Starting lineup change creates challenge, opportunity for two Boise State seniors
Alex Hobbs matched his single-game career high for the second time this season with seven assists in Boise State’s win over Cal State Northridge last Saturday.
After Hobbs started the Broncos’ first 10 games, coach Leon Rice asked the 6-foot-4 senior guard to revisit the role he’d played so well during the 2017-18 season, when he was named the Mountain West Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Hobbs likely will be the first man off the bench Wednesday when the Broncos (9-5, 1-1 MW) resume conference play against Wyoming (5-9, 0-2). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at ExtraMile Arena.
“If you really want to accomplish something, it’s not about what you want to accomplish,” Rice said. “It’s what you’re willing to give up to get it. You have to sacrifice to be on a really, really good team.”
Once he became eligible at the end of the first semester, junior forward Abu Kigab replaced Hobbs in the starting lineup for the Broncos’ opener of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. A game later, Rice tweaked the lineup again, this time inserting redshirt senior center Robin Jorch in place of fellow senior RJ Williams.
Hobbs and Williams have not allowed the changes to alter their team-first attitude, and the new rotation has led to a shot at a fourth straight victory — something the Broncos last accomplished during the 2017-18 season.
“That’s one of the great things about this group is, No. 1, they care about the team and they don’t get caught up in those ego things like that,” Rice said. “... These guys are all trying to do something that helps the team ... It doesn’t mean we don’t have a road map for each individual’s success. But these guys all care about the team and want the team to do better.”
Hobbs has dished out 46 assists this season, ranking second on the team behind Derrick Alston Jr.’s 49, and he is only 13 assists from tying his season total from 2018-19. His assist/turnover ratio of 1.6 leads the Broncos and ranks eighth in the Mountain West.
As a team, Boise State is averaging 14.3 assists per game, which is on pace to be the Broncos’ best number in that category since the 2009-10 season.
“Watching film from last year, I saw that there was a lot more opportunities for me to be a playmaker,” Hobbs said earlier this season. “Being it’s something that we want to get better at, I kind of took it upon myself to try to get better at that.”
Like Hobbs, Williams has started 10 games this season but has recently moved to a reserve role. He still leads Boise State in rebounding with 8.2 per game, while averaging 11.8 points. His field-goal percentage of 62.2 percent is also tops on the team.
As long as they don’t start more than five league games, both Hobbs and Williams could become strong candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2019-20.
“It’s exciting to get a guy like (Kigab) at semester,” Rice said. “(The team) grew through the preseason because they had to. We were down a guy, and we were down an important part of what we do. It made them all better. Now you’ve got a team that still has a chance to keep getting better as league play goes on. We’re excited to get back on the court again.”
Note: Wednesday’s game will be streamed online by the Mountain West Network, which is available at BroncoSports.com/mwn, or listen to a radio broadcast on 670 AM.
Alston receives league recognition
For the first time in his Boise State career, Alston Jr. was named the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for games played Dec. 23-29.
The redshirt junior guard from Houston, Texas, led Boise State to wins over Portland (85-69), UTEP (72-67) and Cal State Northridge (103-72), and was named to the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team. He averaged 24 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, highlighted by a 32-point outing against Portland.
Alston is one of just four players nationwide averaging at least 20 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
In addition to the league honor, Alston was chosen as the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week.
Women’s basketball: Broncos ready for altitude test
Coach Gordy Presnell and his veteran Boise State women’s basketball team are more than familiar with the potential difficulties associated with playing in Laramie, Wyoming.
But just to be sure his team is ready for Wednesday’s Mountain West contest against the Cowgirls (6:30 p.m. MT, 1350 AM) at Arena-Auditorium’s elevation of 7,220 feet, Presnell put the Broncos through vigorous conditioning drills.
Monday’s workout included a series of sprints, after which players were asked to answer multiplication problems.
“It’s going to be a mental game, and we’re going to be tired because of the elevation,” Boise State senior point guard Jayde Christopher said. “So (Presnell) was kind of trying to (replicate) that.”
Having won three straight Mountain West Tournament titles — and two regular-season titles in a row — the Broncos are 31-2 in their past 33 games against conference foes, which includes regular season and tournament action.
Wyoming (6-5, 2-0 MW) is one of the two conference teams to take down the Broncos (10-4, 2-0) in that span. The Cowgirls won 64-52 in Laramie last season. Wednesday’s game also will be a rematch of the 2019 Mountain West Tournament championship, won 68-51 by BSU.
“This time of the year, I think conference comes and there’s like this switch that goes,” Boise State senior guard Riley Lupfer said. “Some of us are going for our fourth championship, so that’s very exciting. And as a senior, you know all the ins and outs of the teams because we’ve been here for so long. I think that’s kind of a fun part of it. It’s our last go-around of the conference season. It’s gonna be a good one.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 4:00 AM.
