One of the great things about having a ranked team when most of your players are underclassmen is that the future looks bright for your program. One of the bad things about having a team dominated by youngsters is the risk that they will wander aimlessly without a true leader.
Such is the case with Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes, who have looked lost and clueless as to which way to turn since projected first round NBA pick Spencer Dinwiddie blew out his knee and was lost for the season. Add in that Tre'Shaun Fletcher hurt his knee and is lost for the next couple months, and the Buffs' psyche just added insult to injury.
After Dinwiddie went down with CU enjoying a lead on the road at Washington, the Buffs proceeded to fall apart and lose that game. The shocking loss of one of the best players in the country gave a viable excuse to the Buff faithful. Even the next game, a loss at home to a ranked UCLA team, seemed reasonable as the Buffs looked to retool their game without Dinwiddie.
Thankfully, a bad to mediocre USC team came into town and the Buffs jumped on them early before coasting to a 21 point win. Unfortunately, what the Trojans gave the Buffs may very well have been bad medicine.
Their next game was on the road at the #1 team in the country, the University of Arizona. The Wildcats did to CU what the Buffs had done to USC. Arizona raced out to an 18-4 lead before coasting to a 12 point win in which they were never challenged.
Buff fans held out high hopes that the loss to Arizona was to be expected even WITH Dinwiddie in the lineup, and that the 69-57 loss was MUCH better than the 90-65 shellacking the Buffs took last year in Kansas. Fans said the only game the Buffs could expect to win on this trip was against Arizona State in Tempe.
Unfortunately, the Sun Devils exposed the Colorado team to be a rudderless team without a captain to lead them. ASU destroyed the Buffs 72-51. Colorado fell out of the top 25 last week and after the game at ASU, the chances they make it back this year are slim and none.
After starting the season 14-2, Colorado has lost four of the last five. The Buffs now own a record of 15-6 and have ten games remaining in the regular season to see if they can win five and salvage a 20 win season. Two of those games come against Washington State and USC, who are the the only weak basketball links in the Pac-12. (Some might argue that Oregon State belongs in that list, but the Buffs don't play them again anyway).
The rest of the Buffs schedule is much tougher. They can look forward to their next three games being played here in Boulder at the Foam Dome, where they have been very tough to beat since Boyle became the coach. Then it's off to Los Angeles for two games, back to Boulder for two, then they play their last three on the road in Utah and the Bay Area.
Can the Buffs win five of the last ten? Not if they continue to play like they did tonight. Earlier this year, the Buffs set a team record by making ALL 27 free throws in game. Tonight, CU tossed brick after brick from the line and made only 9 of 24. Sadly to say, even if they had made the other 15, they still would have lost.
The next three games will be key for Colorado. If they win all three (and they should be winnable at home), the team has a chance to right the course. Winning even two of the three will be a good sign. If they win one or none, the season is effectively over. Even the NIT will look the other way.
Boyle really needs to evaluate the best and most efficient way to use this team. Maybe they need to run on offense and pressure on defense to take advantage of their athleticism. The problem with the young guys is that if you give them too much time to think, they end up thinking too much and forgetting to play the game.
NOTE: The Buffs have been slipping all over the floor the last several games, going back to the Dinwiddie injury. Maybe CU should be taking a hard look at what shoes they are choosing to wear.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Connor Wood Becomes Latest QB to leave Colorado Football Program
What a difference a year makes. A quick look at the Colorado roster in 2012 showed a very crowded depth chart behind center. There were SIX quarterbacks on the roster, and not a senior among them. To revive everyone's memory, here's how the roster looked in 2012.
The Buffs do have a QB recruit in Cade Aspay, a slinger from Canyon Country, California. He committed to the Buffs in June and is considered solid on the Buffs. National Letter of Intent Day is February 5th. Until that LOI is signed and delivered to Colorado, nothing is etched in stone.
The bigger problem right now facing coach MacIntyre is that the high number of repetitions he likes to run during practices will be nearly impossible with only two quarterbacks. He has a few options to ease his pain, but the pain will most certainly be felt.
Bringing in another JC transfer means someone new to the system. Even if Aspay signs on to play for the Buffs, he won't be here until summer.
It's possible that Webb will be granted an extra year and give Mac a third QB, but CU and the NCAA do not have a history that leans that way. Anyone remember how the NCAA treated Olympian Jeremy Bloom?
It's possible that the Buffs have someone (anyone?) on the current roster who played QB in high school, and might be willing to move back to the position for the spring and maybe longer. The Buffs have two defensive backs on their roster who played QB in high school: Isaac Archuleta (6'2 205) and Richard Yates II (6'2 190).
