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New Attitude in Boulder - Tweet from Dufault
- Thread starter Buffnik
- Start date
Mick Ronson
Well-Known Member
that's right. lotta basketball to play.
dyemeduke
Well-Known Member
I'll tell you what - we all knew what we had in Higgins and Burks. We were worried though about the frontcourt with good reasons. To me, the play of Austin and Relphorde have been key to the Buffs this season. Knutson has stepped up too. Their play (particularly Austin and Levi) have improved so much from last season - and to me, that's a credit to Boyle (not a diss against Bz).
completely agree. i think a light finally went off in austin's head and he realized he could either lay down or buck up and be a good player. we all knew he had skill, he just for the lack of a better word was soft. let's hope he continues to improve.
Mick Ronson
Well-Known Member
as bcs and i were holding it down in chat yesterday, we commented it's a decent group of parts we've got when Dufault and Relphorde are playing well. both are little Jeckyl and Hyde at times. Dufault can get a little passive, Relphorde makes some bad decisions....but, thus far, they make good plays to offset the head-scratchers.
we've won each of the last 3 games in different ways (!)....Burks goes off against Mizzou, Knudson from the arc against KSU (Burks doesn't have his best game), and yesterday Higgins steps up when it looked pretty bleak. and.....AND, having a team that knows how to win despite some big deficits is a good thing to pick up along the way. not something you want to have as a steady diet, but it's a good thing to learn. get stops, keep scoring, get the line when you are in the bonus (score while the clock is stopped, get their guys on the bench).
we've won each of the last 3 games in different ways (!)....Burks goes off against Mizzou, Knudson from the arc against KSU (Burks doesn't have his best game), and yesterday Higgins steps up when it looked pretty bleak. and.....AND, having a team that knows how to win despite some big deficits is a good thing to pick up along the way. not something you want to have as a steady diet, but it's a good thing to learn. get stops, keep scoring, get the line when you are in the bonus (score while the clock is stopped, get their guys on the bench).
I've been wondering the same thing myself. That thought has me wondering what this team might be like next year if we can manage to keep Burks one more year.
We'd lose higgins though.
Mick Ronson
Well-Known Member
i try not to think about it too much, but he's agile and runs the floor OK...certainly doesn't make us worse. having a shot blocking presence in the middle would really be sweet. plus, if you have some confidence in your bigs to board....you can release the off guard down the floor to get the break opportunities once a shot is off no good...instead of all 5 hitting the glass. that's the thing the good Roy Williams KU teams did. they'd already have a guy past midcourt once one of their Lerches secured a board....two quick passes and a layup at the other end. even on made buckets. CU lost 2-3 times to KU in Boulder because they would give up 10 points like that when, after a made CU hoop, all the Buffs are jumping around playing grabass and mugging to the fans while Roy's guys pass the ball down the floor for an easy, uncontested hoop (or a 2 shot foul).
back to Harris-Tunks.....someone (maybe BCS) made the point that if HT is playing, Roberson is not getting these minutes and he's been crucial.
I know, but we also will have Mills with another year to beef up plus three incoming freshmen studs. I think with Burks on this team next year, CU would have to be considered one of the pre-season favorites for the Pac 12 title. Without him, who knows?
Buffellow85
Well-Known Member
I listened to Chris Dempsey on his radio show Friday night.
He is of the opinion that Boyle will loose everyone next year and it's back to square one in 2012.
don't forget carlon brown either.
Mick Ronson
Well-Known Member
i'll be shocked if Burks is back. i think it's best for him in the long-run and certainly better for CU....but, not sure it works like that.
CVilleBuff
Well-Known Member
Going to be a really tough game in Lincoln, the Corn are playing some pretty good ball this year and they have good size in the post. It will be a contrast of styles and I hope we can impose our game on them. It was fun kicking their ass in Lincoln last year, but it will be a much tougher environment on Tuesday. Their scoring and rebounding are remarkably spread out, and the loss of Stanhardinger doesn't seem to be having much of a negative effect in the win/loss column
I don't think people fully realize what we have waiting in the wings here. Brown is the most physically gifted athlete in the program. I think we're going to see him take his game to a new level for us next year. Got to think that a 5th year senior who will be recently married will be all business with respect to earning his degree and positioning himself for a pro career.
Junction
Club Member
If he's talking about 2012-2013, I would argue it's true to most college teams that two years from now they're going to look very different than they do now. Especially in basketball, where one player leaving early can change the look of the team pretty substantially.
