Colorado Post-game/Offseason thread

[Eggon]

I don't mean this as disrespect to anyone, but I really do feel that a lot of the love for Yaz is due to the low expectations. Likewise, a lot of disappointment with Dom are the high hopes that people had. That's not to say you all don't have fair points, but I continue to think that Yaz will be a great, solid BACKUP PG. Someone talked about Dom needing a GK like improvement, but I actually think that applies more to Yaz. Dom has the tools...he just needs a lot of refining...I think a lot of it mental. He's not aggressive enough, and do think he could work on his penetration - feel like his handle is too forward at times and could be tighter. Yaz has tools, and while I can see the point that his frosh year was better than Dom's (although not sure I agree), his tools aren't as nice imo.

Regardless, we need better PG play, and may the best man win. I'm glad that some of you are really bullish on the Buffs next season, but I think we'll miss Scott a lot. I know nobody is saying he won't be missed, but what he brought to the court this year will be difficult to replace - even just thinking about court spacing. XJ is key next year imo.

Honestly don't know what to think per Dom. Don't see the needed intensity, but let's see where it goes. Not sure I see a starting point yet for Buffs

 

[Chautauqua]

Okay, I'm with you guys. I don't expect to see Akyazili posterizing guys and he may be closer to his athletic ceiling than other prospects. I'm hoping he can make that Freshman to Sophomore year leap, and come back next Fall a more polished athlete. I also expect to see him dunk in a game at least once before he leaves CU.

 

[MtnBuff]

Two things I know about Tad. One is that he isn't stupid and two is that as mad as we are about not only losing this game but about losing a bunch of games due to the team collapsing on the floor he in private is much more upset.

Question is what he will do about it.

My hope is that he makes it the top priority to find a guy who can take control of games when thing start going south. One of those rare guys who can handle the ball under pressure, is a leader pulling other guys up out of their funks, who may not be a great shooter but who can make sure the ball gets into the basket at key moments.

When he does find this guy then we will be playing in the second or third or beyond in the tourney

A common thread in todays games. Teams with solid guard play advanced more often that teams that depended on their big men. The tourney is about good decisions, efficiency, not turning the ball over, and not getting eaten up by opponents runs.

We were severely lacking in all these areas today.

 

[Birch1]

A common thread in todays games. Teams with solid guard play advanced more often that teams that depended on their big men.

Well, we lose Scott, and add White, Peters, and XJ (hopefully). So things will be changing...

 

[Scotch]

He's definitely not going to become some athletic wonder, but in terms of what you'd like to have from a second PG, we're in good shape. He was inconsistent, but he showed flashes beyond what you'd expect from a freshman at times. I do think the shooting can be fixed with an offseason.

He'll be a Tomlinson or Knudson type. One of those guys that develops into a solid ball player by the time he's an upperclassman. He needs to learn how to pick and choose his spots better, when to drive the lane and when not to, and needs to get a whole hell of a lot tougher on perimeter D. If Knudson can improve his shot as much as he did in 4 years, so can Yaz. I think he exceeded expectations, and he'll certainly have higher ones next season

Its time to take the training wheels off of Collier now. The last month to 6 weeks he was a borderline liability. He was abused on both sides of the floor and just never seemed to adjust to the level of play being thrown at him. I'm not a Dom hater by any means, I'm very happy he's a Buff, but he more than anyone else needs to step it up next season. He cannot be just an average at best PG as an upperclassmen.

 

[aghcsm]

One thing I haven't seen discussed is the near-collapse by UConn after growing a 13-point lead. They were stuck on 64/66 for several minutes as the Buffs crept back into the game. If we didn't have to start fouling, with UConn closing out perfect with about 8 FT in the last minute, they might have died at 66 points.

I presume this has been lamented by nervous Husky fans on their chat forums.

