Woelk: Buffs 'Bigs' Should Be Major Strength

BOULDER — With a month of practice in the books and the season opener just 10 days away, the Colorado men's basketball team is getting closer to crunch time.

The Buffaloes won't have the luxury of easing into the season.

First up on their schedule is a nationally televised Nov. 13 date in Sioux Falls, S.D., with Iowa State (3 p.m., ESPN2). The Cyclones debuted Monday as the nation's seventh-ranked team in the Associated Press press preseason poll.

Four days later, the Buffs will play at Auburn in a 1 p.m. game (ESPN), followed by their Nov. 20 home opener against Portland (Pac-12 Networks), the first game in a 13-day, five-game homestand that includes a Nov. 25 game against Air Force.

Other notable games on the nonconference portion of the schedule include a Dec. 6 game at Colorado State and a Dec. 22-23 tournament in Las Vegas, when the Buffs face Penn State and either Kent State or SMU.

The outlook thus far? Cautious optimism. The Buffs will be strong up front and improved on the wings, with point guard still a work in progress.

Here are a few notes, quotes and observations after the first month of practice:

ON POINT: Since the end of last season, the general consensus has been that sophomore Dominique Collier would step into the starting role at point guard after a freshman season spent backing up Askia Booker.

But Monday morning, head coach Tad Boyle wasn't yet ready to commit — at least not all the way.

“It's still probably up in the air,” Boyle said. “I wouldn't say it's a solid thing, but he's certainly right there. I look at him and Thomas (Akyazili) and Xavier Talton as three guys who can play that position. I'm not ready to solidify a starting five yet.”

Boyle has challenged Collier to become more of a vocal leader on the floor, something that doesn't come naturally to the soft-spoken sophomore. He's had his ups and downs in practice thus far, but is showing more and more of the “great basketball instincts” that made him a prized recruit a year ago. His biggest obstacle now is simply learning how to quarterback the game.

“At some point he's going to have to play the game and not think the game,” Boyle said. “We're asking him to think the game right now. We're asking him to think about what offense we're in and what defense we're in. Hopefully if he gets up to speed and has that kind of second nature, then he can go play and doesn't have to think.”

Talton, a senior, has had a solid fall and brings leadership and experience to the table. Akyazili, the freshman from Belgium, has a big upside, can play either guard position and has made “great strides” over the last week, according to Boyle.

This is a decision that likely won't be made at least until this weekend's closed scrimmage.

FRONT LINE POWER: No surprise here — this is unquestionably the Buffs' strength, where 6-10 Josh Scott, an all-Pac-12 player two seasons ago, and 6-9 Wesley Gordon give the Buffs a powerful one-two punch in the paint.

If Scott is healthy, he'll be one of the best big men not only in the Pac-12, but in the nation. He's had an excellent fall, he's expanded his defensive repertoire, and from all indications in practice thus far, he's ready to improve on his injury-riddled junior season — when he still averaged more than 14 points and eight rebounds per game.

As for Gordon, Boyle expressed a belief that the redshirt junior is capable of averaging a double-double, and CU coaches have been pushing him this fall to be more consistent. Gordon seems to have responded to the challenge, and thus far in practice, he's been more aggressive offensively and more consistent in his rebounding.

If that holds up, the Buffs will be tough to beat inside.

MILLER TIME: A year ago, CU's coaches had to pick their spots to find playing time for true freshman Tory Miller.

This year, it won't be a problem. Miller has had an outstanding fall and should be able to provide quality minutes in relief of Scott and Gordon. He's improved his offense, defense and rebounding, but the biggest difference may be his stamina and strength.

“He's bouncier, he's more athletic,” Boyle said. “He's in much better shape — still not where he probably needs to be in terms of up and down the floor, but his jump hook in the low post has some bounce to it and has shown some consistency.”

The Buffs won't ask too much of Miller, but they will be expecting some quality production on a consistent basis. Boyle said his instructions to Miller will be, “Just defend and rebound, and when you get the ball in the low post, do something with it.”

IMPROVED OUTSIDE: While Josh Fortune seems to have the inside edge at shooting guard, the battle between junior Tre'Shaun Fletcher and redshirt sophomore George King at small forward could go down to the wire — and no matter who starts, the other will almost certainly see plenty of playing time.

Fletcher averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in about 18 minutes of playing time per game a year ago. A streaky shooter, Fletcher has made solid strides in that area this fall and has become more consistent in other facets of his game.

King is a wild card of sorts, a sophomore who played as a true freshman, then took a redshirt year in his second season. One of the best pure athletes on the team, he can defend, rebound and be a solid offensive contributor — but he has a tendency to try to do too much on the offensive end.

“When he plays within himself and makes the game simple, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Boyle said.

Fortune, the transfer from Providence, has had a steady fall. He, King and Fletcher can all shoot from beyond the arc, an area in which the Buffs struggled a year ago (ninth in the Pac-12).

OVERALL: Monday, Boyle said the Buffs have just about finished installing most of the offensive and defensive tweaks they planned at the beginning of the season.

“I feel pretty good about where we are right now, we're pretty much done adding,” Boyle said. “It's Nov. 2, so I don't plan on adding a lot between now and the 13th. That gives us 11 days to kind of soak in what we already know and tighten the screws a little bit, get our execution right.”

So what's ahead? Obviously, it's far too early to tell.

But thus far, the chemistry in practices has been good and Boyle has said he's been pleased with the team's work ethic and willingness to learn. There's proven talent up front, improvement at the wings, some depth in key places — and still a few questions.

Come Nov. 13, we'll have a few more answers, and a better idea of how it all meshes together.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu