Boise State Men’s Basketball 101

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!