The Boise State men’s basketball team concluded its seven-day foreign trip to Canada on Friday and will break until the fall semester starts on August 21st.
Here’s 10 things I learned about the Broncos while in Vancouver and Kamloops for wins over Trinity Western, Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers…
Cam Martin can do more than shoot…The Kansas transfer certainly is a stretch five that will tremendously change the look of Boise State’s offense. He wasn’t shy about letting it fly from deep, hitting 6 of 9 from 3-point range. But Martin also has an impressive pump fake and a nice ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. He also has some good post moves and can score about the basket. His passing ability is also noteworthy. Some were down on Martin when he committed since he came from a Division II school, redshirted two years ago at Kansas and then was limited to four games last year due to injury, but his showing in Canada was a nice reminder that being on scholarship at two years for the Jayhawks should mean something. Martin can play. He averaged 12.7 points in less than 19 minutes per game in Canada. I was really impressed with his overall feel for the game and I’d be shocked if he wasn’t a major contributor in his one season with the Broncos.
O’Mar Stanley plays with tremendous energy…The St. John’s transfer averaged 15 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in Canada and showed off a tremendous motor. I get some of the comparisons to Naje Smith, but they really are completely different players. Smith is thicker and stronger and will be more of a force inside. He’s got nice post moves and can score on the block, but he’s a big-time dunker and was great at slashing to the rim and getting passes from teammates. I was most impressed with his rebounding ability. He plays so hard and never lets up, creating extra possessions with his ability to fight for loose rebounds. He appears to be a tremendous addition to the team and should have a major role, regardless of whether he or Martin earns the starting spot at the 5.
-The Broncos have tremendous ball movement and unselfishness…Boise State averaged 18.3 assists per game in Canada. They averaged less than 12 assists per game last season. Sure the competition wasn’t great and the three teams were undersized compared to the Broncos, but the ball movement and unselfishness was noteworthy. The ball didn’t stick. Guys didn’t try to go one-on-one or rush up guarded shots. Sure that happened once or twice, but the majority of the time the Broncos showed a great ability to make an extra pass to find an open shooter. At one point Max Rice had an open shot as the shock clock was winding down, but made the extra pass to Tyson Degenhart for an even more wide-open shot. It happened throughout the trip. The team chemistry appears to be really good off the court in the early going, and it showed with how the Broncos played together on the court. Lots of extra passes, lots of assists. That was definitely one of the more encouraging things I saw on the trip.
-The hype on RJ Keene is real…Keene was a big-time commit coming out of high school but redshirted two years ago due to a lack of available minutes and the Broncos wanting to develop him for a year. But he nearly burned his redshirt midway through the season due to a lack of depth and how well he was playing in practice. Excitement was high heading into last season about Keene’s ability to contribute – but then he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in practice. In his first competitive game action in more than two years, Keene showed why he was a highly recruited prospect out of high school. He’s got a nice outside shot (Though he only shot 3 for 8 from deep in the three games) but also showed nice bounce and athleticism. He had a thunderous one-handed dunk in the final game which proved to be the highlight of the entire tournament. The Broncos are deep, but Keene should have a role as a contributor off the bench this season.
-Andrew Meadow could be special…There was already a ton of hype and excitement about Meadow, and then the freshman went and scored 31 points in his unofficial Boise State debut in the first game in Canada. He cooled off a bit the rest of the tournament, but finished 6 of 13 from beyond the arc (46 percent) and averaged 15.3 points. He showed a nice outside shot but also scored on drives to the basket, putbacks after offensive rebounds and in transition. He’s got a solid overall game and showed the confidence and swagger of a veteran, not somebody two months removed from his senior prom. Meadow looks like he could soon be a star for the Broncos. He’ll likely come off the bench, at least to start the season, but should be a key contributor. Meadow and Keene are the two reasons the Broncos didn’t go add a fourth transfer such as UC Irvine guardDawson Baker (who ended up at BYU). Coaches are very high on both.
-This team can shoot…Leon Rice has had some good shooting teams during his time at Boise State, but this could end up being one of the best. The Broncos made 21 of their 37 3-pointer in the first game on the trip, and finished 32 of 87 (37 percent) for the trip. The total could have easily been higher, but the Broncos missed a ton of open looks in the second game. The noticeable thing is how the addition of Cam Martin allows them to have 3-point threats from basically every spot on the floor. When your 3,4 and 5 spots are Chibuzo Agbo, Tyson Degenhart and Martin, teams will have a tough time guarding the perimeter. Throw in Max Rice, Jace Whiting, Andrew Meadow and RJ Keene and nearly every player on the floor will be a threat to let it fly from deep. Roddie Anderson didn’t have great shooting numbers last year and O’Mar Stanley is seen as more of an around-the-basket type scorer, but that’s it. The Broncos should be able to shoot the rock at a high clip this season.