Lastly, Mac could convince (make that beg) John Schrock to help out during spring practices and consider rejoining the team. He took part in spring practices last year and is familiar with how Mac and his coaching staff like to do things.
Time is ticking. CU fans are wondering if Mac can pull off a big surprise. We will see. Mac has a reputation for moving players to different positions to help the team. The team definitely needs some help at QB right now.
- Shane Dillon
- Stevie Joe Dorman
- Nick Hirschman
- John Schrock
- Jordan Webb
- Connor Wood
- Sefo Liufau
- Jordan Gehrke
- Jordan Webb tore his ACL in April, and missed his entire "senior" season. He has already graduated, but is applying to the NCAA for another year of eligibility.
- Nick Hirschman lost the starting QB competition to Connor Wood in spring practices, and transferred to Akron in May.
- Shane Dillon decided to give up football for basketball and transferred to the University of San Diego in July.
- Also in July, John Schrock decided to focus on his pre-med studies and left the CU football program. He still attends Colorado.
- Stevie Joe Dorman transferred to West Texas A&M in December.
- Connor Wood announced a couple days ago that he was giving up football. He is scheduled to graduate this spring.
The Buffs do have a QB recruit in Cade Aspay, a slinger from Canyon Country, California. He committed to the Buffs in June and is considered solid on the Buffs. National Letter of Intent Day is February 5th. Until that LOI is signed and delivered to Colorado, nothing is etched in stone.
The bigger problem right now facing coach MacIntyre is that the high number of repetitions he likes to run during practices will be nearly impossible with only two quarterbacks. He has a few options to ease his pain, but the pain will most certainly be felt.
Bringing in another JC transfer means someone new to the system. Even if Aspay signs on to play for the Buffs, he won't be here until summer.
It's possible that Webb will be granted an extra year and give Mac a third QB, but CU and the NCAA do not have a history that leans that way. Anyone remember how the NCAA treated Olympian Jeremy Bloom?
It's possible that the Buffs have someone (anyone?) on the current roster who played QB in high school, and might be willing to move back to the position for the spring and maybe longer. The Buffs have two defensive backs on their roster who played QB in high school: Isaac Archuleta (6'2 205) and Richard Yates II (6'2 190).
Lastly, Mac could convince (make that beg) John Schrock to help out during spring practices and consider rejoining the team. He took part in spring practices last year and is familiar with how Mac and his coaching staff like to do things.
Time is ticking. CU fans are wondering if Mac can pull off a big surprise. We will see. Mac has a reputation for moving players to different positions to help the team. The team definitely needs some help at QB right now.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Buffs Drop 100 on Oregon Ducks, Jump to 15th in AP Top 25
The Oregon Ducks came to Boulder with a perfect 13-0 record and close to the lead for the highest scoring team in Division 1 at 89.4 points per game. After giving up 100 points to the Tad Boyle's Buffaloes (2nd time this year OU has given up 100), the Ducks left Boulder with their first loss of the season.
The AP Top 25 for Men's Basketball came out this morning and Buffs leaped all the way to #15 from their prior ranking of #20. Strangely, San Diego State was ranked #21 last week and leapfrogged the Buffs all the way to #13 after defeating #16 Kansas while the Buffs were taking down the #10 team in Oregon.
What makes it stranger still is that the Buffs defeated Kansas when they were a top 10 team, and that win barely moved them up the polls in comparison. For now, though, the Buffs can bask in the glow of being the second highest rated team in the Pac-12 behind overall #1 Arizona. Oregon dropped to 17th in the latest poll.
It's been a down year for many of the traditional basketball powers. Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, and UCLA are out of the Top 25. Duke and Kansas are behind the Buffs in the rankings, and preseason #1 Kentucky is only a single place above Colorado in the latest poll. It's the first time that Boyle's Buffs have been ranked higher than his alma mater Kansas.
The Buffs play the Cougars of Washington State on Wednesday before taking on the Huskies of Washington on Saturday.
The AP Top 25 for Men's Basketball came out this morning and Buffs leaped all the way to #15 from their prior ranking of #20. Strangely, San Diego State was ranked #21 last week and leapfrogged the Buffs all the way to #13 after defeating #16 Kansas while the Buffs were taking down the #10 team in Oregon.
What makes it stranger still is that the Buffs defeated Kansas when they were a top 10 team, and that win barely moved them up the polls in comparison. For now, though, the Buffs can bask in the glow of being the second highest rated team in the Pac-12 behind overall #1 Arizona. Oregon dropped to 17th in the latest poll.
It's been a down year for many of the traditional basketball powers. Indiana, North Carolina, Connecticut, and UCLA are out of the Top 25. Duke and Kansas are behind the Buffs in the rankings, and preseason #1 Kentucky is only a single place above Colorado in the latest poll. It's the first time that Boyle's Buffs have been ranked higher than his alma mater Kansas.