Losing the seniors (Higgins, Relphorde, Knutson, Coney) after this season is a given. Burks may be likely, too. Although I hope that he'll look at Chauncey's early struggles leaving as a sophomore and at his own inconsistency at times and give it another year. Or that the NBA will have a labor meltdown this offseason. :smile2: After next year they lose the juniors (Tomlinson, Dufault, Eckloff) and almost certainly Burks even if he stays after this year. Plus, Carlon Brown will have come and gone. They should still have guys like Roberson, Sharpe, Harris-Tunks and Mills, plus at least the 3 recruits they have coming in for next year. Looking at that, it would be nice to see Boyle bring in a couple more stud recruits, and this program is better positioned right now to do that than it has been in years....
I believe Brown is already married, He had a bling ring on at the signing after the Mizzou game. I also heard that Knutson got engaged over the winter break. Its intersting that it seems as if we have one of the most mature, and respectable teams in the country. Obviously I dont know too much about the players, but I dont see any of them getting into off the court trouble, they arent all tatooed up (not that tattoos are a bad thing), they seem to not screw around like previous teams. I am very impressed with all the players, and the job that both Bzz did recruiting good kids, and Boyle has done to continue the tradition.
BehindEnemyLines
beware the habu
I think the look will be a bit different next year, and a bit more the year after.
Without recruits considered, and figuring AB will prolly bolt for the paychecks, the roster should include (the L indicates lettermen):
Guards:
Sr - #30 Carlon Brown (6'5") (rs)
Sr - #1 Nate Tomlinson (6'3") (L)
Sr - #23 Sabatino Chen (6'3") (rs)
Soph - #2 Shannon Sharpe (6'1") (L)
Forwards:
Sr - #33 Austin Dufault (6'9")(L)
Sr - #55 Trey Eckloff (6'10")(L)
Jr - #35 Hassan Safieddine (6'7")
Soph - #21 Andre Roberson (6'7")(L)
Centers:
Soph - #15 Shane Harris-Tunks (6'11")(L) (med redshirt?)
Soph - #32 Ben Mills (7'0")(L)
Losing starting guards Corey Higgins and Alec Burks is hard to replace. The experience in the backcourt is at PG with Sharpe and Tomlinson returning.
Losing the instant offense of Levi Knutson will also be a concern. This asset will need to be replaced.
Losing Relaphorde will be softened a bit with the emergence of Roberson.
Javon Coney has had limited time.
The key to next year will be how (well) the staff can negate the loss of Higgins and Burks. Brown will be relied on a lot, so someone else needs to be identified.
It appears that the Buffs will have more of a post presence next year, vice the perimeter emphasis there is now. So, in short, I think we will see a bit of a change.
Chen's going to be a junior next year (redshirting).
Looking at the junior class next year, if Alec opts for the NBA draft then I think we need to look for a JUCO to maintain some class balance. And if we do go that route, I want a big guard/wing who can light it up from 3 pt range. Maybe look international for that.
Looking at the junior class next year, if Alec opts for the NBA draft then I think we need to look for a JUCO to maintain some class balance. And if we do go that route, I want a big guard/wing who can light it up from 3 pt range. Maybe look international for that.
Chen is not even close to being a Burks or Higgins but he came here in part, because he wanted to step up and play at this level of competition. He is a legit D1 guard on both ends of the floor and with a year under Boyle should be that much better. Sharpe looks like he will develop into a player. I don't even want to imagine what Roberson could be with another year on the weights (and he looks like he hasn't finished growing, give him another inch or two) along with an off season of development. Mills is an athletic seven footer, those are rare. I do think Mills is the kind of guy who will have trouble beefing up a lot, he has a thin build but even 15-20 lbs along with some physical maturity and he will be a different guy.
Add the three guys already signed and this team will have some serious young talent and enough of it to play a balanced game. You don't replace guys like Burks and Higgins but you can be a solid team without them if you have enough other good players doing their jobs.
For the moment I am good with enjoying this year but I do have confidence that the future is bright as long as Boyle keeps things going the way he seems to have them.
SECOBuffsFan
Active Member
Roberson with an off-season of weights and skill development should be a beast next year
I don't think anyone said that he was. Good athlete who will play defense and give you a well-rounded game with good energy when called upon.
I was responding to Red Dirt's post where he had Chen as a senior next season.
Wasn't actually replying to your post in specific, just commenting on the overall situation with the roster for upcoming years.
There aren't a lot of teams in the country that wouldn't welcome a Burks or a Higgins much less both so from that aspect we are lucky. We aren't likely in future years to have individual talents like them so will need to have balanced teams with a group of guys who contribute.
Fortunately Boyles history at UNC was that he was very good at developing players and his teams played very well together, looks like the same thing is starting to happen here.
No doubt. Really impressed with him.
BehindEnemyLines
beware the habu
Yeah, I goofed that one. Took the info from the stickied thread (rosters) and got Chen's class wrong.
My original point still stands. We'll need someone to spell Brown next year, and instant offense off the bench -- wing play prolly won't be as dynamic next year. Emphasis may shift to the forwards, and we should have a better post presence than this year.