University of Colorado Athletics
Spring Work Enthuses Boyle, Lappe; Knutson Eyes Poland
BOULDER - Tad Boyle and Linda Lappe recently got brief glimpses of the future. The next time they get to work out their respective University of Colorado basketball teams, their debut seasons will be looming.
Boyle, introduced on April 19 as the CU men's coach, and Lappe, welcomed a week earlier as women's coach, recently completed abbreviated spring practice sessions with their squads.
Both coaches came away impressed with their new players.
"No. 1, I think we've got a group of guys who aren't afraid of hard work. They really practiced hard and pushed themselves," said Boyle, who spent the past four seasons as head coach at the University of Northern Colorado.
"This is the time of year when they're probably not in tip-top shape, but that's OK. When fatigue set in, they showed they were willing to push through it and they did push through it. That was a good thing. I think we have a great nucleus to build upon."
Determining how the returning Buffs will mesh with his system was difficult during the April work because of the NCAA practice restrictions imposed.
"It's hard to tell; we could only work in groups of four and there's only so much you can do in groups of four," Boyle said. "We did a lot of basic things - a lot of shooting, some footwork things to let them know what we're going to expect as a staff going into next year.
"There's only so much you can tell, but the basketball IQ and the coachability were there. I was pleasantly surprised."
Lappe, Metro State College of Denver's head coach for the past three seasons, also called her returning squad members "very coachable . . . we're asking them to make a lot of changes, but they worked extremely hard at it."
Some of the changes Lappe referred to involve footwork in drills that are different and have a different emphasis from those required by the previous staff. But Lappe said the players "seem to be quick learners with great attitudes."
Both coaches said they are close to announcing the composition of their staffs.
The men's team is losing one scholarship player. Freshman Keegan Hornbuckle, who missed six games last season with a right shoulder injury, told Boyle he wanted to play at a school closer to home in Westlake Village, Calif.
With Hornbuckle's exit, Boyle has four scholarships available. He could use a couple and hold a couple, but however the numbers fall, he wants to be "very judicious and prudent" in signing his first CU players.
"What we have to do is turn over every rock and find players that are capable of competing in the Big 12 and capable of being successful," Boyle said. "We're on top of that. It's late, but sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough late - and that's the goal we're faced with right now.
"We're going to sign some guys, but not necessarily use all of (the scholarships). We've got to be very prudent and judicious in the decisions we make. You try to build as good a team as you can, but we're also trying to build a successful program and be able to sustain that success."
Lappe hasn't announced whether her team will experience any attrition, and that could affect the number of scholarships she will have available during the spring signing period, which continues through the middle of May.
But like Boyle, her goal is to import frontcourt help. Both teams need to bolster their overall post and inside play, particularly in rebounding.
One of Boyle's first priorities after he was hired was a trip to Grandview, Mo., to visit the parents of Big 12 Conference freshman of the year Alec Burks, who shortly thereafter announced he was returning for his sophomore season.
Lappe also visited the three incoming freshmen who signed with the Buffs in November. She flew to Long Beach, Calif., to meet with twin guards Ashley and Brittany Wilson and their parents, and made a closer trip to Denver to meet with forward Shae Kelley (East High School) and her parents.
Lappe believes the Wilson twins and Kelley will "mesh well" with her current roster. "I'm looking forward to building relationships with them . . . from what I've heard, they all bring something different, and I expect they'll all be able to contribute right away. Getting new blood on a team is great, and I think freshmen can provide a lot of energy and enthusiasm anyway."
Lappe said she was no stranger to the athletic Kelley: "I saw her (in high school) more times than you could count. She's explosive and gets to the rim. She jumps well; she can alley-oop dunk. And she really plays hard."
A common off-season goal for both coaches is for their teams to adhere to the weight work prescribed by strength and conditioning coach James Hardy. Boyle and Lappe will have individual meetings with their players before the summer break begins.
"I think each player has to shore up or two parts of their game," Boyle said. "The offseason is when players can make huge improvements in their games. Each player is a little bit different . . . we're going to test them in the weight room and find out how much stronger they get over the summer.
"We did one drill - a shooting drill that's timed - and there's a number attached to it. We recorded that and we'll do that same drill in the fall and see what improvements were made on that front."
With Hardy already on board and her players familiar with him, Lappe said improvement in her team's overall strength is to be expected: "He can work them out, condition with them. That part is where they can get their biggest gains. They already know how to lift, how to increase their weight.
"I'd like to see them in good condition the next time we're able to see them, and to be able to continue where we left off in April."
TRAVEL AHEAD FOR KNUTSON: Senior-to-be Levi Knutson will be a member of the Athletes In Action team that leaves for Poland in late May and returns to the U.S. on June 7.
Knutson, a 6-foot-4 guard from Arapahoe High School, had contemplated playing for the AIA team "a couple of years ago," but that plan was scratched because of surgery on both hips to repair torn labrums in each.
Now, said Knutson, "I'm feeling healthier than I ever have . . . it's worked out really well."
CU was represented on the AIA team last May by guard Dwight Thorne II, who has briefed Knutson on what to expect in his travels.
"He told me it was a lot of fun playing and seeing Poland with guys you don't know," Knutson said. "But he also said you'll be looking around for good food . . . it's pretty rare.
"But the greatest part of the trip is to be able to use basketball and spread the word of the Lord. Playing overseas is something not everybody gets to do. And I've never been to Europe."
Knutson's AIA team - one of nine men's and women's squads touring internationally this off-season - also will include of Cory Jefferson and A.J. Walton (Baylor), Garrett Stutz and Toure Murry (Wichita State), Preston Medlin (Utah State), Kyle Weems (Missouri State), Alexsandar Marcius (Purdue), Joseph Bertrand (Illinois) and R.J. Mahurin (Indiana State).
Missouri State assistant Kent Williams will coach the team, which begins a four-day training camp in Katowice, Poland on May 31. Two games are scheduled against Poland's U23 national team, with another pair against other Polish pro teams before the June 7 return.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU