Why Boise State hoops has built its future with transfers — and how they’re helping now
There is a quote written on a dry-erase board in a meeting room inside the Arguinchona Basketball Complex that Boise State coach Leon Rice brings up with his players on a regular basis.
“Everything we run away from has power over us; everything we go through, we conquer,” the quote reads.
Since the NCAA’s transfer portal debuted on Oct. 15, 2018, coaches and administrators have a more streamlined process for helping student-athletes find the best fit.
For six Division I men’s basketball players who entered their names in the transfer portal over the last year or so, that best fit has turned out to be with Boise State. The Broncos received a mid-season boost with the eligibility of Oregon transfer Abu Kigab, a junior forward who is averaging 12.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13 starts.
And with five seniors set to graduate at the end of this season, Rice has stocked his rainy-day fund with a group of experienced Division I transfers who are sitting out this season per NCAA transfer rules. Emmanuel Akot (Arizona), Mladen Armus (ETSU) and Marcus Shaver Jr. (Portland) will be eligible at the start of the 2020-21 season, while Devonaire Doutrive (Arizona) and Donovan Ivory (UMass Lowell) can begin playing for the Broncos at the conclusion of the fall 2020 semester.
Rice and his staff want to make sure their newest crop of Broncos is equipped to “conquer” any shortcomings that may have held them back in the past — a key aspect to the program’s touted player development process.
“They’re more ready and excited to be coached. They’ve put egos behind them. They’ve grown up,” Rice said. “That’s what I see with the guys we have. They’re ready to be basketball players now. Maybe things didn’t work out the way they dreamed at their first spot, but there’s a maturity about them now that helps their development.”
Development has been the buzz word with each of Rice’s latest additions. These players have come to Boise State hoping to emulate the path of current Chicago Bulls guard Chandler Hutchison — the only first-round NBA Draft pick in program history. They’re also witnessing firsthand the progression of redshirt junior Derrick Alston Jr. from walk-on to NBA prospect.
“Boise State was the right choice because it’s a program of development,” Doutrive said when he joined the Broncos in late December. “I feel like I need to be in a place where I can get better and where it feels like home.”
An unusual transfer collection
Since Rice took over at Boise State in 2010-11, the Broncos never have had more than one transfer sit out at a time. In fact, the six Division I transfers on this year’s team doubles the total number of players who have sat out in his previous nine seasons combined. This does not take into account junior college transfers, who are immediately eligible.
“In college basketball, especially, we end up watching all these guys when they’re in high school and junior high,” Rice said. “You’re following guys forever, so when their name pops up (in the transfer portal), you’re usually familiar with them.”
That familiarity led Rice to players like Drew Wiley (Oregon, sat out 2010-11), Robert Heyer (Division II Texas-Permian Basin, 2013-14) and James Reid (Arkansas-Little Rock, 2015-16). The Broncos also have benefited over the years from graduate transfers such as Lonnie Jackson (Boston College), Chris Sengfelder (Fordham) and Lexus Williams (Valparaiso).
But all those players found their way to Boise State without the help of the transfer portal.
“I think the transfer portal really helps players, because for someone like myself who had the majority of my ties in the Northwest, you have no way of understanding if a school in the South or (on) the East Coast would have been interested,” said Reid, who is now a graduate assistant with the Broncos.
“Nowadays because of technology and because of the uniform aspect of the transfer portal, every program in the country has a GA that is supposed to know the second that pops. For a player, I think that’s really advantageous.”
The void that will be left by this year’s large senior class necessitated a more robust group of incoming players, Rice said. Just don’t infer he’s taking a page out of former Nevada coach Eric Musselman’s playbook. Musselman led the Wolf Pack to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a record of 110-34 over four seasons with rosters built around transfer talent like twins Cody and Caleb Martin (N.C. State) and Jordan Caroline (Southern Illinois).
“I get offended or sick and tired or whatever you want to say when people are like, ‘Oh, you’re doing Musselman’s deal,’ ” Rice said. “If you look back at my history, holy cow, at Gonzaga, that’s where it started. We made a killing (with transfers).”
An echo of Rice’s past at Gonzaga
Rice went on to point out the likes of former Gonzaga greats Jeff Brown (Washington), Dan Dickau (Washington), Erroll Knight (Washington) and Micah Downs (Kansas).
“It was a piece to the puzzle back then, and it was a crucial piece to our puzzle,” Rice said. “Then when I came here, the grad transfer thing has really helped us. Look at some of the ones that we’ve gotten over the years. Then the opportunities, with our history and our model of player development, a lot of people saw what we did with a lot of these guys. I think our culture attracted a lot of people to want to transfer here.”
While fans won’t be able to assess the success or failure of the Broncos’ long-term investment in Division I transfers until next season, Rice is already seeing the dividends in practice. He’s said more than once this season that he has the “best scout team in the country,” which has helped prepare this year’s team behind the scenes for a climb up the Mountain West standings.
Boise State (15-8, 7-4 MW) enters Tuesday’s game at Wyoming (8 p.m. MT) on a four-game conference win streak that has rocketed the Broncos from eighth place into a tie for second in the league standings.
“I credit (the scout team) a lot for what we are able to do, because they’re hungry dogs,” Rice said. “Our guys, if they don’t come out to play (in practice), they’re going to get their tails kicked in, and we’re going to let it happen. It’s raising the level.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
