Buffs Ink Top Rated Class To NLI
November 08, 2023 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado men's basketball program has put together another nationally acclaimed recruiting class as head coach Tad Boyle announced the signing of four outstanding prospects who signed their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.
Andrew Crawford (Littleton, Colo.), Felix Kossaras (Montreal, Quebec), Doryan Onwuchekwa (Dallas, Texas) and Sebastian Rancik (Bratislava, Slovakia) comprise Colorado's Class of 2024, a group that is currently ranked 12th in the country by 247Sports, No. 16 by Rivals and No. 26 by On3.com.
All four members are labeled as four-star prospects and ranked as one of the top 100 players in the nation by at least one recruiting service. Three of the four are consensus four-star picks.
This is the third Colorado class in the last four seasons ranked in the nation's Top 25 by 247Sports and Rivals, including the 2023 Class slotted in at No. 25 and No. 13 respectively.
"One of the things that our staff has made a conscious decision to do is recruit guys that fit our culture and the value system that our program is based on, and finding young men and families that align with those values," Boyle said. "We try to do it with as many high school kids as we can. I want to stay out of the transfer portal as much as possible. We'll certainly use it when we need it, but we want to recruit great high school kids that want to come to Colorado for the right reasons and develop and grow both as students and as basketball players and members of our community."
Crawford is a 6-foot-6-inch, 175-pound combo guard from ThunderRidge High School, joining a long-line of top in-state prospects such as Josh Scott, Wesley Gordon, Dom Collier, Derrick White, D'Shawn Schwartz and current Buffs Luke O'Brien and Julian Hammond III. He is the top-rated player in the state of Colorado and ranks 58th overall by On3.com.
"It's a great sense of pride for sure," said Crawford on staying in state. "I feel like Colorado is definitely under recruited; we have some hoopers here. So, I wanted to represent the state and myself as the No. 1 player in the state going to the No. 1 school in the state.
"I really bonded with the coaching staff throughout the years. They've come around all my games and practices. They've been recruiting me since my freshman year. It's that constant connection and then (CU Strength Coach) Steve Englehart, he's very knowledgeable about what he does and you can definitely see the difference from freshman to sophomore players. I'm excited to start working with him."
Crawford averaged just under 20 points along with 11 rebounds and six assists as a senior, earning Colorado Class 6A All-State First Team honors. He helped ThunderRidge to consecutive state championships in 2021 and '22. Overall, he has averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists over the first three years of his high school career.
"We've recruited Andrew and his family for over three years now, so we've kind of watched him grow up so to speak," Boyle said. "He from a really good high school program in the state in ThunderRidge; his high school coach Joe Ortiz is somebody I've known for a long time. I think he saw that we offered him everything he was looking for in a college experience; and he's the number one rated player in Colorado this year. He's a terrific young man and very talented. He can play with the ball in his hands, can play off the ball and can guard. He's got good size, he's 6-foot-6. He's got a good athleticism and his best basketball days are ahead of him."
Kossaras, a 6-5, 180-pound, guard from Montreal, is in his senior season at Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario. On3.com rates Kossaras as the 83rd best prep prospect and 20th at his position. Kossaras played internationally for Team Canada at the FIBA 2022 U17 World Cup in Spain.
"When I came on my visit (in October) the environment in general was welcoming," Kossaras said. "I saw the team and the coaching staff and the values they have, it's just the right fit for me.
"(Preparing for CU) just mostly getting stronger. And as a point guard being a better leader on the court. I think, going to the next level, that's going to be something I need to keep working on."
Kossaras was one of 24 players selected to play in the 2023 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, recording 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. He participated in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Salt Lake City in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Game in February, winning the camp's 3-point contest.
"Our staff has been high really, really high on Felix ever since they saw him play on the circuit, starting even last year and then going into this spring this summer," Boyle said. "Felix is a guy that can really shoot the ball, but he's much more than just a shooter. He's kind of a pass first point guard with great size. He can handle the ball well, he can run a team. He's a little bit like Tristan and Cody (Williams) from the standpoint that he he's a much better offensive player, but he's sometimes a pass first guy. So we're going to want him to be more aggressive as a scorer than maybe he is naturally, but really a talented guy with good size and great skill and really high basketball IQ."
Onwuchekwa is a 6-10, 235-pound center from Dallas. A consensus four-star prospect, he has helped Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy to three-straight Texas 4A state titles. He earned All-State Tournament honors as a junior as the Eagles finished their "3-peat" with a 32-3 record.
