Colorado University Athletics
CU Grows As Springboard To Next-Level Hoops
June 03, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Highlighted by the recent play of former Buff Andre Roberson in the NBA playoffs, the Colorado basketball program is steadily growing its reputation as a place where young players come to hone their skills for the next level.
Over the last several years, more and more former Buffs have moved on to the professional ranks, either in the United States or overseas. Roberson, a third-year NBA pro, is just the another example of former Buffs who are earning a living on the basketball floor.
Roberson was a three-year standout at Colorado, playing in one NIT and two NCAA tournaments with the Buffs. A first-round NBA draft pick in 2013, he vaulted himself into the national scene in May with a stellar performance in Oklahoma City's 18-game NBA playoff run. Roberson played some of his best basketball yet as a pro, helping the Thunder advance to the Western Conference finals before finally falling to defending champion Golden State in seven games.
Roberson finished OKC's playoff stretch averaging 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 18 playoff games, and turned heads with some stellar defense in all three of the Thunder's series. His best game came in an Oklahoma City win over the Warriors in Game 4, when he finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, five steals and a pair of blocks.
“Andre's a good basketball player,” OKC coach Billy Donovan said. “I think sometimes the things that go missing with him is he makes winning plays.”
While Roberson's performance may have caught some folks by surprise, it was no shock to his college coach, CU's Tad Boyle.
““The one thing from talking to all the NBA people that I know, two things really translate from the college game to the pro game, and that's defense and rebounding,” Boyle said. “Guys that can guard in college can usually guard in the NBA and guys that can rebound in college can rebound in the NBA. Scoring doesn't always translate, but defense and rebounding do — and Andre did both of those things very well for us and he's doing them well at the next level.”
This year proved to be a particularly good year for former Buffs in the playoffs. Along with Roberson's effort, former CU standout Cory Higgins helped his team, CSKA Moscow, to the Euroleague championship; and ex-Buff Richard Roby played an integral role in helping the Akita Northern Happinets to the Japanese bj league conference finals.
Other former Buffs who played in the NBA this season included Spencer Dinwiddie with the Pistons, Alec Burks with the Jazz and and Chris Copeland with the Bucks; while other former Buffs who played professionally overseas included Austin Dufault (Finland), Nate Tomlinson and Shane Harris-Tunks (Australia), Marcus Relphorde (Hungary), Sabatino Chen (Taiwan), Carlon Brown (Germany), Marcus Hall (Turkey) and Michel Morandais (France).
“We're really proud of Andre and all of our NBA guys,” Boyle said. “But I'm equally proud of those other guys who are making a living playing the game they love, and that they've used the University of Colorado as a springboard to fulfilling their dreams.”
It's a trend Boyle believes is evidence of the foundation of success he talked of building when he was hired to head CU's program in 2010.
““It's a testament to the way our staff has evaluated and recruited, but more than that, a testament to those players,” Boyle said. “They've come in and made use of the opportunity that's been presented to them — the practice facility, the weight room and all the things that we have to help develop our student athletes. It's everything coming together, from the commitment that the university has made to facilities to personnel to our entire support staff. Those players have come in and made the commitment to use all those things to prepare themselves to get to that next level.”
Boyle believes it's one more piece to the puzzle of building a program of sustained success at Colorado.
“We're setting a standard,” Boyle said. “We're going into our seventh year here and we've been to the postseason every year. We've played in four NCAA Tournaments and an NIT Final Four.
“The expectation now is that we're going to win, we're going to help kids realize their dreams and we're going to make sure that the kids who do matriculate through the program are going to graduate. We have a lot of guys who have gone on to the next level of basketball, and we have a lot of young men who have earned their degrees and started professional careers in other areas. All those things are great for our program, because as we recruit, it's important that we have proven and our players have proven that you can come here and realize your dreams.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
