Colorado Media Day Quotes - Men's Basketball
vs
Montana State
Nov 3 (Mon)
7 p.m.
Colorado Winter Sports Media Day – Men’s Basketball Quotes
Oct. 21, 2024, CU Events Center
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“Glad you're all here. Year 15 and as excited as ever. I’ve got a lot of gas in my tank still, thank goodness, and really looking forward to this season. We’re coming off a historic season in Colorado basketball history, with 26 wins, two NCAA tournament wins, and three NBA draft picks, so we're really proud of what this program accomplished last year and what the players accomplished that were in it. But this is a whole new team and a whole new season, and it's going to be one of those years where I think I'm going to judge myself with this team, not so much on the number of wins we have. We obviously want to win as many as we can. That's how we're judged, we get that, but the improvement that we make from even when we started practice in September, today was our 19th practice this October, so I want to see how much improvement we can make from the beginning of the season to the end of this season. And there's going to be peaks, there should be valleys, like every basketball season, even last year's team, as successful as it was, we had some bumps in the road. We had some injuries to overcome. This team is going to be no different, but I think the ceiling of this team is very high, and I'm excited about the returning players, and I'm also excited about the new ones we got, that we signed, that are new to the program. Looking for a great year.”
On the team two weeks out from the season opener
“What I know about this team is that they're hungry, and we’ve some competitiveness to us. We've played extremely hard in practice. We've gotten after each other. There's been times where it's gotten a little chippy in practice, which, as long as it's under control, that's a good thing, because they're competing and they want to win. I think the fact that we were picked, I think 15th, and I don't know if that was a coach's poll or the media poll, should put a chip on our shoulder. I think it's put a chip on our players' shoulders. I know it's put a chip on my shoulder. The Big 12 is a hell of a league, but what I know about this team is we're going to compete, we're going to play hard, we're gonna give our fans and give each other everything we've got. It's important that I do that as a coach with my energy for the two and a half hours of my practice every day, or on game night, and certainly preparing as well. We got to play for each other and compete our tails off.”
On coaching through the years
“I'm driven internally by, again, every team is a new team. Every year is a new year. I'm always driven by how much improvement we can make as a group, and then, obviously, at the end of the day, you're judged on wins and losses. And I don't shy away from that. I never have, and I never will, but I wouldn't say it's any different. I think when I first got here, it was like you're at the base of the mountain, and you're looking up and you're like can we get this program to where it needs to be and where we want it to be? And I think we have, but certainly there are more steps we can make. I still would like it to make the second weekend of the tournament. We haven't done that yet. I'd like to win a conference championship during the regular season. We haven't done that yet. So there's a lot of things we haven't accomplished, but I think that the challenge of every team, given the year you're in and the team you have, is to get the most out of them. To me, that's how I judge myself. And that hasn't changed. So, many things have changed, but a lot of things haven't changed.”
On coaching changes in a new era of college basketball
“Number one, college basketball took a hit when (recently retired Virginia coach) Tony Bennett decided to retire. He's a hell of a coach. He's a hell of a man. I've got great respect for him. I've watched him, and I wouldn't say I know Tony well, but I think we have a mutual respect when I see him on the road, and we share the same agent, coincidentally. I don't have any inside information other than what I've read from his comments, just like you guys, but I've thought about it, and I think any coach that's in college basketball that hasn't thought about what he just did is probably lying to you. But the fact of the matter is there's still the same amount of players out there that were out there before. There's the same amount of scholarships, at least right now. I don't know if our roster limit’s gonna go to 15 or not next year, but if we all stay with 13 scholarships, we still have 13 scholarships. It's just the deck is being shuffled, and the way you're constructing your roster is different each year, and some people have really taken to the transfer portal and believe in it and like it, and others, like myself, we've certainly used it more for graduate transfers than true undergraduate transfers, but I want to recruit. I want to develop, and I want our teams to get better, and I want our players to get better, and I want our players that come here who have the dream of playing in the NBA or playing professional basketball to achieve that dream. I think we've done that over the last 14 years.
“We're going to continue to do that no matter the answer. I've said this before, and I hate when people say NIL, because it's really not NIL. We're paying these kids to play, so in the pay for play model that we're in right now, and I know the NCAA doesn't like to hear that, but the fact of the matter is, that's what it is. So let's call it for what it is. But, in the pay for play model, Tony said it when he retired, I think every coach agrees they deserve a piece of the pie. The question is, how big of a piece? That's for the lawyers and Attorney Generals, and I trust those people to figure it out. We're just going to try to recruit kids that want to get a great education, have a great college experience, come to a great college town and a great program, and try to achieve their dreams and have a hell of a lot of fun and a great college experience doing it. Those are the guys we're going to target and we're going to get, and the ones that are looking for the biggest payday are going to go somewhere else, and I'm okay with that. Whether they're in our program and decide to transfer out for more money, that's cool, I want kids here for the right reasons, and I want to coach the young men that have the values that we have as a program, and if they can make some money and hopefully save some money in the process, that's a great thing.”
On what Bangot Dak is bringing to the Buffs this year
“Bangot's got that body type where you don't notice some weight that he's put on, or the strength that he's really gained in this off season, but Bangot is one of the number of players in our program that's returning that has a chance to have a breakout year. He was just scratching the surface as a freshman, obviously playing behind some really talented players last year, but explosiveness is sometimes even an understatement with him. He's a quick jumper, he’s got good timing, he’s probably one of the best shot blockers I've coached. The key for him is he's got to be the second one off the floor. When he's a second one off the floor, he's pretty darn good. If he's the first one off the floor, he's gonna be in a lot of foul trouble because he is thin, and people are gonna get into his body, and he'll pick up fouls. Using the discipline and building the habits defensively, he has a chance to be an elite defender, both on the ball and off the ball. Right now, he's a really good off the ball defender; when he sees man in ball and he stays in a stance, and he's getting better on the ball as well. Bangot can have a breakout year, both offensively for us and defensively for us. He's got the ability to affect the game in a variety of ways.”
