Brooks: Ready Or Not, Time To Open Big 12

BOULDER - Time to shed the warm-ups and affix that steely gaze . . . Big 12 Conference basketball begins Saturday.

Non-conference play has been relatively kind to Colorado's men's and women's basketball teams. As coaches like to say, it was a learning process - and here's some of what we learned:

Both teams have recruited good backcourt/wing players (men: Alec Burks, Marcus Relphorde, Keegan Hornbuckle; women: Chucky Jeffery, Meagan Malcolm-Peck).
In conference, both teams' lack of a dominant, or even partially dominant, inside presence will be exploited. Points in the paint will be scarce, underscoring the need for second-chance hustle plays and unselfish ball movement to open perimeter shooters. Rebounding must be done by committee.
It's a lot to ask, but on teams whose nightly margin for error is thinner than a sliver, established veterans - read: Cory Higgins, Brittany Spears - can't lapse. Nightly productivity from each is invaluable. No disappearing acts; no pointless halves, no defenseless stretches. Told you it was a lot to ask, but for now, that's the way it is.
Full-time, 40-minute effort from everyone else. Opening each half all-out is a must. No tepid starts and falling into the trap of believing catching up will happen. That usually doesn't happen in league play - especially on the road.
And then there's the obvious need for both teams to reduce turnovers, wasted possessions and poor shot selection.

That's a layman's take on getting league play started the right way and sustaining it in the Big 12. Seniors Dwight Thorne II (men) and Bianca Smith (women) offer their takes:

Thorne: "We've got to share the ball with each other, rebound, defend and get out and run. If we do those four things, then we're a pretty good basketball team. When we don't, we're pretty bad. I think we've seen that . . . but if we do those four things, I think we can compete and win some games. A lot of games."
Smith: "Eliminate turnovers. In league play, turning the ball over is the Achilles heel for everyone. Big 12 teams will convert turnovers into points. Those are plays we can't give up. Play hard for 40 minutes. It can't be a situation where we start out the first 15 minutes strong and then let up in the second half. Then start the second half with a lapse and try to pick it back up. Stay a unit, love one another, improve that camaraderie we have."

The CU men have the more formidable opener, facing unbeaten (14-0) No. 2 Texas in Austin (11:30 a.m., Altitude), while the women play host to Missouri (noon, FSN).

Men's coach Jeff Bzdelik sees his team improving, but adds, "It's a slow process . . . we've got more weapons on offense, we're more athletic. We were a young team last year and we gained wisdom and experience the hard way."

He's counting on the 6-foot-6 Burks, whom he calls "very, very skilled," to relieve some Higgins' burden of the past two seasons.

McConnell-Miller can say the same of Jeffery. Along with Malcolm-Peck, she can complement Spears and Smith, who said Jeffery "is beginning to get it and understand what we need from her.

"Although she's young, she's a leader; she's a point guard and she's got the ball in her hands. She's going to learn to be more vocal and not to be afraid of saying something to Spears or me or Meagan. She now understands we need that from her."

In fact, McConnell-Miller believes there's a team-wide understanding now in areas such as game-to-game focus, the effort required to compete against a quality opponent and what it takes to bounce back from an emotional defeat.

Last weekend's loss to No. 23 Virginia (74-59) and coming back two days later to put away Yale (78-71) supplied some of that. Bzdelik's team sampled something similar after losing badly at Tulsa (84-59), then regrouping to grind out a two-point win against Miami (Ohio).

"Miami of Ohio was a good team to play . . . we had to make plays to win the game - that's how the Big 12 is going to be day in and day out," Thorne said. "There aren't going to be any gimmes; everybody is going to strap it on and bring it."

Also, the Big 12 schedule makers cut McConnell-Miller's team a better break than in 2008-09, when the Buffs opened against four ranked teams and were in an "O-fer" hole two weeks into league play.

"That was brutal, and it surely didn't give us any confidence heading into the conference and throughout the conference," McConnell-Miller said. "Everyone was looking at it as those four games. Right now we have a very good focus about this team . . . all they're thinking about is one game - and that's Missouri."

It pays to be observant, but it pays better to be focused. It also pays to be forewarned. Thorne and Smith have advised their younger teammates that almost everything will be ratcheted up a level once league plays begins.

Smith has "expressed the sense of urgency you have to have at this time," while Thorne has stressed what occurred in non-conference play should now be a distant memory.

"It's a new season; what we've done so far really doesn't matter," he said. "What we do in this season can put us where we want to be, or where we don't want to be.

"I think that's the main point - you've got to come back out and prove yourself, you've got to earn respect and you've got to play hard. If you don't play hard, you're not going to earn respect and you're going to be embarrassed and go home feeling sorry for yourself."

Not a good way to begin the Big 12 - and certainly no way to end it.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU