going to love.)

Anyways, I've come up with a couple of theories on this, and the first is this...sometimes the ingredients are correct but they don't just mix. Case in point...I have three daughters. My oldest Jessi (22) and my youngest Angie (14) both like to cook and know how to cook, especially things like cakes, cookies, brownies...you know, the stuff that spikes my cholesterol. Well, both kids make brownies a lot. Both use identical brownie mix, and both use identical ingredients, the same oven, the same pans. Yet what inevitably happens is that one set of brownies is usually good...better than I would have thought, and one set of brownies is disappointing. Why? Everything is the same ... but sometimes the ingredients mix better, and sometimes they don't mix at all, and for some reason, this Bengal team has a hard time mixing together. The ingredients are there, and some games, and even for portions of games, everything mixes well, but sometimes ... the brownies just don't come out right.

The other thing I've come to realization is that it might be me. Now while that might sound silly...but I've done a little research on this, and well...it sucks. I've been an SID for 18 years, two at Belmont Abbey, four at Augusta State, and this is my 12th here, and I'm starting to think, especially in men's basketball, it's me. I've always kept this file, and I've now updated, but this is not something I want on my tombstone...

Year School Overall .PCT Conf. .PCT Finish

1992-93 Belmont Abbey 12-16 .429 6-8 .429 5/8

1993-94 Belmont Abbey 7-19 .269 3-11 .214 T7/8

BAC TOTAL 19-35 .352 9-19 .321

1994-95 Augusta State 8-19 .296 4-14 .222 10/10

1995-96 Augusta State 11-16 .407 6-12 .333 7/10

1996-97 Augusta State 9-19 .321 5-13 .278 9/10

1997-98 Augusta State 5-22 .227 3-13 .188 T11/12

ASU TOTAL 33-76 .303 18-51 .261

1998-99 Idaho State 6-20 .231 4-12 .250 8/9

1999-00 Idaho State 8-19 .296 3-13 .188 T8/9

2000-01 Idaho State 14-14 .500 10-6 .625 3/9

2001-02 Idaho State 10-17 .370 3-11 .214 7/8

2002-03 Idaho State 15-14 .517 7-7 .500 T3/8

2003-04 Idaho State 13-18 .419 7-7 .500 T2/8

2004-05 Idaho State 9-18 .333 3-11 .214 8/8

2005-06 Idaho State 13-14 .481 4-10 .286 T7/8

2006-07 Idaho State 13-17 .433 8-8 .500 T5/9

2007-08 Idaho State 12-19 .387 8-8 .500 T4/9

2008-09 Idaho State 13-19 .406 9-7 .563 4/9

2009-10 Idaho State 7-19 .269 4-9 .308 8/9

ISU TOTAL 133-208 .390 70-109 .391

OVERALL TOTALS 185-319 .367 97-179 .351

The So if you can't figure that out yet...in 18 seasons, I've had one....ONE...winning season, and that was 15-14 back in 2002-03. I've had TWO winning conference seasons...10-6 in 2001 and 9-7 last year. I have had 11 18-loss seasons, and counting this year, three 20-loss seasons. Only four times in 18 years have I seen my team finish in the top half of the conference, and thankfully for Joe O'Brien, he's gotten me half of those.

At Idaho State I cover football, men's basketball, and softball, and I figured this one out too. The last time one of the teams that I cover was more than one game over .500 for the season ... was January 5, 2006 when Idaho State men's basketball was 7-5 after starting 7-2. That was so long ago the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin hadn't started yet, the Seahawks had never played in a Super Bowl, and Blu-Ray DVD players were not available in stores.

My wife swears it's not me, but after I left Belmont Abbey, the made the NCAA Tournament five years later, and Augusta State in the last 12 years after I left has had 11 winning seasons, six 19-win seasons, five 20-win seasons, one 30-win season, three conference tournament titles, five NCAA appearances, they lost in the National Title game last year, and they were ranked #1 this year.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into this....

Z and E with J and B....
Jon Zamberlin and new offensive coordinator Phil Earley joined Jerry Miller and Brad Bugger courtside on Monday night to talk football recruiting and a little Bengal football offense prior to the Bakersfield game, and fans got a great look into what ISU will be trying to do offensively, and what ISu is still looking for recruiting-wise. The amazing thing is they didn't run over in talking with Earley, who has more stories than a Dr. Suess library.

Conference Tournament Musings...
First to the women, who got a road sweep this past weekend against Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado to go to 6-6 and stay tied with Montana State for fifth place. Northern Colorado is the closest team chasing ISU, and the Bengals take on Weber State this Thursday, and a win there would give ISU sweeps over NAU, UNC, and WSU, the three teams chasing ISU, meaning the Bengals would have all sorts of tiebreakers with those teams, and would be a near lock to make the tournament.

The men's side isn't so simple. ISU is at Weber State on Saturday, and the big games are with NAU and UNC hosting EWU and PSU. Right now, it looks like the best team for ISU to catch might be Portland State, who is 5-7, as the Vikings have two tough road games this weekend, and then still have to host Weber State and Idaho State. It's still too early to figure things out, but ISU could make it into the tournament with just one win, or they could conceivably win all three and have to rely on tiebreakers, but ISU would get in with three wins. That all starts on Saturday in a rematch of the game of the year, ISU's 95-93 loss in triple overtime to Weber State.

Softball Stuff
The Bengals got one, and then lost four at the Red Desert Classic, but the team had never won in three previous trips there, and have a double header at the College of Idaho on the 27th for their next contest. The team didn't get great pitching overall, but that should improve with fourth-year junior Kandis Clesson and freshman Nora Maschue, who both had moments over the weekend, and were facing their first live opponents in an outdoor setting.

A Six Pack to Remember

2010-02-11T16:36:00.003-07:00

With three basketball games in four days coming up for the men's basketball team, it's turning into a bit of a do-or-die weekend for the Bengals, who admittedly have not played up to expectations at 6-17 and 3-8 in the Big Sky, but despite rumored reports, they ain't done yet. ISU had Northern Colorado, who will be looking for win number 20 on Friday night at Reed at 7:05 pm, and then Northern Arizona on Saturday at 7:05 pm. The weekend then rolls into Monday's 7:05 Senior night game with Cal State Bakersfield, as ISU will see six Bengals; Rolando Little, Chron Tatum, Donnie Carson, Austin Kilpatrick, Demetrius Monroe, and Amorrow Morgan play in their final home games.

You guys thought I was going with a six pack for the picture didn't you? well, I wasn't going with Taylor Lautner's abs, but I did go with the old Kenny Rogers movie, which came out in 1982 and contained one of my first movie star crushes...Diane Lane, who was 17. I can still watch her movies today...heck of an actress.

But what does it all mean for the games this weekend? I figured I'd breakdown where everyone is at, going in the league standings and working down.

Weber State, 9-2, 15-8
The Wildcats have punched their ticket into the conference tournament, as they can finish no worse than 9-7, and three schools, ISU, Eastern Washington, and Sacramento State cannot match that. Weber State's two losses are to Northern Colorado and to Montana, both on the road, and they have UNC on Saturday night. That game will be pivotal for Weber State's tiebreakers, so that's the game of the week at this point. Weber State still needs to take care of business to clinch the right to host the tournament, but a sweep this weekend puts them just inches away, or in reality, one more win. Their schedule is identical to ISU's, except they host the Bengals next week in a rematch of the triple-OT thriller in January.
(Games left: NAU, UNC, ISU, @EWU, @PSU)

Northern Colorado, 8-3, 19-5
Can they possibly be looking past the Bengals? I'm guessing the entourage that's joining Northern Colorado for the trip (SID and AD both coming, and a fan bus chartered to Weber to boot) are not coming here because Reed Gym is so cozy. They didn't bring this many folks to the conference tournament game here last year. If Northern Colorado has any prayers of hosting the tournament, they have to beat the Wildcats on Saturday night, assuming they get past ISU first on Friday, which is not a given. The Bears have won a grand total of once...once...in Pocatello since Reed Gym was built in 1951. Did I mention once? Of course, they usually weren't 19-5 either. The danger for them is a loss and Montana could catch and pass them for the #2 seed and the all-important bye into the semifinals, so they will be ready.
(Games Left: @ISU, @WSU, EWU, PSU, Johnson & Wales (seriously), @SAC)

