Portland swingman commits to UI

They tried in vain to persuade Katie Madison to stay in Moscow. Two years later, though, the Idaho Vandals are getting her brother.

Stephen Madison, a versatile 6-foot-5 swingman who helped Jefferson High in Portland, Ore., to a state championship, has given an oral commitment to play basketball at Idaho, Jefferson coach Pat Strickland confirmed Wednesday night.

As a senior transfer from Prairie High in Vancouver, Wash., Stephen Madison averaged about 19 points a game for a Jefferson team that recently claimed its third straight Oregon 5A championship.

"I know he's excited about the opportunity to play at Idaho," Strickland said. "He had a great year. I definitely knew he was one of the guys on my team that was going to play on the next level."

Madison is expected to be one of two players who officially commit to third-year Idaho coach Don Verlin next Wednesday when the national signing period begins. The Vandals are losing three senior guards, all of them starters.

Madison's sister, Katie, led the UI women's basketball team in scoring for two straight years before going through a rocky transfer in 2008. The school initially withheld her release, hoping she would change her mind once a coaching transition was complete. She took the matter to a UI hearing board, which decided to grant the release. She eventually transferred across the state border to Washington State, where she recently completed her junior season.

"He was definitely familiar, he and his family, with Idaho because his sister went there," Strickland said. "And whatever happened with that, Stephen didn't take into account, because it's a totally different situation. The family liked Idaho from the beginning (of the recruitment process)."

Although an ESPN recruiting Web site described Stephen Madison as "one of the more intriguing prospects on the West Coast," his only other NCAA Division I offer came from Eastern Washington. Some schools may have lost interest a year ago when Madison was encountering rough academic waters at Prairie High.

"To be honest with you, I was pretty shocked that Stephen didn't get some other looks," Strickland said, "but I think some of the programs shied off because of his academic situation, which at this date in time is in full upgrade. He's definitely a qualifier."

Madison shot accurately from 3-point range this past season, topped 90 percent from the foul line, and wasn't hesitant to mix it up inside.

"His specialty is shooting, and he has an uncanny athletic ability," Strickland said. "He caught a lot of people off-guard this year because they didn't really know how athletic he was. He will dunk on you. Very versatile guy."

Madison will join the UI roster just as another Jefferson alumnus, star point guard Mac Hopson, is leaving.

"We've got that I-5 to Idaho connection," said Strickland, who was an assistant coach at Jefferson during Hopson's time there. "Mac was one of my favorites, definitely one of the better ones to come out of Jefferson."

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Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.