Post play will prove coaches wrong

The coaches don't know everything.

The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball coaches recently voted Idaho to finish eighth out of nine teams this season (That Team From Boise was inexplicably chosen as the fourth-best squad, but let's leave that one alone for now.) I certainly think the coaches are a better judge of quality than the media. That said, I think they're underestimating the power of the post.

Idaho is going to get after teams this year with the best big-men group to come through Moscow in a long, long time. Meet the core participants:

Kyle Barone: This smooth 6-10 junior improved a lot in his sophomore season, but in a limited role. This year, with center Marvin Jefferson gone, he'll get way more than the 15.8 minutes per contest he averaged a year ago. He's not going to block four shots per outing or dominate the glass, but his soft touch and above-average moves around the basket make him potentially the best player on the team.

Luiz Toledo: At 6-8, 225, he is the perfect size to play power forward in the WAC. He made 64 percent of his shots last season, averaging 7.4 points per game. If he can take advantage of increased opportunities, hopefully he'll up that figure to about 11 points, along with around six rebounds. That would be huge for the Vandals.

Brandon Wiley: If you don't remember this guy, you probably weren't following the Idaho basketball team much before last season. Before sitting out the whole campaign because of injury, this 6-6, 218-pound tweener forward was one of the hardest-working players in the program. In fact, even at his relatively small height, Wiley led the Vandals in rebounding in 2008-09, with 5.6 per game.

If he's the same player he was before the injury, then he, Toledo and Barone could compose one of the most formidable post trios in the WAC.

Renado Parker: Here's a player you definitely haven't heard of, unless you follow junior-college basketball. He's a former First-Team Junior College All-American at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene.

If he gives the effort needed to succeed in Division I college basketball, he'll be in the conversation for the Newcomer of the Year Award at season's end. He has unreal footwork, a silky-smooth stroke all the way to about 18 feet, and a Pac-10 body. He's an absolute load at every bit of 6-6, 255 pounds.

Parker is an elite talent, but he's also prone to fits of defensive apathy. If he doesn't bring consistent hustle in this regard, I don't think coach Don Verlin will give him much of a chance to show what he can do with the basketball in his hands. If he does amp up his effort, he'll be a starter in no time.

These obviously aren't Idaho's only big men, but if just three of these four guys deliver as they can, Idaho will blow that No. 8 poll position out of the water.