Colorado University Athletics
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Ricardo Patton and Ceal Barry are in similar situations at the
The question for Barry and Patton is how quickly their inexperienced teams will respond to their teachings. And how fast can they achieve success.
“All of our players are talented enough to play in the Big 12,” Patton said about his Buffs. “But there will be a learning curve. No doubt about that.”
Both Patton and Barry feel the Big 12 Conference is the toughest in college basketball. Win there and you can beat anyone.
“You don’t have an easy game, even against the bottom teams in our conference,” Barry said.
Before they face the rigors of the Big 12, both teams will be challenged by difficult non-conference schedules. It’s a time for development, but also a critical time to establish a winning attitude.
Patton hopes to do that despite with a lineup that returns only junior point guard Jayson Obazuaye. Gone are starters Michel Morandais, Blair Wilson, Lamar Harris and David Harrison, who bypassed his senior season to become the 29th pick in the NBA draft by Indiana Pacers. That departed quartet combined for 53 points, as the Buffaloes went 18-11 and finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark.
“A big chunk of our team is gone, but we added some new faces and I think we’re a lot deeper than last year,” said power forward Chris Copeland. “We’re a more well-rounded team.”
Patton laments the loss of
“Ashby is as athletic as any post player I’ve coached and he’s getting better every day,” said the coach. “Ashby and Arrington together give us a lot of size and they complement each other well. Arrington is a legit 6-11 and he can change shots. He just needs to get stronger.”
Junior transfer Andy Osborn, who scored 10 points a game in two seasons at Loyola Marymount, is a three-point threat. Osborn, a native of
“Roby has a chance to be a great player,” Patton said. “He can really shoot the basketball, and get in the lane and finish. He’s very athletic. And with his size, can get his own shot. In three years, he’s for sure a guy the NBA will be taking a serious look at.”
Roby and Ashby epitomize the talent that Patton seeks in order to challenge for national recognition.
“You want good athletes, but you also want good basketball players,” Patton said. “We’ve had teams I thought were athletic, but they didn’t know how to play basketball. That’s what I like about Roby; he’s got both.”
Patton figures the key to CU’s success lies with team chemistry, and the performances of Obazuaye and junior Glean Eddy.
“If Jayson and Glean play well consistently, we’ll be a pretty good team,” Patton said. “Jayson needs to be our leader and Glean needs to elevate his game this season.”
Junior backup point guard Antoine McGee, sophomore shooting guard Marcus Hall, junior college transfer Martane Freeman and redshirt freshman swingman Keith Smith will all be fighting for significant court time.
“We’ve brought in guys who I think will get better and better as we play,” Patton said. “I’d say our chemistry could be as big a factor as anything else in determining how successful we are. Chemistry has been great so far, but that sometimes seems to change when I start handing out playing time. It’s important our guys care about each other and work together as a team.”
In addition to putting the ball in the basket, the Buffs are going to be looking to defend better this season. To accomplish that, Patton has a two-fold approach.
The coach plans to play man-to-man defense “about 85 percent of the time,” but said, “I’d like to extend it and use some full-court pressure. We want to take advantage of our athleticism and try to create some easy baskets with our defense and by looking for the opportunity break.”
In their half-court offense, the Buffs could be dangerous, too.
“Shooting might be a real strength for us,” Patton said. “But it’s a lot different shooting in practice and then shooting when you get those Jayhawks guarding you.”
While Patton’s team might run more than in the past, Barry is preaching patience.
“We’ve got some good shooters, but they tend to fire it up there early,” Barry said. “I let it go early in practice a little bit, but it’s going to come back to haunt them. We have to play percentage ball, get a good shot and be patient.”
Barry lost 50 points from last season’s lineup with the graduation of starters Tera Bjorklund, Randie Wirt, Kate Fagan and Maria Billingsley, and the transfer of sophomore point guard Emily Waner, who went to Duke to play with her sister next season.
“Most of those points are playing pro ball in
Senior point guard Veronica Johns-Richardson will run the show, while Whitney Law, Anna Nedovic, Leslie Howard and Jasmina Ilic will provide impressive perimeter shooting. Freshman Kara Richards, a physical 6-4 center, will anchor the offense and defense, while junior college transfer Tami Garnett will also be a factor.
“Richards is a strong presence on the block and she’s ready to play at this level as a freshman,” Barry said. “Nedovic is quick, runs the floor well and has a good outside shot, especially for her size (6-4). Veronica is a good ball-handler and she’s improved her outside shooting a lot from last year.”
Law sat out the last two seasons, but is making her mark. She transferred from
“She has a passion for the game and she’s a complete player,” Barry said about Law. “She would’ve made a difference last year.”