Montana, 8-4, 17-7
I'm telling you right now...if Montana plays like they did the other night, they cannot be beaten. That said, they can't keep that pace up. Still, the team a lot of folks said was the best on paper has recovered from a 1-3 start and have gone 7-1 since. They probably woke up to late to host the tournament, but they are in a battle for the #2 seed, and if they are UNC both end up 12-4, the tiebreaker goes to the Griz, unless Portland State has a monumental collapse and ISU catches them for fifth place.
(Games Left: @PSU, @EWU, SAC, MSU)

Montana State 7-5, 12-11
This is a hard team to figure out, but as they showed int he tournament last year, even though they might lose a bunch of games (they are 12-11 after all), they can get a good run and win three straight, and that's what they will have to do. Their loss to Weber State (MSU missed two free throws in the final three seconds to tie the game...sound familiar? Weber State's boogey-man defense is awesome) means they aren't hosting, and they probably aren't catching anyone for the two-seed, unless Northern Colorado losse to someone else besides Weber, and MSU beats Montana at Montana, and if the Griz shoot like they did the other day, that's gonna be tough to do. Still, Montana State is in great position for a home game in the opening round. Much like UNC and Montana, they can clinch a playoff berth on Friday with a win and an ISU loss.
(Game Left: @EWU, @PSU, SAC, @UM)

Portland State 5-5, 10-13
Apparently Jeremiah Dominguez and those other cats were that good, because Portland State's streak of 20-win seasons is over at two. Still, this is a dangerous team that can shoot the ball from deep, and they are deadly at home (sounds like the other four, no?). That being said, they are also a little schizoid, which is the mantra of the bottom five Big Sky teams. PSU has a lot of experience, and that should count for something. They also have six games left, so they have a lot to say about the conference race, not just for them, but for everyone else. Their games this week against the Montanas are HUGE.
(Games Left: UM, MSU, @UNC, @NAU, ISU, WSU)

Northern Arizona 5-6, 11-11
The Lumberjacks have been the surprise of the league so far, as their 72% shooting day and stunning win at Portland State would attest, and you could make a pretty good case that Mike Adras is the Big Sky's Coach of the Year as no one thought this young squad would be where they were, but Cameron Jones is the great equalizer (Steve Shaff, you can borrow that), and the 'Jacks have won games at home and just enough on the road. However, this is a do or die weekend for them, having to go to the league leader in Weber State, and then they travel to ISU with a chance to either deliver a knockout blow to the Bengals, or really tighten the race, and even slip out of the top six. While the UNC/WSU game is the game of the week, the NAU/ISU is a fitting undercard. NAU has tough games from here on out, and just two at home, and they are probably the team ISU has the most realistic shot of catching.
(Games Left: @WSU, @ISU, EWU, PSU, @SAC)

Idaho State 3-8, 6-17
The Bengals are still breathing, and in reality, although it's tough, one good home weekend puts them amazingly in sixth place. Before we get to Friday, this much is clear...ISU has to beat Northern Arizona, because they own the tiebreaker with the 'Jacks if they do, as long as Montana finishes ahead of Montana State (or if ISU beats UNC on Friday, as long as either UNC or Montana finished ahead of MSU). A would at the very best put ISU two behind NAU with three to go, and NAU owning the tiebreaker. If ISU sweeps this weekend and NAU is swept, than ISU is the sixth place team with three to go. What that means is ISU better win on Friday as well. Oh that Weber State loss...oh that Sacramento State one point loss...oh, you get the picture.
(Games Left: UNC, NAU, @WSU, @PSU, @EWU)

Sacramento State 3-9, 9-16
The Hornets have nine losses, so they aren't in the same boat as ISU, and in fact it's worse, because they haven't beaten any of the top six teams, so they have zero tiebreakers, except over ISU and Eastern at this point. Still, they could finish 7-9 and squeak in somewhere, but it would mean a sweep at the Montanas and of NAU and Northern Colorado, and I'm guessing that's not happening. I suppose you never know, and the Hornets are a much more confident bunch,a nd Brian Katz is proving to be an excellent coach or this pesky squad.
(Games Left: @Seattle, @MSU, @UM, NAU, UNC)

Eastern Washington, 2-8, 6-18
Not as bad a shape with only eight losses, but they have a tough road ahead of them as well, and would need to at a minimum beat NAU and a few others and get some help. The have already played PSU twice and were swept, so their best shot is catching NAU. That shot is a longshot though with a tough schedule left as they have to face the top four one more time still, although three are at home.
(Games Left: MSU, UM, @NAU, @UNC, WSU, ISU)

Bottom line for Idaho State....sweeping the weekend could change everything...it could put them in sixth place with three to go, and I'm telling you that ISU is a lot like NAU....a scary team in the tournament that you don't want to face.

'10 Version May be Deepest Under Coach Z

2010-02-10T13:09:00.037-07:00

I try to avoid absolute statements when it comes to evaluating Idaho State's football roster, especially when it's six months until training camp begins. Too many things (players leaving the program for any number of reasons -- or late recruits) can happen between now and then. But after last week's additions on national signing day, I took a quick look at the Bengal roster and my initial impressions are that this may be the deepest team John Zamberlin has fielded at Idaho State. Heavy emphasis on the word may, because there are too many unknowns between now and August camp.

Areas where ISU has really been hurting for capable bodies the last few seasons appear to have more than enough players to create a competitive atmosphere come August. For example, at running back, where the Bengals had a hard time finding a healthy body to put on the field at times last season, there now appears to be at least seven legitimate candidates for playing time. They include newly-announced JC transfers Jahmel Rover (above) and Tavoy Moore, as well as holdovers Jordan Scott, Ben Laporta, Skylar Morgan, Darrius Coleman and Stew Tracy. None are sure things, mind you. Rover and Moore both had JC injury issues; Scott never got healthy enough to take a snap at ISU last year; Morgan and Laporta missed time last year, as well, Tracy had fumblitis and Coleman is unproven as a redshirt who may switch to the secondary.

But at least there are enough candidates, as the roster stands today, to present new Bengal offensive coordinator Phil Earley some options.

Same deal on the defensive side of the football. As I noted in my signing day evaluation, the Bengals have invested at least a dozen scholarships in the defensive line over the past two seasons. The result, if everyone stays healthy and they all return to the program, would be a defensive line that is three deep at every position. At defensive end, for example, you'd have returning starters Sean Rutten and Jeff Tuua; situational pass rusher Jarrid Nash; Rustin Phillips and Jake Rouser, who both started to come on last year before injuries intervened; and redshirt freshmen Jake Pele, Justin Vae'ena, and James Bergren.

At tackle, you have the two new JC transfers, Marcus Austin and Jordan Monga; returnees Chad O'Donnell and David Tyler; and redshirts Rob Tramonte, Tuiasosopo Niusulu and Isaiah Walker.
So you can almost predict improvement through sheer numbers in the two areas where Idaho State struggled the most recently, in the running game and up front defensively. Here's a quick look at the rest of the pre-spring football depth chart, by position.

Quarterback

One of the thinnest positions on the team by experience, but one of the deepest in pure numbers. Russel Hill, a part-time starter for the past three seasons, will likely be the man to beat come fall camp. He'll have the benefit of spring ball to learn Earley's new offensive system, while JC transfer Grayson Galloway will have to start picking things up during summer 7-on-7s. Behind those two will be a pack of youngsters: redshirt freshmen Kyle Morris and Jake Lammers; greyshirts Justin Level and Mike Davenport; and true freshman Riley Sessions, if the later doesn't go on an LDS mission first.

Wide Receivers

Some folks were surprised the Bengals didn't go for a junior college player to help fill out this position, but Moore, the running back, can line up in the slot, and they did sign a promising freshman athlete in Demetrius Cowherd who could wind up at receiver. Even if those two don't contribute right away, the Bengals still have decent depth here: Kelvin Krosch really came on at the end of last season; Isaiah Burel is a deep threat when healthy; and Roderick Rumble and Shaquille Senegal both got meaningful reps at the end of their true freshmen seasons.

Then there is the case of Andrew Benavides, who was on his way to an outstanding freshman campaign when he suffered a career-threatening injury vs. Northern Arizona last year. It will be interesting to see if Andrew came come back from that scare and play with the same reckless abandon that made him so effective before the injury.

Another injured freshman, Tubotein Taylor, also returns at receiver. Taylor suffered a broken ankle in a pre-season scrimmage and it may take him awhile to regain his explosiveness, as well.

