Basketball season kicks off

By Mary Albl The Arbiter

October 29, 2007

Boise, ID (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Boise State University fans were able to take a break from the football frenzy that has encompassed the valley and take a sneak peak at the men and women's basketball teams Thursday night.

With the Bronco basketball seasons less than a week away, the players were able to finally strut their stuff in front of hundreds of fans at the second annual Fan Fest.

The event featured a 3-point contest, a dunk contest, a live scrimmages by both the men and women's teams and autographs for the fans afterward.

"It was fun tonight," Women's Head Coach Gordy Presnell said. "I hope the community enjoyed it and our kids enjoyed it. Hopefully they'll be back."

Part of the fun for the fans was seeing the future generation of the Bronco stars. Fresh faces on the court included junior college transfers Aaron Garner and Jamia Malone, who both won the 3-point contest for the men and women.

"Yes, I was nervous out there," Malone said. "It's my first time being [division one] so yeah, I was a

little nervous."

Malone, who comes to the Broncos from Tyler Junior College in Texas, was an honorable mention All-American. She is no stranger to winning and scoring as she helped led her team to a 28-8 record

last season.

"I just want to make my team better," Malone said. "I also want to help defend the WAC championship we won from last year."

As Malone comes from a smaller program, she is adjusting to the structure and difference of playing Division I ball.

"It's way different," Malone said. "Tempo is much faster and we have more fans [than a junior college]."

Another new face that Bronco fans should be looking for this season is freshman Melissa Rima.

Rima comes to the program from Alaska where she was a four-time Alaska All-State honoree.

"Melissa Rima is good," Presnell said. "She's going to play a lot for us this year. I was really pleased with her, she did well tonight."

Also at the event fans were able to take a look at some of old faces of the BSU programs.

Men's senior Reggie Larry won the dunk contest for the second year in a row by beating out fellow senior Matt Nelson.

The men's team has four seniors on the roster this season, while the women have two.

It wasn't just the newcomers who were a little anxious to finally be playing in front of a crowd, however.

"It was interesting to see who gets a little nervous and the adrenaline kicks in and all of the sudden their shots are going like wild," Presnell said. "It's a good kick off to our season though."

The men officially get the ball rolling on Fri. Nov. 2 with a home exhibition against Evergreen at 1 p.m. The women have a home exhibition game Nov. 4 against Lewis-Clark State.