The unpredictable weapon opponents can’t prepare for? Boise State’s ‘selfless’ bench
Before he joined the Boise State men’s basketball team, Naje Smith averaged 23.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona.
Smith was named Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a first-team National Junior College Athletic Association Division I All-American.
This season, his greatest contribution can’t be found on a stat sheet. It’s not points, or rebounds or minutes the Broncos need most from Smith.
The 6-foot-7 junior from Spokane, Washington, must be the encouraging voice when the arena grows quiet. He’s the one making the goofy face when the TV camera turns toward the bench after a monster dunk from redshirt senior Derrick Alston Jr.
Smith is the positive energy on the bench, a role that will be even more essential this week at the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, where spectators will not be permitted. The fourth-seeded Broncos (18-7) open the quarterfinals against No. 5 Nevada (15-9) at 3:30 p.m. MT on Thursday (CBS Sports Network).
“He wants to be out there on the floor, but he knows that’s a way he can help this team, and he’s embraced it and taken pride in it,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “I use Naje as an example, but all those guys that are doing that, they’re just selfless and they’re doing everything they can to help the team.
“That’s a big part of why we’ve kept improving is we got everybody that shows up to do their job and do it at a high level, whatever that job might be for the time being. I can’t say enough about those guys.”
Smith has played in 15 of Boise State’s 25 games, averaging 6.3 minutes per game. But it has been more than a month since Smith appeared in a game for the Broncos. He logged less than a minute of playing time Feb. 7 at Nevada and has since watched BSU’s last seven games from the bench.
You won’t hear him complaining.
“You just have to try and stay positive and realize that it’s for the greater of the team,” Smith said. “Everyone has their role, and I just think that you need to be the best in your role that you can be. Sometimes it’s gonna be cheering other guys on, sometimes it’s gonna be rebounding, sometimes it’s making the right play. But you just have to do what you can for the team.”
Boise State freshman forward Burke Smith, who is not related to Naje, is active in boosting the mood on the bench, too. They have some coordinated cheers they do for free throws and 3-pointers, but most of their celebratory moves are invented on the fly.
“We’re just a group of high-energy guys that like having fun together,” Burke said. “I think a lot of that is just kind of our personalities and wanting to help the team. We just have fun with it when we can, and I think the energy really does help and it makes the game enjoyable for us and it helps them play better.”
While their in-game enthusiasm can boost the spirits of their teammates on the floor, Boise State’s reserves play another essential role in game preparation. Burke, sophomore Donovan Ivory and freshmen Sam Winter and Pavle Kuzmanovic are part of the scout team that helps get the Broncos’ starters and main substitutes ready for the opponent. Naje, junior Lukas Milner and freshman Kasean Pryor take turns rotating in on scout team.
“What you don’t get to see is the countless hours they put in on scout team,” Rice said. “They have to practice it seems like twice as much as the other guys this time of year because they’re having scout team workouts. They can still work their game, but they’re also preparing to know the other team’s offense for us and that kind of stuff. It is really impressive the selfless stuff that they do for this program.”
Opponents don’t go easy on the Broncos, so neither does the scout team.
During practice a few weeks ago, Naje sent redshirt sophomore Max Rice to the emergency room for stitches after he injured him while fighting through a screen in practice.
“(Naje) just felt awful, and he kept checking on (Max),” Leon Rice said. “It was just a basketball accident. But that’s the kind of heart that he has. He cares about his teammates. He cares about everybody. He’s in everything for the right reasons. He’s that kind of kid, really. If you had to describe him, I think you’d just talk about his tender heart and what a good person he is.”
If anyone on this year’s Boise State roster can relate — and appreciate — the energy of the bench, it’s Alston. He, too, once played the role of bench warmer.
“I think they deserve a lot of credit,” Alston said. “Obviously, besides the Utah State series, we’ve been just in front of nobody. It takes a lot to do that type of stuff. I think that it’s always great to see highlights just of the bench going crazy in the highlights on TV.
“They’re a big part of our team and those guys, their job probably doesn’t get all the glory and things like ours do, but those guys play such a big role on our team. Not only during games but in practices and things like that. Energy is just contagious everywhere, so I’m just really happy that those guys have been able to do that for us all season. It’s been great.”
Boise State’s conference tournament opener is a must win for the Broncos. They’re currently one of the last four teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to both CBS bracketologist Jerry Palm and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Nevada swept the Broncos during the regular season in two games in Reno, and the Wolf Pack are coming off an upset of second-place Colorado State on March 5.
Boise State will need everyone on point come tipoff Thursday.
“It’s gonna take a full effort going down there to be able to get that done,” Alston said. “I know those guys (on the bench) are gonna do their job at a high level, so that just makes us do our job at a higher level.”
BOISE STATE VS. NEVADA
When: 3:30 p.m. MT on Thursday
What: Mountain West Tournament quarterfinal
Where: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Dan Dickau)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Abe Jackson)
Records: Boise State 18-7, Nevada 15-9
Series: Nevada 50-28
Last meeting: Nevada won 73-62 on Feb. 7 in Reno
Vegas line: Boise State by 4
KenPom rating: Boise State 57; Nevada 94
KenPom & ESPN predictions
Ken Pomeroy, who created the popular college basketball statistical website KenPom.com, ranks every Division I team using an adjusted efficiency margin, which Pomeroy defines as the difference between a team’s offensive and defensive efficiency.
According to Pomeroy’s detailed statistical analysis, Boise State has a 64% chance of beating Nevada. His score prediction is a 75-71 BSU victory.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index: Boise State has a 75% chance of winning with a predicted point differential of 7.3.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 8:59 AM.
