COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Roddie Anderson III has always been a scorer, so the thought of going scoreless was a foreign concept to him.
But three games in a row without scoring? Safe to say it’s probably never happened in his life.
Anderson, Boise State’s starting point guard, didn’t have the start to the season he was hoping for after transferring from UC-San Diego. That seems like forever ago at this point.
The 6-foot-2 Anderson has been maybe the biggest catalyst for Boise State’s recent offensive surge as the Broncos look for a fourth straight win Tuesday night against Air Force at Clune Arena.
“It’s been an adjustment for sure,” Anderson said Monday. “I struggled a lot early in the season. … but I trusted myself and the work I put in and it’s been paying off.”
Boise State (19-8, 10-4 MW) has shot at least 53.7 percent from the field in three straight games – all wins by at least 20 points over Fresno State, San Jose State and Wyoming. The Broncos have the 5th-best effective field goal percentage in the country during that span, according to BartTorvik.com.
The offense has looked as good as it has all season the past 10 days – and Anderson has been a big reason why.
“Roddie has probably had his two smartest offensive games the last two against San Jose and Wyoming,” assistant coach Tim Duryea said. “He took what they were doing against him and used it against them. He did a great job of that and freeing other guys on the floor for shots and getting in his spots where he can operate. He’s been a big key to our offensive production.”
That wasn’t always the case earlier in the season.
Anderson, who was second at UC-San Diego with 13.1 points per game last year and the Big West Freshman of the Year by at least one publication that covers the league, scored at least 20 points in five of his final 12 games for the Tritons. He had just nine games all season in which he didn’t score at least 10 points.
In his first nine games at Boise State he had just 36 total points and didn’t score more than eight in a game. He scored 12 points against Northwestern State but then scored just 10 total points in the next five games.
Rock bottom came in a three-game stretch against Utah Valley, San Jose State and Colorado State in which he didn’t score a single point. He took 10 shots – and missed them all.
“To be honest my play style has changed a complete 180,” Anderson said. “Last year I was just a scorer and I’d go to the basket whenever I wanted, but now I’m learning to be a true point guard. I’m learning to control tempo and control the pace of the game but also getting my shooters open shots.
“It’s been a huge adjustment but I’ve been working on it. The coaches have been patient with me and I’ve been patient and it’s starting to pay off.”
Against Colorado State he didn’t score – but he had eight assists to lead the Broncos to an important win. And that’s when things started to click. Anderson could still be a difference maker without scoring – and he realized the Broncos didn’t need him to score to win.
But coaches stressed his opportunities to score would soon come. And they did. Anderson had 12 points and four assists in a road upset win at Nevada, and he’s gone on to average 8.1 points in last 12 games after averaging just 3.9 points in the first 15.
He’s reached double figures four times since, including 12 points at Wyoming on Saturday. He’s also got 10 assists the past three games after having 10 total in the previous seven games.
“I don’t think people understand how hard it is to completely switch up your game like that,” Anderson said. “It was part of the adjustment period. And playing against more athletic players, it’s harder to get to the basket so I’m learning how to get my shots higher off the glass and stuff like that.”
Anderson still has the occasional head-scratching turnover – he had two frustrating ones on fast breaks against Wyoming – but the good is largely out-weighing the bad at this point.
He had a stretch in the second half against the Cowboys in which he twice scored on driving layups to the hoop – one of which he got fouled on and made the free throw – and then stole the ball and hammered home a one-handed dunk.
The potential has always been there. He’s finally starting to look more comfortable and show it.
“He can get the ball wherever he wants to, it’s what he does with it when he gets there,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “The key to becoming a great player is how coachable you want to be. … You can’t get good and better if you aren’t willing to be coached and I think Roddie has hit that where he enjoys being coached and he understands that it’s really, really helping him. He’s that close. He’a really, really getting there. He had a really good game against Wyoing and was that close to having a great game.
“He came here because he wanted to be a point guard. There’s a million guys who are 6-1 and athletic and can score, but what can separate him down the road is becoming an elite point guard. We’re not taking the scoring out of him. That’s all going to come and be really easy for him as he becomes a better and better point guard. You take a great athlete like Roddie and team him how to play like a 30-year-old? Now you’ve got something.”
UC-San Diego went 10-20 last season. Anderson was a good player on a bad team – and his big games offensively would often come in losses.
That’s been part of his adjustment – sacrificing personal stats to help the team in the most important stat: wins. And it’s working. Boise State is tied for first place in the Mountain West and a win away from having twice as many wins as Anderson had last season.
“Winning is the most important thing,” Anderson said. “I could have gone somewhere and played the same way and just be a scorer but now I’m making the winning plays and doing whatever my team needs on every possession.
“It means everything to be able to win consistently like this. It’s been huge for me. I think last year we went through a stretch where we lost like 11 straight games. So it’s been fun. I’m super competitive and I hate losing. That’s maybe the worst thing in the world for me.”
Anderson and the Broncos haven’t lost much of late. And he’s a big reason why.
Tip off Tuesday night against Air Force is set for 7 p.m. on the Mountain West Network. Bronco Nation News will be live from Clune Arena at the Air Force Academy at 6 p.m. with the Lithia Ford of Boise Pregame Show on Twitter, Facebook and X.
