Boise State Basketball: Midterm Report
Sports, Sub Feature Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
BSU Sr. Tre Nichols(#10) drives the ball past the top of the key in wednesday night's close game against #12 ranked UNLV, finishing with 11pts. (Jake Essman/ The Arbiter)
The Newcomers
Grade: B-
The Australian duo of Anthony Drmic and Igor Hazdziomerovic, started out hot but the ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi’ chants from the student section have fizzled as of late. Hazdziomerovic is out with an injury, Drmic has the ability to fill it up fast, but has been in a slump as of late. Derrick Marks has the ability to score inside and out, but at times gets lost in the shuffle. Joe Handstad, who was expected to redshirt this season, has been thrown into the fire and forced to provide minutes in aide to an injury depleted backcourt, and seems to be gaining more confidence. Kenny Buckner has been consistent on the glass and chips in with points here in there. Drew Wiley, like Drmic, has struggled recently offensively; it’s just a matter of getting some extra shots up in the gym.
The Vets
Grade: C
Granted it’s their second year with Head Coach Leon Rice and two of them are sophomores, but this group has to find a way to come together at the same time, asap. Ryan Watkins, Thomas Bropleh, and Wes Perryman all have had big games this season for the Broncos, and Tre Nichols has been a much needed energy spark and playmaker off the bench as well. If two or three of these guys could get clicking on the same night good things could be in store for the rest of the season. The loss of Jeff Elorriaga to a season ending injury also hurt the BSU backcourt. Credit this group for the fact that they haven’t gotten down, and if there is any finger pointing going on they’ve done a great job keeping it in house. Nobody likes to lose but these guys seem to believe in what the coaches are saying and if they can turn this thing around in the second half of the season they could be help set the tone for Rice’s future teams.
The Leader
Grade: B-
Coach Rice has shown he is about as even keel as they come, and has proven he has the ability to get a team to buy in. From Watkins-to-Bropleh-to-Marks they all relay what the coach has preached, and that is to just keep battling, stay positive and good things will come. Yet, they’re still searching for their first conference win. The Broncos may have let a few slip away, but on a team with two seniors and a host of wide-eyed fresh faces, BSU fans should remain patient and supportive. This team can either finish last place in the conference, as predicted by the media in the preseason, or they can do like a college student who got off to a rough start early in the semester, that still finds a way to keep improving and pass the class.
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Posted by Tyler Hawkins on Feb 2 2012. Filed under Sports, Sub Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Good grief, is the bball team a charity or a source of entertainment? This article is a terrible.. Instead of extolling the excitement and fun people are missing out on it guilts them into feeling a moral respinsibilty to attend. Sorry but thats not going to work on us… Don't attack me for being a bad fan either. I've attended the NIU, Drake, Indiana State, Idaho, Fresno State, Air Force, and Wyoming games. Thats a lot for working full time, taking classes, and being married. Sure I go to support the team but mostly because I like the sport. Some people (most of bronco nation) don't care that much about bball, nba or ncaa. Give them something to care about, guilt doesn't do that.