Colorado Basketball – October, 2017

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Colorado Basketball

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October 31st

… CU in the Arena … 

Buffs overcome sluggish first half to top Colorado Mines, 78-52, in exhibition 

From CUBuffs.com … If exhibition games were meant for experimentation, Colorado coach Tad Boyle got his money’s worth out of Monday night’s game with Colorado Mines.

Boyle mixed and matched his lineup combinations all night, getting a good look at his freshmen as well as his returnees in a 78-52 win over Mines at the Coors Events Center.

CU senior George King led Colorado with 13 points, and he also added four rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman point guard McKinley Wright and senior post Tory Miller-Stewart each added nine points for the Buffs while Namon Wright and Dominique Collier had eight points each.

HOW IT HAPPENED: After holding a narrow three-point lead at the half, 32-29, the Buffs slowly pulled away after intermission to provide the final margin.

“A little ugly out there would be a fair statement, especially in the first half,” said Boyle, who has always preferred closed scrimmages to exhibition games. “But in the second half some things started to come together and we wore them down a little bit.”

Boyle used 13 different players in the game, with 11 getting at least 13 minutes of playing time.

“We need to get a little bit more cohesiveness in terms of rotation and we will,” Boyle said. “(Tonight) was just more, ‘Here’s your three minutes, let’s see what you can do.’ I told them before we took the court that everybody’s going to play. Don’t count the time, make the time count.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 30th

… CU in the Arena … 

CU men’s basketball opens season with an exhibition game against Colorado Mines

From CUBuffs.com … It won’t count on their record, but you can bet the Colorado Buffaloes will be treating Monday night’s exhibition game with Colorado Mines with all kinds of importance.

Tipoff at the Coors Events Center is set for 7 p.m.

For starters, it will be the first true chance for a host of newcomers — five scholarship true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and one transfer — to show their abilities in a game situation.

Meanwhile, it will be a chance for the entire team to see exactly what kind of rotation Tad Boyle and his staff have in store.

Boyle has mixed and matched a variety of lineup possibilities throughout the fall practice session. While Monday night’s starting five will by no means be the bunch that sees the floor in the Buffs’ Nov. 10 season opener vs. Northern Colorado, the exhibition game should still provide at least a hint of what kind of rotation Boyle wants to use this season.

It will be a surprise if at least one of the true freshmen doesn’t see the starting lineup. The most likely candidate is point guard McKinley Wright, who has been impressive since Day 1. In Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage, Boyle teamed Wright with Dominique Collier at the off guard, George King and Namon Wright at the wings and Tory Miller-Stewart in the post.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 26th

… CU in the Arena … 

Freshman Evan Battey ruled academically ineligible

... Related … “Buffs’ Battey Vows To Make Most Of Redshirt Year” … from CUBuffs.com

From the Daily Camera … Evan Battey has been in this situation before.

That doesn’t make it any more frustrating, however. And that feeling of frustration seemingly is being felt doubly so by Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle.

On Thursday, Boyle announced that freshman forward Evan Battey has been ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA for the 2017-18 season. Battey will take a redshirt year and will be unable to travel with the team, though he will be allowed to practice. The 6-foot-8 forward will retain all four years of eligibility.

Boyle made it clear the decision was forced upon him by the NCAA, and that he planned to have all five of his freshmen in the mix this season. Given some of the headline-grabbing issues swirling over college basketball, Boyle also made it clear the situation isn’t anything he is happy about.

“I’ve been coaching Division I basketball now for 24 years. I’m not sure I’ve ever been around a kid who’s probably more ready academically and athletically to play,” Boyle said. “It’s not a decision I agree with. We went through the waiver process and we lost the waiver. It’s extremely disappointing. The people that were on that waiver committee missed the boat on this one. They have no idea what kind of kid Evan Battey is.

… Continue reading story here …

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CBS Sports ranks every men’s basketball team

Full list of all 351 men’s basketball teams can be found here

Pac-12 rankings … 

2. Arizona

8. USC

20. UCLA

34. Oregon

42. Stanford

57. Arizona State

71. Utah

Tad Boyle’s a great coach; he just turned Derrick White into an NBA player which, if you haven’t read that story, do it now. But this is probably going to be a middling CU team in a just-OK Pac-12.

No. 82 – Oregon State

No. 132 – Colorado State

No. 141 – Washington

No. 163 – California

No. 201 – Washington State

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October 25th

… CU in the Arena … 

Men’s scrimmage free and open to the public Saturday morning before Cal game

From CUBuffs.com … The University of Colorado men’s basketball team will hold an open Black and Gold scrimmage on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Coors Events Center.

