The Broncos are off to a great 3-0 start to the 2025-2026 season. An opening tune up win against scrappy Cal Poly Humboldt, followed by a "duke it out" win over McNeese St. led to a blowout road win at Xavier. The wins showed we have a team that, unlike a law courtroom, on our court our defense doesn't rest.
There's something different about this new roster that has been missing, at times, during past seasons. GRIT. Thus far, we have been physical (that's not a typo), pressuring and pressing full court with excellent results. The GRIT has produced more steals, blocked shots, and offensive and defensive rebounding. Turnovers are down a bit; which is good considering all the new players.
The coaches installed focus areas in preseason practices to capitalize on our deep roster. Pressure everywhere where possible. Play more "inside out" by going down to the bigs for a post move or dish to an open layup or a 3 point shooter. Play FAST - get the ball moving up court for open 3 point looks or drive to the rim. Dominate the boards to limit second chance points or get our own for putbacks. So far, it's working.
For a team that lacks overall experience, one important thing we don't seem to lack is effort. We have eight or nine players that can start with not much talent drop off. We can be tough to play against. We're known for shooting the three ball, but now we have solid post options like 7'1" Bukky Oboye and 6'10" Allen Graves who can score in traffic or pass it to open three ball shooters. We also have four guards who shoot the three at 40+%. With them on the floor who do you guard? Not easy and just the way coaches want it. Even better, we have players who really like each other and pick each other up when needed. We have some floor leadership that keeps everyone motivated and focused. Intangibles, but missing in the past. This is all happening with two of our potential better players unavailable. Chris Tadjo, a 6'7" 255 lb forward, is out for the season with a knee injury and Gehrig Normand, a 6'6" elite shooter, who should return in December.
While it all looks good now, the heart of the non conference schedule awaits with strong opponents. The last four non conference games are road games against St. Louis, Arizona State, North Texas, and New Mexico. We should expect some off nights where we just don't click. Hopefully, not as many as last season with Quad 4 losses to teams ranked above 200. Next week Nevada, Idaho State, and Louisiana come to Leavey. Nevada has been a difficult out for us while we should handle Idaho State and Louisiana at home.
The coaches are focused on cleaning up key game performance areas to get more consistency. Those are turnovers, transition defense, high ball screen defense, and free throw shooting. Turnovers and free throw shooting are always on the list. Giving away possessions and missing what should be high percentage FT shots is always frustrating.
These are the errors associated with a fast paced floor game trying to "fit" a pass while running the floor or coming up empty after getting fouled at the rim. Both valuable when executed well. Not getting back on defense, giving up easy transition layups, or undefended threes is inexcusable. The high ball screen defense is always hard; as the options created for the defense to handle are many. We just need to learn to deal with it without leaving the best player uncovered or open on the play.
You can teach talent, but not experience. Our starters, depending on the game, have been a redshirt Freshman, or two redshirt Sophomores, a Junior, and two Seniors. The coaches are working hard with the players to accelerate the talent/experience ratio. Defense keeps teams in a game when shots aren't falling. Hopefully, our defense won't rest and continue its tough and relentless pressure. If so, we have a real chance to surprise better opponents and that would be a great post season resume to build!