On the challenges and excitements of a new conference
“The challenges are obvious. Five preseason Top 10 teams are in our league, and you got a couple others that are top 20 caliber teams as well. I've said this before and I'll say it again, when we left the Big 12 to go to the Pac-12, we were leaving a really good league to go to a really good league. Now we're leaving the Pac to go back to the Big 12. We're leaving a good league, or what was a good league, into a very good league. The players are really good, and the coaches are really good. That was true in the Pac-12 and It's true in the Big 12. The depth of the Big 12 is deeper and the venues are much more difficult to play, having coached in both leagues, and that's going to be the big difference. There's some teams, Texas and Oklahoma are gone, some new teams are in that weren't there when we were there 13 years ago, but hell of a challenge, and we're looking forward to it as a team, as a program, and the time is now.”
On Assane Diop
“Assane plays with great energy. He competes his tail off. We’ve got a new kid in our program, Elijah Malone, who's 6”11, 265, and is a beast down low, and in practice, who's going to guard him? BD (Bangot Dak) has had his chance; Assane had his chance. Sebastian Rancik has had his chance too. We've had a lot of guys. Nobody likes guarding him, but he's going to make Assane a better post defender. Assane can, much like BD, affect the game in a lot of different ways. He may not be the rim protector and shot blocker that BD is, but he can run the floor. He's really worked on his perimeter jump shot. He plays his tail off; plays with great energy. He's a good rebounder, which is something we really stress and value. I think when I look at the returning players and you look at our back court, you have RJ Smith, Javon Ruffin and Julian Hammond III, and in the front court, you've got Bangot Dak and Assane Diop and both those guys' improvement is going to be critical for us. Assane, much Like Bangot can have a breakout year for us in a variety of ways.”
On the freshman class
“We’re surely going to need some contributions from our freshman. Andrew Crawford, a Colorado native, has done some really good things here this preseason. I mentioned Sebastian [Rancik]. He’s 6’10. His ceiling, his talent is unquestionable. You saw in our inter-squad scrimmage, he was 5-for-5 from three, he can make open shots. He's learning. All these freshmen are learning at a very quick rate. But it's a little bit like drinking water from a fire hose. There are a lot of things coming at them. Their heads are spinning. They're thinking right now more than they're playing. But Sebastian and Andrew have done some good things. Then Felix Kossaras, a kid from from Canada, is a heck of a player as well. He’s a good, physical guard/wing who can put the ball on the floor, get downhill and make open shots. I think he has a chance to be an elite defender as well. So all three freshmen have an opportunity. What are those roles going to look like as we start the season, November 4? That's a little premature right now. We're still in the process of going through that as a staff and as a program, but all three, I think, will be great Buffs in the course of time.”
On Andrej Jakimovski
“Andrej is an important piece to our team this year with his experience, his physicality, his ability to shoot the ball, his ability to make plays. I think his role as a player at Colorado is going to be a little bit different than his role was at Washington State over the last four years. I think he is excited about that. We're excited about that, but Andrej is a key to this team. He's got the players' respect in a very, very short period of time being on campus. Obviously, there are certain guys you play against that you have respect for. There are some guys you play against you don't have respect for. We got respect for Andrej and he's earned it, not only from what he's done at Washington State, but what he's done since he's gotten on our campus, and his ability to rebound the ball, shoot the ball, score the ball off the bounce, maybe be a playmaker a little bit because he's such a good shooter, they have to honor that and close-out and now he can attack a close-out and hopefully make a play off the bounce. He's not going to play point guard for us, but he can be a playmaker for us so he's going to be a critical piece of this year's team, without a doubt.”
On Elijah Malone
“Elijah is very skilled for a guy his size. He knows how to use his body. He knows how to swivel and get angles down low. When he gets the ball down low, he can score it, he can pass it, which you have to be able to do, because, again, if you're as good as I think he's going to be down there, he should demand double teams. And when double teams come, now he can pass out of it. And we experienced that last year with Eddie [Lampkin Jr.]. Eddie was a really good passer for a guy his size. Elijah is probably a little bit of a better scorer down there than Eddie was. He may not be the passer or have the ability to make those behind-the-head passes that Eddie made, but he can pass the ball. He's not a black hole, and he's going to give us a presence at the rim that we need. Defensively, he's also a guy who can match up against another big, strong, wide-body guy, and hopefully guard one-on-one in the post, so we don't have to double the post and don't have to dig as hard. So he's going to be an important piece, both offensively and defensively. When he's not in the game, we don't have that big, wide-body guy. We got some size and some length, but now against a good low post player, we're going to have to probably be doubling the post and fronting and those sorts of things. But he gives us some versatility there defensively.”
On what fans should expect out of this team
“Fans should expect an exciting group to watch. We have really talented guys that can get up and down the floor. They're going to be a fun team to watch. We're not going to change our style in terms of trying to play fast and get stops and run and get out in the open floor. So I think they should expect an exciting team to watch. They're going to have a team that's going to be different in the middle of December than it is when the season starts. And they're going to be different in January and different in February. The great thing about college basketball, as a fan, to me, is you get to watch these young men grow into be men. You get to see the development and see Bangot Dak and Assange Diop and where they were when they got here last year, and then where are they going to be at the end of this season, and watch that growth and development but physically, emotionally and just skill-wise they're going to lay it on the line. This team is going to compete and I think as fans who pay good money to come to our games, they want to see guys that are going to lay it on the line for them. And we're going to do that.”