Tailgating fans and those arriving for the Colorado-California football game (12 p.m., Folsom Field) are invited to stop by and watch the Buffaloes scrimmage as they finalize preparations for their exhibition game on Monday. Colorado will host Colorado Mines at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30.

Saturday’s scrimmage will be a great opportunity for fans to see the new look Buffaloes who feature nine players that have yet to suit up in a regular season game, including six true freshmen.

The doors on the main concourse will be open for entry. Campus football gameday parking rules will be in effect, which requires either payment or permit at all lots.

“I always say college basketball is not a spectator sport, it’s a participant sport,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “I want our fans to feel a connection with this team. I want our team to feel a connection with our fans. Any time our team has an opportunity to interact with the public, it’s a good thing; for our fans and for our players.”

Season tickets are on sale for the 2017-18 season and begin as low as $155 for general admission seating. For more information visit CUBuffs.com/tickets or call 303-49BUFFS.

Tickets for the Oct. 30 exhibition against Colorado Mines are $10 for reserved seating and $5 for general admission.

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October 19th

… CU in the Arena … 

Former Oregon recruit suing school over injuries sustained during illegal workout

From CBS Sports … A player who tore his ACL on a recruiting visit to Oregon in 2015 is suing the university and members of its men’s basketball coaching staff for alleged negligence.

Crisshawn Clark, who is now a junior guard at Portland, claims to have suffered the injury during a workout on an official visit to OU’s campus in Eugene, Oregon during a time in which it was against NCAA rules for him to be doing that. He is seeking at least $100,000 for “pain and suffering,” according to The Oregonian, as well as loss of future income due to the knee injury.

Oregon offered Clark a full-ride scholarship while he was a sophomore at Canada College in October 2015 before his visit, then suffered the injury during a workout the lawsuit claims was led by assistant coach Mike Mennenga. And while Oregon paid for the surgery for Clark’s ACL repair, the lawsuit, citing NCAA bylaw 13.11.2.1, states that he should not have been working out to begin with.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 18th

… CU in the Arena …

Tad Boyle Pac-12 media day quotes

From CUBuffs.com …

On Former Buffs Starting NBA Season Tonight
“Before I start on this year’s team, I want to give a shout out to our four NBA guys who embark on a new season: Alec Burks, Spencer Dinwiddie, Andre Roberson, and Derrick White. We’re extremely proud of those guys. We’re happy for them. One of the most gratifying things as a coach is when you see your players have success five, 10, 15 years down the road. Obviously those guys are in the NBA which is great, but we’ve had 19 players matriculate through our program in the seven years we’ve been here, and all 19 have gotten their degrees. They’re not all playing in the NBA, they’re not all playing overseas. We’ve got Trey Eckloff who is an attorney in Denver, Levi Knutson is in the financial business in Denver, Ben Mills is working for a software company.”

On Changes to Coaching Staff …
“Much like our players, our staff has changed over the past few years. We’ve had tremendous stability since we’ve been here. Bill Cartun his seventh year as our director of (basketball operations), Sean Kearney is starting his fifth year. We lost Rodney Billups two years ago to the University of Denver, he’s a really good coach who did a lot of great things for us here. Obviously Jean Prioleau recently moved on to San Jose State and got his first head coaching opportunity. Mike Rohn is a guy that has been here since day one, along with Coach Cartun and myself and I’m giving him the title of Associate Head Coach. I shouldn’t say I’m giving it, he’s earned that title. He’s a guy that’s going to be a tremendous head coach. Much like our players, we want (our assistants) to move on and have success. Mike Rohn has everything it takes to be a great head coach. Coach (Bill) Grier, who replaced Coach Billups on our staff, has been a head coach for eight years. Coach (Kim) English, who just replaced Coach Prioleau, is a guy whose got a tremendous future ahead of him. I’ve never felt as comfortable and as confident in our staff as I do today. Congratulations to Coach Rohn, we’re excited for him and hopefully he will get his chance to be a head coach in the not too distant future.”

On This Season’s Team …
“Obviously it’s a whole new outfit than what we’ve had in years past, or even last year. We’re not going to talk about last year a lot, but hopefully we’ve learned some things from last year as players in the program, and certainly as coaches. We’ve got eight freshman in this class. Namon Wright sat out last year, he’s coming off his redshirt year. It’s a whole new look but I love this team. I love coaching this team every day, I love their spirit, I love their competitiveness, I love their effort, and our goal this year is no different than in years past: we want to compete for a Pac-12 championship, qualify for the NCAA tournament, and to be playing our best basketball in the month of March.”

