Colorado University Athletics
King Feeding Off Of Buffs' Increased Energy
January 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Over the last two weeks, Colorado senior George King has put together perhaps his best four-game stretch ever as a Buffalo.
In those four games, King has averaged 17.5 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and almost two blocked shots per game. That includes three straight games with double-digit rebounds, the first such stretch in his career.
Not coincidentally, the last two weeks have also been one of the more productive runs for the Buffs in King's CU career. Not only have the Buffs won three of their last four, they have beaten two top-15 teams (Arizona and Arizona State) and collected the program's first-ever win at UCLA.
"I'm just kind of locked in," King said after Tuesday's practice. "I want to win really bad. Obviously up to Arizona State, we hadn't been on the right path. I really just wanted to turn it around, not just for myself, but for the team as well. The team is playing with a lot of energy, which I'm feeding off of as well."
This week, King and his teammates aim to keep that energy flowing in a pair of home games. Colorado hosts Washington State on Thursday in a 6 p.m. game, then plays host to Washington on Saturday at 4 p.m.
"I'm going to keep saying this — I want to leave this program better than I found it," King said. "I have a long way to go, but it's very doable. I believe if we continue to play at a high level as a team, we'll be able to do that."
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle has maintained for the last couple of years that King is a player who could average a double-double. But now that King is approaching that level (14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds for the season), Boyle said he believes the senior could be even better.
"George's offensive rebounding percentage has been going down and down — which means he's putting less and less effort on the offensive glass," Boyle said. "Now, he's doing a great job on the defensive glass, but that's a challenge I just gave him before practice."
Indeed, in six Pac-12 games, King has just eight offensive rebounds. CU's leader on the offensive boards in conference play is point guard McKinley Wright IV, who has 13.
Tuesday afternoon, Boyle invoked the memory of former Buff Andre Roberson, who finished second in the nation in rebounding in 2012-13 while averaging more than three offensive boards per contest.
"Andre, there wasn't a shot he didn't go after," Boyle said. "George has to get that mentality on the offensive glass. … 17 and 10 are certainly numbers we can live with. But I still think he can be even better on the glass — I really do."
King has also been hot from beyond the arc in the last couple of weeks, shooting 16-for-34 from 3-point range in the recent run. That includes a career high six 3-pointers in the Buffs' 68-59 win at UCLA.
"(Assistant coach) Kim English has been in my ear, telling me to 'just shoot it,'" King said. "That's what I've been doing and I've been able to rattle some in. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up."
GETTING DEFENSIVE: Since he arrived in Boulder, Boyle has made defense and rebounding two of the foundational tenets of CU hoops.
In Pac-12 play thus far, the Buffs are adhering to that defensive cornerstone. Colorado is currently second in the league in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to connect on just 42 percent of their shots; as well as second in 3-point defense, with opponents hitting just 31.1 percent of their long-distance tries.
Meanwhile, CU has held two of the league's best scorers — Arizona's Allonzo Trier and UCLA's Aaron Holiday — to less than half of their season average. Trier finished with just eight points against the Buffs while Holiday had just 10.
"We're trying to keep it simple with these guys," Boyle said. "Defend, rebound, take care of the ball and get a great shot. There's offenses and defenses and game plans based on who we're playing and that changes maybe game to game, but really those four things — defend, rebound, take care of the ball and get a great shot — those are going to be a staple of this team as we move forward."
BATTEY STATUS: Boyle said there is no update on the status of redshirt freshman Evan Battey, who suffered a medical "event" over the holidays and is now undergoing a variety of tests. "Doctors are still gathering information," Boyle said. "He's back in Boulder, our doctors can look at him, see him, get him in to who he needs to see. Getting everything from doctors in California when the event happened. .. One day at a time and have him get better and improve. He's been doing that and that's all we can ask."
NO WORRIES ABOUT WRIGHT: Boyle said he's not at all concerned that McKinley Wright — the Buffs' leading scorer — had just 11 points in CU's two games in Los Angeles. Wright finished with just four points against UCLA, but still had seven assists and played outstanding defense on the Bruins' Aaron Holiday.
"He's not a secret anymore," Boyle said of the freshman. "When people prepare for Colorado they have a body of work now where they see what he does. They're going to try to take him away as best they can. But the thing that makes McKinley so special is he has the ability — unlike a lot of basketball players at the college level — to help his team win when he's not scoring. That's what he does, that's who he is. I don't worry about his points."
PAC-12 BROADCASTS: Both of CU's games this week will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. Calling the game against Washington State will be Mike Crispino and Mike Montgomery; with J.B. Long and Montgomery handing duties for the Washington game.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