On trusting Julian Hammond at the guard position
“I would say I would add Javon Ruffin to that mix because I think both Julian and Javon have the ability to run this team as a point guard. And surely they can play together because they're both really good shooters, and they can play off of each other, but I think I showed a lot of confidence in Julian and Javon because I believe in them. I think Julian Hammond has proven himself, certainly, two years ago when KJ [Simpson] was out at the end of the year. I think he played five games straight and averaged double figures and took care of the ball against high-level UCLA and USC, some high-level Pac-12 teams. He's got the ability to do that. So now, what Julian hasn't done is he hasn't been able to do it over the 31-game schedule. He battled some injuries last year, but his ability to shoot the ball, his ability to run the team, he may not be the fastest, quickest, you know, jet-like guard, but he can keep guys in front of him, defensively and I would put Ruffin in that same category. I think they can run this team, and understand what this team needs from them to win a game. It might be shooting a three, it might be scoring the ball, it might be getting the ball down low, it might be making a play for one of our other players, you gotta be playmakers. I don't expect Julian Hammond to be KJ Simpson and I don't want our fans to either. I want Julian Hammond to be the best version of Julian Hammond. If he can do that, we'll be fine. He's a good player. Again, Javon has not proven it over time he's been injured. He hasn't made it through a whole season yet injury-free. So both of them, I look at them as a two-headed monster at the point, if you will. And then we got RJ Smith, who can back up if need be. RJ is a really good shooter, but he can make plays as well. So it's gonna be an interesting team from that position. But you're right, I've shown a lot of faith in Julian because Julian's shown a lot of faith in us. And to me, loyalty is a two-way street, and trust is a two-way street. It's not a one-way street.”
On the balance of developing players and adding players through the portal
“Look, my job is to win games and win as many games as we can win. But while we're doing that, we have to develop some of the young guys, and that's what I want our team to understand. We started talking about it already after the exhibition game on Saturday, this morning, in our film room, we spent 30 minutes talking about self-awareness, understanding what this team needs from you as an individual player, and what sacrifice means. So I think every game we play, we're trying to win, and I'm coaching to win, I'm not coaching to develop a young guy who may need development. That comes in practice, that comes before practice, that comes after practice, that comes in individual improvement. So we're going to coach to win. We're going to play to win, but along the way, if we can help develop guys we're going to do that as well. So that's where we got to pick and choose based on our schedule and we set our schedule for this team. We'll figure that out as we go, but we're always going to coach to win.”
Coach Boyle on getting to work with new assistant coach Danny Manning
“Danny and I go back to our days as players at Kansas. I was a senior when he was a freshman. I watched his pro career, 15 years in the NBA, number one pick in 1988 after winning the championship. Then I watched his coaching career, starting at Kansas as assistant for Coach (Bill) Self and going to Tulsa, and his journey. We've certainly maintained a relationship. We're not going on vacation together and that sort of thing, but certainly my wife, Ann, knows his wife, Julie, and they're great people. Once you form that relationship as a player, whether it was 30 years ago or three years ago, it's still with you today. Our relationship has maintained communication, and it's not like I've always dreamed of coaching with Danny, and I don't think Danny's ever dreamed of coaching with me. It just kind of happened organically, and the timing was right for him and his career. The timing was right for me and what our needs were for this program, but it's great to have him around. Danny is a very soft spoken, easy going guy, but he's a very intuitive guy. He's a very intelligent guy. Not all former great players are great coaches. Danny's made that transition, obviously, and he's proved it over time, and he brings a lot to the table. I don't want him just to be you think about him just as a big man coach. He can certainly coach big guys, but he can coach guards as well and I look for the same thing in assistant coaches that I look for in players, and that's versatility. Danny brings great versatility as a coach, and his experience is obviously unquestionable, and his ability to impart that. The way he does that, I think our players have really taken to that. He's a funny guy. He uses humor and he doesn't beat them over the head with a stick, so to speak. He’s got a great way about him.”
Coach Boyle on recruiting Trevor Baskin and his impact on the game
“We’ve known about Trevor since he was a high school player at Pomona right down the road. He was thin, and he was a little underdeveloped physically coming out of high school. I don’t know if Trevor had any division one opportunities, but he chose a really good program over at Colorado Mesa and we heard about him. We had a couple former walk-ons, Isaac Jessup and Owen Koontz that went to play at Colorado Mesa, and they would come back in the summer, and play pick up with our guys, so we kind of followed him, and then when he went to portal and we knew what we needed, it was kind of a no brainer to reach out. We watched some film on him and talked to those guys, because I have great respect for both Owen and Isaac, and we jumped into recruiting and got him. It's good to have a local guy, and I think he's happy to be at Colorado and we're certainly happy to have him.”
Coach Boyle on the status of Courtney Anderson, Jr.
“Courtney's had like six practices. He tweaked his groin a couple weeks ago, and he's just getting back in the fold. I don't know if he looks 100% yet. He's not in game shape, so we decided to give him a little bit more rest and bring him along. He's a little bit behind because he missed so many practices at a critical point in the year. These practices in October, I don’t want to say they're more important than the ones in January and February, but in terms of solidifying where you're at on the team they're critical. He’s missed some, but now he's back; it's good to have him back, and we'll see where he is next week, we'll see where he is tomorrow, and go from there.”
Assane Diop, So., F
On how his role is going to change for this season:
“That depends on me. That has nothing to do with the coaches and everything to do with me. If I do what I am supposed to, I will stay on the court. If I am not, I will be pulled off the court.”
On who has emerged as leaders for this team:
“I think everybody is trying just to do what they can to help you. For me, I listen to everybody. They are all the same to me, but how I see it is that we all want to win. If we see someone not doing their job, we are going to tell them. If I'm not doing my job, they will tell me I am not.”
On how his defense is doing so far:
"I think I'm doing pretty good. I'm doing a good job rebounding the ball. And I like that part of Coach’s game. Defense wins games. He loves that. Everybody has to put all they got on the court.”
On what the fans should expect out of him:
“I am always thinking that today is a day to win. If I have 10 or 100 points, it doesn’t matter. I am going to do whatever it takes to make the team win. And I will play hard to do that.”
On what fans should expect from the team as a whole:
“I think that we should surprise a lot of people. I hear stuff, but there will be a lot of surprises. We cannot wait for the season. We are doing the best we can and getting ready for the season.”
