BOISE — It was barely two months ago when Boise State coach Leon Rice raved about the improvements of guard Alex Hobbs and predicted he would be one of the top guards in the Mountain West.
Nothing has changed.
Hobbs scored 13 points to help the Broncos to a 82-62 win over Central Washington last Saturday in his first significant action in almost four weeks due to an ankle injury. And with Boise State on a three-game losing streak coming in, the junior’s importance to the team was on full display.
Would Boise State be 3-5 right now had Hobbs been healthy all season? It’s tough to say for sure, but consider this — the Broncos have lost three games by three or fewer points and Hobbs either didn’t play or was at less than 100 percent in all three of them.
“He knows how to play, he knows our system and where the ball should go,” Rice said. “That’s going to help us.”
Hobbs nearly had as many points Saturday (13) as he had the rest of the season combined (16) coming in. He made a 3-pointer, he drove with confidence and quickness to the hoop and looked much more like the player many expected him to be when the year started.
“It helps a ton,” fellow junior Justinian Jessup said of having Hobbs back at full strength. “I was just saying in practice the other day, when he’s out there, we just have so much more poise as a team and a lot of control over the game. He makes a lot of plays and distributes the ball and can score, so it’s definitely huge for our team.”
Hobbs was the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year a year ago and was Boise State’s second leading returning scorer at 8.7 points per game. He was the second leading returner at 25.5 minutes per game and was the top returner in assists at 2.6.
A strong offseason had those around the program excited to see what Hobbs would do this year, but he’s been unable to show his improvements to this point. He suffered a concussion that cost him a week of practice during the preseason, and then the ankle injury occurred just before the season opener against Idaho State.
Hobbs tried to play through the pain and had six points in 20 minutes in the loss to Idaho State, and eight points in 18 minutes in a win over Jackson State. He scored just two points in 14 minutes in the opener of the Cayman Islands Tournament against Creighton before sitting out the win against St. Bonaventure the next day.
He played just five minutes and didn’t score in a 3-point loss to Illinois State before missing the next two games — including a 2-point road loss at Grand Canyon. In all, Hobbs had played just five total minutes in the four games prior to Saturday’s win over Central Washington.
“It’s been a little disappointing, but I’ve got great coaches and great guys around me that just keep me looking at the big picture,” Hobbs said. “That’s really what it’s all about. Definitely I was bummed that I wasn’t able to start the year how I wanted or start the year healthy…(Saturday) was honestly like the first day I kind of felt like myself again really. I kind of felt restricted the past couple games, but it feels really good to get back out there and play.”
Hobbs played a season-high 31 minutes Saturday against Central Washington, which was more than double than the 14.2 minutes he averaged in the four previous games he had played in this season. He proved to be healthy, and Boise State benefited — as expected — as a result.
A healthy Hobbs could be huge for the Broncos moving forward as they look to rebound from the program’s worst start since the 1995-96 season. And Rice hasn’t let a slow start change his expectations.
“I’m expecting him and Justinian to be two of the better players in the league and for us to be a good team they have to be,” Rice said. “It’s not a pressure thing. It’s a ‘let it rip’ thing. Those two have to be able to let it rip. Justinian has to shoot the ball with extreme confidence and Alex has to be aggressive and get guys going. When we do that, we’ll be really good.”
Having Hobbs healthy again is a nice place to start.
CHRISTON TO TRANSFER
Boise State sophomore guard Cam Christon will transfer out of the program, a team official confirmed to the Idaho Press on Monday. Christon, who averaged 2.0 points in 14 games last season, hadn’t played yet this season in part because of a broken nose. He made the decision to transfer prior to Saturday’s game against Central Washington, and wasn’t on the bench.
Christon was the sixth guard in the rotation and wouldn’t have played much this season even had he been healthy. He likely would have struggled to get minutes next season as well with all six guards returning. Christon declined comment when reached by the Idaho Press on Monday.