CU's Siewert Continues To Develop As Inside-Outside Threat
February 03, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — While his 6-foot-10, 224-pound frame may imply a skill set limited to the low post, Lucas Siewert has flashed his multidimensional abilities on numerous occasions to benefit Colorado this season.
A sophomore originally from Brazil, Siewert is enjoying an improved second season as a Buff in his first chance of experiencing relatively extended minutes — up to 16.1 a game compared to just 11.5 last season.
One reason for the jump in minutes has been senior forward Tory Miller-Stewart's absence due to a broken foot that has kept him sidelined since November. At the time, coach Tad Boyle knew he would have to see increased play from his young bigs with a full season ahead, specifically Siewert and redshirt freshman Dallas Walton.
"(They have been) as good as we could have expected out of them for a redshirt freshman and sophomore who played limited minutes," Boyle said. "When Tory went down, they got thrown in the fire and I'm really proud of the way they responded because we need them."
While his minutes have been more sporadic recently, Siewert has notched three of his four double-figure scoring games in the team's last five contests off the bench, all of while eclipsing 20 minutes of playing time.
His 11 points against Washington State, 10 against Arizona State, and most recently 13 in Friday's 67-55 win over Utah, makes the Buffs 3-1 on the season when he scores in double figures, a trend he knew was necessary to establish once Miller-Stewart went down.
"(Tory) has a big presence in the paint and we try to fill his role as we can," Siewert said. "He has been helping us on the sideline and in practices so we just have to step up and be good enough to fill his role."
Siewert may share a position and its typical responsibilities with the 6-foot-9, 246-pound Miller-Stewart, but his ability to connect on sky-high trajectory shots from deep is what distinguishes the sophomore's game from the bruising, powerful senior's strengths. Case in point being Friday's win over Utah that featured Siewert attempting as many deep balls (seven) in one game as Miller-Stewart has in four years in the black and gold.
A Siewert dagger doesn't feature a quick-release trigger like senior George King or a stop-on-a-dime elevated jumper like freshman McKinley Wright IV. Instead, he appears to meticulously calculate each of his extended jumpers, using his size and length to capitalize when open, such as he did with back-to-back treys early in the second half Friday. The two 3-pointers gave Colorado a 13-point edge and the margin never dipped into single digits again.
"I (have been) working on my threes so whenever I am open I am going to let them go," Siewert said. "I feel like I have an advantage outside because I consider myself relatively fast when it comes to bigs so I just try to use that to my advantage. I think it creates matchup problems for teams."
Of the Buffs who have attempted at least 10 deep balls on the year, his 37.5 three-point percentage is tied for second on the team with sharpshooting senior guard Dominique Collier. Additionally, he has attempted at least one trey in all but one contest this season and his three 3-pointers against Utah were just one short of his career high.
Now, Boyle wants Siewert to improve his inside game.
"We know Lucas can stretch the defense and that he's a good three point shooter, but what I like to see is when he drives and gets to the foul line (when) he's aggressive and attacking," Boyle said. "When Lucas plays with confidence and aggressiveness then he's good, and he is a tough matchup. I want him to be a true inside-outside threat like he was (Friday)."
As the Buffs attempt to finish out the season with some much-needed momentum as they head into the Pac-12 tournament next month, Siewert will continue to play a pivotal role off the bench in both holding his ground in the paint on defense and connecting from the field on hopeful mismatches.
