This Year In BasketBuffs: The Frontcourt

[Goose]

Yesterday, we addressed the seniors who helped lead this year's Buffs team to the PAC-12 Championship and the NCAA Tournament. Today is the first of two days dedicated to looking at the players who are expected to return to the team next season. With Austin Dufault graduating, we're going to need someone to step up and help fill his role within the team. Is that player already on the roster or are we going to be depending on one of the freshmen?

Shane Harris-Tunks Center 6'11" 245 lbs. Sophomore (Redshirt) Liverpool, Australia #15

MPG PPG RPG OR% DR% APG TORate SPG BPG FG% 3PT% FT% eFG% Poss% ORtg 12.8 2.7 2.2 5.6% 14.2% 0.5 33.4% 0.3 1.8 47.5% ---- 53.7% 47.5% 17.3% 78.4

2011-12: Maybe we were just a year off. It seemed like almost all of us expected Shane to come out strong this season after sitting last year out with a torn ACL. The only legitimate big man on the roster, most of us were hoping for solid defense down low and an occasional low post move. Unfortunately, for most of the season, Harris-Tunks lived up to the nickname he was given on the board of Simba. He was tentative and playing like a gentle lion cub out there. However, late in the season when he started donning his mask, he started putting it all together and giving us a glimmer of hope for next season. Shane started standing tall down low and holding his own with some of the low post presences in the conference. He still has a lot of work to do, but he gave signs that Simba may become the African Badass the team needs him to be. 2012-13: This is the year. Call me crazy, but I think this year Shane puts it all together and becomes a solid rotation player. First off, he's going to have some help. The Buffs lose Austin Dufault down low, but gain Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon. Having those two around in practice will only help Harris-Tunks. Secondly, you can see he's finally starting to get confidence back in his knee. He's never going to be a huge scorer or an athletic freak of nature, but it's incredibly realistic for him to provide 15-20 minutes a night of good low post defense and occasionally bust out the hook shot that he started to display at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Ben Mills Center 7'0" 220 lbs. Sophomore Hartland, WI #32

MPG PPG RPG OR% DR% APG TORate SPG BPG FG% 3PT% FT% eFG% Poss% ORtg 3.0 1.0 1.1 N/A N/A 0.0 N/A 0.0 0.0 60.0% ---- 33.3% N/A N/A N/A

2011-12: Ben Mills was a bit of the human victory cigar for the Buffs this year as the team went 6-1 in games that he played, with the only loss coming at Oregon State late in the season. A favorite of the student section, Mills is a seven footer who just can't seem to put the bulk on to pound down low. The first team All-Wisconsin player from high school had a hard time finding his way in to the Buffs rotation. There was speculation that he might redshirt this past season, but that went out the window in the first game of the season when he got four minutes of playing time against Ft. Lewis. 2012-13: With two highly praised front court recruits in Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon coming in, it's hard to envision Mills getting much more playing time than he did this season. That said, if he can find a way to put some weight on this off-season, the Buffs could certainly use a presence down low that Mills would be able to provide.

Andre Roberson Forward 6'7" 210 lbs. Sophomore San Antonio, TX #21

MPG PPG RPG OR% DR% APG TORate SPG BPG FG% 3PT% FT% eFG% Poss% ORtg 30.2 11.6 11.1 12.7% 29.6% 1.2 16.5% 1.3 1.9 51.0% 38.0% 61.4% 54.3% 21.9% 108.7

2011-12: Andre Roberson is finally getting some of the national attention that he rightfully deserves. Before this season, it seemed like only KenPom was talking about him. Now, despite getting screwed out of the PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, it seems like everyone knows about him, and it's only going to get better. "Animal Style" put up some ridiculous defensive numbers. He led the team both in block percentage (91st nationally) and steal percentage (475th nationally). He had the highest eFG% on the team, largely thanks to his put-back dunks and his free throw rate which was second best on the team behind Spencer Dinwiddie. This also lead to him being number two on the team in offensive efficiency. All of those numbers are impressive, but it's rebounding where Roberson truly shines. He was 90th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage with 12.7% -- which is actually down a touch from the 15.1% he posted his freshman year when no one knew about him -- but his defensive rebounding numbers were spectacular. He pulled down almost 30% of the available defensive rebounds while he was on the court. The only player in the nation who had a better number was potential National Player of the Year Thomas Robinson from the University of Kansas. 2012-13: He's only going to get better. His rebounding and defense is already top notch, and while the numbers support his offensive game, he could still use some improvement there. He shot 38% from behind the arc, but a lot of those were uncontested because he hasn't quite earned the respect of defensive players yet. But he definitely looked a lot more comfortable out there and I see no reason that he won't be better next season from out deep. The percentage may not be better, but if he can hit 1-2 a game at a 35% clip, it will make the Buffs offense that much more dangerous. If he can just slightly improve his jumper next season, it will be likely that Roberson will be spending the 2013-14 season in the NBA and not in Boulder.

