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Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
Warrior men's basketball welcomes new faces, battles same expectations
- Story byLewiston Tribune, Idaho
- Warrior men's basketball welcomes new faces, battles same expectations
Oct. 22—In Austin Johnson's 11 years of being a head coach, the Lewis-Clark State men's basketball boss said this year will be the most unique he has ever had.
The Warriors lost their all-time leading scorer — John Lustig of Colfax — after a four-year career. They also lost four-year forward Grayson Hunt of Pullman and starting point guard Peyton Nordland to graduation. Johnson knows the production that went out the door will be hard to replace, but an injury bug to this year's team has made the evaluation process harder.
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Johnson said 11 of their 18 players have missed at least a week of practice. He wants to see certain rotations play together and see how certain guys mesh with each other but has not been able to.
With all of this at the forefront of Johnson's mind, it doesn't change the fact that the Warriors open their season Friday at the Fultz Memorial Classic with a game against Park-Gilbert, followed the next by a matchup with No. 3 Arizona Christian and on Wednesday an exhibition in the Kennel at Gonzaga.
Even though the Warriors are coming off a Cascade Conference Tournament championship appearance and an NAIA Tournament appearance, Johnson said, "Who we were last year has no bearing on who we are this year," and if LC State wants to get back to playing games in late February and March, it will have to look a lot different.
Ceiling rides on the forwards
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Johnson wants to be able to run two-forward lineups this year. This is a look Warriors teams under Johnson have run before, but four guards have been more common. Both lineups have their pros and cons, with a guard-heavy lineup being prone to physicality issues.
"That (four-guard and one-forward lineup) can create some positives offensively, but you're also at disadvantage (in) post defense or even rebounds and stuff like that — just the physicality of the game," Johnson said.
Johnson mentioned this year's team has multiple forwards who can stretch the floor as plus 3-point shooters. This can create an advantages on offense and fit well alongside the guard rotation.
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"We have a couple of forwards that can really shoot it, and so can we space the floor, stay big on the glass because we have smaller guards, so that's something I'd like to try and do," Johnson said.
Offense will get the forwards a chance on the floor — but defense will decide who stays in the rotation.
"It all goes back to if we can guard when teams go small," Johnson said. "If teams go small and we can't guard them, then the size doesn't matter. You got to go small and match that."
Junior forward Josh Salguero is a returner who started in 21 games before suffering a broken hand. He averaged 6.6 points and five rebounds per game on 58.2% shooting from the field. Salguero separates himself from the rest of the group by being a back-to-the-basket big and serving as the Warriors top rim protector. Salguero, who stands at 6-foot-8, has been dealing with back issues this offseason but is a projected starter if healthy.
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Junior forward Dallon Morgan (6-9) returns after starting in 20 games, averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting 36% from 3 on 3.5 attempts per game.
Lewiston High graduate Royce Fisher is a 6-foot-5 freshman forward that Johnson said can "really shoot it" and "should be shooting a lot." Fisher was lethal from long range during his prep career with the Bengals, averaging 25 points per game as a senior en route to 5A Idaho State Player of the Year honors.
Gavin Matuska is a 6-foot-10 freshman that can pass and shoot it effectively, especially at his size. Mateen Usui is an athletic redshirt-freshman that Johnson projects to be a rim-rolling big that can finish lobs.
Johnson said this year there will be a bigger emphasis on screen-setting and floor spacing, which leaves a lot of room for a wide-open forward rotation to make an impact.
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More on their shoulders
The emphasis on setting good screens and spacing the floor comes from the offense holes left by Lustig and Hunt's departures.
"You could just throw the ball to him (Lustig), and he'd go score it on pretty much anybody, and we definitely don't have that," Johnson said.
"What we missed about Grayson was when the game was chaotic, you could throw it inside to Grayson, and he could help slow you down cause he's really good on the block," Johnson said.
The Warriors retained Dylan Skaife, last year's second-leading scorer. Skaife started all 32 games his sophomore season, averaged 12.5 points per contest and led the Cascade Conference in 3-pointers made with 90.
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Brandon Suber returns after appearing in 32 games and finishing fifth in the Cascade Conference in assists (102). He also averaged 10.3 points on 51.4% shooting from the field.
Johnson also mentioned senior Titus Yearout — a Lapwai native — transferring from Idaho. Yearout didn't play didn't play last season during the Vandals' run to a Big Sky Tournament title and March Madness berth because of an injury.
"Brandon Suber, Titus Yearout, Dylan Skaife — we need those guys in the guard spot to have some firepower," Johnson said.
"I've tried to really push the returners, especially guys like Brandon and Dylan Skaife," Johnson said. "I've tried to be harder on them this year so far because this year, we play with a different group and now more is going to be on their shoulders and can they handle that? Obviously, you can handle the good, the success that comes with that, but can you handle the pressure and failure that comes with that as well?"
Wysup can be reached at 208-848-2268, hwysup@lmtribune.com , or on X @HaydenWysup.
