Published Nov 25, 2024
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Colorado Basketball isn't fazed to be picked 15th in the new Big 12
Kevin Thomas
Guest Writer
Michigan State takes on Colorado in the opening round of the Maui Invitational Monday in Hawaii.
HEAD COACH: Tad Boyle played at Kansas from the early to mid-1980s. He is in his 15th year as the Colorado coach and has a 302-183 record. Before that, he coached at Northern Colorado. He played under Larry Brown at Kansas and played with Danny Manning.
CAR ACCIDENT CHANGED BOYLE'S LIFE: A car accident in 1994 changed Boyle's career forever. A six-figure stock broker, Boyle, was heading to work one morning when somebody ran a red light and plowed into his vehicle. The collision crushed the front of Boyle's car, and he was knocked unconscious. Boyle received a phone call from former University of Kansas teammate Mark Turgeon, then an assistant at Oregon. Turgeon stated that there was an opening on Oregon's staff, but it was a restricted earnings position that paid $16,000 a year. Boyle, who was unmarried then, decided to plunge into a full-time coaching gig.
BOYLE ON PLAYING IN THE BIG 12: "The fact that we were picked 15th in the media poll should put a chip on our shoulder," Boyle said. "And I think it's put a chip on our players' shoulders. I know it's put a chip on my shoulder."
The sixteen-team conference has six teams ranked in the Associated Press's preseason top 25 poll. Five teams are ranked in the top 10. (No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor, No. 10 Arizona, No. 20 Cincinnati)
Boyle comments on Big 12: "We're coming into a monster of a league."
Colorado returns the fewest Division I minutes played in Boyle's 15-year tenure at Colorado. Colorado's preseason rank in the Big 12 is No. 15, only above Utah's 16th in the Big 12 preseason media poll.
COLORADO MEDIA DAY: Players Javon Ruffin, Julian Hammond III, and Andrej Jakimovski represented the Buffs at Big 12 media day.
JAVON RUFFIN: "We know what teams expect from us, but we know what we expect of ourselves. We just got to focus on us. We have a lot of new guys. And the good thing is we don't have a single bad guy on the team. We don't have a single guy who's been uncoachable or unwilling to learn and listen."
Note: The 6'5" inch Ruffin has battled a persistent knee injury and only averaged 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in two seasons. He has taken on a leadership role but is a good defender.
JULIAN HAMMOND III: Hammond is a point guard who has averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 15 career starts across three seasons. He is expected to facilitate the offense, look to hit the 3-ball and the occasional floater, and get teammates involved.
ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI: "Coach Boyle wants huge lineups, so he's trying to figure out who will be the starting five, but I can play multiple positions." Jakimovski, a 6’8” forward, started 80 games in his 120 games of experience from Washington State and averaged 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. He is a solid defender and can hit three-pointers.
GUARDS
RJ Smith: Very athletic 6'3" guard who missed most of last season with a blood clot. He has a good shot.
Felix Kossaras: 6'5" true freshman and three-star recruit.
Andrew Crawford: 6'6" freshman with good ball-handling skills.
Courtney Anderson Jr.: 6'5" redshirt freshman, has been bothered by a groin injury.
BIG MEN
ASSANE DIOP: 6'8" but plays the small forward position. Does the "dirty work," sets screens, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and is a good passer who quickly finds the open man and plays good defense.
BANGOT DAK: "BD" is 6'11", can play the four or five positions, alters and blocks shots at the rim on the defensive end, and is comfortable stepping out, dribbling, and shooting the ball. His weakness is perimeter defense.
Boyle: " He is explosive, a quick jumper, and one of the best-shot blockers I have coached."
TREVOR BASKIN: 6'9" Division II transfer and 2024 RMAC Player of the Year. Lean, athletic player who attacks the rim.
SEBASTIAN RANCIK: 6'9" native of Slovakia plays with good touch and grace. He played well in the exhibition game.