Rivals has Onwuchekwa as the 83rd best player in the nation while 247Sports lists him as the 12th best player in the state of Texas. Colorado's return to the Big 12 Conference starting next season will allow Onwuchekwa to play several games in his own back yard.
"We've always recruited Texas, but I think that going back to the Big 12 was appealing to Doryan and his family to get a chance to watch him play a little more," Boyle said. "He's a big guy; from the time we started watching him until (now) he's lost a significant amount of weight. He's really done a great job trimming his body down which he needed to do. He's still a big burly, broad shoulder, big guy that again, he is skilled as well. He can shoot the ball from from behind the arc, but he can also be on the block. He's a great passer. He's got great hands. Doryan is a guy we're really high on in terms of being that guy in the middle for us that can do multiple things. He's not just one dimensional.
"Having been at a school for 14 years now, we have the luxury of almost every kid that we recruit, we can talk about former players we've had that have been very successful, and I think with Doryan, we talked a lot about Evan Battey and how we used him not just as a low block player, but he could lead the conference in three point shooting his senior year. So really a good kid from a great family. He's going to be a terrific Buff."
Rancik, a 6-9, 210-pound forward is gearing up for his senior season at JSerra Catholic School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where he's been since coming to the United States from Slovakia his freshman year. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds – along with 45 blocks – as a junior helping the Lions to a 22-9 record and a spot in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship. Rancik earned All-CIF-SS Division 1 and All-Los Angeles Times First Team honors.
He was named to the 2022-23 Division 1 All CIF-Southern Section Team helping the Lions to a 22-9 record and advance to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section championship. A four-star prospect, Rancik is ranked 68th in the nation by On3.com and 93rd by Rivals.
He averaged 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists for Slovakia at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B. A year earlier, he pitched in 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds for Slovakia at the FIBA U18 European Challengers tournament.
"Sebastian is very unique in the sense that he's got great size, much like Tristan da Silva, at 6-foot-10, but he's also very, very skilled," Boyle said. "It was important to Sebastian that we were not recruiting him to be a 'big guy.' He fancies himself more of a wing than a post player and, and he's got great skill set, and he can pass the ball extremely well. Obviously his European upbringing has really helped with that.
"But I think the development that Tristan da Silva has made in our program really was appealing to Sebastian and those people around him that helped to make this decision; that Colorado is a place where you can go and not just be a 6-10 guy stuck on the block; step out on the floor, shoot threes, put the ball on the floor and be a player much like Tristan was for us."
Andrew Crawford (Littleton, Colo.), Felix Kossaras (Montreal, Quebec), Doryan Onwuchekwa (Dallas, Texas) and Sebastian Rancik (Bratislava, Slovakia) comprise Colorado's Class of 2024, a group that is currently ranked 12th in the country by 247Sports, No. 16 by Rivals and No. 26 by On3.com.
All four members are labeled as four-star prospects and ranked as one of the top 100 players in the nation by at least one recruiting service. Three of the four are consensus four-star picks.
This is the third Colorado class in the last four seasons ranked in the nation's Top 25 by 247Sports and Rivals, including the 2023 Class slotted in at No. 25 and No. 13 respectively.
"One of the things that our staff has made a conscious decision to do is recruit guys that fit our culture and the value system that our program is based on, and finding young men and families that align with those values," Boyle said. "We try to do it with as many high school kids as we can. I want to stay out of the transfer portal as much as possible. We'll certainly use it when we need it, but we want to recruit great high school kids that want to come to Colorado for the right reasons and develop and grow both as students and as basketball players and members of our community."
Crawford is a 6-foot-6-inch, 175-pound combo guard from ThunderRidge High School, joining a long-line of top in-state prospects such as Josh Scott, Wesley Gordon, Dom Collier, Derrick White, D'Shawn Schwartz and current Buffs Luke O'Brien and Julian Hammond III. He is the top-rated player in the state of Colorado and ranks 58th overall by On3.com.
"It's a great sense of pride for sure," said Crawford on staying in state. "I feel like Colorado is definitely under recruited; we have some hoopers here. So, I wanted to represent the state and myself as the No. 1 player in the state going to the No. 1 school in the state.
"I really bonded with the coaching staff throughout the years. They've come around all my games and practices. They've been recruiting me since my freshman year. It's that constant connection and then (CU Strength Coach) Steve Englehart, he's very knowledgeable about what he does and you can definitely see the difference from freshman to sophomore players. I'm excited to start working with him."
Crawford averaged just under 20 points along with 11 rebounds and six assists as a senior, earning Colorado Class 6A All-State First Team honors. He helped ThunderRidge to consecutive state championships in 2021 and '22. Overall, he has averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists over the first three years of his high school career.
