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Boise State Men’s Basketball 101

Welcome to your crash course!

Wyoming v Boise State Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images

It’s that time of year again; the long drought between football season ending, and spring ball beginning. If only we had a sport or two to tide us over.

What if I told you that such a sport existed?

Welcome to Boise State Men’s Basketball 101!

I know most of you are dedicated fans who could school most people on the ins and outs of the team, but here’s your crash-course on Boise State MBB, just in case you haven’t been paying attention.

The Record So Far:

10-5 (2-1 in MWC)

Upcoming Schedule:

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach Leon Rice

  • Twitter: @FakeLeonRice (presumably)
  • Nickname: “The Professional”
  • Notes: Leon is entering his 10th season at the helm, and the Broncos have thrived under his leadership. Last season was a bit rough, with his worst finish as BSU’s head coach, but once again his team looks primed to contend in the MWC.

Assistant Coach Mike Burns

  • Twitter: @BSUcoachBurns
  • Nickname: “Mr. Clean”
  • Notes: A defensive mastermind, Coach Burns has been known to use his waxed dome to distract opposing free-throw shooters.

Assistant Coach Tim Duryea

  • Twitter: @DuryeaTim
  • Nickname: “Superintendent Chalmers”
  • Notes: Formerly the head coach of Utah State, Tim’s head coaching career was sent into a tailspin by the infamous Nick Duncan double-bird. After struggling through one season post-bird-flipping, Tim decided to come to BSU and learn the ways of finger magic.

Assistant Coach R-Jay Barsh

  • Twitter: @CoachRjayBarsh
  • Nickname: “Maximus”
  • Notes: New to Boise State this season, Coach Barsh has made an immediate impact on Twitter, being one of the most popular BSU coach accounts. He’s also one of multiple RJ/RJay’s on the team at the moment, which is NOT AT ALL CONFUSING.

Director of Basketball Operations David Moats

  • Twitter: @CoachMoats
  • Nickname: “Token Ginger”
  • Notes: Nobody is 100% sure what “Basketball Operations” actually is, but every time David goes on vacation, absolutely nothing gets done.

Graduate Assistant Drew Bryson

  • Twitter: @dbryson20
  • Nickname: “Yes Man”
  • Notes: A serial retweeter, nobody really knows much about him aside from the constant stream of general BSU hype he retweets.

Graduate Assistant James Reid

  • Twitter: @coachjamesreid
  • Nickname: “Iceman”
  • Notes: We were fairly certain that he’s actually former BSU basketball star James Reid, but his coaching bio is completely empty. He might be a pod person, or one of those AI-generated things.

Video Coordinator Connor Kolodziej

  • Twitter: {REDACTED}
  • Nickname: “Baba Yaga”
  • Notes: Aside from a single tweet by an SMU athletics account, there is no online record of Connor Kolodziej.

Players:

Marcus Dickinson

  • Jersey: #0
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Senior
  • Nickname: “B.D.E.”
  • Twitter: @5GoneGetLive (protected)
  • Fast Fact: Models all aspects of his look and life on Russell Westbrook, and is still in denial about the whole Houston trade.

Marcus Shaver

  • Jersey: #1
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Happy”
  • Twitter: @marcus10shaver
  • Fast Fact: Transferred to Boise as a way to level out the weather after living in the opposite extremes of Phoenix and Portland.

Justinian Jessup

  • Jersey: #3
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Senior
  • Nickname: “Double J”
  • Twitter: @justinian_10
  • Fast Fact: Often rumored to be the reincarnation of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who apparently had mad ball skills.

Bing Huang

  • Jersey: #4
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Freshman
  • Nickname: “Google”
  • Twitter: @bing__huang
  • Fast Fact:

RayJ Dennis

  • Jersey: #10
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Freshman
  • Nickname: “Dennis the Menace”
  • Twitter: @rayjdennis10
  • Fast Fact: He has not made a video with any of the Kardashians, please stop asking.

Riley Abercrombie

  • Jersey: #11
  • Position: Forward
  • Class: Freshman
  • Nickname: “Outback”
  • Twitter: @Riley_Aber
  • Fast Fact: Does not appreciate being called a Kiwi

Max Rice

  • Jersey: #12
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Freshman
  • Nickname: “Mad Max”
  • Twitter: @maxrice12
  • Fast Fact: Possibly related to Head Coach Leon Rice, but has far better hair, so likely a distant relation.

Emmanuel Akot

  • Jersey: #14
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Maple Syrup”
  • Twitter: @emman_akot
  • Fast Fact: Formerly an Arizona Wildcat, Emmanuel was denied a transfer eligibility waiver because the NCAA is a crackpot organization that operates outside of logic, rules, or decency.

Derrick Alston Jr.

  • Jersey: #21
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Skinny”
  • Twitter: @deejuusz
  • Fast Fact: Probably the last season we will be able to watch him at Boise State, sadly. The League is calling.

Chase Berry

  • Jersey: #22
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Chuck”
  • Twitter: ‍♂️
  • Fast Fact: Owner of the absolute best player profile picture on Bronco Sports. Check it out.

RJ Williams

  • Jersey: #23
  • Position: Forward
  • Class: Senior
  • Nickname: “Nipsey”
  • Twitter: @that1tallguy23 (protected)
  • Fast Fact: Is on #TeamHeadband for life, and therefore currently holds the title of OBNUG’s favorite player.

Abu Kigab

  • Jersey: #24
  • Position: Forward
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Buckets”
  • Twitter: @AbuKigab
  • Fast Fact: Used to play for Oregon, but repented of his sins and is a full-fledged Bronco. All is forgiven.

Robin Jorch

  • Jersey:#25
  • Position: Center
  • Class: Senior
  • Nickname: “Smooth”
  • Twitter: ‍♂️
  • Fast Fact: He has since shaved, but, for a brief moment in time...

Mladen Armus

  • Jersey: #33
  • Position: Forward
  • Class: Junior
  • Nickname: “Gronk”
  • Twitter: ‍♂️
  • Fast Fact: I bet you thought we made up the nicknames. Nope.

Alex Hobbs

  • Jersey: #34
  • Position: Guard
  • Class: Senior
  • Nickname: “Tiger”
  • Twitter: @Lptko34
  • Fast Fact: Fans should feel cheated that we never got another player with the first or last name of Calvin. EVERYTHING WAS SET UP FOR THIS!