Colorado University Athletics
Woelk: Boyle's Buffs Have Grown Up In A Hurry Over 10-Game Stretch
March 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Throughout the first month of the Pac-12 season, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle remained unflinchingly optimistic.
Even after the Buffaloes fell to 2-6 after a 76-74 loss at home to Oregon State — their second conference home loss in three tries — Boyle told anyone who would listen that the Buffs were capable of doing some good things in Pac-12 play.
"If we can get on a roll, which we're fully capable of doing, we can make some noise in this league coming down the stretch," Boyle after the Oregon State loss.
Boyle's players were evidently paying attention. The OSU game proved to be a turning point not many folks who follow Colorado could imagine. Since then, the Buffs have won eight of 10 games, including season sweeps of UCLA and USC, and moved up from 10th place in the Pac-12 standings to a fifth seed in this week's Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas.
Colorado (19-11 overall, 10-8 Pac-12) opens tournament play Wednesday with a 3:30 p.m. (Mountain time) game against Cal (8-22, 3-15).
"Our guys said, 'enough is enough,'" Boyle said last week, before the Buffs wrapped up the regular season with wins over UCLA and USC. "We had Oregon coming in a day later and our guys responded (with a 73-51 win). We kind of haven't looked back. We haven't won every game since then, but our intensity, our mentality, our grit, toughness, has been there every time we've stepped on the floor."
The Buffs have indeed been a different team — mentally and physically — since the OSU game. They have come back from deficits to collect victories, won two games on the road, and knocked off a pair of teams that finished ahead of them in the final conference standings, Utah and Arizona State.
There has been no secret formula to the Buffs' turnaround, no magic bullet. Rather, after the rough conference start, Boyle simplified things for his team. They began adhering to a mantra that has been with them since — get better each day in practice and focus on the next game.
Nothing else.
"I knew if we could just keep getting better in practice every day, this team has what it takes," Boyle after Saturday's win. "Now we've won eight of 10. The credit goes to our players for not giving up, not getting down, just coming to work every day and getting better. That's gratifying."
What has been fun to watch over the 10-game stretch has been the maturation and growth of CU's younger players.
Individually, it has been impressive. Collectively, it has made the Buffs into a team that goes to Las Vegas with a puncher's chance of running the table. Despite a roster hit hard by injuries and other issues, the Buffs are getting key contributions from every player available.
That starts, of course, with sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV, named Sunday at the team's banquet as the team's MVP this year. Despite playing much of the Pac-12 season with a shoulder injury that will require surgery when the season concludes, Wright has been the glue that has refused to let the Buffs come apart. While his numbers his conference play have been solid — 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and more than four assists per game — it is his intangibles that elevate his importance another notch. Wright is unquestionably the team's physical and emotional leader, as well as perhaps the Buffs' most dependable player in clutch situations.
But it has been more than Wright over the last 10 games — and when you look at the Oregon State game as a turning point, it's difficult not to also see that game as a critical moment in sophomore forward Tyler Bey's development.
Bey endured perhaps his worst game of the season against OSU, finishing with just four points and four rebounds — his lowest rebound total of the season other than against Air Force, when he played just seven minutes because of an injury.
His performance was so sub-par that he found himself on the bench for much of the second half, finishing with just 18 total minutes on the floor (again his lowest total of the season other than the AFA game).
After the game, Boyle didn't mince any words. "I just didn't think Tyler was giving us much tonight," he said. "He's a good player, but I thought defensively and rebounding he wasn't the same Tyler Bey I've expected to see and we've expected to see."
Bey took the message to heart, later admitting, "I never want to feel that way again."
He hasn't. In the 8-2 Colorado stretch since the Oregon State loss, Bey has recorded eight double-doubles (and missed a ninth by a single point when he missed a free at the end of the game in a win over Arizona). That stretch includes five double-doubles over the last five games, the most consecutive by any Buff in nearly 30 years. Over the 10 games, Bey has averaged 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds.
But it has been more than Wright and Bey.
Freshman Evan Battey is turning into a Pac-12 force. The Buffs big man had 21 points and seven rebounds in the win over the Trojans, his fourth double-figure scoring game in CU's hot streak. He has also contributed some outstanding defense in the paint, and combined with Bey and junior Lucas Siewert, gives Colorado a dominant and deep front line.
Meanwhile, sophomore D'Shawn Schwartz has also quietly developed into a quality, dependable Pac-12 performer. Schwartz has averaged nearly 10 points and four rebounds in the 10-game stretch, and equally importantly, has become a stellar defender who can guard on the perimeter and inside as well.
The rest of the available players have also  stepped up their games. Junior guard Shane Gatling has added some key scoring and playmaking ability, Siewert has been consistent in the post on both ends of the floor, freshman Daylen Kountz has provided some valuable minutes, and sophomore Alex Strating has produced some key plays at critical moments inside.
It has been, quite simply, a true team effort.
"We are playing together and not caring who scores," Boyle said. "Our best player is the guy who is open. … I love how our guys are sharing the ball."
Boyle is quick to give credit to his players for their success. But truth is, he has done an excellent job of keeping this young team together through the tough times and guiding them to success.
It is particularly impressive when you look at the youth of this team. That's something Boyle will not use as an excuse, but his starting lineup now consists of one freshman, three sophomores and a junior.
Now, he takes these grown-up-in-a-hurry Buffs to Las Vegas. Asked whether the Buffs have a shot at winning the tournament, he said it's anyone's tournament to win.
"It could be us because we are defending, rebounding, and playing together," he said. "We are going to have to make some shots and have a little luck and have the ball bounce our way. We are going to have to win a close game, or two, or three, or four. We are going to have to play well down the stretch. You have to go win that tournament. The tournament t is not going to be given. You are going to have to execute. It can be anybody and it can be the Buffaloes because we are playing well right now."
But guaranteed, when the Buffs return to the practice floor Monday afternoon, they won't be talking about winning four games — or three or two.
Their focus will be the same as it has been for the last 10 games.
Getting better today and figuring out how to win the next game.
It's a formula that has worked well for this bunch.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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