Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Fortune, King Aim To Aid Hoops Turnaround
April 02, 2015 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Not that it has been their favorite thing, but Josh Fortune and George King have grown accustomed to waiting. Yet both can say without reservation that while they've waited they've grown. Which is good news for Colorado basketball and a fan base that left March mad, disappointed and speculating - wildly at times - as to what went wrong.
Fortune and King spent the recently concluded CU season as redshirts, Fortune sitting out the mandated transfer year to regain his eligibility after leaving Providence and King taking his second college season off to mature, improve his overall game, and hopefully offer that improvement to the future.
They watched the Buffs ebb and flow, mostly ebbing in a 16-18 campaign that trickled to a frustrating end in Seattle in the CBI Tournament. CU can truthfully say it has been a postseason participant in all of Tad Boyle's five seasons, but the CBI wasn't where anyone - including the coach - expected the Buffs to finalize Boyle's fifth season.
Especially not after a school-record three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and being the preseason pick to finish behind Arizona and Utah in the Pac-12. Oh, the Buffs did finish behind the Wildcats and Utes - and five other teams as well.
But Boyle and his guys, finally including Fortune and King in their preferred roles, already are working hard on turning the page for 2015-16. It's a long way off, but neither player believes the Buffs are a long way from reestablishing themselves and becoming what CU hoops was in Boyle's first four seasons.
Both Fortune and King believe their season of practicing with their teammates then spectating at home games allowed firsthand looks at the strengths and deficiencies the Buffs will carry into next winter.
"I saw some things by watching that I hadn't seen before - where, when the ball needs to be moved," King told me last week. "Just little things by watching the games . . . the games were my film sessions. I was watching it live so there was no replay, but I didn't need a replay."
King, who played in 27 games season before last as a freshman, saw a CU team whose talent belied its productivity. The malaise went deeper than injuries - the most significant being to post Josh Scott - and ranged from a lack of late-game grit to on-court leadership.
"I saw a lot of talent and I still see a lot of talent, even with 'Ski' (Askia Booker) and Dustin (Thomas) departing," King said. "I'm disappointed that the talent went to waste with our record being what it was, finishing below .500. That's unacceptable with the guys we had. I want to make sure that it doesn't happen (again).
"No doubt about it, we underachieved. Coach Boyle preached over and over and over that he believed in us and he still does. But I don't think you can tell anybody you believe in them unless they believe in themselves. I don't think as a team we believed in ourselves enough."
ON SEVERAL LATE-SEASON/POSTSEASON occasions, Boyle conceded that he had difficulty "figuring out" his fifth CU team. Said King: "I don't blame him; I couldn't figure us out. I don't know what it was. We had some injuries, some other struggles. But we beat UCLA here without Josh. So it was like, we can do that. You want to say it's not rocket science but it might be."
King's season in a redshirt enabled him to add 10 pounds, which put him at 225. He stands 6-6 and says he is considered "a hybrid" by Boyle. "I can play at the 'four' and bang with the bigger guys now," King said, adding that his knowledge of the game and CU's system increased as much as anything else. "The mental part of the game is huge. Guys can have height, athleticism, and all the intangibles. I feel like I'm an athletic guy but if you're up on the mental part of things you can excel. I plan on using that next year."
Offering a leadership presence is something else King believes he can do. He acknowledges the great difference between assuming that role in high school and at this level, but claims his high school team in San Antonio "had three leaders . . . there's a difference between the team captain - the guy who shakes the referees' hands in pregame - and a team leader.
"I do believe I can step into that role, be that guy and pick up everyone - even myself. But hopefully there'll be somebody to call me out. I feel like we were more friends than teammates (last season). There wasn't someone to call people out."
That status is earned not awarded - and it could be a role assumed in part by Fortune. "I feel like I can (help)," he said. "In certain situations like a game that's close in the final minutes I think I have the experience to lead my team. I think I can do a lot there. I'm more comfortable now and have the experience to do it."
Fortune is a 6-5 shooting guard whom Boyle has often described as a "knock-down shooter." Fortune doesn't dispute that label. In his sophomore season at Providence, he started all 35 games and was second on the team in 3-pointers made (34-of-59 in Big East play) and assists (2.6 a game) and fifth in scoring (9.1 ppg).
In three Big East Tournament games he averaged 14.3 points, shooting 54.5 percent from the field with a team-best six treys. His career-high scoring game was 24 points (8-of-13, 61.5 percent) against St. John's in the Big East quarterfinals.
"I think I can definitely make a lot of shots, whether I'm open or not," he said. "That brings a different aspect to the game; if I'm able to hit shots outside it opens up the inside for our 'bigs.' I think I can help the team that way. That was my role (at Providence), but I wanted to take good shots and play defense - just like here. This offense involves a lot more guard-based stuff - ball screens, putting the ball in guards' hands and letting them make the best decisions."
From a season of practicing with him, King says Fortune "creates so well for others, I think if we want to go big he can play point guard. He has to believe he can and that would be coach Boyle's decision. I saw a really good big guard who obviously can shoot it, really handle the ball and get into the paint anytime he wants. I'm excited for next year."
With two seasons of eligibility remaining, Fortune's sit-out season showed him the emphasis Boyle puts on defense and rebounding. In truth, it did more than show him; it broadsided him. He said Boyle emphasizes defense/rebounding way more than over there (at Providence). We hear it every practice . . . it's stuck in my head."
ALTHOUGH HE USED HIS TRANSFER season to acclimate to Boulder and Boyle's system, Fortune concedes the year off "had its ups and downs. It started off rough because I didn't know how to deal with it - not playing and seeing it from a different perspective . . . I wanted to play, to be out there with my teammates. I saw times when I thought I could help out on offense and defense.
"But I had to wait and be patient; it was tough. But as the year went on I started to really take it for what it was, to learn and to be a good teammate in practice every day. I think those habits will help me in the future a whole lot. It feels like I've been here three or four years and I think that's going to pay off in the long run."
He and King are expected to be joined on the 2015-16 roster by two April signees. The spring signing period begins April 15, and Boyle can't comment on possible prospects until signed letters of intent have been received. But he can say that the 2015-16 Buffs "can be a totally different, totally different team than what we had this year. Four new guys, two of them who were in the program and practiced with us every day . . . but adding two new guys and throw in the mix guys who are coming back, how much are they going to improve?
"I feel good about where we are but there are a lot of unknowns with the new guys and some of the returners. Are they going to make that leap? It needs to be significant, so we'll see."
From Day One last October, Boyle told his team to shed any sense of entitlement it might be carrying after three consecutive Big Dance trips. King said that didn't happen: "We thought the sun sets and rises on our back ends, because we had been to three straight NCAA Tournaments. I feel like we got complacent. Like, 'Oh, we're going to go (back) because we're the Colorado Buffaloes.' We still have to come to work every day.
"I feel like next season will be the one but it's not going to happen without hard work. But I also hate to sit here and say it's going to happen with hard work because actions speak louder than words. We can use (last season) as a chip on our shoulders or we can say, 'OK' and be that again. But I'm not that type of guy who accepts that and I don't think the guys in our locker room are either."
With a subpar year finished and off-season work beginning, sure, it's the right thing to say. It's another thing to play that way from next November through next March. The Buffs have a lot of time to think about that and what's next.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