On if they are using being picked 15th in the preseason as motivation:
“All of us are. I feel like that was not right, but that is how they see it. You cannot get mad at people. You can wait to show up, but that is not us. We will show up.”
Bangot Dak, So., F
On how preseason has been with the adjustments in the offseason:
“We've had a pretty good preseason. I feel like the summer was a perfect summer, which prepared us for this preseason. So, I feel like it's really not a preseason. We're just locked in. We're ready to go.”
On how it has been integrating the new guys into this team:
“I feel like it's been good. We have three fifth years. Trevor, Elijah, and Andre are there, so we got the older guys and three new freshmen: Felix, Andrew, and Sebastian. I feel like they have just been fitting well. Their games are different, and I think that will make us so good because everybody can do different things. I feel like these six coming in will help a lot.”
On what he wanted to work on in the offseason and where he wanted to improve:
“To get stronger. I know I got stronger for sure. I also wanted to work on my game offensively and defensively. Offensively, I wanted to work on my outside game, get my shot right, played more off the dribble. Defensively, I just wanted to be a lot more physical, be able to guard one through five a lot better this year, which I know I'm going to be able to do.”
On what fans should expect out of this team this season:
“A lot of energy from us. We are going to play hard every time we go out there. Everybody is going to play for each other. A lot of unselfish basketball will be played. I feel like all five guys on the court are going to eat at all times. It’s not going to be one person.”
On how the team has been drilling so far:
“We are really great together. We all hang out with each other outside of practice. Everybody has a good relationship with each other. Nobody really thinks badly about anybody's game. It's all positive things we're talking to each other about or what we need to work on. So, I feel like that's really good for this team. It will help us in the long run,”
On what Tad Boyle and him talked about during the offseason for his role this season:
“We kind of did a little bit. He wanted me to show my versatility, defensively and offensively. He really wants me to show people what I can do and use my lane because not many people out there could do what I do. He just wants me to go out there and show everybody what I've been working on.”
On how excited he is to join the Big 12:
“I'm really excited. It's going to be a challenge for me, physicality-wise and athletic-wise, and for our team. The type of teams we're going to be playing against and the type of atmosphere we're going to be in, it's going to be like a Pac-12 Championship every game. We didn't play a lot of those last year. Arizona was a big spot. We played at UCLA and a little bit at USC. Every game we play in the Big 12 is going to be like that.”
On how he was under the radar for recruiting:
“I definitely was under the radar. I had a lot of schools that showed interest, like Nebraska, Colorado State, Utah, and those types of schools. Randomly, after one Pro 16 game, I got a follow from Coach Rohn. He wanted to talk to me later that night and get me on the phone with Coach Boyle later that week. We ended up talking about my game and set up a visit. It all kind of went on from there.”
On the feeling towards Colorado because of where he grew up in Lincoln:
“I didn't really hear a lot about Colorado growing up, like, sports-wise. I just heard that the relationship wasn’t that great, and there used to be a rivalry back then. Once I committed, that's when I found out a lot about all that hatred between Colorado and Nebraska.”
On getting in the rotation towards the end of last season:
“It was great because just a couple of years ago, I was watching TV of people playing college basketball. It's everybody's dream. But it's not really a thought that I could be out there really playing. Then, I realized I was out here playing against Oregon, USC, and UCLA, which is kind of amazing to see. It shows me that hard work does not fail. But at the beginning of the season, I wasn't playing. End of the season, I was getting a little bit of playing time.”
Trevor Basin, Gr., F
On how his shift to playing at CU has been:
“These players have skill sets similar to mine that I think I can thrive in, and they have shown that they can as well. So, realizing that and then seeing the facilities, both from the D2 to the D1 jump, was a bit of a shock, but having (strength coach) Steve (Englehart) and all these amazing resources at my disposal now is something that I wouldn't have even dreamed up.”
On how he has elevated his game this offseason:
“I really elevated my body, and my body feels a lot better. Thanks to Steve and the fueling stations, I put on about 10 pounds of muscle. I am also working on my games. I think I can bring a lot of versatility, consider myself a bit of a Swiss army knife, and do a little bit of everything. So, I've really just been trying to sharpen my skills. Shooting has been a big focal point for me, becoming a mid-jumper last year to come to be a three-point threat, and this year, I'm trying to make an even bigger jump.”
On what he brings on defense:
“I think I bring versatility. I learned how to guard the five when I had to play the five at my old school, and I think the coaches also trusted me to guard one through five. And that's, like I said, the strength of our team is that we have seven or eight guys that are all 6’8” and 6’11” that can guard multiple positions. And when you have that versatility, it's awesome to see a little guard who might have a tough time finishing over one big guy have to switch on to another. So, it'll create a lot of matchup problems for opposing teams. Being a disciplined player and being in the right spots is something that Coach Boyle has always emphasized, and that's the greatest thing I'm trying to improve.”
On what his favorite parts about Coach Boyle are:
“He cares. He's very passionate. If he's not saying something to me, that's when I get a little nervous. So, I'd rather have him be in my ear about being in the right spot and doing the right thing. And that proves that he wants what's best for me and the best for the team. So, you got to take it on the chin. Every once in a while, he'll get on you a little, but that comes with the territory. I'd rather have a coach get on me a lot more than sit back and relax.”
On how the new team is coming together:
“I'm sure everyone's been saying the same thing, like everyone gets along well. I've always gotten lucky with teams liking each other, but I know there have been people who haven't gotten to experience that same thing. All of us hang out outside of practice, and that's all we do: hang out with each other. So, we are getting that connection even off the court, which is really going to help us on the court.”
On how the chemistry is on the court:
“We are learning that chemistry and all learning to play together. We're still learning, and the process is still early on. I'm definitely gaining an understanding of where people are going to be. It's something that we always get to keep working on. You can never have enough chemistry. And there's always room for improvement in that aspect. You can always learn how to play off each other even better. But I think we're doing a really good job of that and just taking every practice to have as another opportunity.”