Tight End

This is another position where a new JC transfer (Andrew Zamora) will add depth to a group of youngsters who all got significant playing time last year: Bryant Ward, Josh Hill and John Van Vliet. In addition, Tyler Hjelseth, who missed all of last year with injury, has two years of playing time under his belt at the position.

Offensive Line

The Bengals' offensive line took a lot of criticism last year, but when push came to shove, the ISU coaching staff opted for young depth rather than several JC transfers at this position. Four starters return: Mark Clampitt, who could play any position along the line; guards Mitch Rudder and Braedon Clayson; and tackle Travis Nua. Junior college transfer Elijah Rule, at 6-5, 335, played center in JC, but his frame may dictate a move outside to tackle.

Experienced depth will come from among Demetrius Grant (if he's healthy), Brad Shedd, Nick Tranmer and, if he stays on the offensive side of the football, Minh Williams.

The Bengals are bringing in three greyshirt freshmen here: Dave Frederickson, who originally signed with Hofstra; and the McElwain twins, Sean and Ryan, out of Eagle. The greyshirts will have the benefit of spring football, meaning they may be more ready to contribute in the fall than normal first-year linemen. Capital High's Nick Beckman will likely redshirt. Returning missionary Stetzon Bair, who is listed at 6-7, 245, reportedly has packed on another 30 pounds on his mission. Whether that means he'll contribute immediately or go on a crash conditioning program remains to be seen.

Defense--Linebacker

This is a position where I think Idaho State may be as deep and talented as most teams in the Big Sky Conference. AJ Storms, an all-conference performer as a sophomore, and Phil Arias, ISU's No. 2 tackler last year, both return here. Add Basim Hudeen, who was Hofstra's second-leading tackler last year, JC transfer Setaleki Fuapau, who at 240 pounds could be a situational pass rusher like Nash; Jeremy Gibson, who likely would have started last fall at OLB before academics bit him; and J.T. Albers, who saw significant time on special teams and at backup MLB.

If all of those players return and remain healthy, the Bengals will have plenty of fresh legs to put on the field late in the game, and their special teams will get a big boost.

Secondary

This is a position where I think the Bengal coaching staff may still be a bit concerned, particularly at the corners. The safety spots look fairly stable, with returners Chris Holmsley and Dustin Tew, Hofstra transfer Greg Melendez and Phil Pleasant, who saw significant action last fall. The corner spots, however, are iffy, as in, "if they get eligible," Kelvin Miller and Kenny Viser may be the starters; if not, then you're looking at Keith McGowen, Cameron Gupton and Brenan Ghassemieh. Cowherd could also be a candidate here.

Kicking Game

This one is a real "TBD." With both their starting place kicker and punter departing, the Bengals looked hard for a punter and a place kicker to challenge redshirt freshman Brendan Garcia, but they came up empty by signing day. I would expect at least one, maybe two late additions here.

Return to Hillsboro

About ten years or so ago, Idaho State played Portland State in Hillsboro Stadium, a high school facility located in the Portland suburbs, while the city's PG&E Park was being renovated. ISU will get the same experience this fall, with PG&E undergoing another renovation, this to accommodate Portland's new MSL soccer franchise. While Hillsboro Stadium usually accommodates high school teams, it's not a bad facility and they are installing a new field turf playing surface there in anticipation of the extra use it will get this fall.

While we're on the subject of Portland State, the Vikings are joining the ranks of FCS teams who are scheduling two big "money games" this season against FBS opponents. The Vikings, under new head coach Nigel Burton, will play Arizona State and Oregon of the PAC 10. Last year, Idaho State played both ASU and Oklahoma, Weber took on Wyoming and Colorado State and Northern Arizona played at Arizona and Mississippi. The Bengals will play two FBS opponents again next season: at Utah State and Georgia.

Recruit Updates

It's always fun to take a look at how early signing basketball recruits are doing during their senior season. Here's an update on Idaho State women's recruits:

PG Sheryl Bitter: Is averaging 12.5 points, 5 assists and 2.6 steals a game while shooting 39 percent from three-point range for the 11-10, 6-2 Shelley Russets.

2G Kara Jenkins: Averaging 4 points a game on an undefeated Auburn Riverside team that is ranked 30th in the nation by ESPN. Has to share the ball with a University of Washington recruit and several other talented teammates.

F Cydney Horton: The 6-foot post player is averaging 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds a game for her Cherokee Trails, Colo. high school which has already more than doubled its win total of five from last season.

--Brad B.

New Recruiting Crop Heavy on Immediate Help

2010-02-03T18:25:00.028-07:00

As befitting a football team that has struggled recently, Idaho State went heavy on what Bengal coach John Zamberlin (right) and staff hope will be immediate assistance in the recruiting class announced today. That class includes eight junior college players and two transfers with significant playing experience from the defunct Hofstra program. The experience was all focused towards areas of persistent need for the Bengals: some beef on the defensive front and some speed on the offensive side of the football.

Before I give you my off-the-cuff impressions of this collection of new Bengals, let me give me you my standard disclaimer: Other than some highlight videos, I haven't seen any of these kids play so I have no idea who among them will be impact players; if history is any indication, some of these kids will never see the field for Idaho State; and there will more than likely be later additions to the roster who make an impact (a punter, for example?). One other disclaimer: I haven't been able to verify who on the current ISU roster may not be returning, so my analysis is admittedly based on old data. We'll hopefully update that as spring ball approaches.

Okay, now to the "instant analysis":

Anybody Need a Quarterback?

By my count, new Bengal offensive coordinator Phil Earley will have at least six signal-callers to work with next fall, including returning starter Russel Hill and incoming junior college transfer Grayson Galloway. Behind them will be a slew of redshirt, greyshirt and true freshmen, including Justin Level, Riley Sessions, Jake Lammers and Kyle Morris. And what of returning missionary Mike Davenport, who is scheduled back in town next fall? It will be difficult for anybody to beat out Hill, who has three years experience as a part-time starter, even though he'll be learning a new system under Earley in the spring. Galloway presumably will be given the best shot at unseating Hill, but he won't have the benefit of spring practice to learn the new system.

History tells us that a deep quarterback depth chart has a way of thinning itself out. With very few reps available beyond the No. 2 quarterback once the season begins, frustration will set in and you can bet some of those players won't be in Pocatello this time next year. In the meantime, Earley, who has coached quarterbacks in the "big time," will have plenty of raw material with which to work.

Do Numbers Equate to Quality?

If everyone with eligibility returns, Idaho State will have 12 defensive linemen on the roster next year who have been recruited over the past two seasons. And that doesn't include regulars like Sean Rutten and Jeff Tuua, or Mihn Williams, who played on both sides of the football last year. That's a huge investment in one position -- will it finally pay off in productivity?

ISU had only eight sacks last year, and the Bengals are hoping the two junior college linemen they are bringing in, all of whom appear to be tackles, will create pressure from the inside. The guys who may be counted on to bring pressure off the edge may be players who were originally signed as linebackers: senior Jared Nash, who played both end and LB last year and led ISU with 3 sacks; and Setaleki Fuapau, who had 5 sacks as a JC linebacker last fall.

Whoever lines up in the trenches for the Bengals will have to do it without the guidance of Joe Cullen, last year's line coach who has apparently returned to the National Football League with Jacksonville.

Potential Over Proven Production

The Bengals have clearly needed help in the running game the last couple of years, and speed has definitely been a missing ingredient. ISU signed two junior college players to add to a deep, but unproven stable of runners: Tavoy Moore, who may be more of a slot receiver than a running back; and Jahmel Rover, a 5-10, 205-pounder. Injuries slowed both last year-- Moore caught only 10 passes and had nine carries; Rover was limited to 498 yards rushing in 111 carries. The ISU coaching staff is gambling that Rover and Moore will not repeat the experience of Jordan Scott, last year's junior college running back addition who missed a significant amount of time in JC, then couldn't get healthy enough to play at all last year.

Linebacker Should Rock

With all-conference AJ Storms and No. 2 tackler Phillip Arias returning, the Bengals have added Basim Hudeen, who piled up 111 tackles in his Hostra career; the aforementioned Fuapau; and Gregory Melendez, who plays like a linebacker/strong safety hybrid. If I didn't know better, I'd say ISU was building the roster for a 3-4 defense. No matter how they line up, if everyone stays healthy, linebacker should be a strength for the Bengals. And when it comes to special teams play, you can never have too many athletic linebackers on your roster.

