Boise State's magical season last year was all about hitting "program milestones," as Broncos' coach Leon Rice likes to call them.

When he arrived back in 2010, the program didn't have many major accomplishments to its name. Rice has slowly built it up from a WAC squad to one of the best in the Mountain West. And along the way have come these little checkpoints to let everyone know the Broncos are on the right path.

Last season included a barrage of them.

First time winning the Mountain West regular-season title outright. First time winning the conference championship. First time winning 14 straight games. On and on.

Heading into this year, two big accomplishments still remain for this program.

The first is the white whale: Win an NCAA Tournament game.

The second carries a bit less weight: Win an early season tournament.

The Broncos have played in eight major multi-team events since Rice took over. They've come away with zero trophies.

"It's another milestone we want to be able to accomplish," Rice said.

Their next chance comes this week in South Carolina at the Myrtle Beach Invitational which features some solid squads: Colorado, Texas A&M, Loyola Chicago and BSU's first-round opponent, Charlotte.

"We have put ourselves in good tournaments over the years and we have been in the championship game a number of times, but haven't won one yet," Rice said. "You look at the teams that win preseason tournaments — well, (a lot of them) end up having great years."

These preseason tournaments can so often be resume boosters for squads toeing the line of the NCAA Tournament bubble. A win in November is just the same as a win in March to the committee — and multi-team events allow squads to pile up quality wins before conference season even begins.

Heading into their Myrtle Beach opener on Thursday, the Broncos already have one solid nonconference victory. Just days after falling to South Dakota State in its opener, Boise State responded on Saturday and took care of Washington State for the second straight season.

It hasn't been a perfect start to the season, but progress is quickly being made.

"That's one of the first signs of a good team: They can respond when they need to and they can get better at the things you're emphasizing," Rice said. "You don't arrive where you need to be and want to be on November 11. You get there with the journey. You get there with the preseason. You get there with the development."

The jump Boise State made in one game was noticeable. In the opener, the Broncos' two centers — Lukas Milner and Mo Sylla — didn't score. Against Wazzu, Milner accounted for 10 points despite being in foul trouble. Texas Tech transfer Chibuzo Agbo had some solid moments. And Naje Smith got more involved, notching a dozen points and five rebounds.

"He's kind of like our Draymond (Green of Golden State) because he's so versatile," Rice said of Smith. "Whether it stays this way or not, who knows, but I love having a guy like that come off the bench. Whatever happens in the first two or three minutes, you can put him in somewhere and fix whatever problem you need to fix."

Smith is one of those key role players Boise State is going to need to step up this season. The Broncos know what they'll get every night from Max Rice and Marcus Shaver Jr. and Tyson Degenhart. It's how everyone develops that will determine the season.

The Broncos' most glaring struggle in this early season? Outside shooting. After two games, Boise State is 7 for 31 (22%) from beyond the arc.

"It's a matter of us staying with our process," Rice said. "All of the things we really run our analytics on, our numbers aren't where we're gonna be, so that's encouraging. But we're headed in that direction."