Oct. 21, 2024, CU Events Center
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
Opening Statement
“Glad you're all here. Year 15 and as excited as ever. I’ve got a lot of gas in my tank still, thank goodness, and really looking forward to this season. We’re coming off a historic season in Colorado basketball history, with 26 wins, two NCAA tournament wins, and three NBA draft picks, so we're really proud of what this program accomplished last year and what the players accomplished that were in it. But this is a whole new team and a whole new season, and it's going to be one of those years where I think I'm going to judge myself with this team, not so much on the number of wins we have. We obviously want to win as many as we can. That's how we're judged, we get that, but the improvement that we make from even when we started practice in September, today was our 19th practice this October, so I want to see how much improvement we can make from the beginning of the season to the end of this season. And there's going to be peaks, there should be valleys, like every basketball season, even last year's team, as successful as it was, we had some bumps in the road. We had some injuries to overcome. This team is going to be no different, but I think the ceiling of this team is very high, and I'm excited about the returning players, and I'm also excited about the new ones we got, that we signed, that are new to the program. Looking for a great year.”
On the team two weeks out from the season opener
“What I know about this team is that they're hungry, and we’ve some competitiveness to us. We've played extremely hard in practice. We've gotten after each other. There's been times where it's gotten a little chippy in practice, which, as long as it's under control, that's a good thing, because they're competing and they want to win. I think the fact that we were picked, I think 15th, and I don't know if that was a coach's poll or the media poll, should put a chip on our shoulder. I think it's put a chip on our players' shoulders. I know it's put a chip on my shoulder. The Big 12 is a hell of a league, but what I know about this team is we're going to compete, we're going to play hard, we're gonna give our fans and give each other everything we've got. It's important that I do that as a coach with my energy for the two and a half hours of my practice every day, or on game night, and certainly preparing as well. We got to play for each other and compete our tails off.”
On coaching through the years
“I'm driven internally by, again, every team is a new team. Every year is a new year. I'm always driven by how much improvement we can make as a group, and then, obviously, at the end of the day, you're judged on wins and losses. And I don't shy away from that. I never have, and I never will, but I wouldn't say it's any different. I think when I first got here, it was like you're at the base of the mountain, and you're looking up and you're like can we get this program to where it needs to be and where we want it to be? And I think we have, but certainly there are more steps we can make. I still would like it to make the second weekend of the tournament. We haven't done that yet. I'd like to win a conference championship during the regular season. We haven't done that yet. So there's a lot of things we haven't accomplished, but I think that the challenge of every team, given the year you're in and the team you have, is to get the most out of them. To me, that's how I judge myself. And that hasn't changed. So, many things have changed, but a lot of things haven't changed.”
On coaching changes in a new era of college basketball
“Number one, college basketball took a hit when (recently retired Virginia coach) Tony Bennett decided to retire. He's a hell of a coach. He's a hell of a man. I've got great respect for him. I've watched him, and I wouldn't say I know Tony well, but I think we have a mutual respect when I see him on the road, and we share the same agent, coincidentally. I don't have any inside information other than what I've read from his comments, just like you guys, but I've thought about it, and I think any coach that's in college basketball that hasn't thought about what he just did is probably lying to you. But the fact of the matter is there's still the same amount of players out there that were out there before. There's the same amount of scholarships, at least right now. I don't know if our roster limit’s gonna go to 15 or not next year, but if we all stay with 13 scholarships, we still have 13 scholarships. It's just the deck is being shuffled, and the way you're constructing your roster is different each year, and some people have really taken to the transfer portal and believe in it and like it, and others, like myself, we've certainly used it more for graduate transfers than true undergraduate transfers, but I want to recruit. I want to develop, and I want our teams to get better, and I want our players to get better, and I want our players that come here who have the dream of playing in the NBA or playing professional basketball to achieve that dream. I think we've done that over the last 14 years.
“We're going to continue to do that no matter the answer. I've said this before, and I hate when people say NIL, because it's really not NIL. We're paying these kids to play, so in the pay for play model that we're in right now, and I know the NCAA doesn't like to hear that, but the fact of the matter is, that's what it is. So let's call it for what it is. But, in the pay for play model, Tony said it when he retired, I think every coach agrees they deserve a piece of the pie. The question is, how big of a piece? That's for the lawyers and Attorney Generals, and I trust those people to figure it out. We're just going to try to recruit kids that want to get a great education, have a great college experience, come to a great college town and a great program, and try to achieve their dreams and have a hell of a lot of fun and a great college experience doing it. Those are the guys we're going to target and we're going to get, and the ones that are looking for the biggest payday are going to go somewhere else, and I'm okay with that. Whether they're in our program and decide to transfer out for more money, that's cool, I want kids here for the right reasons, and I want to coach the young men that have the values that we have as a program, and if they can make some money and hopefully save some money in the process, that's a great thing.”
On what Bangot Dak is bringing to the Buffs this year
“Bangot's got that body type where you don't notice some weight that he's put on, or the strength that he's really gained in this off season, but Bangot is one of the number of players in our program that's returning that has a chance to have a breakout year. He was just scratching the surface as a freshman, obviously playing behind some really talented players last year, but explosiveness is sometimes even an understatement with him. He's a quick jumper, he’s got good timing, he’s probably one of the best shot blockers I've coached. The key for him is he's got to be the second one off the floor. When he's a second one off the floor, he's pretty darn good. If he's the first one off the floor, he's gonna be in a lot of foul trouble because he is thin, and people are gonna get into his body, and he'll pick up fouls. Using the discipline and building the habits defensively, he has a chance to be an elite defender, both on the ball and off the ball. Right now, he's a really good off the ball defender; when he sees man in ball and he stays in a stance, and he's getting better on the ball as well. Bangot can have a breakout year, both offensively for us and defensively for us. He's got the ability to affect the game in a variety of ways.”
