Andre Roberson's Next Challenge the NBA

Colorado basketball star Andre Roberson has decided to forego his senior season in Boulder for the challenge of the NBA. He notified coach Tad Boyle of his decision on Sunday. The 2013 NBA draft is comprised of two rounds and will be held on Thursday, June 27th.

Roberson is generally regarded as a mid 2nd round pick, but that may change as teams get the opportunity to work him out in person over the next two months. Roberson has been one of the top rebounders in the country each of the last two years, and was also named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year this past season. In addition to taking the ball off the glass, steals and blocked shots have also been mainstays of Roberson's game.

He is known as a fierce competitor, and that mindset will make him a valuable addition to most NBA rosters. While his offensive skill set is still developing, his intense defense and nose for the ball will keep Andre in the mix come draft time. On top of that, Andre has shown himself to be a TEAM player who is dedicated to the success of the team much more than personal glory or statistics.

The NBA will offer a great challenge to Roberson, but as the first notable recruit for head coach Tad Boyle, Roberson knows all about challenges. Prior to his arrival in Boulder, Colorado had only been to the NCAA Tournament two times in over 40 years. Since Andre took the court for the Buffs, Colorado has been to March Madness twice and made it to the NIT championship game in the other year. To put it bluntly, Roberson has helped head coach Tad Boyle turn Colorado into a basketball school with some of the most vocal fans in the Pac-12. Indeed, every team in the league knows about the C-Unit.

Colorado is considered to be loaded with talent going into next season, with some prognosticators having the Buffs penciled in as a top 15 team. The loss of Roberson may temper expectations a bit, but he has blazed a trail that other recruits are following to Boulder. I want to join all Colorado fans in thanking Andre for his time and dedication to the university. Although CU has had other players over the last 20 years that moved on to NBA careers, Roberson has arguably done the most to lift his team into the realm of teams that need to be reckoned with on an annual basis when it comes time for the Big Dance.

Thanks for the memories and good luck Andre!

Friday Night CU Buff Musings: Hirschman, Bakhtiari, and Roberson

It's a beautiful late April Friday night/Saturday morning in Boulder...

Normally, this time of year is pretty slow on the news for Colorado Buff fans of hoops and pigskin, but 2013 has offered some interesting tidbits. Here are the subjects, the pertinent details, and my humble opinions on each.

Nick Hirschman:

-- Nick entered the spring practices under new coach Mike MacIntyre with five other QB's all starting from scratch.

-- After the first half of the practices, he was one of four named as still competing for number one QB.

-- By the end of spring he had elevated himself to co-starter with Connor Wood after last year's starter Jordan Webb injured his knee and Shane Dillon was moved down the depth chart.

-- He was identified by the coaches as one of the leaders of the team being counted on to help lead the team through summer workouts.

-- Then, he surprised everyone by announcing via Twitter that he would transfer to another school. Since he is graduating next month, he can transfer to another school without having to sit out a year. He has two years of football left before he runs out of eligibility.

-- MacIntyre released him from his scholarship with a few restrictions on where he could transfer.

-- Then, Hirschman gave an interview saying that he left because he was not named the starter at the end of spring.

Opinion:

First, I want to congratulate Nick on his impending graduation and wish him all the luck and success that life has to offer. That said, I think that Nick leaving the Buff football program is probably for the best. As the backup QB for the worst FBS team in the country last year, methinks that Nick was in no position to be demanding as far as a starter position goes this fall. He was offered the opportunity to compete and he was doing well, but then he decided to walk away. This was not the sign of a leader that Colorado needs right now. Fortunately, Connor Wood really seems to be coming into his own at this time, and is showing signs of why he was one of the most highly sought after QB's in the country coming out of high school. It's possible the development of Wood and the impending arrival of Sefo Liufau this summer provided too much of a challenge and Nick wanted to head somewhere that he might be guaranteed a starting spot. Good luck with that.

David Bakhtiari:

-- David was one of the bright spots for the Buff football team the last several years.

-- He opted not to go through another head coaching change at Colorado and decided to enter himself in the NFL Draft.

-- He became the 7th Buff ever to declare for the NFL. The first six were all drafted.

-- Somebody convinced him that he would go in the first or second round of the draft, which would come with a pretty good payday.

-- Someone convinced him that he was the 6th best offensive tackle in the draft.

-- After the first three rounds of the 2013 NFL draft, David has not heard his name called. A total of NINE offensive tackles have already been chosen in the first three rounds.