O-Line? No Worries

While Idaho State's offensive line was much-maligned last year, the Bengals apparently feel comfortable enough with the experienced returnees that they recruited only one player likely to see the field immediately -- huge Elijah Rule, who could plug the hole left by departed center Ryan Henry, or switch to tackle, allowing Mark Clampitt to move inside. Either way, the coaching staff is making a big commitment to the four returning starters and their immediate backups, bringing in a bunch of freshmen who are unlikely to contribute next season rather than JC or four-year transfers.

Georgraphy Class

While the Bengals flirted with a lot of Eastern Idahoans and may eventually convince a few of those kids to walk on, they wound up signing only three players from this end of the state: Salmon quarterback Sessions; "legacy" Kole Krosch of Mackay, who hopes to follow in his older brother Kris' footsteps at linebacker; and a surprise signing, Pocatello fullback Wes Howard, who could wind up at linebacker or defensive end. The Bengals did tap the Boise Valley for four offensive linemen (including the McElwain twins, who signed last year and greyshirted); and defensive end Beaugh Meyer, who had 13 sacks while playing on a broken fibula last year, and may be one of ISU's more intriguing signings. ISU added eight in-state players, seven from California.

The immediate need for JC help meant Zamberlin pretty much abandoned his traditional recruiting ground of Washington state: only Rule, who was recruited out of a California JC, played his high school football in the Evergeen State. Montana, by comparison, signed seven players from Washington this year, compared to only three Montanans.

--Brad B.

Row and Gilchrest: ISU's Dynamic Duo

2010-01-26T14:01:00.034-07:00

The best thing about Idaho State's overtime victory over Portland State Saturday night was the grin from one Amorrow Morgan ear to the other. Row (right) had just put up 30 points on the Vikings in front of his mom and sisters, who came from Memphis for the weekend to watch him play. A polite, humble young man Row was brimming with joy at the Bengals' sweep of Eastern Washington and PSU, and the fact his family was able to witness it in person.

Amorrow, whose father passed away just about a year ago, is truly one of the good people to come through the Idaho State basketball program, and he's having one of the greatest senior seasons in the last 30 years of Bengal basketball. Things started off rough for Morgan and the Bengals this year, and a lot of folks (Coach O'Brien and this blog, included) have pointed to Row as the player who was going to have to lead his teammates out of the doldrums. Boy has he responded.

After half a Big Sky Conference season (eight games), Morgan leads in scoring (22.9) and three-point shooting (68 percent), ranks sixth in field goal percentage (53 percent) and eleventh in rebounding (5.1). Should his league scoring average hold up, it would be the best by a Bengal since Lawrence Butler, who led the nation in scoring, averaged 31 points a game in the Big Sky during the 1978-79 season.

And as Morgan has exploded, so too has his fellow backcourt mate and Memphian, point guard Broderick Gilchrest. The junior college transfer is fifth in the league in scoring in conference games only (16.8), third in assists (3.6), second in three-pointers made per game (2.8), tied for first in steals (2.5), sixth in three-point percentage (48 percent), and 15th in field goal percentage (49.5 percent).

ISU's dynamic duo is averaging almost 40 points a game in league play (39.7), the best one-two punch in the Big Sky by far (Weber State's Damian Lilliard and Franklin Session are second at 34.9). If Morgan and Gilchrest can sustain those numbers, they will be the best one-two scoring figures in league play for ISU over the last seven seasons, better even than the Marquis Poole-Scott Henry inside-outside combo who averaged 37.7 points in league play in the 2003-04 season.

Watching these two blossom in recent weeks has been pure joy. Gilchrest capped his emergence with a big steal and a thunder dunk Saturday night, right after it looked like PSU had snatched the momentum with a controversial non-call and a technical foul against O'Brien. The Reed Gym crowd was already in a frenzy over the officiating and PSU had rallied to claim the lead when Gilchrest swooped in, stole the in-bounds pass near half-court and followed with a throw-down, sparking a Bengal rally. ISU lists Broderick at 6-foot-1, but O'Brien says he's really closer to 5-11, making the dunk all the more dramatic.

Both Gilchrest and Morgan have shown they could score from the get-go this year, but what has really made them unguardable has been their recent emergence as three-point shooters. Morgan shot only 27 percent, Gilchrest just 26 percent from the arc in non-league play; in the Big Sky, Morgan has elevated his shooting percentage 41 points, Gilchrest 22 points. Both already had great ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the glass. Now, defenders have to close out hard on them or risk their draining a three.

The Big Sky season is only half over and we know league coaches will be watching plenty of video and devising new schemes to slow down the dynamic duo. The law of averages surely will play a role, as well; nobody expects Morgan to finish the conference season at 68 percent from three-point range. And the heavy workload (Morgan is averaging 39.8 minutes a game in league play, Gilchrest just 39 -- slacker!) could eventually get to them.

So Chron Tatum and Austin Kilpatrick will have to continue their recent offensive productivity, and hopefully Demetrius Monroe, Donnie Carson and Sherrod Baldwin will provide more consistent contributions. In the end, however, it will be the dynamic duo of Gilchrest and Morgan who will carry this team on their shoulders. It will be fun to see how far they get.

The Next Amorrow Morgan?

The Bengals will return five scholarship perimeter players next year if all goes according to plan: Gilchrest, Baldwin, senior-to-be Mike Lacey, redshirt freshman Eric Segert and Phyllip Taylor, who is sitting out this year while trying to get his grades in order. But the player most likely to become the next Amorrow Morgan, at least eventually, may still be playing high school basketball in Arizona.

The Bengals inked 6-4 wing man Andre' Hatchett during the early signing period in November, and he is having a very nice senior season. Hatchett was named to the all-tournament team of the prestigious Arrowhead Desert Classic in Glendale at the beginning of this season. He's averaged over 20 points a game over his last four games of the season, even while having to share the ball with Terrell Stoglin, Tucson's all-time leading scorer and an early signee with the University of Maryland.

O'Brien said on our coaches' show Monday night that Hatchett reminds him a lot of Morgan, who came to ISU out of prep school. They are similar height and weight, and Hatchett is confident putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket, which has always been Morgan's biggest strength. Like Morgan, Hatchett is playing a lot of small forward in high school, so there will be an adjustment period for him learning to play the two guard and expanding his shooting range at the college level. But if Hatchett has the work ethic of other recent Bengal two-guards -- Logan Kinghorn, David Schroeder, Matt Stucki and Morgan -- he should contribute early, and be an all-conference quality player by the end of his Bengal career.

With center David Busma expected to be granted a medical redshirt for this season and return next year, O'Brien will have to sign six players this spring, and he only has seven campus visits left to offer under NCAA rules. He's going to have to be very judicious about who he brings on campus, and may even have to convince a player or two to sign without an official trip. The spring signing period begins April 14.

--Brad B.

ISU Men's and Women's Tennis Desktop Schedules

2010-01-26T10:09:00.014-07:00

The Idaho State men's and women's tennis teams hosted its season openers against Utah State last week. Though both teams fell 5-2, the Bengals showed some competitive strength especially on the men's side who had several close matches. Junior Danel Barrenechea and freshman Nate Gross posted singles victories, while on the women's side ISU captured its first doubles point sin since April of 2008. Freshman Amy Bettis swept the day with a doubles and singles victory. Head Coach Bobby Goeltz expects the teams to perform better than they have in years. Be sure to watch ISU's transformation during the men's remaining five home games and the women's remaining six.

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Holt Arena or Reed Gym?

2010-01-25T07:15:00.005-07:00

After ISU swept Portland State and Eastern Washington in Reed Gym last week, there was renewed buzz about moving all Bengal basketball games from Holt Arena back to Reed. Here are the pros and cons of moving back to Reed Gym that I've heard over the years. Let us know what you think and we'll kick around the topic with Bengal Coach Joe O'Brien on the coach's show tonight at 6 p.m. on KSEI 930 AM:

Pros of Moving to Reed Gym

1. Players practice most of the time there and love it.

2. ISU has played very well there and shoots very well there.

3. The game atmosphere is much better there than spreading 2,000 people throughout Holt Arena.

4. Fans don't have to pay to park there.

Cons of Moving Back to Reed Gym

1. Parking, concessions and rest rooms aren't as nice or available in Reed.

2. Holt Arena, which is a separate entity from the athletic department, loses parking and concession revenue.

3. The seats are less comfortable in Reed.

4. The students get pushed under the baskets and up in the balconies to make room for the season ticket holders on the floor seats.