HARRISON CARRINGTON: 6'7" walk-on who is a stocky player with a "sneaky" approach to his game with backdoor dunks and hits the open three-pointers—a hustle player who plays good defense.
ELIJAH MALONE: 6'10" Former NAIA Player of the Year. Dominant inside presence who can also shoot three-pointers. Malone averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 blocks, and 2.5 blocks per game—the only true center on the roster.
THIS SEASON, Colorado is 4-0
Eastern Washington: W, 76-56
Northern Colorado: W, 90-88 2-OT
Cal State Fullerton: W, 83-53
Harvard: W, 88-66
LEADING SCORERS and REBOUNDERS through four games:
JAKIMOVSKI:----- 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 81.3% FTs, 36% 3-point shooter.
MALONE: ----------14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 85% FTs, 33% 3-point shooter.
RUFFIN: ------------11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 83.3% FTs, 33.3% 3-point shooter.
BASKIN:----------- 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 65% FTs, 25% 3-point shooter.
HAMMOND III:----- 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 82% FTs, 35.7% 3-point shooter.
RANCIK: ------------7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 75% FTs, 66.7% 3-point shooter.
SMITH: --------------7.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 50% FTs, 54.5 3-point shooter.
CARRINGTON: -----4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 100% FTs, 33.3% 3-point shooter.
DAK: ----------------4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, no FTA, 35% 3-point shooter.
KOSSARAS: --------2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 100% FTs, 0.00% 3-point shooter.
DIOP: ----------------1.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 50% FTs, 50% 3-point shooter.
ANDERSON: -------0.0 No real stats to report.
CONCLUSION: Colorado is outscoring opponents by 18.5 points per game but has played an easy schedule. They play solid interior defense and block and alter shots. They are also an excellent rebounding team, +12.8 per game, and have shot 40.2% from three-point land. If there is an early weakness this season, it's that they won't be as quick as Michigan State. The Spartans should be able to get out and run vs. the Buffaloes. Transition defense will, therefore, be critical for Colorado to even stay in this game.
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Colorado Basketball isn't fazed to be picked 15th in the new Big 12
Kevin Thomas
Guest Writer
Michigan State takes on Colorado in the opening round of the Maui Invitational Monday in Hawaii.
HEAD COACH: Tad Boyle played at Kansas from the early to mid-1980s. He is in his 15th year as the Colorado coach and has a 302-183 record. Before that, he coached at Northern Colorado. He played under Larry Brown at Kansas and played with Danny Manning.
CAR ACCIDENT CHANGED BOYLE'S LIFE: A car accident in 1994 changed Boyle's career forever. A six-figure stock broker, Boyle, was heading to work one morning when somebody ran a red light and plowed into his vehicle. The collision crushed the front of Boyle's car, and he was knocked unconscious. Boyle received a phone call from former University of Kansas teammate Mark Turgeon, then an assistant at Oregon. Turgeon stated that there was an opening on Oregon's staff, but it was a restricted earnings position that paid $16,000 a year. Boyle, who was unmarried then, decided to plunge into a full-time coaching gig.
BOYLE ON PLAYING IN THE BIG 12: "The fact that we were picked 15th in the media poll should put a chip on our shoulder," Boyle said. "And I think it's put a chip on our players' shoulders. I know it's put a chip on my shoulder."
The sixteen-team conference has six teams ranked in the Associated Press's preseason top 25 poll. Five teams are ranked in the top 10. (No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor, No. 10 Arizona, No. 20 Cincinnati)
Boyle comments on Big 12: "We're coming into a monster of a league."
Colorado returns the fewest Division I minutes played in Boyle's 15-year tenure at Colorado. Colorado's preseason rank in the Big 12 is No. 15, only above Utah's 16th in the Big 12 preseason media poll.
COLORADO MEDIA DAY: Players Javon Ruffin, Julian Hammond III, and Andrej Jakimovski represented the Buffs at Big 12 media day.
JAVON RUFFIN: "We know what teams expect from us, but we know what we expect of ourselves. We just got to focus on us. We have a lot of new guys. And the good thing is we don't have a single bad guy on the team. We don't have a single guy who's been uncoachable or unwilling to learn and listen."