The Buffs play the Cougars of Washington State on Wednesday before taking on the Huskies of Washington on Saturday.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Boyle's Buffs Take 11-2 Record and National Ranking Into Pac-12 Play
2014 and Pac-12 play has arrived for Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs open conference play tonight at 8 p.m. (MT) against Oregon State at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The Buffs enter Pac-12 play with a #20 national ranking after going 11-2 in non-conference play.
CU has one of the most difficult schedules in the country, and now has an RPI that is 8th highest in the country. The Buffs' RPI is the highest in the Pac-12, with #1 Arizona's coming in at 10th best, and #10 Oregon holding onto the 12th highest RPI.
Oregon State comes to the Foam Dome with eight wins in twelve games so far this season. None of the games were against teams ranked in the AP top 25. The road to conference play was more rigorous for the Buffs. Their season has already included games against #7 Oklahoma State, # 9 Baylor (both losses), and a win against a then-ranked #6 Kansas.
Since Boyle took over as head coach for the CU program, the Buffs have a stellar 53-7 record at home. One of those losses, however, came last year when the OSU Beavers came to Boulder last March and handed the Buffs a stunning upset loss just two days after Colorado had destroyed a highly regarded Oregon team by 23 points.
Heading into tonight's game, Boyle hopes the memory of that game prevents the Buffs from taking the Beavers lightly. The Buffs hope to be 1-0 in Pac-12 play when the #10 Oregon Ducks take the court on Sunday.
Junior Spencer Dinwiddie leads the Buffs in scoring (15.8) and assists (3.8). Sophomore center Josh Scott leads the Buffs in rebounding (9.2) and is 2nd in scoring (13.1).
Roberto Nelson leads the Beavers with 21.4 points and 4.1 assists per game. Devon Collier averages 18 points per game and also leads the Beavers with 8 rebounds per game.
Oregon State looks to be boosted by the return of star center/forward Eric Moreland, who is returning from a suspension that has kept him off the court all season. Last year, Moreland was one of the top rebounders in the country with 10.6 per game. He also set an Oregon State record for blocked shots with 73 and scored nearly 10 points per game.
Moreland was supposed to be suspended for several more games, but coach Craig Robinson decided that Moreland should come back now after "fulfilling" all the requirements of the suspension. Some pundits point out that political rationalizations run deep in the Beaver coach's life as brother in law to President Barack Obama. After all, they say, isn't sitting out 14 games the only way to truly "fulfill" a 14 game suspension?
CU has one of the most difficult schedules in the country, and now has an RPI that is 8th highest in the country. The Buffs' RPI is the highest in the Pac-12, with #1 Arizona's coming in at 10th best, and #10 Oregon holding onto the 12th highest RPI.
Oregon State comes to the Foam Dome with eight wins in twelve games so far this season. None of the games were against teams ranked in the AP top 25. The road to conference play was more rigorous for the Buffs. Their season has already included games against #7 Oklahoma State, # 9 Baylor (both losses), and a win against a then-ranked #6 Kansas.
Since Boyle took over as head coach for the CU program, the Buffs have a stellar 53-7 record at home. One of those losses, however, came last year when the OSU Beavers came to Boulder last March and handed the Buffs a stunning upset loss just two days after Colorado had destroyed a highly regarded Oregon team by 23 points.
Heading into tonight's game, Boyle hopes the memory of that game prevents the Buffs from taking the Beavers lightly. The Buffs hope to be 1-0 in Pac-12 play when the #10 Oregon Ducks take the court on Sunday.
Junior Spencer Dinwiddie leads the Buffs in scoring (15.8) and assists (3.8). Sophomore center Josh Scott leads the Buffs in rebounding (9.2) and is 2nd in scoring (13.1).
Roberto Nelson leads the Beavers with 21.4 points and 4.1 assists per game. Devon Collier averages 18 points per game and also leads the Beavers with 8 rebounds per game.
Oregon State looks to be boosted by the return of star center/forward Eric Moreland, who is returning from a suspension that has kept him off the court all season. Last year, Moreland was one of the top rebounders in the country with 10.6 per game. He also set an Oregon State record for blocked shots with 73 and scored nearly 10 points per game.
Moreland was supposed to be suspended for several more games, but coach Craig Robinson decided that Moreland should come back now after "fulfilling" all the requirements of the suspension. Some pundits point out that political rationalizations run deep in the Beaver coach's life as brother in law to President Barack Obama. After all, they say, isn't sitting out 14 games the only way to truly "fulfill" a 14 game suspension?
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