On the challenges and excitements of a new conference
“The challenges are obvious. Five preseason Top 10 teams are in our league, and you got a couple others that are top 20 caliber teams as well. I've said this before and I'll say it again, when we left the Big 12 to go to the Pac-12, we were leaving a really good league to go to a really good league. Now we're leaving the Pac to go back to the Big 12. We're leaving a good league, or what was a good league, into a very good league. The players are really good, and the coaches are really good. That was true in the Pac-12 and It's true in the Big 12. The depth of the Big 12 is deeper and the venues are much more difficult to play, having coached in both leagues, and that's going to be the big difference. There's some teams, Texas and Oklahoma are gone, some new teams are in that weren't there when we were there 13 years ago, but hell of a challenge, and we're looking forward to it as a team, as a program, and the time is now.”
On Assane Diop
“Assane plays with great energy. He competes his tail off. We’ve got a new kid in our program, Elijah Malone, who's 6”11, 265, and is a beast down low, and in practice, who's going to guard him? BD (Bangot Dak) has had his chance; Assane had his chance. Sebastian Rancik has had his chance too. We've had a lot of guys. Nobody likes guarding him, but he's going to make Assane a better post defender. Assane can, much like BD, affect the game in a lot of different ways. He may not be the rim protector and shot blocker that BD is, but he can run the floor. He's really worked on his perimeter jump shot. He plays his tail off; plays with great energy. He's a good rebounder, which is something we really stress and value. I think when I look at the returning players and you look at our back court, you have RJ Smith, Javon Ruffin and Julian Hammond III, and in the front court, you've got Bangot Dak and Assane Diop and both those guys' improvement is going to be critical for us. Assane, much Like Bangot can have a breakout year for us in a variety of ways.”
On the freshman class
“We’re surely going to need some contributions from our freshman. Andrew Crawford, a Colorado native, has done some really good things here this preseason. I mentioned Sebastian [Rancik]. He’s 6’10. His ceiling, his talent is unquestionable. You saw in our inter-squad scrimmage, he was 5-for-5 from three, he can make open shots. He's learning. All these freshmen are learning at a very quick rate. But it's a little bit like drinking water from a fire hose. There are a lot of things coming at them. Their heads are spinning. They're thinking right now more than they're playing. But Sebastian and Andrew have done some good things. Then Felix Kossaras, a kid from from Canada, is a heck of a player as well. He’s a good, physical guard/wing who can put the ball on the floor, get downhill and make open shots. I think he has a chance to be an elite defender as well. So all three freshmen have an opportunity. What are those roles going to look like as we start the season, November 4? That's a little premature right now. We're still in the process of going through that as a staff and as a program, but all three, I think, will be great Buffs in the course of time.”
On Andrej Jakimovski
“Andrej is an important piece to our team this year with his experience, his physicality, his ability to shoot the ball, his ability to make plays. I think his role as a player at Colorado is going to be a little bit different than his role was at Washington State over the last four years. I think he is excited about that. We're excited about that, but Andrej is a key to this team. He's got the players' respect in a very, very short period of time being on campus. Obviously, there are certain guys you play against that you have respect for. There are some guys you play against you don't have respect for. We got respect for Andrej and he's earned it, not only from what he's done at Washington State, but what he's done since he's gotten on our campus, and his ability to rebound the ball, shoot the ball, score the ball off the bounce, maybe be a playmaker a little bit because he's such a good shooter, they have to honor that and close-out and now he can attack a close-out and hopefully make a play off the bounce. He's not going to play point guard for us, but he can be a playmaker for us so he's going to be a critical piece of this year's team, without a doubt.”
On Elijah Malone
“Elijah is very skilled for a guy his size. He knows how to use his body. He knows how to swivel and get angles down low. When he gets the ball down low, he can score it, he can pass it, which you have to be able to do, because, again, if you're as good as I think he's going to be down there, he should demand double teams. And when double teams come, now he can pass out of it. And we experienced that last year with Eddie [Lampkin Jr.]. Eddie was a really good passer for a guy his size. Elijah is probably a little bit of a better scorer down there than Eddie was. He may not be the passer or have the ability to make those behind-the-head passes that Eddie made, but he can pass the ball. He's not a black hole, and he's going to give us a presence at the rim that we need. Defensively, he's also a guy who can match up against another big, strong, wide-body guy, and hopefully guard one-on-one in the post, so we don't have to double the post and don't have to dig as hard. So he's going to be an important piece, both offensively and defensively. When he's not in the game, we don't have that big, wide-body guy. We got some size and some length, but now against a good low post player, we're going to have to probably be doubling the post and fronting and those sorts of things. But he gives us some versatility there defensively.”
On what fans should expect out of this team
“Fans should expect an exciting group to watch. We have really talented guys that can get up and down the floor. They're going to be a fun team to watch. We're not going to change our style in terms of trying to play fast and get stops and run and get out in the open floor. So I think they should expect an exciting team to watch. They're going to have a team that's going to be different in the middle of December than it is when the season starts. And they're going to be different in January and different in February. The great thing about college basketball, as a fan, to me, is you get to watch these young men grow into be men. You get to see the development and see Bangot Dak and Assange Diop and where they were when they got here last year, and then where are they going to be at the end of this season, and watch that growth and development but physically, emotionally and just skill-wise they're going to lay it on the line. This team is going to compete and I think as fans who pay good money to come to our games, they want to see guys that are going to lay it on the line for them. And we're going to do that.”