5. In the past, ISU Coach Joe O'Brien has said Holt is a better venue to recruit to.

Post your comments below and we'll share your thoughts on the show tonight.

Thanks,

--Brad B.

Front Page News

2010-01-21T11:26:00.003-07:00

OK, so it's not about Idaho State, but pretty cool for Donnie Carson and Chron Tatum to be on the front page of ESPN.com's men's basketball site.

---Frank

At Mid-Season, Here's the Task At Hand

2010-01-19T13:40:00.024-07:00

This weekend marks the turning point for Big Sky Conference men's basketball teams, the half-way pole when every team in the league has played every other one. The women, meanwhile, are a week behind, not having played any games in December. Nonetheless, the Idaho State men's and women's teams approach this critical weekend in dramatically different circumstances. The women are 4-1 in the league, unbeaten at home and with two road wins in their pockets. The men, meanwhile, are bringing up the rear, 1-5 with two very damaging home losses and road losses to two of the teams immediately above them in the standings.

Here's a little historical perspective on what each squad faces coming down the stretch:

Montana has won the women's title every year since the Big Sky Conference expanded to nine teams in 2006-2007. The Griz have averaged just over 14 conference wins a season and have not lost a home conference game during that time. Everyone acknowledged before the season that this was probably a rebuilding year for the Griz, who were picked to finish behind Portland State in both pre-season polls. Montana has indeed slipped, getting swept on the Portland-Eastern road trip (the one the Bengals will take this weekend), and losing their best player, freshman Katie Baker, to a knee injury in the process.

The Griz are still very much in the title hunt, however, having maintained the "Missoula mystique" with a 3-0 home mark. They are just two games back of Eastern Washington. The Eagles are certainly sitting in good shape with a 5-0 mark, including three road wins to date. The Bengals sit in second, 4-1 and plus-two in the road breakthrough category, with PSU and Montana each a game back in third. Needless to say, this weekend is a critical one for Andrea Videbeck (above) and her teammates' championship hopes. If they get swept, they could trail EWU by as much as three games with nine to play. A split puts them in decent shape, particularly if they get it by beating the Eagles. That would assure them nothing worse than being a game behind Eastern with six home games left for the Bengals. And a sweep? Well, that would really put ISU in the catbird seat with all those home games remaining.

The men, meanwhile, are staring up from a deep hole in their attempt to just make the top six and get into the Big Sky Conference's post-season tournament. Since the Big Sky went to nine teams, six has been the fewest wins needed to get into the tournament, and one year the Bengals were the last team in with an 8-8 mark. Assuming they'll need six this year, ISU must win five of their last 10 games, half of which are at home. Noting that ISU has already lost on the road to two teams (Sac State and NAU) that were considered among the weaker teams in the league before conference play, one has to assume that getting a road win, any road win, is going to be a chore from this point on. So the Bengal men need to win out at home, starting with a two-game stretch against EWU and Portland State in Reed Gym this weekend.

If you assume that the sixth place team will do better than six wins, now you're talking about the Bengals sweeping the remainder of their home games and somehow finding a way to get a road win in Montana, at Weber, or in Cheney or Portland, where Joe O'Brien has never won. The odds get a lot longer under that scenario, but the Bengals can't worry about things out of their control. They have to get wins, and Reed Gym has been extremely good to O'Brien and his ballclub. Let's hope that good fortune holds out this weekend.

Basketball -- Anybody?

Last Saturday night's crowd of just under 3,000 for the ISU-Weber State game was extremely disappointing to those who remember the "good, ole days" when the Wildcats used to attract over 6,000 fans to Holt Arena. The fact is, attendance is down significantly at Idaho State and around the Big Sky Conference this year. After 69 games, the league is well on its way to setting another all-time low for home attendance with an average of 2,111 fans for Big Sky home games. That would fall well below last year's previous record low of 2,298, although one can assume that more conference games will result in a jolt upward as the season goes along.

But the Big Sky has averaged fewer than 3,000 fans at its home games every year but one since the 1996-97 season, the first without Boise State and Idaho in the league. And with a few minor exceptions, those numbers keep going down every year.

Idaho State is not immune to the trend. The Bengals have drawn an average of 2,118 fans to six home contests this year. That's down from 2,755 last year, a season that got a real boost from having BYU, Utah and Utah State all come to Pocatello. Without those three in town, average attendance would have been worse than the 2,370 ISU drew in 2007-08, or the 2808 they attracted per game in 2006-07.

And the Bengals are not alone -- Boise State is averaging just 2,634 fans per contest in cavernous Taco Bell Arena, the University of Utah's Huntsman Center, which can accommodate 15,000, is drawing 8,694, the lowest mark since the facility opened 40 years ago, and BYU is attracting a little over 12,300 per game, down from the 13,300 mark of last year, and a far cry from the Danny Ainge-Fred Roberts days of the early 1980s when the Cougars routinely filled the 22,700-seat Marriott Center.

There are any number of theories as to why college basketball (regular season basketball, at least) is not drawing well outside of a few big conferences like the ACC and the Big Ten: too much basketball on television and via the Internet, competition from professional teams (the Jazz have certainly cut into Utah, BYU and Weber State crowds), loss of interest from the students, the economy, you name it. My personal theory is that a regular season basketball game at any level -- NBA, college or high school -- is simply not special any more. With a satellite dish and a DVR, you can literally watch basketball 24 hours a day, seven days a week from November through March -- and catch up on the "classic" games during the summer. Except in very special places like Kentucky, North Carolina and Indiana, where attending basketball games is "an experience," the average fan has become so jaded, he or she is not willing to spend the money or exert the effort to go to just a regular-season basketball game.

For a basketball traditionalist like me who grew up watching high school games in packed gyms in small-town Illinois, that is a sad reality. Nobody can convince me that anybody was having any more fun than the 2,900 or so fans who showed up to watch Weber State's triple-overtime thriller over the Bengals Saturday night, whether you were wearing white or purple. But life has gotten a lot tougher for basketball marketing departments all over the Intermountain West.

Football Recruiting Notes

I ran into Bengal defensive coordinator Brian Strandley after the coaches' show Monday and he tells me ISU is getting very close to filling its upcoming recruting class. Strandley said ISU may take up to 20 recruits, depending on the grade situation of some candidates. He feels very good about the interior defensive linemen who have committed to date, and he's hopeful they'll greatly improve the pass rush for the Bengals by providing a good push up the middle. He said the Bengals are still in the market for an "edge rusher," but haven't gotten a commitment from that position yet.

Interesting Link from Bozeman

Montana State has added an "Ask the AD" feature to their web site. Their athletic director, Peter Fields, provides an interesting answer to the swirling speculation about the future of MSU and the Big Sky Conference. The Q-A hasn't been updated since mid-December, but there is some interesting discussion here.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.

It's Always Fun During Weber Week...

2010-01-13T15:46:00.003-07:00

Well gang, it truly is always fun during Weber State week, and with the women's team in Ogden on Friday night and then the men hosting the Wildcats on Saturday, well...it's just a fun week for everyone involved.

Anyways, lots of little things going on, so here's a little rundown of the little things.

The Little Things...
Dan Angell has a nice story about the trails and tribulations of Rolando Little, who had to really work to get eligible, and then work hard to stay eligible, and then ended up having a major medical setback. Also, Tim Flagstad, who sadly is leaving town shortly for a new gig outside of the sports world in his home state, wrote a great piece on the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center.

But Their Stories on the Official Site are Awesome
Well, the men's and women's tennis teams have not been overly successful in the past few years, much to the chagrin of Katie Zigars, our Asst. SID and tennis contact, who was a former player on the team (and she was pretty good...I watched her play like twice). Anyways, it must be getting old for her to see this come over the wire, but if you read the tennis stories...they are pretty in-depth, because of her knowledge of the sport.

Morgan to Be Honored
Prior to the starters on Saturday night, Amorrow Morgan will be presented with a commemorative ball for his breaking the 1,000-point barrier when he scored in the first half against Montana State. He is the third player in four years to break the 1,000-point mark with Matt Stucki last year and David Schroeder in 2006-07.

Diversity is synonymous with Nicholson....duh...
Idaho State University is celebrating Martin Luther King Day with 10 days worth of activities for ISU's Civil Rights Celebration. While the requisite marches are going on, along with various guest speakers...but apparently nothing says Civil Rights more than the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, where Jack Nicholson plays a statutory rapist who fakes being mentally ill in order to get transferred to an institution so he can have an easier time over the last few months of his sentence. Makes perfect sense to me.

