 "Photo: N/A")
Melvin Morgan is one of the few positive stories from early on in the Idaho State Bengals men's
basketball season. A junior college find, Melvin took over a starting role early in his first season
at Pocatello.
"It feels great to succeed individually; [in] a couple [of] big games I had, my shot was falling.
Good things were happening, so it felt great," said Morgan of his early-season heroics; but
individual success isn't what the junior guard is most interested in. It's coming together as a
team.
In a season filled with adversity, the loss of a head coach, a string of losses and little fan support,
the Bengals still carry their pride on their sleeves. "[During] the last couple [of] weeks, the things
we worked on as far as our team … I think we're way better than our record suggests," said
Morgan when talking about Idaho State's play so far in the season.
"I feel like, and the team feels like, this is a turnaround period. We've been down, we've hit rock
bottom as a team – but we can only go up," said Morgan.
Part of their enthusiasm stems from a come-from-behind victory against Sacramento State, "That
was real big because we've been needing a win for a while now, and to get a Big Sky win like
that – what a comeback from 22 down with eight minutes – it feels great," said Morgan.
As a transfer, Morgan has had plenty of opportunities to see basketball played at many levels.
There are differences at every level that make them more challenging than the last. "The speed of
the game is way different, and I would say maybe the size – some of the players are bigger, at all
positions," said Morgan of the transition to Idaho State.
"I think I bring leadership, to be a transfer, you know I'm seasoned. I bring leadership to
the team, and I bring offense; overall, just being a good teammate and being there for my
teammates," were the things Morgan thinks are the most important that he does for ISU.
Basketball is a team game, but every player needs to have an understanding of what their role
is on the team, and it seems that coach Martin has helped each player to know what theirs is.
Morgan is no different. What is most important for him to help the team? "Staying focused on
what my team needs me to do making good decisions," said Morgan.
There is still a lot of time for the men's program to win games and make it to the Big Sky
tournament. "We, as far as the Big Sky goes, it's a long season … we have some games coming
up that we should win and our record should be looking a lot better," said Morgan about the
remaining schedule.
Attendance has been low at Idaho State basketball games; support needs to improve in order to
help the basketball team achieve success. "We need to get better. The more we win, the more
[the fans] come," responded Morgan.
So what is the key to ISU becoming a winning program? "Energy and defense; if we play with
a lot of energy, and we play our defense … that's the point where Bengal basketball will turn
around" said Morgan.
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