On trusting Julian Hammond at the guard position
“I would say I would add Javon Ruffin to that mix because I think both Julian and Javon have the ability to run this team as a point guard. And surely they can play together because they're both really good shooters, and they can play off of each other, but I think I showed a lot of confidence in Julian and Javon because I believe in them. I think Julian Hammond has proven himself, certainly, two years ago when KJ [Simpson] was out at the end of the year. I think he played five games straight and averaged double figures and took care of the ball against high-level UCLA and USC, some high-level Pac-12 teams. He's got the ability to do that. So now, what Julian hasn't done is he hasn't been able to do it over the 31-game schedule. He battled some injuries last year, but his ability to shoot the ball, his ability to run the team, he may not be the fastest, quickest, you know, jet-like guard, but he can keep guys in front of him, defensively and I would put Ruffin in that same category. I think they can run this team, and understand what this team needs from them to win a game. It might be shooting a three, it might be scoring the ball, it might be getting the ball down low, it might be making a play for one of our other players, you gotta be playmakers. I don't expect Julian Hammond to be KJ Simpson and I don't want our fans to either. I want Julian Hammond to be the best version of Julian Hammond. If he can do that, we'll be fine. He's a good player. Again, Javon has not proven it over time he's been injured. He hasn't made it through a whole season yet injury-free. So both of them, I look at them as a two-headed monster at the point, if you will. And then we got RJ Smith, who can back up if need be. RJ is a really good shooter, but he can make plays as well. So it's gonna be an interesting team from that position. But you're right, I've shown a lot of faith in Julian because Julian's shown a lot of faith in us. And to me, loyalty is a two-way street, and trust is a two-way street. It's not a one-way street.”
On the balance of developing players and adding players through the portal
“Look, my job is to win games and win as many games as we can win. But while we're doing that, we have to develop some of the young guys, and that's what I want our team to understand. We started talking about it already after the exhibition game on Saturday, this morning, in our film room, we spent 30 minutes talking about self-awareness, understanding what this team needs from you as an individual player, and what sacrifice means. So I think every game we play, we're trying to win, and I'm coaching to win, I'm not coaching to develop a young guy who may need development. That comes in practice, that comes before practice, that comes after practice, that comes in individual improvement. So we're going to coach to win. We're going to play to win, but along the way, if we can help develop guys we're going to do that as well. So that's where we got to pick and choose based on our schedule and we set our schedule for this team. We'll figure that out as we go, but we're always going to coach to win.”
Coach Boyle on getting to work with new assistant coach Danny Manning
“Danny and I go back to our days as players at Kansas. I was a senior when he was a freshman. I watched his pro career, 15 years in the NBA, number one pick in 1988 after winning the championship. Then I watched his coaching career, starting at Kansas as assistant for Coach (Bill) Self and going to Tulsa, and his journey. We've certainly maintained a relationship. We're not going on vacation together and that sort of thing, but certainly my wife, Ann, knows his wife, Julie, and they're great people. Once you form that relationship as a player, whether it was 30 years ago or three years ago, it's still with you today. Our relationship has maintained communication, and it's not like I've always dreamed of coaching with Danny, and I don't think Danny's ever dreamed of coaching with me. It just kind of happened organically, and the timing was right for him and his career. The timing was right for me and what our needs were for this program, but it's great to have him around. Danny is a very soft spoken, easy going guy, but he's a very intuitive guy. He's a very intelligent guy. Not all former great players are great coaches. Danny's made that transition, obviously, and he's proved it over time, and he brings a lot to the table. I don't want him just to be you think about him just as a big man coach. He can certainly coach big guys, but he can coach guards as well and I look for the same thing in assistant coaches that I look for in players, and that's versatility. Danny brings great versatility as a coach, and his experience is obviously unquestionable, and his ability to impart that. The way he does that, I think our players have really taken to that. He's a funny guy. He uses humor and he doesn't beat them over the head with a stick, so to speak. He’s got a great way about him.”
Coach Boyle on recruiting Trevor Baskin and his impact on the game
“We’ve known about Trevor since he was a high school player at Pomona right down the road. He was thin, and he was a little underdeveloped physically coming out of high school. I don’t know if Trevor had any division one opportunities, but he chose a really good program over at Colorado Mesa and we heard about him. We had a couple former walk-ons, Isaac Jessup and Owen Koontz that went to play at Colorado Mesa, and they would come back in the summer, and play pick up with our guys, so we kind of followed him, and then when he went to portal and we knew what we needed, it was kind of a no brainer to reach out. We watched some film on him and talked to those guys, because I have great respect for both Owen and Isaac, and we jumped into recruiting and got him. It's good to have a local guy, and I think he's happy to be at Colorado and we're certainly happy to have him.”
Coach Boyle on the status of Courtney Anderson, Jr.
“Courtney's had like six practices. He tweaked his groin a couple weeks ago, and he's just getting back in the fold. I don't know if he looks 100% yet. He's not in game shape, so we decided to give him a little bit more rest and bring him along. He's a little bit behind because he missed so many practices at a critical point in the year. These practices in October, I don’t want to say they're more important than the ones in January and February, but in terms of solidifying where you're at on the team they're critical. He’s missed some, but now he's back; it's good to have him back, and we'll see where he is next week, we'll see where he is tomorrow, and go from there.”
Assane Diop, So., F
On how his role is going to change for this season:
“That depends on me. That has nothing to do with the coaches and everything to do with me. If I do what I am supposed to, I will stay on the court. If I am not, I will be pulled off the court.”
On who has emerged as leaders for this team:
“I think everybody is trying just to do what they can to help you. For me, I listen to everybody. They are all the same to me, but how I see it is that we all want to win. If we see someone not doing their job, we are going to tell them. If I'm not doing my job, they will tell me I am not.”
On how his defense is doing so far:
"I think I'm doing pretty good. I'm doing a good job rebounding the ball. And I like that part of Coach’s game. Defense wins games. He loves that. Everybody has to put all they got on the court.”
On what the fans should expect out of him:
“I am always thinking that today is a day to win. If I have 10 or 100 points, it doesn’t matter. I am going to do whatever it takes to make the team win. And I will play hard to do that.”
On what fans should expect from the team as a whole:
“I think that we should surprise a lot of people. I hear stuff, but there will be a lot of surprises. We cannot wait for the season. We are doing the best we can and getting ready for the season.”