 

[BuffinCali]

Wow, a lot about giving Tad the hook on here! He can definitely improve recruiting and he definitely can improve his in-game coaching, particularly when his team has large leads.
Tad is successful at CU and he is very good at preparing his teams for games. He also brings a level of coaching calmness that many do not have and that is reflective in the players growth as well.
I will roll with Tad. Hopefully, he will improve his deficiencies just as his players do. With XJ coming back, White and Bryce joining King, Tad has a chance (a large dependency on Gordon taking a big step up in his Sr. year) at another NCAA run. I applaud this years team. Who had this years team for 23 wins? How about the 6 games they collapsed with big leads - they could have easily been 29-6 and still playing. Yeah, I'll think keeping Tad is the right thing to do, despite all the desktop AD's calling for his head.

 

[pwbuffan]

Who, despite all that talent sat at home this morning?

Darth was stating that, given the prestige of the program, UCLA should be recruiting at that level. Given the prestige of our program, Tad is recruiting above our level. You missed the point. As usual.

Last couple of years I think recruiting should have been a little better. I agree that a recruiter can help this program especially if they can help the staff with some ideas on the half court offense.

 

[BuffLuke80]

I let my son stay home yesterday to watch damnit. We choked our ass off and they threw up crap that went in. Really shocking luck for us. I'm probably more disappointed that Snow didn't mention me being the nutjob and gave the honor to 96buff. Wtf chuck?

 

[MiamiBuffs]

 

[Goose]

One thing I haven't seen discussed is the near-collapse by UConn after growing a 13-point lead. They were stuck on 64/66 for several minutes as the Buffs crept back into the game. If we didn't have to start fouling, with UConn closing out perfect with about 8 FT in the last minute, they might have died at 66 points.

I presume this has been lamented by nervous Husky fans on their chat forums.

Funny how no one is mentioning the scheme that Tad & Co came up with to give the Buffs the big lead in the first place. I forget that all coaching decisions exist in a vacuum.

 

[Darth Snow]

Funny how no one is mentioning the scheme that Tad & Co came up with to give the Buffs the big lead in the first place. I forget that all coaching decisions exist in a vacuum.

No kidding. We had them totally flustered until we gave up the turnovers and lost our intensity

 

[PAHIBuff]

Last couple of years I think recruiting should have been a little better. I agree that a recruiter can help this program especially if they can help the staff with some ideas on the half court offense.

I watched the Oregon/Utah Pac 12 tourney final and Dorsey blew my mind. We came so close on that guy.

 

[Buffnik]

Regarding the season just ended, there seems to be a lot of satisfaction on AB, tinged of course with disappointment at today's outcome. My take on the season is overall disappointment, for the following reasons:
- from the season's start I stated my criteria for success would be winning a game in the tournament. This did not happen.
- in spite of moderate preseason expectations, it became apparent quickly that this year's team was several notches above the previous year. Subsequently we lost winnable games to ISU, SMU, Utah (twice), USC, AZ (P12 tournament), and Connecticut today. Had we won those games the record would have been 29-5 and we'd still be playing. I know you can't win all the close ones, but still...
- I am very sure that Tad is not satisfied with the season. Way too many big opportunities lost.
- Yes we're stagnant in a historically great position, tied regular season record for wins etc etc, but to have the opportunity for breaking through this "good stagnancy" with perhaps the best Buff season ever, record team wins, big road wins, multiple NCAA tournament wins, high top-25 ranking, national recognition and respect - well I can't get excited sitting back and selectively remembering the good times.

Just my perspective. I see a lot of potential to have the "great season" next year that we didn't have this year, and am looking forward to that opportunity getting underway next November.

I'm surprised at what your criteria had been going into the season. Most fans thought this year's team would be unlikely to Dance, so getting that bid with a win total that tied the program record and netted a Top 35 RPI on Selection Sunday was exceeding expectations for most fans.

Flawed team this season. Simply did not have the guard play to match up for 40 minutes against good teams. But they sure as **** were an entertaining bunch. I'm frustrated by how close this team was to a significantly better season, but those feeling are tempered by my belief that when taken as a whole this team overachieved.

 

[tante]

I might be most shocked about the press at the end of the game. They have some damn good guards, but our press forced them into numerous turnovers. Definitely the most successful execution of the press from a CU team that I can remember.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

I wonder how much of a factor the shorter shot clock was on the late melt downs suffered by the Buffs this year.

Yes, we need to be mentally tougher late in games. And, yes, we need to to handle the ball better and make better decisions late in games.

