No better time for BSU to "D" up
All this season, Boise State has had its hot shooting to mask its defensive drawbacks. The Broncos still lead the WAC in scoring (82.5 points per game) and the nation in field goal percentage (51.6), but they’re last in the WAC in scoring defense (74.7 points per game). Going into the Hawaii game two weeks ago, coach Greg Graham harped on defense, and it appeared to work for 30 minutes of BSU’s 15-point win—and again for 30 minutes in the victory over Idaho nine days later. Presumably Graham’s been harping again, because it was one of those unconscious shooting nights that allowed the Broncos to upend Nevada last month, 95-80. They’ll have to defend tomorrow night in Taco Bell Arena as the Wolf Pack come in on a roll, having won six of their last seven and scoring in the 80’s regularly.
BSU is 39-5 in the Greg Graham era when scoring 80 or more points, but loss No. 5 was last Saturday when the Broncos got blistered 99-80 at New Mexico State. It’s not hard to figure out that was the low point of the season defensively. If BSU doesn’t expend 40 minutes of energy against Marcelus Kemp, it won’t be pretty tomorrow. The Nevada senior star poured in 35 points in the Pack’s win over Utah State Monday night. Kemp scored 23 on the Broncos last month, but he was just 6-of-18 from the field. Meanwhile, free throw shooting is a growing problem for BSU. The Broncos are under 66 percent for the season, and if they’re fortunate enough to be up on the Pack in the final minutes tomorrow night, can they knock ‘em down?
It’s been a nice problem to have, but Boise State has had some late-arriving crowds this season at Taco Bell Arena. They haven’t been fashionably late, they’ve been gummed up at the will-call and walk-up ticket windows, and stuck in gridlock simply trying to enter the building at a couple minutes before 7:00. In anticipation of another backup for the Nevada and Fresno State games this week, BSU is asking fans to buy tickets in advance. And to get there early, no matter what. So will the warnings be necessary when the Wolf Pack come in? Nevada should be a good draw, but it is Valentine’s Day, and some wind is out of the sails after the big loss at New Mexico State. A crowd of 7,000 would be solid for the Broncos tomorrow night.
The Idaho Stampede and Mickael Gelabale got the job done for each other. The Stampede got six quality games from Gelabale—he averaged 17.8 points a game over the last two weeks. And Gelabale got the playing time he needed to hone his game and earn a return to Seattle—the Sonics recalled him yesterday. Now, will Gelabale see more action in Seattle? He’s appeared in 24 games for the Sonics this season, averaging just over eight minutes and 2½ points a game.
The Idaho Steelheads are doing a little scoreboard-watching these days. What they found the last two nights was Victoria splitting a two-game series with Fresno, winning in overtime last night, 6-5. The Falcons won Monday, 3-2. That means the Steelheads are four points behind the Salmon Kings in the ECHL West Division, with Victoria having a game in hand over Idaho (the Salmon Kings have played one less contest. The Steelies will resume the chase tonight when they begin a three-game set versus Phoenix in Qwest Arena. They’ve won 10 of their last 13 games and are 21-9-1 since December 1.
Beware Southern Miss when Boise State travels to the Deep South this fall. The Golden Eagles may have prematurely forced out long-time head coach Jeff Bower after last season, but fans are gaga over new coach Larry Fedora’s first recruiting class unveiled a week ago today. More specifically, five-star wide receiver DeAndre Brown out of Ocean Springs, MS. Brown is an already-imposing 6-6, 208 pounds, and chose Southern Miss over LSU, Auburn and Tennessee. Would it be a surprise to see Brown suit up as a true freshman against the Broncos? Not with that pedigree.
Fedora, the former Oklahoma State and Florida offensive coordinator, said when he realized he had a chance of landing Brown, he went after him hard. Fedora looks at it as a mindset. "You have to make kids understand that's not really what it's all about," Fedora said, referring to the lure of BSC conferences. "We can prepare guys for the next level. We can play in bowl games every year. We can win championships."
WAC football is just about to get more fun, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports former Idaho quarterback Doug Nussmeier is headed for Fresno State to become Pat Hill’s new offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs’ fourth in four years. Nussmeier has spent the past two seasons as quarterback coach for the St. Louis Rams under Scott Linehan, who was Nussmeier’s QB coach with the Vandals. Before that he worked at Michigan State under John L. Smith, who was head coach while Nussmeier played at Idaho. In 1993 he won the Walter Payton Award that goes to the best player in Division I-AA. Nussmeier is one of only three quarterbacks in NCAA history to throw for at least 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000—the other two are Steve McNair and Daunte Culpepper.
Hill can’t interview any candidates until after tomorrow, when Fresno State’s 14-day job posting period ends. Nussmeier would create an interesting dynamic on the Bulldog staff, as three former BSU assistants have been there a long time: defensive coordinator Dan Brown, secondary coach Randy Stewart and linebackers coach Tom Mason. But wait—Mason, BSU’s interim coach when Pokey Allen was away for cancer treatment in 1996, has been hired by June Jones as defensive coordinator at SMU. So Hill has to post another job for 14 days. Mason is the only one of the three who overlapped with Nussmeier, having been D-coordinator for the Broncos when Nussmeier was a senior with the Vandals in 1993. Idaho won that year 49-16, the last victory in its 12-game winning streak over BSU.
This Day In Sports…February 13, 1971:
Boise State plays its first basketball game against the University of Montana in its first season as a Big Sky member, and Bronco forward Ron Austin scores 42 points—a school record that still stands. BSU beat the Grizzlies 98-74 that night, and Austin went on to average 24½ points per game for the season, another record still in the books.
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