On George King and Senior Class Not Accepting a Rebuilding Season …
“I’m glad George said that. We were talking about that yesterday as a matter of fact. We’re not into rebuilding, we have a lot of new faces, a lot of young faces, but our internal expectations are no different. The four seniors we have on this years team, George King, Dom Collier, Tory Miller, and Josh Repine, they’re not into rebuilding. This is their last year, so we owe it to them to have as good a year as we can have. Hopefully we can get to the NCAA Tournament and advance.”

On Challenge in Coaching a Team With Eight Freshmen …
“The challenge for me in practice has been finding the balance between letting these guys play through their mistakes and stopping practice and correcting them. I feel like I could blow the whistle every time down the floor, but I know November 10^th is coming quick and you can’t do that during the games. The film room is an area where this team really has to grow and take the mistakes they make, see them on film, and come out the next day and not make the same mistakes. It’s finding that balance as a coach, when do I stop and correct them and teach. You don’t want to do too much of that and lose the flow off practice. It’s a young group and we’re still in the process of trying to develop habits, and that takes some time.”

On Italy Trip …
“The Italy trip was not just plucked out of thin air. We knew that this year’s team needed it, we redshirted Dallas Walton and Alex Strating last year, Namon (Wright) was sitting out after transferring from Missouri. We knew we were going to lose a lot of experience and firepower last year so the Italy trip was critical. It was practice number 12 today, but really it was practice number 22 because we had 10 this summer. It was good for us, we learned a lot. It was a great experience but it’s in the rearview mirror, it’s onward and upward from here.”

On the Starting Lineup …
“I don’t know for sure. The nice thing about this year’s team is that it’s not about the starting lineup because we’re going to have quality depth. The key with this year’s team is whose going to finish games. The nice thing about this team as a coach is, we’ll have the chance to play big with certain lineups, we’ve got the chance to play small with certain lineups. I don’t know the starting lineup as of today, that’s something I’m kind of evaluating on a day-to-day basis. I don’t put a lot of stock into the starting lineup, I’m more concerned with whose finishing the game in one-point game with a minute to go. I have to put five guys out there that I trust to do the things we expect them to and who can get it done.”

On Team Responding to More Available Playing Time…
“I hope so. The one message I’ve given this team is that there isn’t a starting lineup. Nobody in here should feel comfortable. What you did last year has no bearing on this year, whether you’re a senior or a freshman, it doesn’t matter. I want our players to feel like there is playing time to be earned. There’s no entitlement, you have to come to work every day and battle.”

On Senior Forward Tory Miller…
“Tory is doing a very good job. The biggest thing I’ve talked about with Tory is accepting who he is and not trying to be somebody he’s not. I think he’s starting to understand that. He’s rebounding the ball better than he’s ever rebounded the ball. The scrimmages we’ve had, the stats we keep in practice, he’s been our best offensive rebounder – something we’ve challenged him to do. He’s finishing around the basket, his body is good, he looks good, he feels good. Hopefully this can be a breakout year for not only Tory, but also Dom (Collier) as well. But Tory has really rebounded the ball well.”

On Battle For Playing Time Creating More Intensity…
“When you have so many freshmen they realize there are literally spots to be earned, where as in years past (that wasn’t the case.) Last year we had two freshman in Del (Brown) and Lucas (Siewert), and obviously we had a few players who aren’t back, but we had a lot more veterans. Sometimes just the feeling with seniors, it’s a ‘their turn’ type of thing, I don’t want that. I want our seniors to be pushed by our freshman, I want them looking over their shoulders. That means we’re recruiting well and there has to be an edge to us at Colorado. There should be an edge to us this year. At Pac-12 Media Day last week, they picked us ninth. If our guys don’t have an edge after that, I don’t know what will create that. We have to have an edge that we didn’t have last year. (That edge) has kind of come and gone, but we have to play with it every single year, and every single game, every single day.”

On Expectations for Freshmen …
“A guy that’s certainly stood out head and shoulders above the rest is McKinley Wright. Physically, mentally, emotionally, he has really stepped up for a freshman. Some other guys come and they go. D’Shawn Schwartz has had some great moments. Tyler Bey has great moments. Evan Battey has great moments. McKinley has been the kind of day in, day out guy in terms of the freshman class so far. Dallas Walton has had some really good moments. Alex Strating continues to improve and get better. The freshman class is going to be up, it’s going to be down, that’s the nature of freshman, but hopefully they can reach a maturity and consistency as the season unfolds.”

