Seeking fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid, Boise State basketball reloads roster

Not long ago, only a few college basketball bluebloods, such as Kentucky, had to reload their rosters every year after one-and-done players went to the NBA.

It’s an annual occurrence for teams all over the country these days thanks to lucrative Name, Image and Likeness deals and rules that allow transfers immediate eligibility at their new school.

Boise State is not immune. Coach Leon Rice said last week that he expects as many as eight players who either weren’t on the roster or didn’t play last season to see the court this year. He also said the team is surprisingly ahead of schedule as it prepares for a run at four straight NCAA Tournament berths.

“I don’t think I ever had a team develop chemistry quicker,” Rice told reporters. “I think it’s a reflection of who they are. We’ve had good teams that clicked together, but I don’t think they developed it as quickly.”

Boise State’s newcomers are led by a robust transfer class that is highlighted by Dylan Anderson , a 7-footer who spent the past two seasons at Arizona. The native of Gilbert, Arizona, was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in high school, and he led Perry to a 25-5 record and a state title as a senior.

“He’s coming in at a level that not a lot of big guys have come into this program at,” Rice said. “He’s a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year. You don’t get that award because you’re tall. You get it because you’re a good basketball player.”

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Anderson averaged 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks a game as a senior at Perry. He put up 17.1 points a game as a junior. He has three years of eligibility remaining, and he should pair nicely in the post this season with returning starters Tyson Degenhart and O’Mar Stanley.

Degenhart earned his third straight All-Mountain West honor last season after leading the Broncos with 16.7 points a game. Stanley averaged 12.2 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds in his first season with the team after transferring from St. John’s.

Anderson played just 15 games at Arizona his freshman season, and then was a redshirt last season.

“He can do a lot of things, and he’s going to get better and better,” Rice said of Anderson. “Expectations will be high for him because of his ratings and what he’s done in the past, but he’ll be a work in progress. Every big guy is.”

Boise State added another transfer to the frontcourt in 6-foot-9 forward Dominic Parolin, who spent the past four seasons at Lehigh, but he won’t play right away. Rice said last week that Parolin will redshirt as he recovers from a knee injury.

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The Broncos also plucked a talented scorer out of the portal to replace Chibuzo Agbo, who averaged 13.7 points but transferred to USC in April. Rice hopes 6-foot-7, 230-pound wing Javan Buchanan can help replace his production on the court.

Buchanan needed just two seasons at Indiana Wesleyan to surpass 1,000 career points. He was named an All-American last season after ranking No. 6 in the NAIA ranks with 718 points and No. 4 with 273 field goals. He has two years of eligibility left.

“He was a late bloomer, and had great success at the NAIA level,” Rice said. “He came from a terrific program and was so well coached, and that’s obvious when you see him out there and get to coach him, but a place like this has more resources for a guy to develop.”

The Broncos rounded out their transfer class with a Mountain West player: former San Jose State point guard Alvero Cardenas, who joined the team in April. He started 30 games for the Spartans last season, averaging 13.2 points and shooting 38.5% from 3-point range.

Rice said he’s an even better passer than a scorer, and Cardenas ranked No. 4 in the Mountain West with 171 assists.

“He wants to be a passer and wants to make the guys around him better,” Rice said. “He wants to lead the conference and nation in assists, and he’s got the kind of team around him that needs that. You couldn’t fit a better point guard with a team.”

Cardenas should get plenty of chances to run the offense because the Broncos lost both point guards. Roddie Anderson III landed at Xavier and Jace Whiting transferred to UNLV. Anderson spent just one season at Boise State after transferring from San Diego.

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‘Sitting out makes you really hungry’

The Broncos also expect to get quality minutes out of a pair of players who spent last season on the bench.

Chris Lockett Jr., a 6-foot-4 guard from New Orleans, redshirted last year. He led Isidore Newman High to back-to-back Division III state titles in Louisiana and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year there as a senior. He was a four-star recruit in 247Sports and ESPN rankings after averaging 16 points, six rebounds and four assists a game as a senior.

Rice said Lockett has impressive position versatility and the ability to be a dangerous scorer.

“Sitting out makes you really hungry,” Rice said. “You’re not going to see a guy who looks like a freshman. He’s so much better than he was 12 months ago.”

Speaking of passing the eyeball test, Rice said 6-8, 235-pound forward Emmanuel Ugbo could pass for a defensive lineman on the football team. The Netherlands native was deemed ineligible last season by the NCAA after joining the team as a midyear enrollee.

Ugbo played in 23 games for a club team in Ludwigsburg, Germany, in 2022-23, averaging 14.2 points and 7.1 rebounds. He shot 40% from the floor and scored at least 20 points in five games.

“He’s a versatile player who can do a lot of things,” Rice said. “He truly is one of those positionless guys because you can’t pencil him into exactly what he is, but he’ll be a wrecking ball.”

Sophomore Andrew Meadow and redshirt junior RJ Keene saw sporadic playing time last season, and both will be fighting for more action this season. Meadow played in all 33 games during his debut season and shot 41.4%. Keene played in 21 games.

Idaho prospect leads freshman class

The Broncos also could get production out of an impressive freshman class that is highlighted by in-state recruit Julian Bowie.

Bowie (6-3, 200) led Pocatello High to a state title as a senior and was named Idaho’s 4A Player of the Year after averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He set a state record with 89 points at the 2023 state tournament, and he also ended his high school career as one of the top wide receivers and golfers in Idaho.

Rice said Bowie has the ability to replace former Bronco Max Rice’s production with 3-point shooting. Rice was second on the team last season with 74 3-pointers, and his average 3-pointer made came from 25 feet, 6 inches.

“He has great feel and the range to help offset losing Max,” Leon Rice said of Bowie. “Julian is the kind of player that can hit the deep ones.”

The latest freshman to join the Broncos’ class is 6-10 center Ethan Lathan, who committed to the program and signed his National Letter of Intent in May. He’s a three-star recruit and the No. 30 center prospect in the country, according to 247Sports. The Illinois native played at Compass Prep in Arizona.

The Broncos’ freshman class is rounded out by 6-7 forward Pearson Carmichael, a two-time state player of the year in Oregon who led Summit High School to its first state title as a senior. He averaged 27.3 points and 9.8 rebounds a game as a senior and posted at least 40 points in four games.

Boise State went 22-11 and 13-5 in the Mountain West last season. The Broncos earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament but lost to Colorado in the First Four, falling to 0-10 in the Big Dance. They’ll be in action in the Cayman Islands Classic Tournament on Nov. 24 and will face Hampton in the first round.