Ilic is the Buffs’ most talented player, Barry said, and has the athleticism to play shooting guard and small forward. Freshman point guard Yari Escalera, from
“I think the key is, whether they are willing, and am I able, to make them play like second and third-year players, instead of first and second-year players,” Barry said. “That’s a huge challenge and I feel a little bit of pressure to get that done.”
But the coach feels like her team is up to the challenge.
“I believe in them and they believe in themselves, and that makes a big difference,” she said. “That’ll be important when they’re going through growing pains. They can all see the future and that should be good, but they want to win now.”
CEAL BARRY
“She was my coach and teacher, which she still is, but our relationship has matured to where she’s a friend and confidant,” Johns-Richardson said. “It’s a development of trust.”
Barry has faith in Johns-Richardson, her fourth-year point guard. And she depends on the senior to help her teach younger players.
“Coach says, ?Veronica, you’ve got to do it right. I can’t stop to teach you, because I’ve got to teach the others,’” Johns-Richardson said. “She doesn’t mean that bad. She just needs me to be more a leader.”
Barry is in her 22nd season as CU coach. The 1977 graduate of
“I love playing for her,” said sophomore Anna Nedovic. “She is very energetic and so good at getting people motivated.”
Johns-Richardson has seen Barry lead the Buffs to three straight third-place finishes in the competitive Big 12 Conference.
“Coach doesn’t settle for mediocrity,” Johns-Richardson said. “But she’s very nurturing, too. She makes time off the court every week for each one of us. I feel like I definitely have the best of both worlds with her as our coach.”
RICARDO PATTON
In nine seasons at CU, coach Ricardo Patton has increased expectations of winning and improved the talent pool. His challenge is to keep the program on an uphill climb.
Of the Buffs’ three seasons with 20 wins, Patton has been at the helm for two of them (1997 and 2003). Of CU’s 10 seasons with at least 18 wins, he’s been on the sideline for half of them.
“Coach knows how to win,” said junior point guard Jayson Obazuaye. “He’s good at teaching us how to win.”
Junior power forward Chris Copeland has also been impressed with Patton during his two-plus years in the program.
“Coach really knows the game,” Copeland said. “He’s sent guys to the pros like Chauncey Billups and Dave (
While Patton has a lot of great attributes as a coach, one stands out for Copeland.
“That’s definitely being a motivator,” he answered when asked about his head coach’s strengths. “He’s a motivational coach who can get you riled up before a game.”
Incoming recruits shouldn’t expect to be handled with kid gloves by Patton, though.
“He’s a tough guy on the court,” Copeland said. “He has high expectations for us and won’t let us settle for less than our best.”
A native of
“Coach is a good guy off the court,” Copeland said. “It’s obvious he cares about us as people, too.”
MEN’S BIG 12 PREVIEW
Jayson Obazuaye sounded a bit miffed at the lack of respect given the Buffs during a preseason poll of Big XII coaches. The league’s bench bosses picked
“A lot of people didn’t pick us high or expect us to do well,” Obazuaye said. “But I think that’s to our advantage. Nobody figures we’re any good, so we might sneak up on a few teams.”
Obazuaye certainly thinks the Buffs have enough talent to turn heads in the Big 12 and perhaps nationally.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can play and they’re just going to get better,” he said. “We just need to play as well as we can.”
The Big 12 is top-loaded with talent.
“We were sixth in the league two years ago and went to the NCAA Tournament,” said CU coach Ricardo Patton. “We were fourth last year and got snubbed by the (NCAA) tournament.”
So where does Patton think the Buffs fit in this season?
“The middle of the pack is our hope,” he said. “It’s certainly a reach, but it certainly realistic if we play well. You’ve got
CU junior forward Chris Copeland said there’s never a breather in the Big 12.
“They’re all good teams and some are great,” Copeland said. “The Big 12 is one of the toughest leagues every year.”
WOMEN’S BIG 12
After four-straight seasons of finishing third in the Big XII race,
“We’re picked seventh and there’s some really good teams picked ahead of us,” Barry said. “
Barry isn’t conceding anything, however.
“I think we’ll beat some of those teams picked ahead of us,” she said. “We went to the NCAAs the last four years, but that’ll be tough this time.”
If the Buffs can somehow survive the rigors of conference play, Barry said the strength of the league will help CU.
“Playing in the Big 12 is a big advantage because of the competition,” she said. “If we get to the 18- to 19-win mark, with some tough wins over good schools, that might get us over the edge. Or if we could win 22 games, we’d be in great shape.”