Welcome to The Sports Bank’s fourth annual college basketball season preview series where we break 111 teams in the 111 days leading up to the opening tip-off of the 2013-2014 season. We will rank the 84 power conference teams (including the new Big East and American Athletic Conferences) and top 27 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
With their top six players returning from last year’s team that made the NCAA Tournament, the Boise State Broncos will be a major factor in the Mountain West Conference this year.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Last Season: T-4th, 9-7 in MWC, 21-11 overall
Predicted MWC Finish: 2nd
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Ryan Watkins (Sr)/Edmunds Dukulis (So)/Nick Duncan (Fr)/Jake Ness (Jr)
G/F: Anthony Drmic (Jr)/Thomas Bopleh (Sr)/Joey Nebeker (Fr)/James Webb (So)
SG: Igor Hadziomerovic (Jr)/Joe Hanstad (Jr)/Dezmyn Trent (Fr)
G: Jeff Elorriaga (Sr)/Mikey Thompson (So)
PG: Derrick Marks (Jr)
Gone: C-Kenny Buckner, PF-Darrious Hamilton (transfer), PF-Vukasin Vujovic (transfer)
2013-2014 Outlook:
Like last season, the key for the Boise State Broncos will be their ability to spread the floor with shooters. Leon Rice doesn’t typically use a standard line-up but instead plays with four guards and returns all five starters from a year ago.
There is a lot of versatility among the four guards but the group is led by juniors Derrick Marks and Anthony Drmic. That duo combined to average 34 points per game with Marks being the primary ball-handler and Drmic playing out of position some and acting as the power forward. Add in sharpshooter Jeff Elorriaga who shot nearly 45% from distance and there is plenty of scoring punch on the floor with those three.
Igor Hadziomerovic is the fourth starting wing who acts more as a glue guy. Mikey Thompson is another offensive weapon who was one of the better sixth men in the league last year. He is also a threat from the outside and can also play the point when needed. Those five guys will once again log a ton of minutes with returning reserves Thomas Borpleh, Joe Hanstad, and freshman Dezmyn Trent providing depth on the wing.
With all of the talent on the perimeter, Ryan Watkins plays a major role acting as the big man. He doesn’t bring much to the floor as a rim protector but can score around the basket and is aggressive on the glass. The graduation of Kenny Buckner means playing time behind Watkins is up for grabs with guys like Edmunds Dukulis, who had to sit out last season per NCAA eligibility rules, freshman Nick Duncan, redshirt freshman Joey Nebeker, JUCO transfer Joseph Webb, and seldom-used Jake Ness all competing for playing time.
Boise State should once again be a high powered offensive team that can light up the scoreboard in a hurry. The concern is a lack of size but if the Broncos can overcome that, expect them to contend with New Mexico for the MWC Championship.
Player to Watch: Anthony Drmic
Rice has recently tapped into the Australian pipeline with Drmic being the poster child for that recruiting effort. He is already less than one hundred points away from becoming a 1,000 point scorer and when all is said and done with his college career, could become the Broncos’ all-time leading scorer.
Key Non-Conference Games:
12/3 vs. Utah
12/10 at Kentucky
12/14 vs. St. Mary’s
12/22 vs. Hawaii (Diamond Head Classic)
12/23 vs. St. Mary’s/South Carolina (Diamond Head Classic)
12/25 vs. Iowa State/George Mason/Akron/Oregon State (Diamond Head Classic)
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#34 Villanova
#35 Oregon
#36 St. Louis
#37 La Salle
#38 San Diego State
#39 Stanford
#40 Arizona State
#41 BYU
#42 Pitt
#43 California
#44 Iowa State
#45 Providence
#46 Cincinnati
#47 UNLV
#48 Purdue
#49 LSU
#50 Illinois
#51 Xavier
#52 Boston College
#53 Ole Miss
#54 Missouri
#55 Washington
#56 Saint Mary’s
#57 Maryland
#58 Butler
#59 Minnesota
#60 Florida Gulf Coast
#61 Akron
#62 Temple
#63 Alabama
#64 Florida State
#65 Arkansas
#66 N.C. State
#67 Kansas State
#68 Davidson
#69 Dayton
#70 Miami FL
#71 SMU
#72 Texas A&M
#73 Long Beach State
#74 UMass
#75 Northwestern
#76 Indiana State
#77 Georgia Tech
#78 Oklahoma
#79 Richmond
#80 Manhattan
#81 Belmont
#82 Texas
#83 Houston
#84 Washington State
#85 Iona
#86 Oregon State
#87 Louisiana Tech
#88 Towson
#89 Wake Forest
#90 Central Florida
#91 Rutgers
#92 Drexel
#93 USC
#94 Charleston
#95 Seton Hall
#96 Vanderbilt
#97 George Mason
#98 Clemson
#99 Penn State
#100 Nebraska
#101 West Virginia
#102 South Florida
#103 Mississippi State
#104 DePaul
#105 South Carolina
#106 Texas Tech
#107 TCU
#108 Virginia Tech
#109 Georgia
#110 Utah
#111 Auburn
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.