Boise State was a different team last season when Marcus Shaver Jr. wasn’t on the floor.
The Broncos’ dynamic 6-foot-2 redshirt senior point guard was the oil that allowed the Boise State engine to run without sputtering. He wasn’t always the flashiest guy, but boy, was he consistent. He knew how to dribble out of pressure. He knew how to crash the boards. He knew how to do just what Boise State needed.
And when he wasn’t there? It showed. Shaver was injured for most of December, including a tough road game against Santa Clara just before Christmas. Boise State had no rhythm. The Broncos lost by 15.
A few months later at San Diego State, with Shaver on the bench nursing an injury, Boise State was doomed. Backup point guard Jace Whiting struggled to bring the ball up. The Broncos got into foul trouble. The Aztecs boat raced BSU by 20.
“You take your quarterback out and it matters a lot,” BSU coach Leon Rice said after that game, referring to Shaver. “We are what we are. We have what we have. … Our margin for error is small.”
Shaver’s importance was magnified all year, which meant his graduation was magnified just as much.
Behind only finding a big man, the most important question of the offseason was who Rice and Co. could find to replace Shaver.
They grabbed Roddie Anderson III, a UC-San Diego transfer who averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a freshman last season. Not only does the 6-2, 190-pound point guard bring real experience, he also comes to Boise State with three years of eligibility remaining.
“When I look at some of the really good guards we’ve had here, I don’t know if there’s been a sophomore who’s been in a better spot as a point guard,” Rice said in April. “We have high, high expectations for him.”
Rice isn’t one to hype kids just to hype them up. He truly believes what Anderson does could have a massive impact immediately.
He says that because Anderson has college experience — while he played on a team that finished near the bottom of the Big West, Anderson logged over 31 minutes a game.
Boise State over the last few years has nabbed high-major transfers that had tons of upside but little experience (Abu Kigab and Chibuzo Agbo, for example). Anderson is a kid who has shown to excel against Division I competition. Even better, he’s excelled as a point guard. That, to Rice, is why the upside is so high.
“You know, Derrick (Marks) evolved to be that (great point guard). Mikey Thompson evolved to be that,” Rice said. “But they were just ballers. Even Shav, he was just a baller who played point guard. This kid (Anderson) has had a full year running the point. So he might be ahead of those guys, and that’s a lofty thing to say because those are great players.”
It is going to be so fascinating to see how Boise State’s offense will evolve with a downhill point guard who knows how to dish the ball eloquently.
One would have to expect Tyson Degenhart and transfer center Cam Martin could be involved in a lot of pick and rolls, getting the ball right on the block and finishing. And imagine the excitement if you’re Chibuzo Agbo and Max Rice? The hope is the defense collapses on Anderson and they’re left with open 3-pointers.
It is going to be so fascinating to watch. Now, sophomore Jace Whiting will still surely see minutes on the court. His defensive tenacity last season gave the Broncos a few dozen free points. And now that Whiting has a year of college basketball under his belt, he will surely be a more polished offensive weapon.
But Anderson has the potential to alter — for the better — how Boise State plays.
“One of the great things about him is he can go by people,” Rice said. “When you have shooters all around you, and all that space, and a guy who can go by somebody, it’s gonna create problems. No doubt.”
