CU's King Aims For Strong Final Stretch Run, Beginning Friday With Utah
January 31, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — George King is the only player on the Colorado basketball roster who has ever played in a win over Utah.
King, a fifth-year senior, played in the Buffs' 79-75 overtime win in Boulder in 2014 as a true freshman. Since then, the Utes have won seven in a row.
Now, King has two more shots at Utah, beginning with Friday's 7 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center (FS1). He would not only love to play in another win over the Utes, but also help make sure there will be plenty of Buffs who won't be dealing with such a streak for another season.
"Utah is a team that's not going to beat themselves," King said after Tuesday's practice. "We have to come out and beat them and the way you do that is taking care of the ball, executing at a high level, taking good shots and rebounding."
Friday's game is the beginning of a Pac-12 stretch run that will see Colorado play five of its last eight conference games at home. With eight teams currently bunched between third and 10th place in the league separated by just two games in the standings, the stretch will be a decisive one for the Buffs. A strong finish could still move them into the top four in the league standings and earn them a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
But to do that, they'll need their upperclassmen — in particular King and Dominique Collier — to continue to show the level of steady play they have displayed over the last few weeks.
"When it comes to consistency, I put the onus on our upperclassmen," head coach Tad Boyle said. "I think George and Dom have really answered that bell here over the last three weeks to a month."
Not that the Buffs won't need steady play from their freshmen, in particular McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey and Dallas Walton, all regulars in the starting lineup. But as Boyle noted, freshmen are … well, freshmen.
"They're all talented players, we know that," Boyle said. "But freshmen are going to be up, they're going to be down, they're going to be good, they're going to be bad. That's just the nature of being a freshman. So that's where those seniors, their consistency, their stability, their poise, is so critical for these guys in every game that we play, and every practice that we have."
While the Buffs have lost their last three — two coming on last weekend's road swing through Arizona — King has been particularly steady over the last six games, averaging 17.7 points and 8.5 rebounds.
But now, King said, he needs to take his game up another notch.
"We (the seniors) have been fairly consistent," King said. "We have to be able to continue to do that and elevate it over the last few weeks. If we do that, others will follow."
The fact that King is nearing the end of his college career has not escaped him — and he wants to make that final hurrah one to remember.
"I'm looking at the schedule and I count on one hand how many home games we have left," King said. "Coach Boyle was telling me there's no reason why I shouldn't let it all hang out. 'Give it all you've got, leave it all on the floor' — and he's exactly right. My time is getting real short, the fuse is burning. I'm looking forward to playing my last five games here."
SPLIT PRACTICE: Tuesday afternoon's practice did not go the way Boyle wanted it. In fact, he ended the practice about halfway through the scheduled time and reconvened the workout later Tuesday night.
"Today we just had the worst practice of our year," Boyle said bluntly. "Wasn't even close. … We're coming back tonight and we're going to finish it up. We were not very good today. … If we play Utah on Friday night like we practiced today, it's going to be the eighth loss (against Utah) for the Buffs."
WELL-SCOUTED: One thing that won't be missing for either team Friday night is a detailed scouting report on the opponent. Because Colorado and Utah are "travel partners" in the Pac-12, they play the same opponents every week throughout the season.
It means the Buffs see plenty of film of Utah throughout the year.
"We have a good relationship with their staff, we have a lot of respect for all of them," Boyle said. "Coach (Larry) Krystkowiak does a great job and I think the feeling is mutual. We have good relationships with each other. … We're playing the same teams so you watch a lot of film of Utah even when you're not watching Utah because they're playing the same opponents we're playing."
20 LEAGUE GAMES? The San Jose Mercury-New reported Wednesday that the Pac-12 is considering going to a 20-game conference basketball schedule.
Such a change would likely mean two conference games before the holiday break in December (the conference schedule currently begins right around the new year).
Boyle said such a change would mean coaches would re-evaluate their non-conference scheduling.
"If that's what happens then it changes our non-conference scheduling parameters and philosophies," Boyle said.
One possible result, Boyle said, would be fewer games against "name" non-conference foes because two additional league games would immediately make the schedule more difficult.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