-Roddie Anderson is fast…We heard about the quickness of Roddie Anderson when he committed to Boise State, and he showed it this week in Canada. Anderson was able to get by his defender and get to the rim almost anytime he wanted. Several times he’d drive the lane and kick it out to a wide-open shooter for a 3-pointer. He’s not the outside shooter Marcus Shaver Jr. was – and we don’t know if he’s as clutch – but it’s clear Anderson is good enough to be a starting point guard on a Mountain West contender. He pushed the ball and was good in transition and did a nice job running the offense. His defense appeared to be solid as well. His quickness and hops – he had two highlight-reel dunks – will fit in nicely with the Broncos.
-Jace Whiting is improved…Whiting was way more of a contributor last year than most expected. After coming off his two-year LDS mission the plan was for him to likely redshirt, but that was before he showed up ready to contribute from day one. Whiting had a solid season last year as a backup point guard. He even started four games. But like any freshman, it was an up-and-down season. At times he looked awesome. At times he looked overmatched and couldn’t get the ball across half-court (at San Diego State). Whiting looks bigger this year and appears to have made significant improvements in his game. He’s more confident and appeared to fit in and look the part much more in Canada than at times last season. During the three games in Canada, he averaged 8 points and 3 assists. After mostly facilitating for others last year, look for Whiting to show off his overall game more this year. Anderson was brought in to start, but don’t overlook Whiting. He might be the starting point guard if the Broncos played a regular season game tomorrow.
-The Broncos could be an elite rebounding team…Many wanted the Broncos to get a Nathan Mensah-rim protector type in the transfer portal. When the two big men added were Martin and Stanley, some wondered if the Broncos had enough size inside. All three teams in Canada were undersized, so it was hard to get a clear gauge – but it appears the Broncos will be just fine inside. Stanley is a load at 6-8, 2?? pounds and plays bigger than that. He’s got a long wingspan and plays solid defense, but his most impressive trait appears to be rebounding and hustle. Multiple times he fought for rebounds and loose balls and kept plays alive with his hustle. Martin did a nice job boxing out and rebounding as well. Boise State has routinely been one of the better rebounding teams …
-Chris Lockett will eventually be a major contributor…There hasn’t been much talk on Lockett, but the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year showed off a nice overall game that will eventually make him a key rotation player for the Broncos this season. I’m just not sure that will be this year. I don’t think he’ll redshirt, although it might be a possibility and I’m sure the coaches would love to do it if possible, but he probably won’t get a ton of minutes as the third point guard behind Anderson and Whiting. He’s more of a combo guard though and showed a nice outside shot in practice and warmups, though it didn’t come through much in the games. He scored twice on putbacks at the rim and showed a nice motor for a freshman. He’s not as advanced as Meadow and will have a little bit slower development, but it was obvious he’s going to be good enough to help this team at some point fairly soon. Whether that’s this year or not remains to be seen.
The Broncos went whitewater rafting while in Canada and allowed me to tag along to get footage.
One last thing…Special thanks to Leon Rice, David Moats, Cody Gougler, Nate Lowery and everyone associated with Boise State’s basketball program for allowing such great access this week. Everyone from the head coach down to the team managers made me feel welcome on the trip, and I hope that was reflected in the coverage we were able to provide. We had 10 live broadcasts, six written stories and tons of social media coverage including game highlights, etc. It was awesome to be covering basketball in July, and the coaching staff and everyone involved with the program made it an enjoyable experience for me. BNN was the only media outlet that made the trip to Canada, and the program made it worth to us – which in turn helped provide a lot of cool stuff for fans. They didn’t have to be as welcoming and open as they were, and I truly appreciated it.
Also thanks to Atkinsons Mirror and Glass, Bauscher Real Estate, RBC Wealth Management/Brian King, Taco Bell and of course our title sponsor RoePaint.com for helping sponsor the trip. The trip cost upwards of $3,000 to do and it wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsors. Thanks so much for stepping up and supporting BNN and our efforts to provide the best coverage around. Please go support the sponsors!
Back to football coverage for at least the next few weeks, but this will be an exciting basketball team to watch and cover this season. I have a feeling fans will love this team. Fall practices start around Oct. 1 and the first regular season game will be the first week of November. It will be here before we know it.
