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Friday Special…March 7, 2025.

Full disclosure: I’ve been working with Tyson Degenhart since the end of his freshman year, having been the point person for his popular “Degenhart Dozen” at Pastry Perfection. As NIL deals go, it’s modest, just like Tyson. He’s as good as it gets—as a person and as a player. And tonight in ExtraMile Arena, Degenhart plays the final scheduled home game of his Broncos career when Colorado State comes in for Senior Night at ExtraMile Arena. No disrespect to Alvaro Cardenas and O’Mar Stanley, who will also be honored tonight, and deservedly so. But Degenhart has a special place in Boise State sports history.

We started talking about Tyson very early in his career. Consider this. In his first six games at Boise State, he was a true freshman coming off the bench. Degenhart averaged less than seven minutes and exactly two points per game. The last game in that stretch was the infamous Broncos meltdown against Cal State Bakersfield, a 46-39 loss the night after Thanksgiving. Coach Leon Rice said, “That’s it.” He inserted Degenhart into the starting lineup for the next home contest against Saint Louis. Boise State lost 86-82 in overtime (scoring 43 points more than they had four nights earlier, mind you), with Tyson playing 37 minutes and putting up 11 points.

After Degenhart’s starting debut, the Broncos went on to win 14 consecutive games. Three days before Christmas—and five victories into the streak—Boise State was preparing to face Washington State in the first game of the neutral court series between the schools that continues today. Tyson was a natural storyline going in, and he made me look smart.

“Okay, we’re putting the pressure on Tyson Degenhart tonight. The Boise State true freshman is 12 games into his college career—six games in as a starter—and we’re already hyping a homecoming. Degenhart, who was just named Mountain West Freshman of the Week for the second consecutive week, returns home to Spokane tonight as the Broncos play a neutral-court game against Washington State in Spokane Arena. We don’t know how much Degenhart was recruited by WSU. Or Gonzaga for that matter. But Degenhart is neither a Coug nor a Zag. Can he make them wish he was? Degenhart is averaging 15.3 points per game since being inserted into the starting lineup three weeks ago. He displays a steely resolve when he’s on the floor, and man is he a team player. And he’s already showing leadership.”

Degenhart scored 11 points in the defensive grinder against the Cougs, a 58-52 Broncos win. He’d go on to earn Mountain West Freshman of the Week a record nine times that season, and he was the obvious choice for Mountain West Freshman of the Year. Furthermore, the same team that put up only 39 points against Cal State Bakersfield, matching the team’s fewest points ever scored in ExtraMile Arena, won its first Mountain West tournament championship and piled up a school record 27 victories. And Boise State made the first of three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (there is still hope for a fourth).

Tyson has been a fabulous ambassador for not only the men’s basketball program, but also the university and the city. He’s humble, polite, friendly and unselfish, and he’s all about Boise. Maybe Degenhart is drafted into the NBA—maybe he isn’t. Maybe he goes overseas to play pro hoops for a number of seasons. But if he settles down in Boise after that, and I don’t doubt that he will, he can write his own ticket.

This Day In Sports…brought to you by THE JAMES…craft food and cocktails, with heart and soul.

March 7, 1982:  The NCAA Tournament Selection is televised live for the first time.  The popularity of March Madness had exploded in the three years since Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans beat Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores in the 1979 final.  A year later, Treasure Valley fans would watch the Selection Show intently, as the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament’s West Regional were played in the BSU Pavilion for the first time.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.) 

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