Expectations High As Boyle's Buffs Boast Talent, Depth
October 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — Colorado coach Tad Boyle is always hesitant to compare teams because every year presents a different roster and different challenges.
Thus, when asked Wednesday at Pac-12 Media Day if this might not be his most talented team yet in his 14 years in Boulder, Boyle hedged — but not much.
"It's deep and it's talented, there's no doubt," Boyle said. "I go back to that first team I coached and inherited all those guys, we were really talented offensively … But this is a good group, a lot of talent, a lot of depth."
Boyle's first team in Boulder set a then-program record for wins, putting together a 24-14 mark. While CU was jilted by the NCAA Tournament, the Buffs proved their mettle by advancing to the semifinals of the NIT.
But this year's squad has the potential to be better — even though the media picked Colorado to finish fifth in what will likely be the last season of the Pac-12.
"Look, picking us fifth is great because the pressure is off, right?" Boyle said. "But the internal standards and goals we have for this program are much higher than fifth in the league."
That internal confidence is based on a roster that boasts two preseason All-Pac-12 players in Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson, an incoming five-star recruit in Cody Williams, and a solid group of other returnees and new faces.
Among the other returnees are guards Luke O'Brien, J'Vonne Hadley and Julian Hammond III, all of whom had significant impacts last season. CU also expects redshirt freshman Joe Hurlburt (6-11, 232 pounds) to provide a presence inside and redshirt freshman guard RJ Smith could also see some time.
As for the new faces, CU is counting on a big contribution from TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr., a 6-11, 263-pound big man who will give the Buffs an immediate presence in the post.
And, incoming freshmen Assane Diop (6-10, 200) and Bangot Dak (6-9, 180) could also give the Buffs some instant depth and length inside.
Of course, potential and actual production are two vastly different things. One area the Buffs have made a priority this year is improving their shooting percentage and overall offensive production.
Last season, Colorado finished 18-17 and fell to Utah Valley in the second round of the NIT. The Buffs finished eighth in the conference standings (8-12), thanks in large part to an offense that averaged less than 70 points a game while shooting just .434 from the floor.
That shooting percentage included a .322 effort from 3-point range, the second-lowest percentage in the Boyle era.
"On my desk, I've got the off-season plans we make for each one of our players," Boyle said. "There's one for KJ, there's one for Tristan, one for J'Vonne, Luke, you name it — all of our returning guys. Shooting was on every single one of their off-season plans. We've got to become better, more consistent shooters. We have capable shooters, we really do. We didn't prove it in games last year."
Improved shooting has no doubt been a major priority for Simpson, who started 28 games for the Buffs last season. Simpson hit just 39.6 percent of his field goal tries (158-for-399), including a .276 mark from 3-point range (37-for-134).
"There isn't more to it than just working and putting up reps," Simpson said. "I've talked about it with Coach, worked on it in the summer … I trust in the work that I put in. I fall back on the principles that I have, that I laid down in practice and the reps I've been putting up in the summer. The biggest thing is just making sure I stay in the gym and keep working at it. If I have an off night or something, shake it off, and the next game will be different."
But all that offensive work doesn't mean Boyle has strayed from the core principles he has emphasized since he took over in Boulder — defense and rebounding.
"Rebounding is something we always emphasize," he said. "Defensively, we're going to be able to play maybe a little bit more zone. Really gap the floor, shrink the floor a little bit, and we're going to switch a lot. We're going to switch a lot of ball screens. Defensively we've got a chance to be as good as we've ever been. I think offensively we can take a big step this year."
ALL EYES ON WILLIAMS: Colorado fans will no doubt be anxious to see freshman Williams on the floor. One of the highest-ranked recruits in CU history, Williams will no doubt be followed by some big expectations — something Boyle and his staff are working to temper.
"Managing expectations is something we talked about with Cody," Boyle said. "We actually talked about it in the recruiting process … But Cody, just every day he gets better and better. That's what we've talked about with Cody. Let's take each day as it comes. Let's eliminate as much as we can of the outside noise."
Boyle knows fans will be expecting big things immediately from the 6-8, 180-pound Williams.
"I want our fans to understand there will be a learning curve," he said. "I had a chance to coach Cody this summer with USA Basketball. There was an adjustment there … (But) there's a reason he has five stars next to his name. Some plays he's made in practice, it's like, whoa, OK."
Still, Boyle said, he hopes fans will be patient.
"It's going to be a learning curve, and he's going to get better," Boyle said. "He's going to be a heck of a lot better in February than he was in January. A lot better in January than he was in December. He's a heck of a lot better now in October than he was even when I coached him in June."
BIG YEAR FOR DA SILVA? CU's senior leader did test the NBA Draft waters, and he almost certainly could have signed an overseas contract and be playing professionally today.
Instead, he chose to return to Boulder for one more season.
"It was a long evaluation process," da Silva said. "I talked to a lot of former teammates, my family, friends, coaches, the people that I worked with over the summer. Ultimately, it got to a point where I recognized that the position that I can play myself into this coming year will put me in a better position to get to where I want to be next year. So it was an easy decision to come back to Colorado. I stand by that. That was the right decision for me."
Boyle, obviously, is glad da Silva is back for his fourth year with the Buffs.
"Tristan DaSilva is what college basketball is all about," Boyle said. "To me, he's one of the top players in the the college game today. If he's not top ten, he's certainly top 20. I'll go to war with him every night. He's gotten better every year. He's worked on his body every year. He's committed. He could have left. He could have gone overseas. He could be playing in Germany for a lot of money right now, but he wanted to finish what he started, and we're thankful that he did."
PRESEASON POLL: The preseason media poll was released Wednesday and the Buffs checked in at No. 5.
Arizona, which received 18 first place votes, was picked to win the league, followed by USC, UCLA, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State.
The order (first place votes in parentheses) with total points:
1. Arizona (18) 303
2. USC (4) 264
3. UCLA (4) 249
4. Oregon 228
5. Colorado 210
6. Arizona State 148
7. Utah 139
8. Stanford 131
9. Washington 108
10. Washington State 94
11. Cal 67
12. Oregon State 42
