Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: CU Hoops, Volleyball Find Reasons To Party
November 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Volleyball, B.G. Brooks
First, a party usually requires a reason; second, it needs a place. And third, CU usually was severely lacking in Nos. 1 and 2. But those things either are changing or already have changed.
Party on, Buffs . . . and keep it going.
On Wednesday at CU's sparkling new volleyball and basketball practice facility, a crowd of nearly 450 gathered for the inaugural Court Sport Preview Celebration - otherwise known as November's national letter of intent day for basketball and volleyball.
Assembling that many fans, donors, boosters, curiosity seekers, whoever, for a midday early November CU basketball/volleyball function several years ago might have required raffling off TVs or cars. No such gimmickry was necessary this year.
The Court Sport Preview Celebration was a good idea at its inception, an even better one in its execution. The lunch-time crowd seated at tables on the court of the George Boedecker Jr. Gym included CU President Bruce Benson, Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Athletic Director Mike Bohn, a number of regents, and special honorees Martin Trotsky and Bob Kirchner, a pair of early 1940s CU hoops standouts and WWII veterans who played in Boulder when Buffs basketball frequently made for national stories.
Nothing wrong with revisiting those days, but an even better option is to recreate them - and that's the target for men's coach Tad Boyle and women's coach Linda Lappe. Ditto for volleyball coach Liz Kritza.
You get back to the future through good recruiting, or as Bohn told the energized audience, "In today's world of college athletics, it is about recruiting, and our coaches are getting it done."
Getting it done, indeed . . . Boyle, Lappe and Kritza announced their 2012 signees, with Boyle naming five incoming prospects and Lappe and Kritza three each. All three coaches signed strong, foundational classes that should increase each program's competitive potential in the Pac-12 Conference.
The common denominator in all three signing classes is prestigious players, prospects ranked among the top nationally at their positions. Boyle's class was rated No. 21 nationally by ESPN.com, while Lappe's came in at No. 20 according to ESPN.com's Hoopgurlz.
Each of the three coaches made sure not to overlook Colorado, signing at least one top in-state prospect. Lappe landed Lauren Huggins, of Littleton; Kritza signed Nicole Edelman, of Boulder; and Boyle got Josh Scott, of Monument; Wesley Gordon, of Colorado Springs; and Xavier Talton, of Sterling.
Boyle sold the 6-8 Gordon and the 6-9 Scott on coming to Boulder and forming a home-grown frontcourt foundation. Signing two players who have competed against one another isn't always easy or even practical, but in this case both Gordon and Scott already had a good relationship and were eager to sign on as a tandem.
Plus, noted Boyle, it's rare to land a pair of skilled 'bigs' from such close proximity - particularly in a state that can be as cyclical in producing Division I hoops talent as Colorado.
"It's huge, especially with big guys," Boyle said. "They're the hardest to get. It's a supply and demand issue with 'bigs.' There's more 6-0 to 6-4 guards out there than there are 6-7 to 6-11 big guys. When you've got two big guys and they're in your state and they're skilled, you've got to get them. These guys were 'must-gets' for us, I think. We can't let guys slip out of this state. It gets back to evaluation . . ."
Boyle would rather depend on his and his staff's evaluation of players than how many "stars" a prospect collects from a recruiting service. That said, if those in the business of awarding stars say he and his staff have assembled a Top 25 class, Boyle probably won't object.
But, he added, "As much as I want to be excited about the class, I've got to reserve judgment just like everybody else. We'll tell these kids when they get here next fall... 'You've done it in high school and whatever credentials you bring here are great are great and we're excited and proud for that. But now you're at Square One.'"
Although he inherited a talented core group from former coach Jeff Bzdelik, Square One was where Boyle and his staff found themselves when they looked to the future. Bzdelik clearly had targeted last season as his best chance to win, but he bolted for Wake Forest before seeing it to fruition.
"We needed a good class to get some footing...some depth," Boyle said. "We lose four seniors this year and we lost five last year plus Alec Burks (NBA). So that's (10) players in two years."
The class he announced Wednesday should piggyback nicely with a 2011 group that also was a cut above. That bunch included freshmen guards Spencer Dinwiddie, Askia Booker and JC transfer guard Jeremy Adams. Boyle said highly-recruited freshman forward Damiene Cain, also a 2011 signee, is back in the picture although he won't be counted on in the near future.
"I think better players want to play with better players," Boyle said. "The recruiting class we had last year helped us this year. This recruiting class is going to help us as we go forward. Good players want to play with good players."
When Boyle arrived on campus two springs ago, he came with a belief that CU basketball "can be special." He had no initial reservations about being able to attract recruiting classes like his last two, but then, "I'm a Colorado guy (Greeley)," he said. "I know how special this place is and I have the perspective of being in different parts of the country - Oregon, Tennessee, Wichita State. I know what Colorado can be. Because of that, you've got to believe - and if you don't believe, (recruits) are not going to believe.
"This is a special place. Why wouldn't anyone want to come play here? That's the attitude we have, it doesn't matter what living room you're going into or whoever else is recruiting a kid. Why wouldn't you want to come play basketball at Colorado? That's our approach, our attitude. And if you don't (want to come), that's OK, but we're going to get kids that do - and we've gotten them."
All were on display Wednesday, with highlights of the eight hoops and three volleyball signees shown on large screens in each corner of the gym floor. It created an atmosphere that Boyle called "incredible . . . my hat's off to Mike Bohn and his staff for coming up with this idea. This was his idea; it wasn't my idea. I don't think it was Coach Lappe's or Coach Kritza's. It was Mike Bohn's. My hat is off to him and his staff for putting it together and getting the people to show up . . . it's what this place can be; it's not what it was in recent years."
Like someone (probably a coach) said, it's not where you've been, it's where you're going. Longtime followers of and recent converts to Buffs basketball and volleyball liked the direction they were shown on Wednesday. Throwing another party next November would be a very good idea.
FRIDAY NIGHT DOUBLEHEADER: Boyle's and Lappe's teams open the 2011-12 season Friday night at the Coors Events Center. The women play Northern Arizona at 5:30 p.m., with the men taking on Fort Lewis at 8 p.m. Half-price tickets are being offered, with reserved seats starting at $7.50 for the men's game while mid-court seats are available for $10. For the women's game, reserved seats are $5, with mid-court seats priced at $7.50. More information: call 303-492-8337 or 800-872-8337, or email cutix@colorado.edu.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
