Ben Wilson Could Start at PG for Idaho State

After my outlook on Idaho State, I got an interesting comment on twitter from Kyle Franko, and a link to a discussion about a Bill Evans radio show, which both had the same interesting nugget that I wanted to talk about a bit on here.

In the show, Evans said that if he had to make a lineup now, junior Ben Wilson would be the starting PG. In my preview I had surmised that perhaps freshmen Ian Fox or Geno Luzcando may be able to start right away, but it doesn't appear that will be the case, at least as of now.

Wilson is a 6'6'' guard that redshirted last season (initially due to the NCAA, then a team decision), and at first seems to be an interesting choice as the lead guard. As a sophomore, he averaged just 1.8 APG, and seemed to be more of a wing. However, without many other options, he is the early choice.

One thing that he has going in his favor is his intangible skills, as he was praised effusively by his junior college coach for his leadership skills and ability to be great teammate. Another interesting thing to watch is what he could bring defensively to that position, as at 6'6'' and 200+ pounds, he would surely be the largest point guard in the Big Sky, which could help the Bengals wreak a little bit of havoc on the defensive side of the court.

ISU had the sixth best rate of forced turnovers in the Big Sky last year, and Evans mentioned that he wants to pick up the tempo on both ends. Wilson could be valuable in that role. It's hard to say at this point how well Wilson would do as the ball handler and distributor, I trust that if Wilson does start, Evans feels comfortable enough about those skills, particularly because their other wings (Chris Hansen and Nnamdi Ezenwa) aren't necessarily great at those things.

Anyway, an interesting tidbit and something else to watch for from the Bengals this year.

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Idaho State Outlook

It's time to get ready for the Big Sky season again with some overviews of each team this month, and then eventually we'll get into more detailed looks at everything.

What They Lost: The biggest loss is do-everything guard Tomas Sanchez, who was really their only PG on the roster last season. Sanchez played an astounding 95.3% of the team's minutes, which was the fourth highest mark for anyone in the country last season. His numbers were solid (but not great), but he was the guy with the ball in his hands at every key moment. It remains to be seen who that guy will be for them this year.

Andre Hatchett was one of the most improved Big Sky players last year, as he became a surprisingly good playmaker (21.4 Assist Rate), and had the ability to play and guard multiple positions. The other loss of note is big man Ayibakuro Preh, who had the top effective field goal percentage in the country last year, courtesy of shooting 37/52 from the floor.

Who Returns: The biggest returner is probably Chris Hansen, who is one of the best shooters in the conference. He made 75 threes last season, and has perhaps the quickest release in the Big Sky. He will need to be able to create his own shots a little bit more this season, but having him around helps space the offense well. Also returning is forward Jeffrey Solarin, who was one of the best offensive rebounders in the nation despite being just 6'4''.

Beyond those two guys, just role players return, a function of the losses and the fact that ISU was not a very deep team last season. Evann Hall showed some flashes as a sophomore in his first year, but he was not much of a scorer. Andre Slavic appears to be a talented forward, but he didn't get much time last year.

Newcomers: Marcus Bradley is a 6'7'' forward that should be a key cog for their frontcourt. He was an early Bill Evans recruit, and could have an immediate impact as a junior. Likewise, senior forward Nnamdi Ezenwa redshirted last season, but started four games two seasons ago. Those two should add to what should be the strength of team, up front with some athletic and versatile guys.

In the backcourt, the Bengals will be hoping that guard Geno Luzcando or Ian Fox are ready to play right away. Both are talented, but it might be a stretch to think they can lead the Bengals into the conference tournament in year one, if they are asked to contribute that much. Ben Wilson redshirted last year, and projects as a wing who can do a little bit of everything for them.

General Outlook: I think ISU is going in the right direction under Bill Evans. They haven't made the conference tournament in his two seasons, but they were close last year, and Evans has upgraded the talent base from where it was when he took over. Though they appear to be closer to the bottom than the top this year, they seem to have a nice incoming class, and they will break through eventually. It could be this year, if they can have some production from the youth in the backcourt.

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Some Idaho State Roster Updates

Within the past few weeks there have been some happenings on the Idaho State roster, and they are not positive for this year's team.

- It seems as promising recruit Marcus Bradley did not qualify academically, and will miss at least the first semester. It is possible he could join the team in the second semester, but would possibly redshirt if that happened. He is no longer listed on ISU's roster.

- The word is that forward Andre Slavik and Ben Wilson possibly played in unauthorized overseas tournaments, costing them each a year of eligibility. Slavik in particular looked like he could be an impact post, and Wilson was a good glue guy.

- Senior forward Nnamdi Ezenwa appears to be redshirting. Not entirely sure why at this point.

I was projecting Bradley to be a starter up front, but it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Slavik start some games as well. Those are big losses for the Bengals this season.

ISU fans, thoughts? Are you hearing the same things regarding these guys?

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Idaho State Signs Ben Wilson

Last week, Idaho State added to their big recruiting class with the signing of junior college guard Ben Wilson. Wilson is 6'6'', and attended North Platte Community College the last two years.

Just signed my NLI to Idaho State university ! Thanks to everyone who ha helped me get to this point twitter.com/bjwilson92/sta…
— Ben Wilson (@bjwilson92) May 13, 2013

He averaged 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last year, but drew a ton of praise from his coach for the intangible things that he brought to the court. Among the quotes:

“Ben was instrumental in helping our team qualify for the National Tournament as a two-time All-Conference player and an All-Region IX selection this year,” said head coach Kevin O'Connor. “He was one of the best leaders to ever play for our program and was a very good all-around player. In addition he was a 4.0 student academically. We will miss Ben and wish him the best of luck at Idaho State University.”

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“He was the big reason our chemistry was so good,” the coach said. “He was a really good teammate. He wasn’t interested in scoring as much as getting his teammates involved in the offense.”

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“He probably leadership-wise was as good as we’ve had,” O’Connor said. “He was a good all-around player both offensively and defensively.”

He naturally draws some comparisons to former Bengal Chase Grabau, since they are similar physically and both attended North Platte CC. The Bengals would be thrilled if he had the same impact Grabau did, as he was one of the best players in the conference his senior year. At the very least, he should be a solid teammate and could be a contributor for the Bengals. Given his leadership ability and praise from coaches, he will add a nice dynamic to the Bengals.

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