BOISE, Idaho — Wednesday Weekly: February 15, 2023.
It was another “Naje being Naje” night for Boise State last Saturday. Naje Smith, the Broncos’ energizer, recorded the first double-double of his career — 18 points and 10 rebounds in the 75-63 win over Wyoming. Smith threw in four assists and three steals for good measure. But it was how he scored his points that got the announced crowd of 11,037 going. Smith had several dunks, one of which came after a failed alley-oop attempt to Chibuzo Agbo. Naje grabbed the offensive rebound and stuffed it home. In the second half, he took a feed from Tyson Degenhart and pulled off a reverse jam. Of course, his reactions after those are half the battle: arms waving, tongue wagging, and a floor slap.
Boise State didn’t have that mojo a week and a half ago in its loss at San Diego State. It did against Wyoming, and it was Smith turning on the faucet. The Broncos will need that down the stretch, starting tonight against Colorado State in Moby Arena. Smith was in the shadows in the win at Air Force two weeks ago, scoring only four points. Then he was saddled with foul trouble and put up just two points versus the Aztecs. But Smith’s first career double-double against the Cowboys washed that all away.
THE REAL MARCUS SHAVER JR. STOOD UP
I was one of those who really doubted Marcus Shaver Jr. would play against Wyoming, but I was also one of those who was glad to be wrong. Shaver was quite the storyline in that game. After missing the drubbing at Viejas Arena, he notched a pair of rebounds and an assist in the first 2½ minutes versus the Pokes. Shaver’s first shot attempt was a short airball from beyond the arc. Rust, maybe? But he followed with a couple of acrobatic lay-ins — then a three-pointer, and another. Shaver’s stat line was among his best of the season: 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal. And he played more than 30 minutes on that troublesome ankle. Boise State was plus-26 with Shaver in the game. He means a lot to this team and having him in uniform for another pivotal game at CSU will be huge.
WHEN DEGENHART IS EFFICIENT…
KTVB’s Jay Tust has some great Degenhart nuggets in his famous TuSTATS this week. Boise State’s star sophomore has five career 20-point games, with the most recent coming in the win over Wyoming. The number of shots it's taken Degenhart to get there: 20, 14, 13, 11, and 11. And amazingly, he’s never attempted more than two free throws in any of those five games. Also, his combined field goal percentage in the 20-pointers: a shade under 70. Degenhart is in a groove. Three of those 20-point outings have come in the past six games. And he continues to log massive minutes. Degenhart is third in the Mountain West in floor time, averaging almost 34 minutes per game. He’ll no doubt get those again tonight in Fort Collins.
TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE RAMS
Like Wyoming was last Saturday, Colorado State will be shorthanded tonight in Moby Arena. Unlike the Cowboys, the Rams are coming off their Mountain West weekend bye, so they could get a couple guys back. CSU operated with only seven scholarship players a week ago in a win at Air Force. Two who were missing might be back against the Broncos — one was out with a concussion and the other was ill. Coach Nikko Medved resisted the temptation to burn Jack Payne’s redshirt year versus the Falcons. Payne, the former Owyhee High star who led the Thunder to the Idaho 5A championship last March in their first year of existence, is too deep into the season to lose a season of eligibility. (Payne did it all for Owyhee: 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game as a senior.)
THE PAC-12 HORSE: A MUSTANG, NOT A BRONCO
It’s a foregone conclusion: it’ll be San Diego State and SMU going to the Pac-12 when the conference finally makes the move. Fans locally can understand the Aztecs. But the Mustangs? Well, it is sinking in. The Athletic sums it up nicely: “SMU’s Pac-12 case is centered on its location in Dallas, which would bring the Pac-12 into Texas, along with solid academics (it is a top-75 national university per U.S. News & World Report and is working to become a R1 research school) and a lot of money (a $2 billion endowment and many active big-money donors). It’s a private school, with an enrollment of more than 12,000, and is nonsectarian, having split from the United Methodist Church in 2019. The Pac-12 has avoided schools with religious ties in the past.”
Boise State has the TV eyeballs, the brand, and the long-term football success. The Broncos also have consistent attendance; SMU does not, having averaged less than 25,000 fans per game last year. But the ship is about to sail. Again, if Boise State doesn’t ultimately get an invite to a Power 5 league, it won’t be for lack of trying. This latest turn of events will not faze athletic director Jeramiah Dickey.
IDAHO TIES – THE AFTERMATH
I didn’t see any stats for former Idaho Vandal Christian Elliss in Super Bowl 57, so I thought I should dig a little deeper. Turns out Elliss did indeed play in the game for Philadelphia, so he becomes the first Vandal to appear in a Super Bowl since Shiloh Keo for Denver seven years ago. The only other local tie Sunday was Kansas City wide receivers coach Joe Bleymaier, the Bishop Kelly grad and son of former Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier. Joe gets another ring. His group was not spectacular, but it was solid, led by JuJu Smith-Schuster with seven catches. Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore had just one reception apiece, but they both went for wide-open, short-yardage, motion-driven, back-breaking fourth quarter touchdowns.
STEELIES SOAR PAST LAST SEASON’S MARK
That two-game losing streak, their first of the season, did not sit well with the Idaho Steelheads. They got back at the Tulsa Oilers last weekend with a sweep at Idaho Central Arena. The three wins allowed the Steelheads to match their win total from all of last season — they’re now 36-8-2 after going 36-33-3 during the 2021-22 campaign. Among Idaho’s defenseman, Owen Headrick is the story this season. Headrick leads all ECHL defensemen in points (41) and goals (12). He has points in four of his last five games and has notched at least one point in 31 of 40 games. With three more goals, Headrick will match the Steelheads career record for defensemen held by the legendary Jeremy Mylymok. The Steelies play at Wichita tonight and at Kansas City Friday and Saturday.
MERRITT TRIES TO SHAKE A MINI-SLUMP
The calendar year 2023 has been rough on former Boise State star Troy Merritt. Since tying for 65th at the Sony Open in Hawaii a month ago, Merritt has missed three straight cuts, including last week at the Phoenix Open. A second-round two-over 74 last Friday sidelined him. Merritt will give it another go when he tees off tomorrow in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. He’s OK in FedExCup standings right now, sitting at 101st with earnings of $448,241 thanks to a strong fall showing.
YOTES ARE LIGHTS-OUT BEYOND THEIR YEARS
It was unanimous last week, and why not? College of Idaho, now riding the longest winning streak in all of college basketball at 25 games, received all 20 first-place votes in the NAIA Coaches Poll — then the Coyotes routed Corban and Bushnell by 20-plus points each at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. In the latter game, the Yotes celebrated Senior Night. There are only two seniors on this year’s squad. Look out. C of I closes the regular season with a pair of road games in Washington, Friday at Northwest College and Saturday at Evergreen State. They’ll then host a Cascade Conference tournament quarterfinal next Tuesday in Caldwell.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS…February 15, 1916:
The New York Yankees buy Frank "Home Run" Baker from Philadelphia for $37,500, thinking they were really bolstering the power in their lineup. Before going to the Yanks, Baker earned his nickname by hitting two home runs for the Athletics in the 1911 World Series against the Giants. Doesn’t seem like that much, but that was before baseball changed. Baker had led the American League for four straight seasons by hitting 11, 10, 12 and nine homers before going to New York. Baker’s real legacy, though, was as a third baseman. He was considered the best at that position in the pre-war era.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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