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LOCATION: Pocatello, ID
CONFERENCE: Big Sky
LAST SEASON: 6-20 (.231)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 4-12 (8th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Bengals
COLORS: Orange, White & Black
HOMECOURT: Holt Arena (7,983)
COACH: Doug Oliver (San Jose State '73)
record at school 6-20 (1 year)
career record 6-20 (1 year)
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ASSISTANTS: Jay McMillin (Nebraska Wes.'88)
Louis Wilson (William Jewell '88)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 18-11-14-6-6
RPI (last 5 years) 129-241-236-289-272
1998-99 FINISH: Didn't qualify for postseason.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Call Idaho State the mystery team of the Big Sky Conference. Second-year coach Doug Oliver has recruited four junior college players to Pocatello three of whom stand 6-foot-9 or taller to help right a program that has won just six games in each of the last two seasons. But even Oliver isn't sure how much those tall newcomers will help. "Last year was very typical for a transition year," Oliver said. "We had some carryover from the previous staff that we tried to mesh with the kids we brought in. We weren't very good. We were competitive but not good enough to win. We've made some changes with our recruiting class that will make us a good Big Sky basketball team. We'll be much-improved. Whether that translates into wins, I don't know." The league's fourth-leading scorer last season, senior Kevin Sweetwyne (17.3 ppg), returns at off guard, giving the Bengals a big-time scoring threat. Sweetwyne (6-2, 185), who had 30 or more points three times during the conference season, penetrates well and shoots better than 40 percent from three-point range. "He's a very explosive scorer and physically strong," Oliver said. "And he wants to guard the other team's best player. I have no qualms with that. I'm able to demand these things now that we have some quality backup players."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH D
FRONTCOURT D INTANGIBLES D
Shooting guard Kevin Sweetwyne is a top-notch offensive player but tends to fall asleep on the defensive end. And last season he didn't prove himself to be the type of team leader one would expect as the team's best player. That's where the loss of point guard Jordie McTavish might be felt the most. If Sweetwyne improves in those two areas, the Bengals should improve as well. But, as the Bengals proved last season, Sweetwyne can't win games all by himself. It will take significant contributions from all of ISU's new faces to get the Bengals back to the Big Sky Tournament for the first time in three years. |
One of those players is 6-3 junior Tim Erickson. The Salt Lake (Utah) Community College transfer, who averaged 17.0 points last season, will spell Sweetwyne. "He's in the same mold," Oliver said. "He gives us another offensive weapon." The Bengals were dealt a blow at point guard when 6-1 junior Jordie McTavish was lost for the season to a knee injury while playing over the summer for the Canadian national team. ISU will seek another season of eligibility for McTavish, who transferred from Utah before last season. "If Jordie had been healthy, with his experience, he and Kevin could have been a real quality backcourt," Oliver said. Instead, incumbent Stephen Brown (7.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 82 assists), a 6-0 senior, will keep his job at the point. "With one year in our system, he'll be much better," Oliver said of Brown. "The style of play we brought in was night and day from previous years." Senior Chadd Sukut (2.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg), 6-0, will see some time behind Brown. Oliver has overhauled the frontcourt with his recruiting class. Ammer Johnson, a 6-4 senior will still own the job at small forward, but the other two jobs are up for grabs. Oliver said Johnson (8.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is inconsistent but capable of more. Six-foot-four sophomore Brandon Anderson (2.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg) played 11 minutes a game last year and will back up Johnson again. Battling for the center position will be Doug Silva, a 6-11, 225-pound junior transfer from San Joaquin Delta (Calif.) College, and J.T. Nelson, a 6-10, 235-pound sophomore from Pocatello who has returned from a mission for the LDS Church. Silva averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in junior college. Vying for the power-forward slot will be Chad Tracy, a 6-9, 215-pound junior from Snow (Utah) Junior College, and Matt McDonald, a 6-10, 205-pound junior from San Jose (Calif.) City College. Tracy averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in his final year at Snow. McDonald averaged a double-double a game (10.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg) at San Jose. If nothing else, the transfers and Nelson will add bulk to the Bengals' lineup. "I look at those four guys to really change our style," Oliver said. "They'll give us go-to guys at the post, where we were more a perimeter team last year." The transition from former coach Herb Williams' wide-open teams to Oliver's more controlled approach is nearing completion. "We're more of a set offensive team where they were more of a motion team in the past," Oliver said. "Defensively, we're half court with inside-out help, where they were more pressure. It took us a long time to get where we were. We were undersized at the post position for what we do offensively, so we made wholesale changes with recruiting." Oliver is setting modest goals. "We have the capability of being a .500 basketball team," he said. "And making it to the Big Sky Conference Tournament." To do that, ISU must post a better record at home, where it was 3-8 last season. "We've got to try to create a home-court advantage," Oliver said. "It falls upon our shoulders as a team to be exciting and win to get the fan base behind us. If we can do that, Pocatello will become a tough place to play."
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