Gordon Ready To Be The Man In The Middle For Boyle's Buffs
October 28, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the last four years, Colorado senior Wesley Gordon has more or less played in the shadow of fellow big man and good friend Josh Scott.
It's been fine with him. The unassuming Gordon isn't the kind of player who seeks the spotlight. It's just the opposite. Gordon is a lunch-pail guy, a player who shows up for every game, grabs his rebounds, scores when necessary, plays hellacious defense — and goes home.
But after three years of playing alongside Scott (and a redshirt season), Gordon is now the man in the middle for the Buffaloes. And while the Buffs' offense will quite likely no longer be directed solely through the post, Gordon will be expected to score a little more this year, grab a few more rebounds — and still play fierce, tenacious defense.
"I'll have to be more aggressive," Gordon allowed earlier this week after practice. "Josh was a great offensive player. With him leaving, that gives me a lot more opportunities and other players. I'll just focus on rebounding and being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor."
Gordon, an honorable mention selection to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team last season, led the Buffs in blocked shots for the third straight year last season with 68 and is now just 69 swats away from the all-time CU record. He was second on the team in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and led the Buffs in rebounding in Pac-12 play, averaging 8.3 per game. He also averaged 7.2 points per game, fifth-best on the team.
But Gordon also showed what he's capable of doing when Scott was on the sidelines with an injured ankle.
In a three-game stretch that saw Scott leave the first game in the first half and not play the next two, Gordon put together his best stretch of the season: three straight double-doubles. The stretch included a 17-point, 13-rebound effort in a win over Washington and a 15-point, 12-rebound performance in a win over Washington State.
That stretch wasn't a surprise to folks who follow the team closely. Colorado coach Tad Boyle has said repeatedly over the past couple of years that Gordon could be a player who averages a double-double.
But with the offensive firepower the Buffs will be bringing to the court this year — and with what will likely be a more up-tempo offense and more perimeter-oriented attack — Gordon's primary responsibilities will be what he's always done best: rebound and play defense.
Gordon will also be expected to do those things for long stretches at a time. Gordon averaged nearly 28 minutes per game last season, second only to Scott's 30.6, and there's little doubt the Buffs will lean heavily on his durability again this season.
It's not that the Buffs don't have plenty of depth. Boyle can substitute freely on the wings with Xavier Johnson, Derrick White, George King and Josh Fortune; and he'll likely use junior Tory Miller as relief for Gordon at times, while also possibly utilizing Gordon and Miller at the same time when the Buffs feel the need for a "big" lineup.
But Gordon will no doubt be the rock in the middle.
"Teams are going to have to prepare for us differently because of how many matchups we can do with two big men, or we can go with one big man and we can switch," Gordon said. "We can do a lot of things defensively and offensively that are going to make other team frantic."
Unlike the last couple of seasons, when Scott was the leading scorer, the bulk of the Buffs' points this year will likely come from the wings, where King, Johnson, White and Fortune are all capable of big games. As for Gordon, his opportunities may come mostly on second-chance shots, which suits him perfectly. Gordon led the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding in conference play last year, averaging 3.6 per game.
"We'll still focus on defense and rebounding," Gordon said. "We'll still get the ball inside, but I think we're going to be more up tempo and I think we're going to get a lot more shots up this year."
One thing that has already become a focal point of this year's team is making sure the Buffs not only earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but advance. While they've been to the tournament four of the last five years, they haven't advanced past the first round since their first appearance in that stretch.
"We need to be more mentally tough and when things aren't going our way we need to start rallying together," Gordon said. "I think guys get really emotional … that can hurt the team. We just need to stick together as a team."
The Buffs open play on Friday, Nov. 11, with a 7 p.m. game against Sacramento State.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