Note: The 6'5" inch Ruffin has battled a persistent knee injury and only averaged 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in two seasons. He has taken on a leadership role but is a good defender.
JULIAN HAMMOND III: Hammond is a point guard who has averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 15 career starts across three seasons. He is expected to facilitate the offense, look to hit the 3-ball and the occasional floater, and get teammates involved.
ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI: "Coach Boyle wants huge lineups, so he's trying to figure out who will be the starting five, but I can play multiple positions." Jakimovski, a 6’8” forward, started 80 games in his 120 games of experience from Washington State and averaged 9.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. He is a solid defender and can hit three-pointers.
GUARDS
RJ Smith: Very athletic 6'3" guard who missed most of last season with a blood clot. He has a good shot.
Felix Kossaras: 6'5" true freshman and three-star recruit.
Andrew Crawford: 6'6" freshman with good ball-handling skills.
Courtney Anderson Jr.: 6'5" redshirt freshman, has been bothered by a groin injury.
BIG MEN
ASSANE DIOP: 6'8" but plays the small forward position. Does the "dirty work," sets screens, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and is a good passer who quickly finds the open man and plays good defense.
BANGOT DAK: "BD" is 6'11", can play the four or five positions, alters and blocks shots at the rim on the defensive end, and is comfortable stepping out, dribbling, and shooting the ball. His weakness is perimeter defense.
Boyle: " He is explosive, a quick jumper, and one of the best-shot blockers I have coached."
TREVOR BASKIN: 6'9" Division II transfer and 2024 RMAC Player of the Year. Lean, athletic player who attacks the rim.
SEBASTIAN RANCIK: 6'9" native of Slovakia plays with good touch and grace. He played well in the exhibition game.
HARRISON CARRINGTON: 6'7" walk-on who is a stocky player with a "sneaky" approach to his game with backdoor dunks and hits the open three-pointers—a hustle player who plays good defense.
ELIJAH MALONE: 6'10" Former NAIA Player of the Year. Dominant inside presence who can also shoot three-pointers. Malone averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 blocks, and 2.5 blocks per game—the only true center on the roster.
THIS SEASON, Colorado is 4-0
Eastern Washington: W, 76-56
Northern Colorado: W, 90-88 2-OT
Cal State Fullerton: W, 83-53
Harvard: W, 88-66
LEADING SCORERS and REBOUNDERS through four games:
JAKIMOVSKI:----- 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 81.3% FTs, 36% 3-point shooter.
MALONE: ----------14.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 85% FTs, 33% 3-point shooter.
RUFFIN: ------------11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 83.3% FTs, 33.3% 3-point shooter.
BASKIN:----------- 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 65% FTs, 25% 3-point shooter.
HAMMOND III:----- 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 82% FTs, 35.7% 3-point shooter.
RANCIK: ------------7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 75% FTs, 66.7% 3-point shooter.
SMITH: --------------7.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 50% FTs, 54.5 3-point shooter.
CARRINGTON: -----4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 100% FTs, 33.3% 3-point shooter.
DAK: ----------------4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, no FTA, 35% 3-point shooter.
KOSSARAS: --------2.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 100% FTs, 0.00% 3-point shooter.
DIOP: ----------------1.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 50% FTs, 50% 3-point shooter.
ANDERSON: -------0.0 No real stats to report.
CONCLUSION: Colorado is outscoring opponents by 18.5 points per game but has played an easy schedule. They play solid interior defense and block and alter shots. They are also an excellent rebounding team, +12.8 per game, and have shot 40.2% from three-point land. If there is an early weakness this season, it's that they won't be as quick as Michigan State. The Spartans should be able to get out and run vs. the Buffaloes. Transition defense will, therefore, be critical for Colorado to even stay in this game.
Colorado Basketball isn't fazed to be picked 15th in the new Big 12
Here is everything you need to know about Colorado, MSU's opponent in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
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