Opinion:

I really hope that David hears his name called soon when the draft resumes with round four. He is a talented guy who might very well have a NFL future. I commented early on when David declared for the draft that he could use another year of development before he was truly ready. The NFL is a hard club to get into, as David should know. His older brother has been cut something like 14 times trying for a career in the NFL. The best of luck to David, although I really wish he was going to be back in Boulder this fall as the Buffs try to get things turned around.

Andre Roberson:

-- Andre has been one of the stalwarts of the resurgence of Colorado Basketball under Tad Boyle.

-- Over the last two seasons, Andre has been one of the best rebounders in all of college basketball, and is one of the reasons why CU has been to the Big Dance two years in a row.

-- Andre was named the Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year for this past season.

-- Andre is currently deciding on whether to end his Colorado career early and try to get into the NBA. He scheduled a press conference on Friday to announce his decision... and then cancelled the press conference at the last minute.

Opinion:

Like his head coach has stated in interviews, it seems that someone is pressuring Andre to declare for the NBA draft. As good as Andre is on the court, the fact is that his offensive game is not yet at an NBA level. There is a great chance that if Andre declares for the draft that he faces the very real chance of not being drafted. Unlike the NFL, the NBA draft has only TWO rounds. While there a few undrafted free agents doing well in the league, such as Jeremy Lin, the fact is that having his game ready at all levels will help Andre make it to the next level. The Buffs look to be loaded with talent next year and having that kind of support can only help Andre grow his game. If he does decide to leave, I wish him all the luck in the world... which he might need because the next stop if the NBA turns you down is usually Europe. Good luck whatever you decide to do, Andre.

CU Quarterback Nick Hirschman Transferring; Connor Wood Now QB to Beat in the Fall

The CU quarterback battle which started the spring with six QB's on scholarship has taken another hit. Nick Hirschman, who is graduating next month, has decided to transfer to another program for his last two years of eligibility. Because he graduating, he can transfer to another school without having to sit out a year (provided that the graduate program he goes into is not offered at Colorado).

After the first half of spring training was completed, Stevie Joe Dorman and John Schrock were dropped from the race to be named the number one QB. That left Hirschman, Jordan Webb, Connor Wood, and Shane Dillon tied atop the depth chart released on April 2nd. Since then, Jordan Webb has injured his knee and will be lost for the 2013 season, Hirschman has announced his departure and Shane Dillon had been dropped down the depth chart. For the time being, this leaves Connor Wood as number one on the depth chart.

There is no word yet on whether any other quarterbacks on the roster plan to transfer, but CU will welcome touted recruit Sefo Liufau for fall camp and may also go after JC transfer Nelson Fishback (Butte College in Oroville, California). With the injury to Webb and the transfer of Hirschman, Shane Dillon may be thrown back into the mix as well. Dillon may very well have the strongest arm of the bunch and is also considered by some to be the most athletic, but his mechanics could use a year of tutelage from QB coach Brian Lindgren.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre has granted Hirschman a release from his scholarship to any school not in the Pac-12 or on CU's non-conference schedule for 2013 or 2014. MacIntyre wished Hirschman well but also noted the Buffs were losing a good leader going into player-led workouts for the summer.

The Ominous Tale of Jordan Webb: It's Time for Colorado Football Fans to Show Some Class

As a University of Colorado graduate and die-hard football fan since attending CU in the 1980s, there have been very few times that I was more embarrassed by Buff football than last year's season-long disgraceful display. That changed drastically on Tuesday following the reports that CU quarterback Jordan Webb had torn his ACL and would be lost for the year. It was sad to hear that a young man like Webb would need to devote many months of his time to rehab after surgery. It was sadder still to read some of the comments of so-called Buff fans rejoicing at the injury. To be blunt, it made me sick that fellow supporters of the Buffs could be so classless.

As everyone knows, the Buffs last year were arguably the worst D-1 team in the country, and certainly the worst in Colorado's long and storied football history. The fault for that lies squarely on the noggins of the former paid heads of the program - Head Coach Jon Embree, Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and Defensive Coordinator Greg Brown, and also previous head coach Dan Hawkins, who left the program in shambles.

Even though these men all made many hundreds of thousands of Colorado taxpayer dollars, there seems to be small but vocal group of professed fans who would like to blame Jordan Webb for the woes of the football team last year. The idea is asinine. The CU football team is made up around 100 young men who are full time students who are also required to devote hundreds of hours a year devoted to football. None of them, including Jordan Webb, are personally responsible for the woes of the Buffs last year. For that matter, Webb deserves credit for leading the team to their only win last year by scrambling into the end zone for the game winning touchdown as time expired against Washington State.

