It's going to be a tough year, we owe it to coach Rice to support this team. We've got tons of potential but without fan support NOW that potential may never be realized and even if it is we won't enjoy it as much, having not watched these young players develop. Great article by Nick, BSU's go to guy for all things Basketball. Plenty of new faces as Boise State opens men's basketball practice Technically, the Boise State men’s basketball program doesn’t have tryouts for its scholarship players. Yet when the Broncos officially open practice Friday, the workouts will have the feel of a tryout as nine newcomers and six returners try to carve out their roles for the program’s first season in the Mountain West. "When you have a team like this, everything is a tryout," coach Leon Rice said. "Even the guys who played last year are trying out to see how many minutes they’ll play this year. We don’t know. I’ve never had a team with this many question marks." The questions stem from losing seven seniors from last season’s team that finished second in the WAC and advanced to the College Basketball Invitational semifinals. Replacing them are seven freshmen and a pair of junior college transfers. "We’re really convinced that they’re all going to be very good — you just don’t know when," Rice said. "For some of them, it might be two months from now. For some, it might be two years from now. "We feel if we can keep this group together and keep them working hard and improving every day ... in time we can have something special." Outside expectations for this season are low. The Broncos were picked to finish last in the Mountain West. "It’s humbling," senior guard Wes Perryman said. "But it’s motivation for us to keep working hard and getting better so we can prove we’re better than eighth." Rice said he expects some freshmen to use redshirt seasons but those decisions won’t be made for a few weeks. The Broncos play their lone exhibition game Nov. 8 against Colorado-Colorado Springs and open the season Nov. 11 against Colorado Christian.