On Adding McKinley Wright Late in Recruiting Period …
“When we had our year end meetings and it was clear that Bryce Peters wasn’t going to come back and that Thomas Akyazili was going to go back to Belgium, that was two guards that left the program. We went from not needing a guard to needing one, and needing one that could come in and play right away. Recruiting a lot of times is based on need, you always want good players, but we really needed a point guard and when he opened up his recruitment, our staff did a great job of identifying him. We jumped on him quickly and got to Minneapolis, we met with him and his family, we had him here for a visit. It was a pretty quick recruiting process, but I can’t tell you how fortunate we are to have him here and I think if you asked McKinley, he feels very fortunate to be at a place like the University of Colorado.”

On Potential Redshirts …
“We’ll redshirt at least one, maybe more, we’ll see. I’ll have an announcement on that later this week or early next week.”

On Addition of Coach Kim English …
“The nice thing about having Coach English on staff is that he’s young enough and in shape enough where he could jump in there and demonstrate. He can move a little. He can’t necessarily practice with us but he has a feel for the game. Obviously, he just stopped playing the game (competitively) not too long ago, he’s young, he brings a lot to our staff. I think so much is made of (specialized) coaches now, but they’re not different than players and we want our coaches to be well-rounded. They’re not just recruiters or just offensive guys or just defensive guys, they have to be able to do a little bit off everything. Coach English is a young coach whose growing, but he has a chance to be really special and he’s been a good addition.”

On Senior George King …
“What we need from George is leadership and consistency. He has to be that consistent, stable guy, who knows he’s been there, knows he’s done that. He has to give those freshmen that rock that they can look to, especially when things get tough. George is a very composed player which will help him in that regard, but he can’t be thinking about just George King, and I think that’s the leap a lot of players have to make going from underclassman to upperclassman. To get into that leadership role, he has to get out of himself. (He has to) get over himself, get out of himself, and see the big picture with this team – to set the example, but now hold his teammates accountable to that example.”

… Continue reading coverage here, including quotes from Namon Wright, Dominique Collier, and George King …

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October 13th

… CU in the Arena …

CU picked to finish 9th in Pac-12 preseason media poll

From the Pac-12 … ARIZONA, a popular pick as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team, has been chosen the favorite to win the 2017-18 Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball title in a vote of media members who cover the league.

Arizona, the national frontrunner according to Athlon, Blue Ribbon Sports and Street & Smith’s preseason publications, was a near unanimous Conference favorite, receiving 22-of-23 first-place votes and 273 points to land atop the preseason poll. The Wildcats return three starters including 2017 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player Allonzo Trier from last year’s Pac-12 regular-season co-champion and Pac-12 Tournament title team.

It marks the 15th time Arizona has been the league’s predicted winner dating back to 1989-90, including the fifth time in the past six seasons. The Wildcats have backed up the billing on nine occasions, most recently in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

USC was picked to finish second for its highest-ever preseason Conference ranking. The Trojans, buoyed by the return of all five starters from last year’s team that won a school record 26 games, received the other first-place vote and totaled 251 points as the predicted runner-up.

UCLA, which returns a pair of double-digit scorers and adds two McDonald’s All-Americans, was slotted third, followed by 2017 NCAA Final Four participant OREGON in fourth. STANFORD, anchored by four returning starters including the Pac-12’s top returning scorer in Reid Travis, was picked fifth.

ARIZONA STATE rounded out the top six of the preseason poll, breaking into the top half for the first time since being picked fourth prior to the 2010-11 campaign.

UTAH, OREGON STATE, COLORADO, WASHINGTON, CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON STATE completed the predicted order of finish.

Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason media poll

1. Arizona (22) 273

2. USC (1) 251

3. UCLA 223

4. Oregon 203

5. Stanford 182

6. Arizona State 146

7. Utah 129

8. Oregon State 125

9. Colorado 112

10. Washington 71

11. Cal 46

12. Washington State 33

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Tad Boyle in favor of increased scrutiny by NCAA

From the Daily Camera … Count the Buffaloes’ leader among those pleased both the NCAA and the Pac-12 have formed different panels to address many of the issues exposed by the FBI investigation. Four Division I assistant coaches, including two Pac-12 members Tony Bland from USC and Emanuel Richardson from Arizona, were arrested on various bribery and fraud charges.

“I certainly don’t think that’s ever a bad idea,” Boyle said. “I think trying to look at this game from a lot of different perspectives is good, and obviously the FBI investigation has exposed the underbelly of our sport. My contention is that black market isn’t going to go away, but at least maybe we can be more aware of it and figure out a way to handle it the best way that we can.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 3rd

… CU in the Arena …

Senior leadership a key issue as men’s basketball practices get underway

From the Daily Camera … Without question, a changing of the guard is underway within the University of Colorado men’s basketball program.

