Buffs Prepare For Oregon State's Payton

BOULDER — It's a question 11 Pac-12 basketball coaches will face at least once this season:

Who's your stopper for Oregon State star guard Gary Payton II?

Colorado coach Tad Boyle, whose Buffs will see the Beavers' do-everything guard Wednesday in a 9 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center (ESPNU), doesn't have the answer — yet.

“Not sure of that yet,” Boyle said Monday afternoon. “(It's) yet to be determined.”

What Boyle does know is that he wants to OSU's 6-3 star to be challenged physically from the get-go. That means opening honors will go to one of CU's wings — George King, Tre'Shaun Fletcher or Josh Fortune.

“We want to put size on him,” Boyle said. “He's athletic, he's fast. Not to say that Thomas (Akyazili) or Dom (Collier) or XT (Xavier Talton) won't be on him at times, but we'll probably start size on him.”

What Boyle also knows is that the job will likely end up being more of a committee effort than one relegated to just one person. After all, few teams have had the answer to guarding Payton, the son of the NBA Hall of Famer.

So far this year, the OSU senior has been one of the Pac-12's most productive players for the 11-3 Beaver (2-1 conference). He is fifth in the league in scoring (17.3 ppg), eighth in rebounding (8.3 rpg), second in assists (5.4 apg) and first in steals (2.5 spg).

“He's an exceptional rebounder, he's a great athlete, he's got good feel,” Boyle said. “He's one of those guys who's a potential triple-double guy. He can score, he can rebound and he can pass, too. He's a much improved passer from years past. … His game continues to evolve and he's as good of a guard as there is in our league.”

Boyle would love to have a defensive stopper on CU's perimeter, a player the Buffs could turn to on a regular basis to deal with an opponent's top outside threat. But to be honest, Boyle is still waiting for someone to step up and fill that role.

“We've been waiting for a year and a half, since Spencer (Dinwiddie) left,” Boyle said. “A long time.”

It's not as if the Buffs haven't seen a player this year with a skill set similar to Payton's. BYU's Kyle Collinsworth presented a similar challenge to the Buffs, and while he finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists in a 92-83 CU win, he also shot just 6-for-18 from the field. In that game, it was CU's King who was on Collinsworth for much of the night.

“George will have a shot, Josh Fortune will have a shot and Fletch will have a shot,” Boyle said. “Hopefully one of them takes it on as a challenge and takes pride in it. All three are going to have an opportunity.”

It's also not as if the Buffs don't have a defensive stopper — but his name is Josh Scott, and he plays in the post, not on the perimeter. Scott has a stellar defensive effort last weekend when he held Utah star Jakob Poeltl to six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

“I would like to say somebody on the perimeter like Josh guarded Poeltl, (but) I don't have that guy,” Boyle said.

Not that Boyle is expecting anyone to lock Payton down. Payton has scored at least 12 points in 13 of OSU's 14 games, and he's scored at least 19 in five of OSU's last six games. But Boyle is hoping for an effort from CU defenders similar to the one against BYU's Collinsworth.

“I don't expect to shut him out,” Boyle said. “He's going to get his points. We just want to make him work for everything he gets and make sure that he's making tough shots.”

Fortune said he's looking forward to the opportunity to go head-to-head with Payton. The strategy, he said, isn't complicated.

“Play aggressive on him,” Fortune said. “Stay up on him, don't give him any easy looks. He likes to attack the basket, so make him a shooter and stay with him at all times. He's their leading player, so it's going to be fun to go against him.”

Boyle also noted that stopping any player with Payton's skills is a team effort.

“It's a challenge for all of our guys,” Boyle said. “With a guy like Gary Payton II it's got to be a team thing. Our bigs have to do a good job when he drives in the lane of not fouling and not helping off too much where he can dish to the Oregon State bigs for dunks. It's not just the guy who is guarding him, it's the other guys on the floor as well.”

FREE THROW SHORTAGE: After averaging more than 26 free throw attempts per game in nonconference play, the Buffs are shooting just 14 per contest in Pac-12 play. That's the lowest number in the league, with only two other teams — ASU at 16.3 per game and Utah at 17.3 per game — shooting less than 20 per contest in league play.

NOTABLE: The Buffs have the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference in Pac-12 play, yielding just 63.3 points per game. … Thomas Akyazili is tied for second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in league games, with 10 assists and just two turnovers. … The Buffs are tied for ninth in conference play in steals, averaging just 4.7 per game. In those games, Scott leads the Buffs with four.

INFINITI CHALLENGE: Boyle is once again participating in the Infiniti Coaches Charity Challenge with the opportunity to earn a $100,000 donation to Special Olympics of Colorado. The voting website is now open at ESPN.com/Infiniti. You do have to register an email address, but it is free of charge. You can vote once per day, per email address. Voting for the first round lasts until Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu