Bronco men finish regular season, prepare for big west tourney

Pavilion says goodbye to Armstrong, Hordemann and Woods

The Broncos followed their thrilling one point victory over Utah State on Feb. 24 with a home sweep over Cal-Poly and third-ranked UC Santa Barbara last weekend.

Saturday’s game against the UCSB Gauchos also marked the final home appearance for three Boise State seniors. Delvin Armstrong, Clint Hordemann and Kejuan Woods were honored at half-court prior to the game with plaques and a standing ovation from the crowd. Perhaps more importantly for them, all three made significant contributions against a very tough UCSB team.

The wins must have been especially sweet for Armstrong, who was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat just two weeks ago. The senior guard suited up for Thursday’s game and played as though he hadn’t missed a step. During one particular stretch in the first half, Armstrong twice elevated over multiple Gaucho defenders, missed a jumper, then sprung up immediately to grab his own rebound. He sank one on the put-back and was fouled on the other. It might not have been so impressive if he wasn’t surrounded by guys who were all four inches taller than he is. There is really no substitute for a 36-inch vertical.

Hordemann, meanwhile, played his final home game the same way he’s played every game as a Bronco. Whatever the 6′3″ guard might lack in size and skill is made up for with heart and tenacity. If the league kept a stat on how many times a player hit the floor chasing loose balls Hordemann would own it every season. Against UCSB he led all rebounders with nine and was one of four Broncos with two steals.

There exists a sizable contingency of Boise State fans that believe Kejuan Woods might be the best all-around player to ever wear a Bronco uniform. His performance Saturday lended support to that claim as the 6′6″ forward scored 26 points, tying his career-high at Boise State.

On several occasions Woods could be seen taking a slightly askew angle toward the rim on a fast break, apparently in anticipation of receiving a lob pass for the alley-oop. Though the guards had difficulty getting him the ball on those occasions, ‘Key’ did have a monstrous two-handed jam in the first half following a Joe Skiffer steal that got the crowd out of their seats faster than a miniature basketball giveaway. Obviously Woods and the rest of the Broncos were having a great time playing UCSB–even the usually stoic Abe Jackson cracked a smile once!

Although the Broncos looked pretty good two nights earlier in the win over Cal-Poly San-Luis ‘Abysmal’, you wouldn’t know it by looking at or listening to the pathetic home crowd. While Saturday night games in The Pavilion are vaguely reminiscent of a legitimate college basketball atmosphere, Thursday nights seem more like nappy-time in a nursing home. There must be nothing going on Thursday nights for some of these folks to show up and sit there in a daze staring at their shoes. If the Athletic Department gave away a free meal to everyone who walked in the door it would be easier to understand why these people show up because they certainly don’t seem to care much about college basketball. On the other hand, it is kind of cool to be able to hear what the players and coaches are saying. Unless, of course, you’re a player or coach–then a catatonic home crowd just plain sucks. Even the Zerkies, Boise State’s vocal student contingency, have faded away after two seasons of trying to energize the frequently lethargic home crowd.

Against Cal-Poly Abe Jackson apparently didn’t need any fan support as he rediscovered a part of his game he hasn’t utilized for a while–taking jumpers from inside the three-point line. Jackson filled in beautifully as the teams’ primary outside threat after the graduation of Roberto Bergerson, and for a time it seemed he never even looked at the basket unless it was at least 19 feet away. In Thursday’s match-up Jackson was shooting and hitting from all over the place and the stat sheet showed it. He ended up with a career-high 34 points and ripped down nine boards en route to the Bronco victory.

The game also provided some insight into the future of Bronco basketball. In addition to freshman Booker Nabors, who is already a fixture in the Bronco backcourt, freshman forward/center Kenny Gainous has done an excellent job relieving Trevor Tillman and Richard Morgan at center. Though he could stand to put on a few pounds, he does a great job of mixing it up down low. On Thursday night he pulled down nearly half of the Broncos’ offensive boards in only 18 minutes on the floor. Gainous always seems to be right in the middle of the action where he is able to utilize his lanky frame and loooong arms. Just looking at the guy makes one think he might be an organism specifically designed to block shots. Keep an eye on him. He’s got heart and he’s good.

As the regular season comes to a close the Broncos now turn their attention to the post- season. This week the Broncos head south to Anaheim for the Big West tournament where they will face Long Beach State in the first round. Fans who were awake will recall how the Broncos narrowly edged the third-seeded 49er’s 79-77 in overtime at the Pavilion on Jan. 13. However, at the time of their last meeting on Feb. 14, the Broncos were armpit deep in the teams’ worst slump of the season and were soundly trounced 62-80 at Long Beach.

On a completely unrelated note, the Idaho Vandals are the only team in the conference who did not qualify for the Big West tournament.

Douglas Dana

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