Boyle's Buffs Host Colorado Mines in Saturday Exhibition

BOULDER — After a closed scrimmage against SMU and an open intrasquad scrimmage last weekend, Colorado coach Tad Boyle will get one more preseason look at his Buffaloes on Saturday when they host Colorado Mines in a 4 p.m. exhibition game.

Boyle, entering his ninth season at CU, knows exactly what he wants to see from his young Buffs in their final dress rehearsal at the CU Events Center. Whether he gets his wish, of course, is an entirely different matter.

First on the list of priorities?

"I want to see consistent effort with our team," Boyle said earlier this week. "One of the things with our intrasquad, I was really disappointed with our level of effort. Guys knew they were going to play extended minutes and they kind of paced themselves. I told them if we as coaches have to coach effort, it's going to be a long year."

Part II, Boyle said, is a simple matter of solid, consistent execution on both ends of the floor.

"I want to see us execute the things we've been working on from the summer through the fall and in the first few weeks of practice," Boyle said. "I want to see some execution at a high level. We're not going to be great at everything, but the things we've worked on — half-court offense, our transition defense — I want to see a level of consistency. It doesn't matter who we're playing."

While there are plenty of questions yet to be answered with this squad, one thing Boyle already knows is that it will have a significantly different look than in years past. With just one senior, two juniors and a raft of underclassmen, the Buffs will be a relatively inexperienced but talented group.

How quickly Boyle and his staff can mold that potential into production will be an ongoing question throughout the non-conference portion of the schedule. If that the Buffs can make that transition, Boyle expects a competitive team that will be playing past the Pac-12 Tournament in March.

'"The bar internally for this team is very high," Boyle said. "We feel like we should be in postseason, NCAA Tournament. That's easier said than obviously done. … But if we stay healthy from here on out, there's a lot of firepower on this team offensively."

Indeed, the Buffs have plenty of players who can put the ball in the bucket, beginning with sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV, who led Colorado in scoring last year, averaging 14.2 points per game.

Also returning from last year are senior guard Namon Wright (9.7 ppg), junior forward Lucas Siewert (6.8 ppg) and sophomore forward Tyler Bey (6.1 ppg). All will be expected to improve on those numbers.

But there are also some newcomers who should add to the equation. Junior college transfer guard Shane Gatling, who hit 102 3-pointers last year at Indian Hills CC, could be a bit outside threat for the Buffs. Inside, they will look to redshirt freshman Evan Battey, a 6-8, 270-pound frontliner who can go to the rim and shoot from the outside.

"He's had some adjustments going from junior college basketball to Pac-12 level play," Boyle said of Gatling. "But when his feet are set and he's open … When he makes the first one or two, they're going in and he starts feeling it. (But) he's a little bit streaky right now."

With sophomore Dallas Walton out for the season with an ACL injury, Battey's development inside will become even more important.

"He's a guy who imposes his will on the defense," Boyle said. "When his body collides with another body, they bounce off him, he doesn't bounce off them. We've got guys in practice, they have no interest in guarding him. He's that kind of guy. He does bring the fight to you. ...He can put the ball on the floor, can pass it, can shoot it."

Boyle isn't worried about his team's offensive potential. But what he has been stressing this year is what he has been emphasizing since the day he took the job in Boulder back in 2010: defense and rebounding.

These Buffs, he believes, have the ability to be good at both.

"Deleon Brown has really exposed himself as a defender on the perimeter," Boyle said of the junior guard. "McKinley can really guard. Lucas has gotten much better in the post. We know Tyler has got the ability to guard anybody on the floor. We have some great individual defenders, and I also think we have some good team defenders. Evan Battey, for as big and strong as he is, pretty mobile, has good feet. I like this team's defensive abilities. Now are we tough enough and are we committed enough to do it night in and night out? That's the question."

As for rebounding, Boyle wants to see his team take strides on the offensive end. The Buffs were third a year ago in the Pac-12 in overall rebounding, averaging 37.5 per game. But on the offensive glass, CU was just seventh in the league (10.1 per game).

"When the shot goes up, can we go and get it?" Boyle asked. "That's going to be my biggest concern. We were a good rebounding team last year. We need to be a great rebounding team."

Two players Boyle expects to be leaders on the offensive glass are Bey and Battey.

"Tyler's a guy who can impose his will because he's so athletic," Boyle said. "He has a nose for the ball you can't teach. He just has to be consistent. I want him to be a terrific offensive rebounder. I thought last year we were a really good defensive rebounding team. But since we've had Andre Roberson leave our program we haven't had that prolific offensive rebounder. That's what I think Tyler can bring."

After Saturday's exhibition game, Colorado will open regular season play Tuesday, Nov. 13, with a 6 p.m. game against Drake.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu