POCATELLO — Idaho State’s offseason bred widespread change, and all the newcomers are becoming established.

The Bengals men’s basketball team added five new players, plus a return LDS missionary, and three new assistant coaches since last season ended.

The new-look ISU squad has logged a pair of closed scrimmages and is gearing up for its season opener Tuesday at No. 3 Gonzaga.

“We have a pretty good squad. I think we’re going to shock a lot of people,” redshirt junior guard Brandon Boyd said after Thursday’s practice at the Mountain View Event Center. “We’re a lot more sound than we were last year, I believe, and a lot more deep.”

Boyd headlines ISU’s returning corps with junior Jared Stutzman. Each averaged 14.9 points per game last season and earned all-Big Sky Conference accolades (Stutzman third team, Boyd honorable mention and top reserve).

The high-scoring duo is joined by returning shooting specialists Balint Mocsan (10.1 ppg) and Gary Chivichyan (7.0 ppg), who both shot over 40 percent from 3-point range last season. The core four combine to bring back 1,285 points and 207 3-pointers at a 42.8 percent clip. Stutzman led the Big Sky in 3-point shooting last season at 52 percent.

Other returning players include Blake Truman (2.1 ppg), Sam Dowd (1.9 ppg), Lyle Sutton (eight points, 36 minutes) and Houston Wahlen (two points, six minutes). Redshirt freshman Andrew Vaughan, a graduate of Marsh Valley High School, is also on the roster after sitting out last season.

But the returning talent doesn’t come without significant loss.

Gone from the team are major contributors Geno Luzcando and Novak Topalovic, who both own real estate in ISU’s record books. Luzcando was one of the toughest defensive players in the Big Sky and was a staple in ISU’s lineup the last three seasons. Topalovic, at 7 feet tall, was a focal point of ISU’s offense last season and drew attention in the post from opponents.

Luzcando graduated, and Topalovic utilized his graduate transfer. He is now playing the University of Utah. The two combined to score 21.6 ppg a season ago and were the team’s top two rebounders. Luzcando also led the Bengals in assists, steals and minutes, and Topalovic blocked a team-high 32 shots.

ISU hopes newcomer Kelvin Jones — a 6-foot-11 transfer who used to play at UTEP and Odessa College — can fill the void left by Topalovic on the block, while it may take a committee of bodies to replace Luzcando’s production.

“He’s almost as big (as Topalovic),” Bengals coach Bill Evans said of Jones. “He can do some things that are pretty impressive defensively, especially, where Novak was a little bit better offensively than he was defensively.”

Jones is joined in the newcomer class by former Odessa teammate Alonzo Walker, a 6-foot-6 forward who said he’ll be used as a do-it-all athlete for Evans. Walker started his college career at Kent State in Ohio before playing last season at Odessa in Texas.

“Coach always says I got the hardest job on the team. I’ve got to do a little bit of everything,” Walker said Thursday. “I play everywhere. Wherever I’m needed is where I’m at.”

ISU also added 6-foot-7 guard Chidi Udengwu from San Bernardino Valley Community College, 6-foot-7 Serbian freshman Matija Ilic from Utah’s Wasatch Academy, 2016 signee Austin Smellie from Preston, and 6-foot-7 transfer Chier Maker from Palm Beach State College by way of the University of Portland.

Maker is a cousin of Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker — who played with Walker at Orangeville Prep in Toronto.

Chier Maker, Jones and Walker give the Bengals three newcomers with prior Division I experience.

“We have a mixture of experience and inexperience, but our inexperienced guys are pretty talented,” Evans said. “Three of them have had Division I experience, so it’s not like this is their first Division I game.”

Evans said major areas for improvement include rebounding on both ends of the floor, a better turnover margin and playing with tempo to properly utilize the team’s athleticism and shooters. ISU ranked near the bottom of the Big Sky in rebounding and turnovers a season ago.

If ISU can bolster those facets and maintain its top-tier shooting, the Bengals hope to surpass their preseason poll slot of eighth in the 11-team Big Sky.

“We’ve progressed a lot from when we started,” Walker said. “I’m starting to see hope for a championship now.”

BENGALS ADD TAYLOR, KILLIN, HANSEN TO COACHING STAFF

Idaho State’s new coaches include Kyle Taylor, CJ Killin and Chris Hansen, who join longtime assistant Tim Walsh on Evans’ staff. Former assistants Andy Ward and Jay Collins departed during the offseason, as did graduate assistant coach Pat Jensen.

Taylor spent the last two seasons at Utah State, and was a head coach at Division III Covenant College in Georgia before that. Killin was an assistant coach at Odessa last season, where he guided first-year Bengals Walker and Jones.

Hansen played for Idaho State from 2012-15 and is the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made.

“He’s a real bright guy,” Evans said of Taylor. “CJ has done a really good job already with our recruiting. … And Chris Hansen is our graduate guy. Played for me for a couple years, so he knows what to expect. They’re all doing terrific jobs.”

ISU TRAVELS TO PERENNIAL POWER

Idaho State opens its season Tuesday at third-ranked Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs have won six consecutive West Coast Conference championships and have made 20 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga fell to North Carolina in the 2017 national title game.

Gonzaga and ISU haven’t faced off since the 1996-97 season, but played nearly annually through the 1960s-80s. ISU owns a 33-25 record all-time against Gonzaga, but the Bulldogs hold a 19-7 advantage at home.

Gonzaga and ISU played a four-overtime game in 1978, one of four quadruple-overtime games in ISU history.

The Bulldogs received one first-place vote in the Associated Press’ preseason top-25 poll, and junior forward Rui Hachimura picked up votes in the AP’s preseason All-America balloting. Gonzaga also claims four of the 10 players named to the preseason all-WCC team.

One of those preseason all-conference picks, junior 6-foot-10 forward Killian Tillie, will miss eight weeks with a fracture in his ankle, Gonzaga announced Oct. 30. Tillie averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season, while boasting one of the best field-goal percentages in Division I (58.0).

Even without Tillie, the Bulldogs are a formidable first opponent for the Bengals.

“I’m really excited,” Evans said. “We’re going up to play a really good team in a really great environment, and it’s exciting to me. I don’t fear Gonzaga. I don’t fear other teams. Sometimes, other teams are more talented, but that doesn’t mean you have to fear anybody, and I don’t fear anybody.”

GONZAGA GAME OFFERS REMATCH WITH CRANDALL

One of Gonzaga’s biggest offseason acquisitions was former all-Big Sky guard Geno Crandall, who used a graduate transfer to leave North Dakota after three seasons plus one redshirt year.

Crandall averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 95 career appearances with the Fighting Hawks. The 6-foot-4 guard was also one of the league’s best defenders and routinely finished seasons near the top of the Big Sky in steals.

“Very good player in the Big Sky,” Boyd said of Crandall. “I can’t wait to compete against him.”

HOMECOMING FOR DOWD

Tuesday’s season opener is a homecoming for ISU senior guard Sam Dowd.

Dowd spent the latter part of his childhood in the Spokane, Washington, area and graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School.

Dowd also attended North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene for two seasons. NIC is about 30 minutes east of Gonzaga.

“The pass list is full,” Dowd said. “Mom and everybody is going crazy for tickets. High school coach is going to be there, junior college coach is going to be there. … People that I went to high school with at Gonzaga Prep, just everybody. It’s going to be an amazing deal, I’m excited.”