Monday Morning Press Conference Notes
Alyssa Chin of Channel 8 did a nice job of summarizing Idaho State's Monday afternoon press conference with Joe O'Brien and Seton Sobolewski.

Blum Done
Kyle Blum, who was ISU's starting quarterback last year at the beginning of the season, will not be back in the fall for ISU football, as he is 13 credits from graduating, and he does not plan to attend graduate school at ISU. That leaves ISU in the spring with incumbent starter Russel Hill along with three freshmen in Kyle Morris, Jake Lammers, and Justin Level, a grayshirt who is now enrolled.

I Hope this Helps
This can't be bad news, although the number that really matter is full-time students, and we won't know that for a few weeks. Still...it sounds good, no?

Funny...Doesn't Look a Day Over 76...
The Idaho State school newspaper The Bengal turned 100 this week. I remember for a brief time when I got here that the paper changed their name to the eXtra, but by the time the paper snapped a shot of this adorable little kid, it was back to the Bengal.

Thoughts on the Hawk, McGwire, and Moronic Hall of Fame Voters (AKA, Seriously not ISU Related, but Just a Little Topic Near to Me):
I'm going to delve on this for a minute because since I'm actively involved with a very political group1, that being the ISU Sports Hall of Fame, I feel I can interject on a couple of things with the Baseball Hall of Fame, since I'm a pretty big baseball fan.

1If you don't think there is politics and stuff with the ISU Hall of Fame, talk to me whenever I'm officially not getting a paycheck from Idaho State. That being said it shouldn't be a surprise, as I'm sure all college hall of fames have some sort of politics behind them.

Point number one is personal...I'm happy to see Andre Dawson make it in...I remember him playing, and he was a feared hitter and fielder...one of the best of his era. You can't put his numbers into the steroid era and compare. Did I say steroid era? wait...I'll get to that.

Point number two is the voting. Did you know that no one has ever been elected unanimously into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Tom Seaver got left off of five ballots when he got in...Nolan Ryan six, heck..Ty Cobb...TY FREAKIN' COBB wasn't unanimous...getting 222 of226 votes? Babe Ruth? Only 215 out of 226...thank you very much. Now, the reason for this is so moronic, but there are voters who feel that no one should ever get into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Really? Are sports writers THAT holier than thou? There isn't an argument on the planet that can back this up, but somehow, these writers insist that as the keeper of the keys to the Hall, they have that right to do that. However, this past year, do you know who got votes? Kevin Appier, Pat Hentgen, and David Segui each got one, and Ellis Burks and Eric Karros each got two!!! The full 2010 class vote is here.

But here's a good one for you...no one could have gotten all the votes this year because Jay Marriotti, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times and a panelist on Around the Horn on ESPN, turned in a blank ballot as he felt there was no one deserving. This is after he voted for Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven the year before, and Jim Rice on his 15th and final chance. Mariotti said that he voted for now one this year because "I didn’t vote for anybody in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. You know why? To me, the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an eventual Hall of Famer, not the first time. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, eventually, but not the first time. And same goes for maybe Fred McGriff. As far as Blyleven and Dawson, if they haven’t gotten in for years and years I cannot vote them in now." This is pompous arrogance at it's best. He won't be on the ISU Sports Hall of Fame voting list, I can tell you that...of course, he wouldn't care anyways.

Lastly comes the steroid issue. How do you differentiate folks out of this era? Mark McGwire has gotten 128 votes in three of the four years he was eligible. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will have their moments on the ballot in a few years. Will they get in? Should they get in? Bonds was a sure fire Hall of Famer before he got ... well, it hasn't been proven for him officially, correct? OK...before he got so big his head didn't fit inside his helmet anymore. That works. McGwire might or might not have gotten the home runs needed and he was very injury prone for a while, so he's a maybe. However, the issue I have again is the voters passing judgment for a player using performance enhancing drugs. Honestly, I sort of feel like this...I'm guessing that most sports writers have been inundated when watching sports programming with ads for Cialis2, (Viva) Viagra, and eXtenze ... who hasn't? So, have those reporters wondered about trying them? I mean I'm sure they don't need them...but hey, if it works, and no one has to know, would they try it? If they could get some (Viva) viagra, would they try it? My guess is yes, because I know this topic has come up before when watching games, and I'm saying right now, 90% of my friends and people who I have been around when this comes up have said they would try it ... and yes, I'm in the 90%. So, if a reporter would try a PED for that, can they really pass judgment on a baseball player for a PED to help him out on the field? Sadly, I don't have an answer to it, but I think it's a legitimate question.

I do realize that this has almost nothing to do with ISU athletics, but I thought it was interesting, and the topic has come up in my traveling circles...

New Desktop Wallpapers for Women's Basketball

2010-01-12T21:17:00.005-07:00

It’s terribly late, I know! I’m so sorry, but I thought I would offer it up anyway! Here are the women’s basketball wallpapers which are the back cover of the media guides. Including are eight different sizes, so there should be one for everyone.

(640x480)

(800x600)

(1024x786)

(1152x864)

(1280x960)

(1600x1200)

(1900x1200) Widescreen

Bengal Vlog: A Tour of the new Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center

2010-01-05T15:53:00.003-07:00

Bengal Soccer Ranked 18th Most Improved by Somis Sports

2009-12-29T09:56:00.004-07:00

Somis Sports has released a listing of the 25 most improved 2009 Division I women's soccer teams. Idaho State was ranked 18^th in the most improved list as the Bengals turned around a 3-12-4 record in 2008 to a 10-8-0 record in 2009. Somis Sports calculated a team's improvement by comparing its final 2009 rating to an adjusted 2008 rating. Based on the calculation, 25 teams showed the most improvement in 2009 vs. 2008. A team's rating roughly equated to net goals (goals scored minus goals against). Based on the calculation, 25 teams improved by at least 1.06 net goals per game.

ISU’s 2008 season, was the Bengals’ fewest victories since its inaugural season in 1998 when ISU went 2-14-1. In 2009, the Bengals improved to a 10-8-0 record, ISU’s first ten-win season since head coach Allison Gibson’s first season with Idaho State in 2006 where she led ISU to its fourth Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship.

The Bengals did not have an easy season in front on them. ISU welcomed ten freshmen who were led by only three seniors, including Annamarie Hofstetter who became the Big Sky Conference all-time career assists leader with 25 from 2006-09. Even with a young squad the Bengals posted a winning 6-5 non-conference record that included a 2-1 win over Wyoming and a 1-0 victory over Utah State on the road.

Idaho State posted a 4-3 Big Sky record with a perfect 4-0 stance at home where the Bengals allowed just eight shots on goal by their opponents. ISU finished the regular season with a 4-0 victory over Weber State at Davis Field for ISU to tie for third in the conference rankings securing their post season berth. The Bengals advanced to tournament championship with a 2-1 win over Eastern Washington before falling to Northern Arizona in the finals.

However, Idaho State’s achievements did not end there as head coach Gibson earned her second Coach of the Year Award when she shared the honor with Andre Luciano of NAU who capture the tournament title and Portland State’s Laura Schott who led the Vikings to the regular season title. Gibson took the honor as recognition for the team’s achievements on the field. ISU’s acknowledgement of its achievement from 2008 to 2009 stretched beyond the Big Sky with Somis Sports’ acknowledgement.

--Katie Zigars, Assistant SID

Bengal Vlog: Mark Campbell Discusses the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center

2009-12-28T09:52:00.004-07:00

Katie Zigars got a new toy for Christmas (A flip video camera), and graciously tried it out with an interview with ISU strength and conditioning coach Mark Campbell, who is anxiously awaiting the rest of his new equipment for the remodeled Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center.

