Boise State’s leading scorer Alston declares for NBA Draft, will maintain eligibility
Boise State men’s basketball coach Leon Rice isn’t accustomed to not being hands on with his team.
Like most coaches around the country, he has been limited to keeping in touch with his players and assistants over the phone and on video conferences after Boise State shut down all in-person contact in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
With five seniors already preparing for life after college and plenty of recruiting to do, Rice said the situation is far from ideal. Things got a little more complicated for the Rice on Monday as redshirt junior Derrick Alston, Jr. confirmed that he has declared for the NBA Draft but will maintain his NCAA eligibility.
Alston announced his decision Monday morning on Twitter, writing “I am grateful for the opportunity to chase my dream, while retaining my NCAA eligibility and leaving the door open to return to Boise State.”
Alston will receive an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee, which will include a confidential projection of what round he’s most likely to be drafted in, Boise State said Monday.
Rice said Wednesday that he expected Alston to test the waters in the draft. Alston led the Broncos this winter with 17.3 points a night.
Under new rules, he can still hire an agent, but must withdraw fromt he draft by June 3 to maintain his NCAA eligibility. The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25.
“Derrick is a smart kid, and he has good people around him,” Rice said by phone. “He’ll make the right decision.”
Despite being faced with yet another spot to fill next season, Rice called an opportunity for growth.
“Stuff is going to happen, so you have to have a ‘so what, now what mentality,’” Rice said. “There are certain things you can’t control, but you better have the right response to it and you better react the right way, and this is one of those situations.”
Rice said about half of his players are riding the virus out in Boise, but they’re all in off-campus housing. The team’s international players — Abu Kigab (Canada), Mladen Armus (Serbia) and Robin Jorch (Germany) — didn’t have the option of going home.
The Broncos finished the season 20-12 and beat UNLV in the Mountain West Tournament before falling to No. 5 San Diego State. They were anticipating an NIT berth, but Rice said the news of its cancellation on March 12 spread so quickly on social media that his players already knew by the time he got them all together.
He did his best to keep the message positive.
“Sure we would have loved to go on, and I think we would have done well in the NIT because we wanted to play and so much of that tournament is wanting to be there,” Rice said. “But we celebrate the fact that we won 20 games, we battled together and we were a good team down the stretch.”
There wasn’t much Rice could do to soften the blow for Jorch and fellow seniors Justinian Jessup, Marcus Dickinson, RJ Williams and Alex Hobbs.
Even though his heart breaks for them, he doesn’t see seniors getting an extra year of eligibility as feasible. He also pointed out that the Broncos got to play their entire season and conference tournament and were only guaranteed one more game, assuming they made the NIT field.
“How do you do it equitably?” he asked. “Do all five seniors get to come back and then I’ve got 18 guys on scholarship? How are all these universities going to afford it?”
If Alston does return, he’ll be surrounded by a new cast of characters, four of whom sat out this winter because of the NCAA’s transfer rules. Rice expects guards Marcus Shaver Jr. (Portland), Emmanuel Akot (Arizona), Devonaire Doutrive (Arizona) and Armus — a forward from East Tennessee State — to assume prominent roles next season.
“We have a really good nucleus coming back and a group of guys who are excited after sitting out a year,” Rice said. “I’d be having a panic attack if I didn’t have those guys sitting there.”
Alston, Jessup make history
Alston and Jessup made program history this year after becoming the first duo named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches all-district team in the same season.
They led the Broncos to their eighth 20-win season in the past 10 years and became the fourth duo in program history to score at least 500 points in the same season.
Both made the second-team all-district cut.
In addition to being the team’s leading scorer, Alston’s 554 points this season rank No. 11 in program history. He led the team with 98 assists (3.1 apg) and ranked second in rebounding with 167 (5.2 rpg).
Jessup ended his career as the top 3-point shooter in school and Mountain West history, making 325 triples, including 98 this year, which is a single-season program record. He scored 512 points as a senior, which ranked No. 20 in school history, and posted 142 rebounds (4.4 rpg), 67 assists (2.1 apg), 45 steals and 15 blocks. He led the Broncos in steals and blocks.
“I say they shouldn’t give these seniors another year, but I’ll take guys like him back in a second,” Rice said. “Justinian did so much for this program, and he’s going to be missed so badly by this team and this coaching staff. But I want him to continue to play professionally, and when you can shoot the ball that well, there’s a need for you.”
Abercrombie in the portal
Redshirt freshman Riley Abercrombie has entered his name in the transfer portal but hasn’t decided if he’s leaving, Boise State confirmed.
After redshirting during the 2018-19 season, Abercrombie appeared in 17 games this winter and averaged 1.4 points, 0.7 rebounds and 4.2 minutes of playing time a night. He missed the first five games of the season with a hand injury, which Rice said was unfortunate because Oregon transfer Abu Kigab wasn’t yet available. Kigab made his debut Dec. 22, 2019, at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.
“Riley is a great kid and a good player. We just had so much depth this year,” Rice said. “I’m trying to find him a place where he can play a lot of minutes, and if we can find the right place that fits him academically, socially and all that stuff, then we’ll look at doing that.”
Rice didn’t have a timetable for Abercrombie’s decision, but he said even if the Broncos lose the 6-foot-9 native of Wollongong, Australia, he feels comfortable with their depth in the post given the minutes Kigab played this season and the addition of Armus.
Broncos add JUCO player
Boise State added a verbal commitment from a junior college post player last week.
Forward Naje Smith announced his commitment March 19 on Twitter. The 6-7 sophomore from Spokane, Washington, ranked second last season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference with 23.3 points a game and led Cochise College with 8.5 rebounds a night.
As of now, the window for Smith to sign with Boise State is scheduled to open April 15, but the NCAA may push that date back.
Smith is the fourth known member of the Broncos’ 2020 class. Guard Kasean Pryor (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and center Burke Smith (Glen Allen, Virginia) have already signed and will join the team this fall. Burley High graduate Jace Whiting also signed but will serve a two-year church mission and join the team in 2022.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
