Vandals embark on Farrar era
By Dale Grummert, Lewiston Tribune

November 25, 1997

MOSCOW -- Dave Farrar has essentially launched three recruiting campaigns in the past nine months -- pre-Kermit, post-Kermit and finally one that Farrar may call his own, for next season.

Now, finally, he can concentrate on coaching.

The Vandals open the Farrar regime tonight at 6 at Memorial Gym against an NAIA school, Montana Tech.

The Vandals' rebuilding project, complicated by their plunge into the Big West Conference, was begun last season by Kermit Davis, but reverted almost to ground zero when Davis quit nine days before the spring signing date.

Since then, Farrar has acquired five players for this season and four for next year, and believes he needs three or four more recruiting crops to get the program moving impressively on its own steam.

"The simple truth is this is a great university and right now it's a tough basketball job," said Farrar, 50, the former Middle Tennessee State head coach who joined Davis' staff at Idaho last year. "But we've got a good product to sell. We just completed our recruiting for the year and we feel very good about that."

As an example, he points to Anthony Lewis, beginning his senior year at Franklin High in Seattle.

"I think we got one of the better kids in the Seattle area, and definitely the kind of person you want to be around," Farrar said. "He has a legitimate chance to come in as a freshman and play."

Farrar even seems pleased with the group he corralled hastily last spring after Davis' defection. The first of those acquisitions was announced almost a month after the signing period had opened, and three players -- Eddie Hampton, Deon Cash and Josh Toal -- signed without visiting the campus.

The coach points in particular to 6-foot-6 forward Clifford Gray, who "is exactly the type of player we need to have in this league."

Yet this year's Vandals are not expected to threaten the balance of power in the Big West. Despite a sudden coaching change last month, New Mexico State is favored to win the Eastern Division, and Pacific is supposed to repeat in the West.

Farrar actually picks Utah State in the East, a choice that looked a bit wiser when the Aggies, coached by ex-Idaho boss Larry Eustachy, knocked off Minnesota on Monday.

"I truly believe his team has the most base and has a little better talent than it's been given credit for," Farrar said. "I don't think they're as athletic as New Mexico State."

In the six-team East, Idaho is picked fifth by the media and dead-last by the coaches. A casual look at the roster explains why. Only one player tops 6-7.

Because the Vandals are of middling size, they must avoid a middling approach to their offense.

"We need to be a tempo-conscious team," Farrar said. "We need to get the easy baskets, but we cannot be an in-between team. We cannot come up the court haphazardly and take a quick shot.

"We have to have our best players take the best shots, and we have to give the defense a chance to break. We can't just play, then look up later and see who's ahead."

In other words, the Vandals need to watch the scoreboard. And maybe ignore the win-loss record for a while.

IDAHO ROSTER

Cameron Banks, G-F, 6-5, jr.
Kris Baumann, G, 6-1, sr.
Kevin Byrne, F, 6-8, jr.
Deon Cash, G-F, 6-5, jr.
Avery Curry, G, 6-2, jr.
Clifford Gray, F, 6-6, jr.
Eddie Hampton, F, 6-7, jr.
Jon Harris, G-F, 6-5, soph.
Kirk Hessing, F, 6-5, soph.
Adam Miller, G, 5-10, fr.
Troy Thompson, F, 6-4, sr.
Josh Toal, G, 6-2, jr.
Mao Tosi, F, 6-7, jr.

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