Vandal men tabbed 5th by media, 6th by coaches in WAC preseason poll; Barone returns to practice

The Western Athletic Conference preseason men’s basketball polls were released on Wednesday.

A year after going 9-5 in league play and finishing third in the conference, members of the WAC media and coaches predicted the Vandals to finish in fifth and sixth respectively in 2012.

2012-13 Preseason Media Poll
1. Utah State (15), 232
2. New Mexico State (8), 223
3. Denver (1), 181
4. Louisiana Tech, 162
5. Idaho, 144
6. UT-Arlington (1), 137
7. UTSA, 104
8. Seattle University, 77
9. San Jose State, 61
10. Texas State, 54

2012-13 Preseason Coaches Poll
1. New Mexico State (5), 77
2. Utah State (5), 76
3. Denver, 65
4. Louisiana Tech, 54
5. UT-Arlington, 48
6. Idaho, 45
7. UTSA, 31
8. Seattle University, 22
9. San Jose State, 18
10. Texas State, 14

Senior Kyle Barone returned to practice with the Idaho men’s basketball team this week, but will not play in the Vandals exhibition game against Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

Idaho head coach Don Verlin suspended Barone indefinitely on Oct. 8 for a violation of team rules.

The news was announced shortly before Barone was arraigned on a DUI charge in the Whitman Country District Court the same day.

The University said that they are waiting for the legal process to play out before they make a decision on whether or not to lift the suspension.

According to the Idaho Sports Information Department, Verlin expects to know within the next two weeks.

Barone is the school’s active leader in nearly every statistical category.

He was named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference First Team on Monday.

Kyle Barone
2011 Stats
Pts/Game    12.9*
Reb/Game    8.0*
Blk/Game     1.5*
FG%           54.8*

Career Stats
Points         917*
Rebounds    578*
Assists        93*
Blocks         86*

*Team Leader