New Boise State point guard Alvaro Cardenas has experienced plenty of firsts since arriving in Boise over the summer.
How different are things than at San Jose State? He had never even done a pregame interview prior to his chat with six local reporters Tuesday ahead of his Boise State debut on Wednesday.
Cardenas, one of the best point guards in the Mountain West the past three years and a double-digit scorer at San Jose State, has 88 career starts under his belt. His 89th might be his most anticipated.
“I can’t wait,” Cardenas said Tuesday. “I can’t wait to play in front of fans for the first time. Just super excited. I’m super grateful. I couldn’t have chosen a better program. I truly mean this. I can’t wait to finally play in front of fans, sold out crowd – which is amazing for a non conference game.
“I’m super excited. Can’t wait.”
Cardenas averaged 9.9 points and 3.8 assists in 97 career games at San Jose State the past three seasons. Last year he averaged a career-best 13.2 points and 5.5 assists while seeing his rebounds, steals and shooting percentage also increase.
It was the best year of his career – but for a team which went 2-16 in Mountain West play and just 9-23 overall.
Now Cardenas joins the preseason Mountain West favorites and a team looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for a record-fourth straight year. And it has him energized and as motivated as ever for his final college season.
“That’s why I came here,” Cardenas said. “I didn’t want my last year to be an iffy year where I didn’t know what was going to happen and if we’d finish last. That’s not to say anything bad about San Jose, but that’s the reality of it.
“We really have a chance to make history. That’s the reality of it and I’m super excited. I think we have the team to do it. I can’t wait.”
Cardenas appears to be the perfect fit for Boise State’s offense and the piece they badly missed last season. He’s great in the pick-and-roll, a proven leader and is more of an outside threat to score than the Broncos had in Roddie Anderson.
He wanted to win. The Broncos needed a point guard. The match appears to be perfect.
“He’s such a great leader and such a great fit for the guys,” coach Leon Rice said. “He deserves to have an environment like this and to play in games that have so much meaning night in and night out. That’s what every player wants, and he’s earned the right with his hard work.”
Asked what kind of difference Cardenas will make, Rice said, “It’s a lot different than last year – a lot different team.”
It’s different for Cardenas, too. Better facilities, a winning culture and tradition and a rabid fanbase ready to pack ExtraMile Arena.
Cardenas routinely played in front of less than 1,000 fans at home games in San Jose. Boise State is expecting a near sellout crowd for Wednesday’s 7 p.m. opener against Oakland and already nearing sellouts for several other nonconference games including Clemson on Nov. 17th.
There’s plenty of newness for Cardenas and the Broncos heading into the season. And they hope it results in a Mountain West championship and the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
“The culture here, the level of expectation, it’s definitely different from what I was used to at San Jose,” Cardenas said. “I can’t wait.”
Bronco Nation News will be LIVE from ExtraMile Arena with the Lithia Ford of Boise Pregame Show at 6 p.m. Wednesday on YouTube, Facebook and X. The Postgame Show will be live around 10pm following the conclusion of the game.
