Leon Rice took over the second fiddle in a town that only cared about the top dog. Imagine one night, the Beatles were playing across the street from your local house band. Let’s just say Tony and the Trumpets might just be performing in front of the bartender.
Rice arrived in the Treasure Valley in 2010, taking over the Broncos’ men’s basketball program that was constantly finishing around .500 in the WAC. Meanwhile, across the street, football was king. Chris Petersen was at the helm. Kellen Moore was running the show. The Broncos were in the national championship conversation.
So you could picture the scene at Taco Bell Arena on November 13, 2010, when Rice coached his first game against Western State. A day earlier, Petersen and Moore hung 52 on Idaho in Moscow and, perhaps, the parties lasted through the night.
“You could have fired a cannon in (the arena) and not hit anyone during that first game,” Rice said Tuesday. “Nobody was here. I could just see (my son), Max, and just saying to him, ‘Just think how cool it’s gonna be when this place is full.’”
The place was packed for the home finale last year, when the sold-out crowd rushed the court after the Broncos upset victory over eventual national runners-up, San Diego State.
And it will surely be full for a majority of contests this year. Boise State doesn’t have all the data to determine if the season ticket sales are at an all-time high, but the numbers are ahead of where they were this time last season.
During a time when the football program has struggled — the Broncos are 2-2 right now — Rice and his team have grabbed a nice market share in this town.
Enthusiasm is high. Interest is high. Expectations are high.
After the Broncos fell in the NCAA Tournament last season, Rice boldly told BNN that he was going to bring a “super team” to Boise State.
The Broncos added highly-touted freshmen Andrew Meadow and Chris Lockett. They nabbed experienced transfers — center Cam Martin (Kansas), center O’Mar Stanley (St. John’s) and point guard Roddie Anderson (UC San Diego). And the Broncos were the only Mountain West team that didn’t lose a starter to the transfer portal.
Months later, Rice believes he came through with a super team.
“I do. I do,” he said. “And super team, everyone hears that and thinks we’re gonna get the best 10 players in the country. No. There are two words — (super and) team. And we brought in the best team guys.”
The Broncos held their first official practice on Tuesday, an unofficial start to the college basketball calendar. This moment used to mean something. These days, it’s really just a reason for team social media accounts to post.
The truth is that Boise State has been practicing — albeit sparingly — for weeks. Actually months. Because the Broncos took a foreign trip to Canada over the summer, they were afforded 10 practices leading into the excursion and then played three games up north.
The clear takeaway: It looks like Boise State has depth. Meadow came off the bench during the Canadian opener and dropped 31 points. Stanley had 16 points and 8 boards in the second game. Martin had 15 one game. Jace Whiting had 17 in another. Stars Tyson Degenhart and Chibuzo Agbo had big games despite not playing their normal minutes. It was encouraging.
“We do need that depth,” Rice said. “It wasn’t just because I didn’t want to play a bunch of guys (last year) that I didn’t. There was a drop-off. I think it was pretty evident and anyone who watches basketball understood that. This year, what I saw in Canada, there were times when we subbed and we got better.”
Not only does Rice have his super team, he has a much better idea of what his super team will look like.
“We’re far along. We could play a game tomorrow,” Rice said. “We played games in Canada and we looked organized and we felt like they knew what they were doing and played together. … I don’t think I’ve ever been in this spot where it’s (September 26) and we could play a game tomorrow.”
The hope is the extra preparation results in a little smoother takeoff. In the previous two seasons, Boise State has made the NCAA Tournament despite starting 3-4 and 1-2, respectively, with losses to UC Irvine, CSU Bakersfield, South Dakota State and Charlotte.
This season, Boise State’s first month includes a game against San Francisco, an away game at Clemson, neutral site matchups versus Virginia Tech, either Iowa State and VCU and a contest against Saint Mary’s in Idaho Falls.
It’s a high-reward slate that the Broncos are confident to face.
“I don’t have a lot of complaints about this group,” Rice said. “I just love the direction and character of these guys.”
