toohip
Active Member
Because he was a non-factor. Started out inspiring, but slowly lost confidence from coach and team. I heard he left to play pro in Europe?Why is no one upset that Akyazili is gone?
Because he was a non-factor. Started out inspiring, but slowly lost confidence from coach and team. I heard he left to play pro in Europe?Why is no one upset that Akyazili is gone?
I was interested this, so I researched it. Last year, we were 6th in total rebounds in conference, in 2015-16 (tourney year), we were 1st, 2nd in 2014, 2nd in 2013, 2nd in 2012, 3rd in 2011, and 3rd in 2010. So the lowest conference rank in total rebounds was 6th, last year. Our lowest national rank was last year, where we were 72nd in total rebounds. We reached top 25 nationally in rebounds twice under Tad.My issue is not what Tad emphasizes, but in the execution. As much as he claims these are important I think his teams have rarely been elite, or even close in defense or rebounding. I'm too lazy to do the math, but for each of those stats they only reach the goal ~50% of the time. Outside of freaks like Roberson or Scott the team as a whole I never viewed as good rebounders. Rarely do you see a real boxout. Defensively we consistently have guys who will never block a shot jumping rather than closing out. Compare that to a team like Virginia or even a team with way lower skill level like CSU. Their defensive fundamentals are far superior to CU teams under Tad.
Better than I expected. Although those years were with Roberson and Scott. Although you could say Boyle recruited those guys because of their rebounding instincts. Similar to what we heard about Bey this year. Maybe my thoughts were more perception than reality. Thanks for being a better person than me and actually looking things up haha.I was interested this, so I researched it. Last year, we were 6th in total rebounds in conference, in 2015-16 (tourney year), we were 1st, 2nd in 2014, 2nd in 2013, 2nd in 2012, 3rd in 2011, and 3rd in 2010. So the lowest conference rank in total rebounds was 6th, last year. Our lowest national rank was last year, where we were 72nd in total rebounds. We reached top 25 nationally in rebounds twice under Tad.
My opinion of an aggressive defense is Mizzou under Mike Anderson or Pitt in that 2014 NCAA tournament game.
Shaka Smart/VCU style havoc, or if you want to go historic Nolan Richardson 40 minutes of hell. Pretty sure Mike Anderson is a Nolan disciple.
Because other programs are improving...... ASU is becoming a powerhouse and Arizona and others are still recruiting at a very high level. It’s Tad’s 8th season. It’s not the Big Sky it’s the PAC 12. We were lucky to get D White last year. The program didn’t develop him. He came from another school. Want to be positive, but wasn’t a positive outing last night against a weak program.
CU recruiting has its limitations, as mentioned by others. No great basketball tradition, no strong probability of championships of any sort other than the Paradise Jam, no special prospects for being developed into NBA caliber (just ask Josh Fortune). This has virtually always been the case, and the less successful coaches of the past few decades could testify to that. Given this situation, Tad Boyle came in and has had modest success, which might be considered remarkable success by some.
On the positive side, you might think the Rocky Mountain foothills would be an attraction to city kids - and certainly it is, for some. But most star athletes are looking for a place to maximize media and big-game attention, and this isn’t (usually) the place. Decent facilities are a positive also.
I appreciate your thoughtful points and the perspective is valid. I tend to take a pessimistic view as I’d rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. Certainly there is reason for hope with Tad’s teams, which had not been the case for a while prior to his arrival.While I agree that CU does not have great basketball tradition I would follow your statement up with this question "how many programs around the country actually do have "GREAT" basketball tradition ... what maybe 30 to 35 programs, with all honesty?"
You go on to state that there is no strong probability of championships of any sort but you seem to forget that CU has won a Pac-12 Championship (2012), the Charleston Classic (2012), the Paradise Jam (2017), and made a Final Four run in the NIT (2011). Without having all the facts before me I would doubt that there are but maybe 25 other programs that can say they've done as much as that over the past 7 years.
And Tad Boyle has not just had "modest" success at CU, he's had good success but a couple recruiting classes, four transfers and a few season-ending injuries have dampened things over the past three years. He's otherwise won 157 games in just over 7 years : Has made it to 7 straight postseasons (4 NCAA, 2 NIT, and 1 CBI) : Has a 64-62 conference record : Has (3) Championships including a Pac-12 championship and an NIT Final Four. He has four kids actively playing in the NBA (Burks, Dinwiddie, Roberson, White) and has had four other really high-level pro-style players travel through his program (Booker, Brown, X-Johnson, Scott) ... not to also mention Jaron Hopkins (Fresno St) and Tre'Shaun Fletcher (Toledo) who have both gone onto bigger and better careers with other programs.
