Colorado University Athletics
Freshmen Provide Spark For Boyle's Buffs
November 30, 2020 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Freshmen have played an important role in the Colorado Buffaloes' 2-0 start to the basketball season.Â
In the season-opening 84-61 win over South Dakota, redshirt freshman guard Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 11 points and was big on the glass, tying with Dallas Walton for the most rebounds on the team with seven. Barthelemy was unable to compete in CU's following contest against Kansas State because of issues related to COVID-19.Â
A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Barthelemy is from Montreal. He redshirted his first year in Boulder, and his addition to the rotation this year is expected to provide some additional scoring opportunities for his teammates, in particular senior guard McKinley Wright IV.Â
Wright had 20 points in the opener.
"Having him as another weapon and another point guard that can see the whole floor, pass, and create a shot for himself is huge for us," Wright said. "I'm excited for him. He's just getting started, I promise you."Â
True freshman Jabari Walker is another newcomer who performed well in his debut, notching 10 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes against South Dakota. He fared well in his second game as well, putting up nine points, three rebounds and two steals in a 76-58 win over Kansas State. Walker is from Inglewood, Calif., and was also a four-star recruit. He is the son of former NBA player Samaki Walker, who played on the 2002 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.Â
A 6-foot-8 forward, Walker has given the Buffs a spark down low that was evident against Kansas State. Midway through the first half, Walker stripped a rebound from the Wildcats' Antonio Gordon and scored a tough contested layup to bring the Buffs to within five points, 22-17.
Head coach Tad Boyle believes Walker has a bright future.Â
"He's got great instincts in terms of shot blocking, offensive rebounding, and scoring," Boyle said. "What's so exciting about Jabari Walker is that as good as he's playing right now, his upside is so much higher because there are so many things that he can get better at."
Also seeing playing time in CU's opening week were true freshmen Tristan da Silva, Nique Clifford and Luke O'Brien.Â
"They want to compete at a high level and I love playing with all of them," Wright said. "They look forward to learning. They look up to me and I just want to do my job to help them any way I can."
NEXT UP: Colorado will look to improve to 3-0 Wednesday night when the Buffs travel to Tucson to start Pac-12 play against Arizona at 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks).
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