[jgisland]

Once again great job goose

Call me the leader of the African Badass hype machine, but I really think SHT could be a solid contributor next year. Here is my reasoning, he probably played his best game in a CU uniform against Baylor, he showed he can find cutters and drop dimes out of both the high and low post, with a more athletic team next year I in-vision a more "fluid" offensive where his passing ability can be showcased. Who knew he could pass? Obviously nobody, b/c when the ball entered the post NOBODY moved all year, when they finally did in that Baylor game he found them.

Dre - first off, if he is a guaranteed lottery pick or first rounder next year he has to go pro. Would I love to see him in a CU uniform for his SR year? Absolutely, but injuries in basketball are all to prevalent and your earning potential is 10 fold in the NBA over whatever he would earn out in the real world if he got hurt. All that being said I think he comes back for his SR year. I love Dre and even though the stats say he is fairly efficient on offense and can get to the line, he cannot create his own shot and doesn't shoot the 3 or any jump shots with a hand in his face, nor does he put the ball on the floor and take it to the rack, in the NBA he needs to be able to do all of that. With his size he won't be able to use his athleticism to get points the way he does at the college level. He is a rebounding machine and has a great ability to read where the ball is going to be, but he HAS GOT TO LEARN TO BOX OUT. This is another thing that won't translate well to the next level.

Ben Mills - comments (redacted)

[Goose]

The entire team needs to learn to box out. It's maddening. I really hope that Boyle & Co. spend a lot of time on that this summer.

[btbuff]

The entire team needs to learn to box out. It's maddening. I really hope that Boyle & Co. spend a lot of time on that this summer.

I thought they would last summer. Last years top rebounders were Andre and Burks. Both Andre and Burks use the same method for rebounding. Jumping out of the building and grabbing the ball.

[Buffnik]

Can't argue with our rebound stats. A lot of the problems seemed to come from the guards this year.

[btbuff]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned Shane is still the best screener on the team. I think this is half due to that fact he isn't quick enough to immediately roll but the value he gives in quality screens will be there next year.

[Goose]

Curious about something. For those that voted no, can I ask why? Do you think Roberson needs more time? Do you think he wants to stay all four years? Just wishful thinking? I honestly can't rule out that he'll be back for a fourth season, but I'm just having a hard time picturing it right now.

[CVilleBuff]

Curious about something. For those that voted no, can I ask why? Do you think Roberson needs more time? Do you think he wants to stay all four years? Just wishful thinking? I honestly can't rule out that he'll be back for a fourth season, but I'm just having a hard time picturing it right now.

Roberson is nowhere close to being polished enough offensively to have a successful NBA career right now IMO. With his height, he's going to need to develop a much more efficient perimeter presence and I have a hard time seeing that developing - there's much more to it than drifting out and chucking up a 3 a couple times a game - in just one year's time.

[jgisland]

Curious about something. For those that voted no, can I ask why? Do you think Roberson needs more time? Do you think he wants to stay all four years? Just wishful thinking? I honestly can't rule out that he'll be back for a fourth season, but I'm just having a hard time picturing it right now.

I said NO as well, I think I covered part of my questions about him in my previous post, but here are a few more:

What position does he play in the NBA? He is too small to play 4, he will get pushed around in the post and pushed off the block and boxed out when trying to get rebounds. How is he going to score? His jump shot is waaaaaay to slow, he won't be able to get a shot off in the NBA. He isn't a good enough shooter or ball handler to play the 3. He can't create his own shot.

I really don't think that any of these things are going to improve in a year or even two, I just don't see him developing a silky smooth jumper or getting a mad handle, so why wouldn't he just jump now? I would like to see where he would be projected to go if he were to declare this year. All in all I am just not sure where he fits in in the NBA.

The good thing for Dre, rebounds in college correlate more than any other stat when projecting success in the NBA. (if you can rebound in college, you are more than likely going to be able rebound in the NBA).