On if they are using being picked 15th in the preseason as motivation:
“All of us are. I feel like that was not right, but that is how they see it. You cannot get mad at people. You can wait to show up, but that is not us. We will show up.”
Bangot Dak, So., F
On how preseason has been with the adjustments in the offseason:
“We've had a pretty good preseason. I feel like the summer was a perfect summer, which prepared us for this preseason. So, I feel like it's really not a preseason. We're just locked in. We're ready to go.”
On how it has been integrating the new guys into this team:
“I feel like it's been good. We have three fifth years. Trevor, Elijah, and Andre are there, so we got the older guys and three new freshmen: Felix, Andrew, and Sebastian. I feel like they have just been fitting well. Their games are different, and I think that will make us so good because everybody can do different things. I feel like these six coming in will help a lot.”
On what he wanted to work on in the offseason and where he wanted to improve:
“To get stronger. I know I got stronger for sure. I also wanted to work on my game offensively and defensively. Offensively, I wanted to work on my outside game, get my shot right, played more off the dribble. Defensively, I just wanted to be a lot more physical, be able to guard one through five a lot better this year, which I know I'm going to be able to do.”
On what fans should expect out of this team this season:
“A lot of energy from us. We are going to play hard every time we go out there. Everybody is going to play for each other. A lot of unselfish basketball will be played. I feel like all five guys on the court are going to eat at all times. It’s not going to be one person.”
On how the team has been drilling so far:
“We are really great together. We all hang out with each other outside of practice. Everybody has a good relationship with each other. Nobody really thinks badly about anybody's game. It's all positive things we're talking to each other about or what we need to work on. So, I feel like that's really good for this team. It will help us in the long run,”
On what Tad Boyle and him talked about during the offseason for his role this season:
“We kind of did a little bit. He wanted me to show my versatility, defensively and offensively. He really wants me to show people what I can do and use my lane because not many people out there could do what I do. He just wants me to go out there and show everybody what I've been working on.”
On how excited he is to join the Big 12:
“I'm really excited. It's going to be a challenge for me, physicality-wise and athletic-wise, and for our team. The type of teams we're going to be playing against and the type of atmosphere we're going to be in, it's going to be like a Pac-12 Championship every game. We didn't play a lot of those last year. Arizona was a big spot. We played at UCLA and a little bit at USC. Every game we play in the Big 12 is going to be like that.”
On how he was under the radar for recruiting:
“I definitely was under the radar. I had a lot of schools that showed interest, like Nebraska, Colorado State, Utah, and those types of schools. Randomly, after one Pro 16 game, I got a follow from Coach Rohn. He wanted to talk to me later that night and get me on the phone with Coach Boyle later that week. We ended up talking about my game and set up a visit. It all kind of went on from there.”
On the feeling towards Colorado because of where he grew up in Lincoln:
“I didn't really hear a lot about Colorado growing up, like, sports-wise. I just heard that the relationship wasn’t that great, and there used to be a rivalry back then. Once I committed, that's when I found out a lot about all that hatred between Colorado and Nebraska.”
On getting in the rotation towards the end of last season:
“It was great because just a couple of years ago, I was watching TV of people playing college basketball. It's everybody's dream. But it's not really a thought that I could be out there really playing. Then, I realized I was out here playing against Oregon, USC, and UCLA, which is kind of amazing to see. It shows me that hard work does not fail. But at the beginning of the season, I wasn't playing. End of the season, I was getting a little bit of playing time.”
Trevor Basin, Gr., F
On how his shift to playing at CU has been:
“These players have skill sets similar to mine that I think I can thrive in, and they have shown that they can as well. So, realizing that and then seeing the facilities, both from the D2 to the D1 jump, was a bit of a shock, but having (strength coach) Steve (Englehart) and all these amazing resources at my disposal now is something that I wouldn't have even dreamed up.”
On how he has elevated his game this offseason:
“I really elevated my body, and my body feels a lot better. Thanks to Steve and the fueling stations, I put on about 10 pounds of muscle. I am also working on my games. I think I can bring a lot of versatility, consider myself a bit of a Swiss army knife, and do a little bit of everything. So, I've really just been trying to sharpen my skills. Shooting has been a big focal point for me, becoming a mid-jumper last year to come to be a three-point threat, and this year, I'm trying to make an even bigger jump.”
On what he brings on defense:
“I think I bring versatility. I learned how to guard the five when I had to play the five at my old school, and I think the coaches also trusted me to guard one through five. And that's, like I said, the strength of our team is that we have seven or eight guys that are all 6’8” and 6’11” that can guard multiple positions. And when you have that versatility, it's awesome to see a little guard who might have a tough time finishing over one big guy have to switch on to another. So, it'll create a lot of matchup problems for opposing teams. Being a disciplined player and being in the right spots is something that Coach Boyle has always emphasized, and that's the greatest thing I'm trying to improve.”
On what his favorite parts about Coach Boyle are:
“He cares. He's very passionate. If he's not saying something to me, that's when I get a little nervous. So, I'd rather have him be in my ear about being in the right spot and doing the right thing. And that proves that he wants what's best for me and the best for the team. So, you got to take it on the chin. Every once in a while, he'll get on you a little, but that comes with the territory. I'd rather have a coach get on me a lot more than sit back and relax.”
On how the new team is coming together:
“I'm sure everyone's been saying the same thing, like everyone gets along well. I've always gotten lucky with teams liking each other, but I know there have been people who haven't gotten to experience that same thing. All of us hang out outside of practice, and that's all we do: hang out with each other. So, we are getting that connection even off the court, which is really going to help us on the court.”
On how the chemistry is on the court:
“We are learning that chemistry and all learning to play together. We're still learning, and the process is still early on. I'm definitely gaining an understanding of where people are going to be. It's something that we always get to keep working on. You can never have enough chemistry. And there's always room for improvement in that aspect. You can always learn how to play off each other even better. But I think we're doing a really good job of that and just taking every practice to have as another opportunity.”