Rise, Fall of ISU Football Top Story of Decade

2009-12-27T13:46:00.156-07:00

Thanks to all the Bengal fans who gave me input on the Top 10 Stories of the Decade for Idaho State Athletics. I've considered all those suggestions and now, without further ado, my list, ranked from least impact to most. Please feel free to disagree in the comments section below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

10. Idaho State's Ties to the National Football League: The Bengal football program was up and down in the decade of the 2000s, but there was one constant -- Idaho State maintained a strong presence in the National Football League. Defensive end Jared Allen was clearly the most conspicuous -- so much so, we ranked his presence alone as another of our top stories of the decade (see below). But Jared wasn't the only Bengal getting national pub because of his ties to the NFL. ISU Hall of Fame running back Merril Hoge got tons of air time on ESPN as an analyst, and he grabbed national headlines after presenting video evidence of what a slacker then-Viking WR Randy Moss was when Moss knew he wasn't the primary receiving target on a particular play. Former Bengal linebacker and assistant Coach Marvin Lewis also got plenty of attention in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl Ring as defensive coordinator of the world champion Baltimore Ravens, then getting his own gig as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Idaho State has ties to two other coaches with high-profile NFL jobs: Dirk Koetter, offensive coordinator for Jacksonville, and Kevin Gilbride, OC with the New York Giants. Koetter played quarterback for the Bengals in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Gilbride was a graduate assistant (and co-coach of ISU's first women's basketball team) in the 1970s.

The Bengals also placed a number of players in "the league" this past decade, including defensive end Jeff Charleston (Colts and Saints), linebacker Pago Tagufu, who appeared in this year's Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals; backup quarterback Matt Gutierrez (New England and Kansas City), offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith (Green Bay), and defensive back D.J. Clark (just recently signed to the Packers' practice squad). It would be great to see ISU make more use of these connections, perhaps through a joint fund-raising project for new coaches offices or a players lounge, which could include photos and displays of ISU's ties to the NFL. ISU needs to take as much advantage of this presence as they can, while they still have so many ties to the league.

9. Instability in Leadership: Idaho State went through four athletic directors during the decade and the only one that was hired as the result of a national search -- Jim Senter -- lasted the shortest time. Howard Gauthier, who inherted the AD's job after replacing the deposed Irv Cross on an interim basis, was the first to go, the victim of an internal coup that led to his firing for his supposed inabilty to raise sufficient external funds for the program.

Gauthier was replaced by Senter, a veteran fundraiser at the University of Idaho, who lasted all of 18 months before resigning for "personal reasons." While Senter was hired with a focus on raising more private money for the athletic department, he didn't enjoy all the "other responsibilities" that go with being an AD: like hiring and firing coaches and staff. He went back into the fundraising arena after his departure from ISU.

Paul Bubb, who came to ISU with a checkered past from his days at Maine and Cal-Northridge, also inherited the job, first as the interim replacing Senter, then as the full-time AD. Bubb took the ongoing facilities issue by the horns and produced an administration-backed blueprint for upgrades called "Bengal Village." Alas, Bubb was first suspended, then allowed to "resign" in 2008 following an internal investigation. During Bubb's tenure, the athletic department rang up a $900,000 budget deficit.

Finally, Bubb was replaced on an interim basis, then permanently by Jeff Tingey, an assistant AD with little experience and the added burden of being the son of ISU Vice President Kent Tingey. Critics of the hire had plenty of ammunition, but Tingey has been fairly successful to date with several new facilities upgrades either completed or on the drawing board and no internal scandal so far on his watch. The lack of continuity in the athletic director's office has made fundraising and relationship building difficult for decades at ISU. Bengal fans hope that Tingey, who is a Pocatello native, will lend the kind of stability that will improve both areas.

Ultimately, however, Tingey's tenure will be judged largely on how John Zamberlin and Joe O'Brien, football and men's basketball coaches, respectively, perform. Tingey made the decision to extend Zamberlin's football contract in the midst of a tough two-year run, after extending O'Brien's deal last spring. It's great to see lockerroom upgrades and a new video board in Holt Arena, but there's nothing like Ws in the two showcase sports to keep the boosters happy.

8. Stacy Dragila Wins the Gold: Idaho State basked in several years of free publicity when former Bengal track athlete Stacy Dragila (above) became the best female pole vaulter in the world in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That world-wide attention culminated in the 2000 summer games, when she won the gold medal in the inaugural Olympics women's pole vault competition. From being on the cover of the Wheaties box to appearing on countless hours of national television, Dragila literally became the American face of women's pole vaulting -- and the words "Idaho State" were more often than not associated with that face. The road on the south side of Holt Arena was renamed "Stacy Dragila Drive," and she continued to generate good will for ISU's track program by serving as assistant coach to Dave Nielsen during part of the decade.

7. Success of Women's Basketball and Soccer: Idaho State's two showcase women's programs reached new heights during the past decade. The basketball program won two regular season Big Sky Conference titles and two post-season tournaments, appeared in two NCAA tournaments and three women's NITs. Center Natalie Doma became the best player in ISU history and, arguably, the best in Big Sky Conference history after becoming the conference's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Both Ardie McInelly and Jon Newlee coached the Bengals to NCAA tournament appearances, McInelly after leading ISU to a perfect 14-0 conference run in 2000-2001. Doma and guard Andrea Lightfoot each staked claim to a Big Sky MVP award.

The soccer team, meanwhile, won four conference tournaments and earned NCAA tournament berths. The 2003 team achieved the team's first NCAA tournament victory with a win over Utah. Gordon Henderson parlayed his three Big Sky titles into a job with Arkansas of the Southeastern Conference. Allison Gibson came on as coach after Mark Salisbury was fired and earned two conference coach of the year honors.

6. Death of the "Pillars of the Program": The 2000s saw the passing of Bengal icons Milton "Dubby" Holt and Babe Caccia, two former ISU athletes, coaches and administrators who had been associated with the program for over 60 years apiece. Holt coached ISU's boxing team to two NCAA championships, and led Bengal swimming and track teams to conference championships. As athletic director, he conceived and executed the plans for what was then known as the ASISU Minidome, the first indoor football stadium on a college campus in America. Now known as "Holt Arena," the facility has served as both a university and a community gathering place for almost 40 years, hosting athletic events, high school graduations, concerts and rodeos.

Caccia, meanwhile, was the winningest football coach in ISU history, then succeeded his good friend Holt as athletic director, where his most meaningful act was to hire Dave Kragthorpe as football coach in 1979. Kragthorpe led the Bengals to their only national football championship in 1981. The turf in Holt Arena was renamed Babe Caccia Field shortly after Babe's 90th birthday in 2007.

Both Holt and Caccia were among the inaugural honorees in the ISU Ring of Honor. Two other inaugural members, Jim Killingsworth, the most successful men's basketball coach in ISU history, and Les Roh, ISU's all-time leading scorer in basketball, also died in the 2000s. And several other prominent ISU Hall of Famers and supporters -- Jim Fox, Earl Pond, Mel Morgan, Don Papenberg and Ralph Lacey -- also passed during the decade. These were not only great Bengal boosters, but community leaders who used their considerable influence to advance the interests of both ISU as an academic institution as well as the athletic program. Papenberg was the long-time executive director of the Idaho Dairymen, and he steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorship money from the dairymen to his alma mater. Caccia, Pond and Morgan all served on the Pocatello City Council. Lacey was Bannock County Tax Assessor and a long-time member of the Idaho State Senate. He was part of the "Bannocks," the block of Democratic state legislators that also included Chick Bilyeu and Patty McDermott, who looked out for ISU's interests in Boise. All three died this past decade.

5. The Jared Allen Experience: The All-American defensive end is a lot like the little girl with the curl -- when he's good, he's oh so good, but when he's bad... Well, let's just say Jared is never dull. He exploded on the scene as a freshman, leading ISU to its last victory over a Division I school when the Bengals beat Utah State in the final game of the 2000 season. He got in repeated trouble, both on and off the field, over the next three seasons while becoming the most prolific pass rusher in Division 1-AA football -- and probably, as we are learning from his exploits in the NFL, in all of college football.

Nothing more symbolizes the ambivalence Allen can generate than the fact that in his senior season, he won the Buck Buchanan Award as the best defensive player in 1-AA football -- but was passed over as Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP. He even irritated his own defensive coaches, who often chaffed off the record about his lack of discipline in carrying out his assignments.

Allen's escapades continued in the NFL, where he was a fourth round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and immediately became one of the top pass rushers in the league. At the same time, he picked up two DUIs in Kansas City that led him to a four-game suspension and he became embroiled in a contract dispute that ultimately led him to be traded to Minnesota, where he signed the richest contract of any defensive player in the league.

Jared still rubs some Bengal fans the wrong way when, on nationally televised games, he's been known to introduce himself as, "Jared Allen, Culinary Institute," or "Jared Allen, home schooled -- thanks Mom!" But his supporters smile, shake their heads and say, "That's just Jared." Allen, who this fall became the first addition to ISU's Ring of Honor since the inaugural class, mended a lot of fences when he donated $200,000 to upgrade the school's weight room facility. He's also, undisputably, the best professional football player ever produced by Idaho State.