But I can't help thinking how much of an impact those extra 5 seconds or so per possession would have had in a few of the games.

 

[Deleted member 807]

I wonder how much of a factor the shorter shot clock was on the late melt downs suffered by the Buffs this year.

Yes, we need to be mentally tougher late in games. And, yes, we need to to handle the ball better and make better decisions late in games.

But I can't help thinking how much of an impact those extra 5 seconds or so per possession would have had in a few of the games.

The shorter clock certainly helped CU become a better 3PT team.

I'm calling it a wash.

 

[Buffnik]

The shorter clock certainly helped CU become a better 3PT team.

I'm calling it a wash.

Players definitely put the work in during the offseason, too. This team couldn't shoot in 2014-15 and turned that into having the best 3pt% in the conference in 2015-16... despite not having Xavier Johnson (our best returning career 3pt% shooter). Kudos to Tad for making that a point of emphasis and to the players for making it happen.

If CU keeps being a program that rebounds, defends and knocks down 3pt shots, CU is going to win a lot of basketball games. We just need to see development of the guards & wings to fix the turnover problems and a new wrinkle in the offensive system to open the court for easier 2pt baskets off drives, dishes and runouts.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

I am getting giddy over what XJ could bring to this team next year. We are going to be so versatile 1-5

Traditional
1) Dom/Yaz/Peters
2) White
3) King
4) XJ
5) Wes

Big
1) Dom/Yaz/Peters
2) King
3) XJ
4) Tory
5) Wes

Small
1) Dom/Yaz
2) Peters
3) Fletch
4) King
5) XJ

 

[MtnBuff]

I'm surprised at what your criteria had been going into the season. Most fans thought this year's team would be unlikely to Dance, so getting that bid with a win total that tied the program record and netted a Top 35 RPI on Selection Sunday was exceeding expectations for most fans.

Flawed team this season. Simply did not have the guard play to match up for 40 minutes against good teams. But they sure as **** were an entertaining bunch. I'm frustrated by how close this team was to a significantly better season, but those feeling are tempered by my belief that when taken as a whole this team overachieved.

^^This^^

I think the frustration comes from the level of success that Tad has built over the past few years, fans now think we have a right to that and expect the next step.

We get upset seeing the dead spells that cost us games but forget that these are games that in past coaching regiems we wouldn't be in to start with.

I think it is fair to say that Tad isn't happy with first round exits either, the Tad I heard on the post-game coverage was not a guy who was content just to make the tourney, even in a year that most expected him not to.

Tad is far from perfect, all coaches are. He has however earned the right to work through his shortcomings. I think the chances of Tad fixing the weaknesses of this team are much higher than us finding a new coach who can even match the level of success he has achieved so far.

 

[aghcsm]

I'm surprised at what your criteria had been going into the season. Most fans thought this year's team would be unlikely to Dance, so getting that bid with a win total that tied the program record and netted a Top 35 RPI on Selection Sunday was exceeding expectations for most fans.

Flawed team this season. Simply did not have the guard play to match up for 40 minutes against good teams. But they sure as **** were an entertaining bunch. I'm frustrated by how close this team was to a significantly better season, but those feeling are tempered by my belief that when taken as a whole this team overachieved.

Really not going into the season, but after about 6 or 7 games it was obvious this team was significantly better than the prior year, and several players (notably GK) were stepping up big time. JS was obviously healthy and dominating, JF looked pretty solid early on, etc. After winning at Auburn was really the point where my expectations stepped up. It's not so much the bottom line - looking at the schedule & outcomes I probably would have said it was a very successful season. It's more the frustration of what might have been.

I'll say right now that winning an NCAA tournament game will be necessary for me to be fully satisfied with next year's team. And of course if the team finishes high in the P12, that could be ramped up. I guess my satisfaction is realized by knowing we got everything we could out of the team we've got. Maybe we did this year, it just doesn't feel like it.

 

[aghcsm]

FYI my take on Tad is that he is outstanding for CU and the reason we're 22-12 instead of 12-22. Sure he makes mistakes in recruiting and game coaching, and occasionally we lose a game because of a strategic error, but we win many more games (including close ones) because of sound strategy. Guessing Tad will be here for the next 15 years or so and when he leaves it will be the end of a golden era for Buff basketball.