Yet while the Buffaloes will rely on freshmen to a greater degree than any season in recent memory, that doesn’t mean a senior class that has endured all the ups and downs the game has to offer won’t be every bit as essential to the team’s success.

In fact, CU’s seniors — George King, Tory Miller-Stewart, and Dom Collier, along with walk-on Josh Repine — will be tasked with leading the way for a sizeable group of newcomers one year after a lack of leadership was a major contributor to the struggles of a vastly more experienced team a year ago.

“It’s really important. And if they don’t, we’ve got to pass it down to our one junior or our two sophomores or our (seven) freshmen,” said CU head coach Tad Boyle after he put his team through its first official practice of the 2017-18 season Sunday.

… Continue reading story here …

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September 30th

… CU in the Arena … 

CU’s Virgin Islands tournament moved to Virginia 

… Related … Paradise Jam schedule can be found here …

From CUBuffs.com … The men’s 2017 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam will be hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., tournament directors announced Friday, after the event was forced to relocate from the U.S. Virgin Islands due to damage from Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. After receiving several host proposals from participating universities, tournament directors selected Liberty to host the event.

Colorado will open against Quinnipiac on Friday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m. MST, in the third game of the day. Drake and Wake Forest will follow in the final game of the first day at 6:30 p.m. The winners of those two games will play Saturday, Nov. 18, in the second semifinal game at 6:30 p.m. while the losers play in the consolation round at 12:30 p.m. Final games will be played on Sunday, Nov. 19, culminating with the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Liberty, Houston, Mercer and Drexel are the other four teams in the tournament, one of which the Buffaloes will play on the final day.

“We received several strong proposals from participating universities and ultimately made the decision based off of feasibility for traveling teams, hotel availability, flight availability, associated costs, and practice and competition venues,” said Jenn Ashby, the Paradise Jam tournament director. “We’re incredibly thankful to all of the participating teams for their willingness to make adjustments during a difficult time, and we’re appreciative of the Liberty program for their desire to contribute to the hurricane relief efforts as part of their proposal to host the Paradise Jam. We’re looking forward to hosting an event that matches the standard we have come to expect in the U.S. Virgin Islands and look forward to returning to the territory next year.”

All 12 games will be hosted at the Vines Center on the Liberty University campus and will be streamed live at www.FloHoops.com.

… Continue reading story here …

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September 19th

… CU in the Arena …

CU men’s basketball announces full 2017-18 schedule

… Related … Composite of CU schedule can be found here …

… Related … Composite of full Pac-12 schedule can be found here …

From CUBuffs.com … The University of Colorado men’s basketball team will once again appear on prime, national television slots throughout the 2017-18 season as the Pac-12 Conference announced the school’s broadcast package Tuesday.

In all 27 regular season games will air on a national or regional basis, with 16 of those contests on the Pac-12 Networks. Five games are slated for FS1 and four will air on ESPNU.

The Buffaloes will make and one appearance on the Big Ten and AT&T Sports Networks. Colorado’s game against Iowa in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Dec. 22, will tip on BTN at 7 p.m., while its contest at Colorado State on Saturday, Dec. 2, will tip at 11 a.m. on AT&T Sports Network, formerly known as FSN Rocky Mountain.

Colorado’s game at Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 9, will air on FS1 and will be at either 12:30 p.m. or 3 p.m.

While the Pac-12 opponent weekends were announced earlier this summer, the order, dates and times have now been released. Colorado opens conference play on the road for the third-straight year with a trip to the Oregon schools. The Buffaloes start out at Oregon State (Friday, Jan. 29, 9 p.m., ESPNU) before facing defending league champion and 2017 NCAA Final Four participant Oregon (Sunday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m., Pac-12)

Colorado opens the home portion of its Pac-12 schedule by hosting Arizona State on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 6:30 p.m. and then Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 12 p.m. Both games will air nationally on the Pac-12 Network.

Colorado will alternate home and away for the first six weeks of the Pac-12 schedule, before enjoying a three-game home set. The Buffaloes will host travel partner Utah on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. on FS1, with California (Wednesday, Feb. 7, 9 p.m., ESPNU) and Stanford (Sunday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m., Pac-12) visiting the following week.

Colorado will play five of its final eight league games at home. USC and UCLA will wrap up the Buffaloes’ home schedule. The Trojans visit Boulder on Wednesday, Feb. 21, for an 8:30 p.m. tip on FS1. Colorado hosts UCLA on Senior Day, Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.

… Continue reading story here …

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Tags: Evan Battey
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