4. Evolution of ISU's Athletic Facilities: Nothing better symbolized the attitude toward athletics facilities at Idaho State than the fact that the university raised over $100 million during its centennial campaign in the late 1990s -- and athletics got not one penny of it. As the new millenium dawned, there hadn't been a significant new athletic facility constructed on campus for over a decade. Holt Arena, the principle venue for football and basketball, and the "face" of the ISU athletic department to recruits and fans, turned 30 with the new millenium and looked every bit its age. Meanwhile, other programs in the Big Sky Conference, including Montana, Montana State, Weber State and Sacramento State, were aggressively upgrading their primary athletic facilities.

As noted above, athletic director Paul Bubb made a run at addressing the facilities issues with his "Bengal Village" concept. But progress was slow and no lead donor stepped forward to get the fundraising campaign rolling. In an act of semi-desperation, the university joined hands with the City of Pocatello to sponsor a bond election that would ask city property owners to fund the Holt upgrades the state refused to pay for. Despite the fact that Holt had become as much a commercial and entertainment center for the city as a university venue, the bond election went down to a decisive defeat.

As the decade began to turn, however, several glimmers of hope began to appear. First, Sylvia Papenberg, Don's widow, stepped up to donate a large tract of land in the Teton Valley that the university is trying to sell to finance a new softball complex. While the economic recession has made it difficult to find a buyer, the university is planning to go ahead with construction on a campus softball field this year, using donated labor and materials.

Then Tingey convinced the Idaho Potato Commission to fund a new, $250,000 video board to brighten Holt Arena, and that was followed by a campaign led by Donna Hays to upgrade the football lockerroom with new paint and carpeting and first-class oak lockers. Then Tingey announced that he's located a donor to fund construction of a new football practice field south of the dome that will feature field turf. Finally, Allen's donation of $200,000 will give the weight room a complete makeover.

There is still a lot of work to do to bring ISU's facilities up to the standards of the best programs in the conference (most notably a new turf for Holt Arena), but finally there is forward momentum on the issue.

3. Financial Stability of the Program: Idaho State's athletic program is heavily dependent on state funds and student fees, and when the economic recession hit last year, pressure mounted on the program. After the $900,000 deficit surfaced, significant cutbacks in staff and travel were instituted. Then, in the face of reduced revenues as the result of the recession, the amount of state subsidy for the program was whacked by 12 percent.

One of the immediate impacts of these pressures has been on the scheduling philosophy of the program's two major sports -- football and men's basketball. The football team raised about $900,000 by opening its season this fall against Division-I powerhouses Arizona State and Oklahoma, and the Bengals will play at least one money game -- at Georgia -- next year. The time when two money games a year are necessary may not be that far down the road.

The basketball team, meanwhile, annually plays one of the toughest schedules in the country, partly because of Coach Joe O'Brien's desire to toughen his team pre-conference, but also because he is asked to bring in about $300,000 a year in revenues.

Longer term, the budget situation may lead to a pitched philosophical battle over the value of athletics on campus in general, and the football program in particular. As the university cuts faculty and staff positions and continues to raise student fees significantly every year, we are already hearing isolated voices calling for the elimination or de-emphasis of football and/or athletics on campus.

2. Whither Montana and the Big Sky Conference: As the 90s changed to the 2000s, the Montana football program went from very good to dominating. The Griz have won or shared 12 straight Big Sky Conference titles and have put together a 67-8 win-loss record in conference play over the decade. No Big Sky team other than Montana has appeared in a national championship football game since Boise State in 1994, and the Griz dominance of the league has blossomed since BSU, Idaho and Nevada all left the league in the early to mid-1990s.

In a word, Griz nation is starting to get bored. Over the last several seasons, there has been a rising sentiment around the Montana program to get out of the Big Sky and start playing the Big Boys. Not coincidentally, in August of 2011, the national moratorium on schools moving up from the FCS to the FBS ends, and we are already seeing a number of schools taking a serious look at the future of their football programs. Montana athletic director Jim O'Day, in his public pronouncements, sounds more and more like the Griz are seriously considering taking the plunge to the FBS.

Where would the Griz go? Well, the Western Athletic Conference approached them several years ago about possibly moving up before taking in Utah State and Idaho. And there is a lot of talk about expansion in some of the BCS leagues, which could create a domino effect that opens room for Montana in a western FBS league. What would happen, for example, if the Big Ten seduces Missouri from the Big 12? Would the Big 12 then grab TCU, opening a spot for Boise State in the Mountain West, thereby creating a hole for Montana in the WAC?

One thing is clear as all this speculation continues to build toward the end of the moratorium in 2011: FCS football is largely a money-losing proposition. Two FCS schools, Northeastern and Hofstra, have already announced they are dropping football. Other schools will be looking hard at whether to move up or get out of the football business entirely.

And if Montana goes, can Montana State be far behind? What would a Big Sky Conference without one or both of the Montana schools look like? Could it survive, or would West Coast outliers like Sac State and Portland State go different directions? The future of the Big Sky Conference -- and where the Bengals fit in -- may well be the dominant story in the next decade of ISU athletics.

1. The Rise and Fall of Idaho State Football: It was a decade of highs and lows for the Idaho State football program, although the highs never quite seemed as intense as the lows. The Bengals started the new decade in the middle of a rebuilding job by Larry Lewis and his staff, and a couple of strong recruiting classes seemed to have the Bengals on the brink of greatness. ISU did break through just enough to grab a three-way tie for the Big Sky title in 2002, but even that was bitter-sweet: the Bengals were the tri-champion left out of the national 1-AA playoffs.

For every significant step forward the program took in the early 2000s, it felt like a step backward soon followed. What appeared like a seminal victory over Division I Utah State to end a 6-5 season in 2000 was followed by a 4-7 (1-6 in the Big Sky) collapse in 2001. The 2002 tri-championship season could have included ISU's first trip to the post-season since 1983, except that the Bengals lost by a field goal to a 6-5 Portland State team. The 2003 team saw a thrilling three-game win streak that included double-overtime wins over Eastern Washington and Montana come to an abrupt end in beatdowns by traditional road nemeses Weber State and Northern Arizona.

And when those great recruiting classes of the early 2000s were exhausted, and when Lewis had lost so many assistants to Division I programs, the momentum of the rebuild finally ran its course. ISU finished 3-8, 5-6 and, with expectations soaring with the addition of Michigan transfer quarterback Matt Gutierrez, 2-9 to bring the Lewis era to a close after the 2006 season.

Despite the inconsistency of the program under Lewis, ISU always seemed to play well at home and they put points on the board. That kept interest in the program relatively high, even through the disappointing last three seasons of Lewis' tenure. Then Idaho State brought in John Zamberlin, fresh off a successful run at Division-II Central Washington where he led his team to a couple of big upsets of Big Sky Conference members.

Most Bengal fans appreciated the down-to-earth demeanor of the former New England Patriot linebacker and his reputation for tough, physical football teams at Central. They granted him a grace period that included a 3-8 initial season, as he built his program, tweaked his staff and brought in his recruits. But when there were few signs of improvement in back-to-back one-win seasons, the critics came out in force.

The Zamberlin era has been marked early on by a relatively high attrition rate among recruits, and by significant shuffles in the coaching staff. As the year comes to a close, Zamberlin is still looking to hire his third offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in four seasons. The Bengals did provide a bit of optimism at the end of what began as a desultory 2009 season, taking Montana to the last play of the game before losing by a field goal, then beating Portland State at home. Early reports on this recruiting class appear positive and Coach Z is close to bringing a veteran offensive coordinator on board.

But in these tumultous times of budget cuts, uncertainty about the future of the conference and grumblings about the viability of FCS football, Idaho State cannot afford to have a non-competitive football program for very long. Athletic Director Jeff Tingey acknowledged Zamberlin's willingness to take a hit for the athletic program through brutal scheduling when he gave the coach a two-year contract extension in mid-season. Zamberlin immediately declared this was not going to be a "stay of execution" for his staff, but rather an opportunity to build the foundation of a long-term winning program. When we look back in 2020 on the top stories of the upcoming decade, how Zamberlin and his staff proceed from here will be one of the biggest.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being a Bengal fan -- it ain't always easy, but it's always fun.