 

[Darth Snow]

I am getting giddy over what XJ could bring to this team next year. We are going to be so versatile 1-5

Traditional
1) Dom/Yaz/Peters
2) White
3) King
4) XJ
5) Wes

Big
1) Dom/Yaz/Peters
2) King
3) XJ
4) Tory
5) Wes

Small
1) Dom/Yaz
2) Peters
3) Fletch
4) King
5) XJ

White will be in there. Someone will be bumped

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

White will be in there. Someone will be bumped

Probably end up somewhere like the 1 in the big rotation and 3 in the small rotation.

 

[sackman]

It seems to me that a good portion of our offense ran through Scott. I wonder how well we will deal with him not being here. Gordon and XJ are going to have to do things they previously weren't asked to do.

 

[tante]

So the more I think about the game, the more it becomes clear that this was a one on one matchup of King versus Hamilton.

Going into the game we knew that Scott, Wes and Miller were better than any bigs that UConn. We owned the frontcourt before we even stepped on the court. Uconn absolutely had the backcourt battle locked down. Fortune, Talton, Dom and AK were not going to match the performance and execution of the the guards that uconn had. This leaves a battle of Hamilton (who played 38 minutes) versus King and Fletcher (I list King first since he had 26 minutes and started). Here is how that battle went down

King 2-6 for 5 points, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 assists, 1 block, 2 fouls, 0 turnovers
Hamilton 6-12 for 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 assist, 1 block, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers

Here are their season averages:
King averaged 13.6 points and 4.7 rebounds
Hamilton averaged 12.6 points and 8.9 rebounds

Now I am not trying to throw King under the bus here, but something was up with his performance yesterday on both ends of the floor. He badly lost that one on one matchup yesterday (Fletch also under-performed to his averages). It could have just been due to Hamilton have an amazing all around game yesterday, did anyone notice anything or hear anything? The guy has had so many big moments this season, but also had some really confusing stat lines:

in the PAC12 tournament dropped 21 on WSU and 22 on Arizona, but the game before only had 2 points at the key game at Utah. Looking over the season as a whole this is the distribution of points scored, but more often than not, if he scored under 10 points, he was also low in his rebounding average.

I looked at only rebounds and if scores more than 10 points, he averages 5.8 rebounds per game, if he scores less than 10 points he average only 3.5. What is really interesting is the splits don't really change in a win or loss, they average around 4.5 boards a game, but it is really easy to see a correlation based on his point production. It might be really interesting to take look at his stats based on the amount of points scored as he appears to be our version of Kobe, where he is only interested in playing defense and rebounding if he is scoring points. Maybe we design a few plays to start the game to engage him as he really is our wildcard. I would love to see if Tad can coach this out of him in the next year or two, because as our second leading scorer, and primed to be our leading scorer next year, we just can't have him not contributing if his shot is not falling.

 

[pcbuff]

This team performed above my expectations.

Next year I worry about who will replace Scott's production and hope XJ has the ability to penetrate post injury. Tad has a tough job next year. He did a good job this year. The conference is rising, and his recruiting will need to if we want to stay in the top third.

 

[Birch1]

It seems to me that a good portion of our offense ran through Scott. I wonder how well we will deal with him not being here. Gordon and XJ are going to have to do things they previously weren't asked to do.

This is where I think Tad will need to meet the team dynamic, and change his offensive schemes.

 

[CVilleBuff]

I don't think offense is going to be an issue next year. King, XJ, White should form a solid core...then you add in Fortune, Peters, Tory getting more minutes, Wes hopefully looking to be more of a threat on offense, etc etc etc

 

[onealcd]

Late to the thread so sorry if it was already posted. I really don't think the offense tad runs is "bad" and needs to be changed he just needs to recruit some better players. we need someone who can get to the rim consistently without turning over the ball. We have shooters we have length but we don't have a driving guard who can score over big men consistently. Essentially players make the scheme look good not usually the other way around.

This comes down to recruiting and we have all heard tad isn't willing to get dirty in the recruiting game so I don't know if it will change drastically but hopefully the new assistant coach can help.