Buff fans should rejoice that they finally have a head coach in Mike MacIntyre who has proven that he can develop talent and lead a moribund program into national prominence. He has done it before and he will do it again. He and his fellow coaches that he brought with him to Colorado deserve the chance to do their jobs.

By the same token, Jordan Webb and every one of his teammates should be honored for their commitment to the University of Colorado. Only a handful of these young men will go on to play in the NFL. They know this. Most of them do the jobs they do to earn an education and because they love to play football. Their dedication to CU and the very real risk of injury should be applauded and respected. None of them should ever again have to read stupid comments about how the school is better off with a player being injured.

It is interesting to note that some of the same "fans" who delight in the injury to a young man also seem infatuated with the idea that high school kids who are highly rated by recruiting services are the only way for Colorado to become relevant once again on the gridiron. The fact is that none of the recruiting services has the manpower to effectively cover all high schools throughout the country. One of the reason that D1 football coaches are paid so much is their ability to evaluate talent. Another skill is being able to develop high school players into good college football players. We need to let our new coaches do this. Having vocal fans speaking positively about injuries to our own players gives rival coaches yet another chip to add to the pot in the poker game that is college football. We do not want to lose out on the opportunity to get good players to come to CU because rival coaches can point to published reports of Buff fans who talk about how great it is when players they do not like get hurt.

I do not know Jordan Webb personally, but I would like to apologize to him for the lack of class showed by some Colorado football fans. Good luck with your surgery and rehab. And please know that the vast majority of CU fans would never ever cheer an injury by any CU player, or any player we play against either. We support you and the team, but realize that it is just a game after all.

CU Buffs Depth Chart: The Only Positions that Matter!

The Colorado Buffs have released their first "pencil" depth chart of the team since beginning spring practices. Unfortunately, the general consensus among fan sites devoted to the Buffs and also comments on news stories has been a worried and collective wringing of hands. Seriously? Only halfway though the 2013 Spring Practices, and there seems to be an irrational worry about who is where and why.

RELAX PEOPLE.

There are only ten positions on the Colorado Buffs football team that really matter right now. Fortunately, after the worst season in CU football history, all ten of those positions have changed since last year. Fans should be looking only at these 10 guy right now, because these are the men who will determine how the entire team does this coming season and for the foreseeable future.

Mike MacIntyre -- Head Coach

Kent Baer -- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers

Brian Lindgren -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks

Klayton Adams -- Running Backs / Tight Ends

Gary Bernardi -- Offensive Line

Charles Clark -- Safeties

Jim Jeffcoat -- Defensive Line

Andy LaRussa -- Cornerbacks

Toby Neinas -- Special Teams

Troy Walters -- Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator

CU fans need to let these men do their jobs and quit fretting about who will be at QB (or LB, DT, etc.) These men are professionals whose jobs are to evaluate the talent of the players they have available. Unlike the casual fans, these guys are paid to coach, train, and evaluate all the players and utilize them to put the best team on the field when the season begins.

The enthusiasm of the fans writing blogs and commenting on news stories is commendable, but some of them need to calm down. If one looks at the upcoming season as a war with 12 battles, fans need to realize that D-Day is not until August 31st. We are barely into basic training at this point. In time, the captains and leaders and starters will rise to the top. It is up to these 10 commanders to make sure the best players do so and to encourage all the others to improve as well.

Fans should resist the temptation to look at what individual players did prior to this coaching staff arriving in Boulder. The sad fact is that the main reason that CU has had seven straight losing seasons has been the coaching, or more accurately, the lack of coaching.

Winning the battles each week for a football team is made possible by the work of the coaches both before and during the games. That being the case, it was really dumb luck that CU won a single game last year. The blame goes not to the foot soldiers, but should be put on the heads of the officers (coaches). Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy were great players for CU. Scooter (EB) is one of my favorite Buffs ever. But the sad truth is that neither man had any idea how to do the jobs they were hired to do. So we move on.

Athletic Director Mike Bohn has taken a lot of heat for the last two hires before Mac to lead the Buffs football program. Some of the criticism is undoubtedly deserved, but football fans need to recognize that Bohn is the AD for the entire school. CU won another national championship in skiing this year. The men's basketball program and fan support are at an all-time high. The women's basketball program is starting to look a lot like the dominant days under Ceal Barry. And Bohn was instrumental in getting CU into the much more lucrative Pac-12. So, while deserved criticism needs to be acknowledged, deserved praise needs to be as well.

All said, for the first time in way too long, the football team appears to be in the hands of people who know what they are doing. Good battle plans will allow the Buffs to be competitive, and the winning will follow as the culture is changed. These men have done it before, and they can do it again.

Go Buffs!