Head coach Tad Boyle instructs freshman Evan Battey (left) with Namon Wright and D'Shawn Schwartz looking on.
Buffs Resume Practice For Italy Tour
August 05, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Martinka Joins Program, Prioleau Lands San Jose State Job
After a month off, the Colorado men's basketball team resumed practice for its August tour of Italy Saturday morning at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffaloes will have eight days of practice in Boulder, including Saturday, before leaving for an 11-day, four-game tour featuring stops in Rome, Florence, Venice and Como. The NCAA allows for 10 practice days for foreign tours. Two of those practice days were used in June.
Colorado enjoyed a spirited, but focused morning on the practice floor. The task for head coach Tad Boyle and his staff is to get the team ready for game action, in about a quarter of the time they would for the regular season.
"We've got to move fast, that's the biggest thing," Boyle said. "Normally when you start practice you can take baby steps with 30 days before your first game. Now we've got eight. The key for us is to move quickly, but yet still trying to teach; trying to get them to absorb as much as they can within these eight practices."
Colorado's roster will feature nine players that have yet to play a minute in a Buffaloes uniform, eight of which were at practice Saturday. That alone makes the timing of this Italy trip, with the extra practices and extra games, especially beneficial.
"Today was walking through a lot of stuff, we got up and down a lot," freshman point guard McKinley Wright IV said. "I'm looking forward to the trip to Italy with these guys.
"I've never been out of the country…I hear the pasta is pretty good (there). Looking forward to just having fun with the guys. For a lot of us, this will be our first time out of the country."
Colorado will depart Denver in the afternoon on Monday, Aug. 14, and after a layover in New York, the team will arrive in Rome on Tuesday morning. The Buffaloes will return to Denver in the evening on Thursday Aug. 24.
The Buffaloes will have eight days of practice in Boulder, including Saturday, before leaving for an 11-day, four-game tour featuring stops in Rome, Florence, Venice and Como. The NCAA allows for 10 practice days for foreign tours. Two of those practice days were used in June.
Colorado enjoyed a spirited, but focused morning on the practice floor. The task for head coach Tad Boyle and his staff is to get the team ready for game action, in about a quarter of the time they would for the regular season.
"We've got to move fast, that's the biggest thing," Boyle said. "Normally when you start practice you can take baby steps with 30 days before your first game. Now we've got eight. The key for us is to move quickly, but yet still trying to teach; trying to get them to absorb as much as they can within these eight practices."
Colorado's roster will feature nine players that have yet to play a minute in a Buffaloes uniform, eight of which were at practice Saturday. That alone makes the timing of this Italy trip, with the extra practices and extra games, especially beneficial.
"Today was walking through a lot of stuff, we got up and down a lot," freshman point guard McKinley Wright IV said. "I'm looking forward to the trip to Italy with these guys.
"I've never been out of the country…I hear the pasta is pretty good (there). Looking forward to just having fun with the guys. For a lot of us, this will be our first time out of the country."
Colorado will depart Denver in the afternoon on Monday, Aug. 14, and after a layover in New York, the team will arrive in Rome on Tuesday morning. The Buffaloes will return to Denver in the evening on Thursday Aug. 24.
Colorado Tour Of Italy Game Schedule:
(Times listed are MOUNTAIN – Italy is 8 hours ahead of MDT)
Thursday, August 17
Colorado vs. All Star Italy, 11 a.m.
Gym: Stella Azzurra Sport Center
City: Rome
Friday, August 18
Colorado vs. BC Silute (Lithuania), 12 p.m.
Gym: Palazzetto Sandro Pertini
City: Ponte Buggianese
Monday, August 21
Colorado vs. Vicenza All Star, 12:30 p.m.
Gym: Pala Goldoni Arena
City: Vicenza
Wednesday, August 23
Colorado vs. Novipiu Junior Casale, 12 p.m.
Gym: Pala Piacco
City: Vercelli
Roster News
AJ Martinka, a 6-foot, 5-inch guard from Stanwood, Wash., has joined the team as a walk-on. Martinka averaged 16 points, five rebounds and four assists as a senior at Stanwood High School earning Class 3A All-State honors from the Washington Coaches Association.
Martinka scored 1,053 points for Stanwood, ranking as the fourth leading scorer in team history. He also holds team marks for games played (106) and games won (86).
Mitch Lombard, a two-year letterwinner for the Buffaloes, has left the team after being accepted into the Los Angeles School of Film where he will start this fall. A native of Castle Pines, Colo., Lombard saw action in 13 games over two seasons.
Incoming freshman guard Lazar Nikolic has not joined the team yet as he is still finalizing his paperwork. There is still a chance he joins the team here in Colorado before departing to Italy, but there is also a chance he meets up with the Buffaloes in Italy.
Colorado's first game, at the Stella Azzurra Academy in Rome, is where Nikolic played this last season.
Prioleau To San Jose State
Associate Head coach Jean Prioleau has accepted the head coaching job at San Jose State and will be formally introduced at a press conference Monday morning.
Prioleau coached at Colorado for seven seasons, all on Boyle's staff, helping to lead the Buffaloes to 149 wins and seven straight postseason appearances highlighted by four trips to the NCAA Tournament and the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament championship.
"(Coach Prioleau) has been a part of every success we've had," Boyle said. "He's been ready to be a head coach for some time now. The one thing that stands out to me is he is an every-day coach, you know what you're going to get. Consistent in his effort and consistent in his energy. In our business there are just a handful people who can both coach and recruit at very high level. Jean Prioleau is one of those people. From that standpoint, San José State has made a home-run hire."
AJ Martinka, a 6-foot, 5-inch guard from Stanwood, Wash., has joined the team as a walk-on. Martinka averaged 16 points, five rebounds and four assists as a senior at Stanwood High School earning Class 3A All-State honors from the Washington Coaches Association.
Martinka scored 1,053 points for Stanwood, ranking as the fourth leading scorer in team history. He also holds team marks for games played (106) and games won (86).
Mitch Lombard, a two-year letterwinner for the Buffaloes, has left the team after being accepted into the Los Angeles School of Film where he will start this fall. A native of Castle Pines, Colo., Lombard saw action in 13 games over two seasons.
Incoming freshman guard Lazar Nikolic has not joined the team yet as he is still finalizing his paperwork. There is still a chance he joins the team here in Colorado before departing to Italy, but there is also a chance he meets up with the Buffaloes in Italy.
Colorado's first game, at the Stella Azzurra Academy in Rome, is where Nikolic played this last season.
Prioleau To San Jose State
Associate Head coach Jean Prioleau has accepted the head coaching job at San Jose State and will be formally introduced at a press conference Monday morning.
Prioleau coached at Colorado for seven seasons, all on Boyle's staff, helping to lead the Buffaloes to 149 wins and seven straight postseason appearances highlighted by four trips to the NCAA Tournament and the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament championship.
"(Coach Prioleau) has been a part of every success we've had," Boyle said. "He's been ready to be a head coach for some time now. The one thing that stands out to me is he is an every-day coach, you know what you're going to get. Consistent in his effort and consistent in his energy. In our business there are just a handful people who can both coach and recruit at very high level. Jean Prioleau is one of those people. From that standpoint, San José State has made a home-run hire."
Players Mentioned
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