Senior Collier Continues To Provide Significant Minutes For Buffs
January 19, 2018 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Dominique Collier has been around long enough to understand the importance of every player's role on any team when it comes to establishing cohesive success as a unit.
Even though the senior from Denver East High School is currently seeing just 17.7 minutes of action a night — a career low — off the bench in his final season as a Buff, his impact has been significant in recent weeks for Tad Boyle's squad.
"The biggest emphasis from the coaches is to stay aggressive at both ends of the court," Collier said. "I'm just being ready for whenever they call my name."
Boyle said he is seeing a more relaxed Collier.
"When Dom relaxes and lets the game come to him while playing easy and pressure-free then he's really, really good," Boyle said. "Whether it's with the young guys or older guys or starters or subs, it really doesn't matter. Dom has gone with both units in practice and is comfortable with both so I haven't really noticed a difference in who he's playing with."
One reason for Collier's new role comes from presence of freshman McKinley Wright IV in the point guard role. Wright, the recent Pac-12 Player of the Week and Dick Vitale's ESPN "Diaper Dandy" weekly winner, recently led the Buffs to wins over Arizona State and Arizona.
"He's been great the whole year, he's our leader and point guard out there and he makes the team run," Collier said of Wright IV. "He's been really good for us this year, and he's just a beast."
Wright IV may be the Colorado point guard drawing the national notice and local hype, but what may have gone relatively unnoticed is the fact that Collier has recorded double-digit points off the bench in each of the team's last three home games — all wins.
Collier's recent 11-point and six-assist performance in a win over No. 4 Arizona State was arguably his best all-around game of the season, which he followed with a 14-point outing against No. 14 Arizona just two days later.
Combined with Thursday's 13-point, five-rebound showing in CU's win over Washington State, Collier has scored 38 points while averaging three assists and three rebounds and shooting 65 percent from the field in Colorado's last three home wins.
"Dom's like a starter, he really is," Boyle said. "I'm really proud of him and consider him a starter even if he's not introduced with the starting five, because he's a senior who has played a lot of minutes and is a critical, critical part of this team coming off the bench. … There's a thought out there that you never start your five best players so that you can bring in strength off the bench, and that's what we've been doing recently with Dominique Collier."
Collier's goal is a simple one — to help the Buffs back to the NCAA Tournament. The Buffs' last NCAA appearance came in the 2015-16 season.
"We are trying to make the NCAA tournament so we can't let any games slip," Collier said. "Every game the rest of the year is big for us."
Even though this last-chance run may come with different responsibilities for him than it did two years ago, Collier's adjustment to his new bench role and duties will determine if the young Buffs can muster enough momentum in the second-half of the season to return to March Madness and end his career on a high note. The Buffs will have their next chance to continue that momentum Saturday when they play host to Washington in a 4 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center.
Collier may be in a role than he would not have anticipated at this point just two years ago, but so long as it results in overall team success then it is one that he has no problem playing in his final season as a Buff.
