Boise State hoops burns redshirt on sharpshooting freshman nicknamed ‘Peanut.’ Here’s why
After sinking his second 3-pointer of the game to loud cheers Tuesday night at ExtraMile Arena, Pearson Carmichael wheeled away and blew some kisses toward the crowd.
Just a couple of hours earlier, most Boise State basketball fans had likely forgotten about Carmichael or only heard his name in passing. The freshman guard hadn’t played a single game for the Broncos this season, and the plan was to redshirt him and save a year of eligibility.
But he has developed faster than even the coaching staff expected. At a recent practice, Boise State head coach Leon Rice saw Carmichael sinking 3-point basket after 3-point basket.
“Do you think you could do that in a game?” Rice asked Carmichael.
The freshman guard immediately responded: “Yes.”
“His answer came back so quick,” Rice said Tuesday night after Boise State’s 81-59 victory over UNLV. “It was more about how he answered it than what he said. He was confident that he’d go do it in a game.”
Carmichael’s confidence was warranted. Checking into Tuesday night’s game midway through the first half — and officially burning his redshirt — Carmichael immediately went to work. Within his first three minutes, he’d pulled in a defensive rebound, gone down to the other end of the court and nailed a 3-pointer for his first college points.
He ended the game with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. He was the only Bronco to make multiple 3-pointers.
“My first couple minutes were definitely a little nerve-wracking,” Carmichael said. “But those butterflies went once we started going.”
Rice said bringing Carmichael into the fold at this point of the season was the “right time for the team.” Redshirt junior guard RJ Keene sustained a broken nose this past weekend against San Diego State, while Carmichael could also offer something the Broncos have been lacking this year: 3-point shooting.
The Broncos have shot 29.9% from beyond the arc this season, putting them on track for their worst 3-point shooting season in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Carmichael comes to Boise State with a reputation as a sharpshooter. He’s a two-time Oregon State Player of the Year and averaged 27.3 points per game during his senior year of high school.
“I’m just really happy for him, seeing what he’s been able to do in practice,” senior forward Tyson Degenhart said. Degenhart is enduring his worst 3-point shooting year, making just 25% of his shots from 3 this season.
“There’s been some scout (teams) where you don’t really know what to do because he’s just scored at will,” Degenhart continued. “And he just provides such a great shooting threat and some length and can rebound.”
There’s one more thing fans should know about Carmichael now that he’s a regular part of the lineup: his nickname is “Peanut.”
Why?
“Peanut came from my mom right out of the womb,” Carmichael said. “She said I had a small head, and it was shaped like a peanut.”
That nickname has lasted 18 years, but it has slightly changed since arriving at Boise State from “Peanut” to “Nut.”
“Peanut is too long to say in a game,” Degenhart explained. “We need one syllable.”