Remember GM's are dumb, David Khan is a GM (the guy who drafted 3 pt guards in the 1st rd and traded the best one, Ty Lawson, to the nuggets). So he could very well be drafted high after next year.

[exxon]

SHT looked overwhelmed early on, but seemed to settle down late in the season. I hope the analysis is correct and he gives us solid PT next season. We'll need him early on when Scott and Gordon are getting their feet wet.

[Rugged]

Once again great job goose

Call me the leader of the African Badass hype machine, but I really think SHT could be a solid contributor next year. Here is my reasoning, he probably played his best game in a CU uniform against Baylor, he showed he can find cutters and drop dimes out of both the high and low post, with a more athletic team next year I in-vision a more "fluid" offensive where his passing ability can be showcased. Who knew he could pass? Obviously nobody, b/c when the ball entered the post NOBODY moved all year, when they finally did in that Baylor game he found them.

Dre - first off, if he is a guaranteed lottery pick or first rounder next year he has to go pro. Would I love to see him in a CU uniform for his SR year? Absolutely, but injuries in basketball are all to prevalent and your earning potential is 10 fold in the NBA over whatever he would earn out in the real world if he got hurt. All that being said I think he comes back for his SR year. I love Dre and even though the stats say he is fairly efficient on offense and can get to the line, he cannot create his own shot and doesn't shoot the 3 or any jump shots with a hand in his face, nor does he put the ball on the floor and take it to the rack, in the NBA he needs to be able to do all of that. With his size he won't be able to use his athleticism to get points the way he does at the college level. He is a rebounding machine and has a great ability to read where the ball is going to be, but he HAS GOT TO LEARN TO BOX OUT. This is another thing that won't translate well to the next level.

Ben Mills - comments (redacted)

I don't need to read further than this. I'm fully on board with the African Badass (thanks to Darth Snow for inventing Simba nickname, so I could create this nickname) and can't wait to see his improvements next year. I don't expect him to ever be dominant or even feared, but I do hope that we can get 20 minutes a night out of him next year, up from 13. We will need it because Scott and Gordon aren't going to be as effective next year as people believe, (obviously imo). AB has the ability to pass well from many parts of the court (as JG mentioned), which is extremely valuable in a big man because it takes the biggest defender away from the basket. He showed his ability to make post moves and scrap together some points when opportunity presents itself. Keep improving that, we could see 5-7 ppg out of him, which would great. Main thing he needs to work on is hand strength. He drops too many passes and has the ball hit out of his hands too many times. It is dreadful. Same with not grabbing rebounds. I look forward to the next two years with him.

Dre: I think he will be back his senior season. He is too short/thin to be an effective PF in this NBA on defense and not good enough on offense to play SF. Almost everyone drafted in the NBA is a freak athlete, but there are more than 25 or so better offensive players than him who will have higher draft stock after next season. I would be very happy if he proved me wrong.

Mills: Nothing to be said.

[Buffnik]

Calling an Australian the "African Badass" is stupid. I'm going to have to spend the entire year explaining to the fans around us that it's a play off of an obscure children's movie nickname you guys previously had for Shane. I don't want to look like an idot to the other fans.

Speaking of next season, you'll be happy to know that I hit one of those shops at the mall so we can all wear these to the games:

MBB2013Ts.jpg

[Rugged]

Calling an Australian the "African Badass" is stupid. I'm going to have to spend the entire year explaining to the fans around us that it's a play off of an obscure children's movie nickname you guys previously had for Shane. I don't want to look like an idot to the other fans.

Speaking of next season, you'll be happy to know that I hit one of those shops at the mall so we can all wear these to the games:

MBB2013Ts.jpg

I don't use it much as games unless I just say it straight to Darth or someone who does know the nickname. I like to let the general public know exactly what I'm talking about when speaking in an open forum. Inside jokes are poor form (like your little t-shirt there).

[Goose]

Honestly, I think the Simba nickname sticks. In the movie, he started out as a little bitch and then transformed into the king of the jungle. He didn't change his name, he was still Simba. Well, our Simba is working on his king of the jungle phase right now. He's still Simba. It's just now that when I say it, it's not with a whimper as in "what the hell was that Simba?" or "Simba, I really wish we had the giant boulder". It's now "GREAT MOVE SIMBA!" and "KILL BAYLOR SIMBA!"

[Darth Snow]

Also, you can say "eat their children like the wild African lion you are, Simba!"