Boise State’s Williams preps for NBA Draft; transfer heads home, another enters portal
After leading the Boise State men’s basketball team this past winter with 8.9 rebounds a game, RJ Williams is eyeing a pro career.
The 6-7 senior announced Sunday on Twitter that he has declared for the NBA Draft, and Boise State coach Leon Rice sees his game transitioning seamlessly to the next level.
“He brings a skill that translates to any level, and that’s being a relentless rebounder,” Rice said by phone on Tuesday. “We put him against bigger and stronger guys, and he just produced night in and night out.”
Williams said Wednesday that he hasn’t hired an agent, but he plans to do so within the week. Once he hires an agent, he’ll file paperwork for his pre-draft evaluation.
“You play all these games and you go through all this just to be in the draft,” Williams said. “It’s a blessing.”
Williams joined the Broncos in 2018 after two seasons at East Los Angeles College. The past two seasons, he has started 40 games, scored 668 points (10.8 ppg), grabbed 411 rebounds (6.6 rpg) and shot 60.7 percent from the field.
Redshirt junior Derrick Alston Jr. also declared for the draft on March 30. The spread of coronavirus has left the pre-draft process in question, threatening not only the combine but all in-person contact, which is why Rice said hiring the right agent is going to be so important.
“You want somebody who is connected to the right situations and will give you honest, accurate information,” he said.
The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25, but that date may change if the league tries to finish its suspended season this summer.
Not being able to go to the gym has been tough on Williams, but he’s been running and doing band work to stay in shape. He’s expecting there to be no in-person workouts before the draft and to have to impress teams during video conferences instead of on the court.
“What matters most and what teams are going to draft you on is your character and how you present yourself,” Williams said.
Abercrombie heads home
After he was on the fence about leaving Boise State a week ago, redshirt freshman forward Riley Abercrombie has found a new home. And it’s not far from where he played his high school ball.
Abercrombie has committed to Rice University in Houston. He has three years of eligibility left, and he’ll likely have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news Monday evening on Twitter.
The 6-foot-9 Wollongong, Australia, native played at Clear Lake High in Houston where, as a senior, he led the Falcons to a 31-6 record and to the quarterfinals of the UIL 6A Texas State Tournament.
He chose Boise State over scholarship offers from 15 schools, but Abercrombie redshirted in 2018-19 and averaged 1.4 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game this season.
“They’ve got a great coach, somebody who our staff has known for a while,” Leon Rice said of Owls coach Scott Pera. “And they have a real need for (Abercrombie).”
The Owls went 15-17 this winter and fell in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament. They’re losing senior forward Robert Martin, who was second on the team with 11.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.
Sophomore Drew Peterson was Rice’s top rebounder with 6.5 a night, while fellow sophomore Trey Murphy III led the team with 13.7 points a game and added 5.5 rebounds. Assuming they both stay at the program, they’ll be seniors when Abercrombie is eligible to play.
Transfers Abu Kigab (Oregon) and Mladen Armus (East Tennessee State) are the favorites to lead the Broncos’ in the paint next season.
After becoming eligible at the end of the first semester, Kigab started 18 games last season and averaged 11.1 points and 3.6 rebounds a night. Armus sat out the year due to NCAA transfer rules, but in 2018-19, he started 24 games at ETSU and posted eight points and 7.7 rebounds a game.
Huang in the portal
Abercrombie was the second Boise State basketball player to enter the transfer portal this offseason.
Walk-on guard Bing Huang announced his intentions to head elsewhere in mid-March. A Boise State spokesperson confirmed the move on Monday.
“Bing is a good athlete and a driven and confident kid,” said Rice, adding that COVID-19 is making it harder for athletes to find landing spots. “Not being able to go play in open gyms and show teams what they can do makes it tough.”
After a post-graduate year at Brewster Academy, Huang joined the Broncos in 2018 and redshirted that year. This winter, he appeared in five games and averaged 1.2 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 3.4 minutes a night.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Boise State’s Williams preps for NBA Draft; transfer heads home, another enters portal."
