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The Buffs won’t be deterred by Wednesday’s performance
It’s no secret that the Colorado Buffaloes just haven’t quite been themselves on the offensive floor for the last week.
The Buffs’ once prolific offense has barely shown up since their beatdown of Utah in the Pac-12 tournament. CU is the 52rd best scoring team in the nation and averages 78.7 points per game, but they’ve have failed to crack the 70 point barrier in each of their last three contests. In those games, Colorado has shot no better than 44% from the field.
Despite their struggles, the Buffs are sticking to their guns. They know they’re good and they just have to continue to trust their process.
“You’ve got to trust yourself, trust your teammates, trust the system,” said Buffaloes forward Tristan da Silva on Thursday. “I feel like that’s when we get the best looks, that’s when we play the best, when we share the ball, when we make sure we get the best shot for the team, no matter who’s taking it.”
Da Silva’s sentiment echos through the team, especially with starting two guard J’Vonne Hadley. After shooting a less-than-ideal 0 for 3 on field goals against Boise State in Dayton, Hadley is trusting in his abilities and leaving the past behind him.
“I haven’t had a good offensive game these last couple games,” Hadley said. “Just understanding that it’s coming, trusting in yourself, trusting in your work, and just believing that your teammates will help pick up those extra shots that you’re missing and stuff like that.”
As for Cody Williams, things aren’t so cut and dry. Colorado’s five-star freshman forward has been struggling on the offensive floor since returning from an ankle injury last week, making only 9 of his 27 shots from the floor in that time.
Williams admittedly has a lot working against him. Not only has he been recovering from a facial fracture for the last two months, but his ankle injury couldn’t have come at a more hectic time of the season. The Buffs have been on the road and have had very little time for practice for the last three weeks, which is making it hard for Williams to get back in the full swing of things.
“We haven’t had any quality practices, so that’s been really unfortunate for [Cody] to get those game reps and practices, which are so important,” said Colorado coach Tad Boyle. “It’s hard to play this game when you don’t practice, and Cody — I think the timing of that ankle injury has been difficult.”
Despite the setbacks, nobody’s lost confidence in what Williams can bring to the table. The projected NBA lottery pick has shown immense bursts of talent this season and Boyle knows it’s still there.
“I’ve got confidence in Cody, I really do,” Boyle told the media on Thursday. “And his teammates have confidence in him. Every game is a different game, and who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. You’ve just got to be ready when your number is called.”
No one Buffalo has been more supportive than Tristan da Silva, who has expressed confidence in his struggling teammates at every opportunity he can. When asked about how the team will address their offensive woes against Florida, da Silva set the record straight.
“I’m not too worried about J’Vonne’s offense or Cody’s offense or even KJ in the first half,” said da Silva. “I wasn’t really worried about it because I know the amount of work they’ve put in. I trust them every time they take a shot, every time they make a play.”
With the level of confidence and trust in others the Buffs are exuding before their game with Florida, it’s hard not to buy in. Only time will tell if doubling down on their offensive approach will pay off, but the Buffs certainly believe it will.
“You’ve just got to keep playing, keep trusting, got to keep playing defense, rebounding, what [Hadley and Simpson] have done a great job of last night” told da Silva. “I think it’s going to come.”
by RylandScholes
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