As for star athletes, thoughts, and facilities : I've personally had the chance to speak with I'd say roughly 30 star athletes over the past decade, with what I do for my career, and within that group there were maybe 3 or 4 that thought they were "all that" and even spoke about maximizing media attention and being in big games. Shoot most of those kids have actually been looking at asthetics, different studies and programs, and just where they would feel most comfortable. CU is a great fit but so are many other colleges. CU is not the only college that has a beautiful campus with an awesome setting. As far as the "star athletes" that I think you might be trying to make a point about ... the McDonald's All-Americans that everyone (including myself) wishes CU would get at least once in a while, that's the top 25 kids in the country and we ALL know where most of those kids go. With the exception of 4 or 5 of those kids, they're mostly all gonna go to the "Elite" 10 to 15 programs. But Boyle has been able to land a handful of players (Collier, Fletcher, X-Johnson, Scott, Schwartz) who were at least among the top 100 players in the country, and he's recruited others that certainly came in and played as though they should have been rated higher (Dinwiddie, Roberson, Mckin Wright to name a few).
And as for facilities : CU no longer has a problem with their basketball facilities. That's all in the past (prior to 2014). CU now -of course- has really good basketball training and locker room facilities, and the Events Center has seen recent upgrades to the arena to begin with, but also new court, sound system, scoreboards and the new center court mounted video scoreboard. They really should have no complaints about facilities at least for the time being. Besides, that really hasn't been in problem over the past 7 years in landing some really good prospects to CU.
While I agree that CU does not have great basketball tradition I would follow your statement up with this question "how many programs around the country actually do have "GREAT" basketball tradition ... what maybe 30 to 35 programs, with all honesty?"
You go on to state that there is no strong probability of championships of any sort but you seem to forget that CU has won a Pac-12 Championship (2012), the Charleston Classic (2012), the Paradise Jam (2017), and made a Final Four run in the NIT (2011). Without having all the facts before me I would doubt that there are but maybe 25 other programs that can say they've done as much as that over the past 7 years.
And Tad Boyle has not just had "modest" success at CU, he's had good success but a couple recruiting classes, four transfers and a few season-ending injuries have dampened things over the past three years. He's otherwise won 157 games in just over 7 years : Has made it to 7 straight postseasons (4 NCAA, 2 NIT, and 1 CBI) : Has a 64-62 conference record : Has (3) Championships including a Pac-12 championship and an NIT Final Four. He has four kids actively playing in the NBA (Burks, Dinwiddie, Roberson, White) and has had four other really high-level pro-style players travel through his program (Booker, Brown, X-Johnson, Scott) ... not to also mention Jaron Hopkins (Fresno St) and Tre'Shaun Fletcher (Toledo) who have both gone onto bigger and better careers with other programs.
As for star athletes, thoughts, and facilities : I've personally had the chance to speak with I'd say roughly 30 star athletes over the past decade, with what I do for my career, and within that group there were maybe 3 or 4 that thought they were "all that" and even spoke about maximizing media attention and being in big games. Shoot most of those kids have actually been looking at asthetics, different studies and programs, and just where they would feel most comfortable. CU is a great fit but so are many other colleges. CU is not the only college that has a beautiful campus with an awesome setting. As far as the "star athletes" that I think you might be trying to make a point about ... the McDonald's All-Americans that everyone (including myself) wishes CU would get at least once in a while, that's the top 25 kids in the country and we ALL know where most of those kids go. With the exception of 4 or 5 of those kids, they're mostly all gonna go to the "Elite" 10 to 15 programs. But Boyle has been able to land a handful of players (Collier, Fletcher, X-Johnson, Scott, Schwartz) who were at least among the top 100 players in the country, and he's recruited others that certainly came in and played as though they should have been rated higher (Dinwiddie, Roberson, Mckin Wright to name a few).
