Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs' Resiliency In Store For A Major Test
February 11, 2011 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
"We're right there . . . we played well enough to win," Boyle said the afternoon after the painful fact that his Colorado Buffaloes didn't win.
Boyle will agree that his statement demands a dissection. The Buffs were, indeed, "right there" in spite of not coming come close to playing their best game. Still, despite sub-par shooting in the second half, getting schooled on the boards, and being taken out of their tempo by the methodical Aggies, the Buffs did "play well enough to win."
That was before B.J. Holmes' long, open straightaway trey tied the game at 60-60 with 1.9 seconds to play, forced overtime and ultimately forced CU to swallow its third consecutive loss and sixth in seven Big 12 Conference games.
Before this one began, Boyle had written two words on the chalkboard in his team's locker room: Toughness, execution.
"You have to play with unbelievable toughness against A&M," he said. "And you have to execute . . . . We didn't shoot the ball well in the second half (37 percent), but we're still right there. We got out-rebounded (40-29), but we're still right there.
"Our guys are doing something right - we're battling. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra - we need that little extra. It might be taking a charge here, a box-out there, it might be a guard-the-ball here . . . the little things add up to big ones."
And the little things the Buffs didn't do against the Aggies, who down the stretch simply played with a higher degree of want-to, piled into what could be a devastating loss. Oh, CU still has time for atonement - but the climb out of a self-excavated pit now is steep.
Half a dozen regular-season games remain, half of them at the Coors Events Center, starting with Kansas State Saturday (7 p.m.). The Buffs have slipped to 15-10 overall, 4-6 in the conference. A .500 record in conference play might be required for a sniff from the NCAA; a .500 record is required to even reach the NIT . . . you can do the math.
After a split practice on Thursday - half his team was on the court while the other half lifted weights, then they swapped - I asked Boyle if he saw signs of a stirring among his players.
In reality, it probably was too early to expect that; the OT loss wasn't 24 hours old, and that's not enough time for even college kids to show their innate resiliency. This was freshman Andre Roberson's prescription for flushing the loss: "Come out in practice, work hard, stick to the game plan . . . look at the next game and take it one by one. We've got to move on. It's the Big 12 and every game is a 'must' game. There's still a lot to be gained."
There's much to be gained from Roberson, too; his promise is off the charts. He's a slender 6-foot-7, 200-pounder that his coaches believe can be a muscular 215- to 220-pounder by his senior year. He'll do ample off-season work on his ball-handling, shooting and overall conditioning.
With the exception of "dead legs every now and then," he believes he's held up fairly well physically this deep into his first college season. "I feel good," he said. "Besides (Wednesday night) I think I've done OK. I had a terrible game. But I think I'm making good progress; I've got to keep working hard in practice to get where I want to be."
The college game's speed and intensity were eye-openers three months ago, "but I think I've kind of adjusted to that well, more than I did in the beginning. Now it's time to step up and play like a sophomore. It's that time.
"I think I've passed the nerves part of it. Early in practice I wasn't doing too good, wasn't picking up on plays. But I think I've got the hang of it now. All the nerves are gone; I've just got to go out there and play my game."
Until Wednesday night, Roberson had been a beast on the boards. The Aggies boxed him into near oblivion; his one offensive rebound was his total for the night. "Just a rough night," Boyle said. "Freshmen are going to be up-and-down . . . he was frustrated."
No more so than junior point guard Nate Tomlinson, whose sprained ankle kept him on the bench the whole night. "It was like torture sitting there," he said. "I was so nervous - and I really don't get that nervous during the games. I think it was just being out and away from my guys and feeling like I could do anything to help."
Tomlinson, who suffered the injury last weekend at Missouri, said he believed he could play against A&M, but CU's medical staff and coaches thought otherwise. He expects to play against K-State and expects his teammates to shake Wednesday night's aftershock.
"As a team, we've done really well in concentrating on the next game ahead of us . . . the coaching staff has been good the whole year in getting us concentrated and moving forward," he said.
"Our goal the whole year has been to get stronger as the year goes on and be the best team we can be in March. That's still our goal."
But the Buffs need to terminate their tailspin. Since winning 74-66 at then-No. 20/21 K-State on Jan. 12, they've gone 2-6. The Wildcats, on the other hand, are 4-3 since that loss and have won two straight. Plus, this time, CU will have to contend with K-State forward Curtis Kelly, who didn't play in the first meeting.
Boyle said in Wednesday's postgame press conference that the loss would stick with him for a "long, long, long time," and it was clear Thursday afternoon that he hadn't made it past the first "long."
By Friday morning, he had cleared that and was well into wading out of the funk - although he conceded the A&M loss now occupies a firm spot in the top five toughest of his career. "And there have been some tough ones," he added.
This also is more than just a guess: By tip-off Saturday night, Boyle's focus will be where right it should be. If his players can match it, CU will be OK.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
