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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