And as for facilities : CU no longer has a problem with their basketball facilities. That's all in the past (prior to 2014). CU now -of course- has really good basketball training and locker room facilities, and the Events Center has seen recent upgrades to the arena to begin with, but also new court, sound system, scoreboards and the new center court mounted video scoreboard. They really should have no complaints about facilities at least for the time being. Besides, that really hasn't been in problem over the past 7 years in landing some really good prospects to CU.
Colorado is reeling a little bit these past few years and it's because of the strain on the program stemming from a "missed" recruiting class in 2015 (Akyazili and Guzonjic were NOT Pac-12 caliber players) : losing players like Hopkins, Fletcher and Peters : not to mention a couple untimely season-ending injuries to Xav Johnson (2015) and to Tory Miller-Stewart (2017). All of those things put continued strain on your program, we all know this.
The Buffs are left with more strain this season in the fact that they have a very young and inexperienced team right now. Of their primary (9) players, (7) of them are under-classmen (4 Fr and 3 So) with very little experience. George King has been playing relatively well and consistent for the most part. Namon Wright is kind of still a NEW player in his own right. Even though he transferred and practiced with the team last year, its still different during your first year following a transfer, especially when you're playing with so many younger kids around you. It's no wonder why this team is struggling right now.
So ASU is good and lead by 3 seniors. Previous to this year not so much. They took their lumps and reaping benefits now. Looks like CU could experience the same in 2/3 years when the current group gains their experience.
They lost Hopkins but that enabled a scholarship for White. Also all schools miss on recruits but some have enough talent to recover quickly. Duke has players leaving/forced out all the time. They have a wider net.
I concur 100%, though I really, really hope we are wrong.I will repeat that I'm not high on our latest two signees,
I however do have slightly higher expectations for Tad and Co. It's reasonable to be landing players higher ranked than in the low top-100, and more like around 50, with the occasional run at a star (even if we fail).
Thanks man. It's certainly nice to pop in once in a while and see what everyone is gabbing about.
You and I know exactly what you mean hear but with the way it's posted I can't help but think we're splitting hairs. I mean is it really that crucial to get a kid who's ranked #49 or #50 over a kid who's ranked #76? I mean after all there are several hundred kids to choose from so we're still getting a few of the "elite" supposedly within the class. Frankly, IMO, it really doesn't matter because it's all a crap-shoot at the end of the day, outside of probably the Top 20. If you land a Top 20 player you're arguably gonna get some really big time and immediate production although that's not 100% guaranteed either.
One thing I will say about Tad's recruiting so far is that I don't "agree" with the constant influx of wing players (6'5 to 6'7 long and athletic). I'd rather settle for a couple of wings and let it be. Then I would attempt to stockpile with bigger post players, make sure that you've got at least four big's at all times. It appears that college basketball is continually getting taller and bigger and CU seems to always be thin in the post.
I imagine that good players will transfer out just like they have in the past when the losses mount and they tire of Boyle's schtick.Walton, Bey, Battey.
I'm actually optimistic about next year, IF, HCTB can hold the team together through this one.
Hurley is rocking on the recruiting trail as well...two 4* signed in November. And Krystowiak is simply a better coach than Tad and is able to recruit and mold transfers and other contributors into an effective team. His teams are more fundamentally sound and make fewer turnovers. And looking at the latest recruiting signings..Buffs last in the South...and hanging with UW, Wazzu and O'state in the bottom third in the conference. Sorry....but the prognosis for the future is very mixed.
I know Tad has taken the program to heights it’s not achieved previously, but the bar was low and we seem to be receding. Last year was horrible. Derrick White made it bearable. The next couple of years look abysmal. This is the PAC-12...... we’re going to need to get another gear to compete. Tad’s recruiting isn’t making the grade. The program is missing the talented needed to win. [/QUOTE
You can question some of Tad's coaching recently, but to say his latest group of recruits are not up to par and the future looks abysmal just showcases your ignorance.
Wasn't directed at you. Buffman1992 on the other hand...mmmm...if the bolded quote of yours is directed at me and reservations I have about our latest 2-person haul, I'd request you defend it then. I'm a Tad supporter, but fair critiques are deserved. Perhaps you're thinking my critique of our 2018 class is me attacking Tad overall for his recruiting, which isn't what I'm saying?
CU doesn't deserve Tad Boyle after reading through a lot of this. Tad has worked his butt off to build this program. If we didn't lost our big man to injury and had Battey, this team jumps up a tier.