Three biggest needs for Boise State men’s basketball in the transfer portal this offseason

The Boise State men’s basketball team will have at least five new rotation players next season as the Broncos transition from the Mountain West to the Pac-12.

Center Drew Fielder, Boise State’s leading scorer (14.7 points per game) and rebounder (5.7) last season, is entering the transfer portal. Fielder was a second-team all-MWC selection as a junior.

Fellow starters Javan Buchanan (12.6 points, five rebounds) and RJ Keene II (2.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists) also plan to enter the portal. Keene II has one year of eligibility remaining while Buchanan would need a rule change to receive another year.

Starting point guard Dylan Andrews (12.5 points, 3.2 assists) and backup center Dominic Parolin (5.5 points, 4.7 points) are both out of eligibility.

The Broncos, who finished 20-12 overall last year and didn’t participate in the postseason, will use the transfer portal to plug several holes on the roster. The transfer portal opens on Tuesday, April 7.

Here is a look at Boise State’s three biggest needs in the transfer portal.

Veteran point guard

For the third consecutive offseason, Boise State will dip into the transfer portal to find its starting point guard.

The Broncos snagged San Jose State’s Alvaro Cardenas for the 2024-25 season. In his lone year with Boise State, Cardenas averaged 11.5 points and 6.9 assists and set the program’s single-season assists record with 256.

To replace Cardenas, the Broncos brought in UCLA transfer Dylan Andrews last offseason.

Boise State is set to return a pair of point guards in sophomore-to-be Aginaldo Neto and junior Julian Bowie, but neither player has shown enough to be handed the keys to the offense.

Plug-and-play center

With the loss of Fielder and Parolin, the Broncos are left with just one center on the roster: lightly-used sophomore-to-be Ethan Lathan.

Boise State could take up to two centers in the transfer portal to fill different roles. Fielder was most valuable as a stretch shooter while Parolin scored inside and gobbled up rebounds.

The Broncos lacked rim protection last season, finishing in a tie for 330th nationally at 2.2 blocks per game. Boise State must have better shot blocking in the Pac-12 next year.

Perimeter defenders

Boise State had no defensive answers for elite scoring guards last season, surrendering monster games to UNLV’s Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Nevada’s Corey Camper Jr. and Wyoming’s Leland Walker, among others.

The three-man wing combination of Pearson Carmichael, Andrew Meadow and Keene II was repeatedly picked on by quicker players. Andrews and Neto were up and down defensively.

To compete in the Pac-12, Boise State must add at least one defensive stopper on the perimeter.