"We've recruited Andrew and his family for over three years now, so we've kind of watched him grow up so to speak," Boyle said. "He from a really good high school program in the state in ThunderRidge; his high school coach Joe Ortiz is somebody I've known for a long time. I think he saw that we offered him everything he was looking for in a college experience; and he's the number one rated player in Colorado this year. He's a terrific young man and very talented. He can play with the ball in his hands, can play off the ball and can guard. He's got good size, he's 6-foot-6. He's got a good athleticism and his best basketball days are ahead of him."
Kossaras, a 6-5, 180-pound, guard from Montreal, is in his senior season at Fort Erie International Academy in Ontario. On3.com rates Kossaras as the 83rd best prep prospect and 20th at his position. Kossaras played internationally for Team Canada at the FIBA 2022 U17 World Cup in Spain.
"When I came on my visit (in October) the environment in general was welcoming," Kossaras said. "I saw the team and the coaching staff and the values they have, it's just the right fit for me.
"(Preparing for CU) just mostly getting stronger. And as a point guard being a better leader on the court. I think, going to the next level, that's going to be something I need to keep working on."
Kossaras was one of 24 players selected to play in the 2023 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, recording 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. He participated in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Salt Lake City in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Game in February, winning the camp's 3-point contest.
"Our staff has been high really, really high on Felix ever since they saw him play on the circuit, starting even last year and then going into this spring this summer," Boyle said. "Felix is a guy that can really shoot the ball, but he's much more than just a shooter. He's kind of a pass first point guard with great size. He can handle the ball well, he can run a team. He's a little bit like Tristan and Cody (Williams) from the standpoint that he he's a much better offensive player, but he's sometimes a pass first guy. So we're going to want him to be more aggressive as a scorer than maybe he is naturally, but really a talented guy with good size and great skill and really high basketball IQ."
Onwuchekwa is a 6-10, 235-pound center from Dallas. A consensus four-star prospect, he has helped Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy to three-straight Texas 4A state titles. He earned All-State Tournament honors as a junior as the Eagles finished their "3-peat" with a 32-3 record.
Rivals has Onwuchekwa as the 83rd best player in the nation while 247Sports lists him as the 12th best player in the state of Texas. Colorado's return to the Big 12 Conference starting next season will allow Onwuchekwa to play several games in his own back yard.
"We've always recruited Texas, but I think that going back to the Big 12 was appealing to Doryan and his family to get a chance to watch him play a little more," Boyle said. "He's a big guy; from the time we started watching him until (now) he's lost a significant amount of weight. He's really done a great job trimming his body down which he needed to do. He's still a big burly, broad shoulder, big guy that again, he is skilled as well. He can shoot the ball from from behind the arc, but he can also be on the block. He's a great passer. He's got great hands. Doryan is a guy we're really high on in terms of being that guy in the middle for us that can do multiple things. He's not just one dimensional.
"Having been at a school for 14 years now, we have the luxury of almost every kid that we recruit, we can talk about former players we've had that have been very successful, and I think with Doryan, we talked a lot about Evan Battey and how we used him not just as a low block player, but he could lead the conference in three point shooting his senior year. So really a good kid from a great family. He's going to be a terrific Buff."
Rancik, a 6-9, 210-pound forward is gearing up for his senior season at JSerra Catholic School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where he's been since coming to the United States from Slovakia his freshman year. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds – along with 45 blocks – as a junior helping the Lions to a 22-9 record and a spot in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship. Rancik earned All-CIF-SS Division 1 and All-Los Angeles Times First Team honors.
He was named to the 2022-23 Division 1 All CIF-Southern Section Team helping the Lions to a 22-9 record and advance to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section championship. A four-star prospect, Rancik is ranked 68th in the nation by On3.com and 93rd by Rivals.
He averaged 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists for Slovakia at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B. A year earlier, he pitched in 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds for Slovakia at the FIBA U18 European Challengers tournament.
"Sebastian is very unique in the sense that he's got great size, much like Tristan da Silva, at 6-foot-10, but he's also very, very skilled," Boyle said. "It was important to Sebastian that we were not recruiting him to be a 'big guy.' He fancies himself more of a wing than a post player and, and he's got great skill set, and he can pass the ball extremely well. Obviously his European upbringing has really helped with that.
"But I think the development that Tristan da Silva has made in our program really was appealing to Sebastian and those people around him that helped to make this decision; that Colorado is a place where you can go and not just be a 6-10 guy stuck on the block; step out on the floor, shoot threes, put the ball on the floor and be a player much like Tristan was for us."
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