What's new
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

Recruiting Heading Forward

Goose

Hoops Moderator
Club Member
Junta Member
OK, a lot of this thread is me reading the tea leaves - in other words there's a damn good chance that someone who knows what the hell they're talking about (Will, RK, Adam, etc.) can come in here and say I'm completely full of **** and I can't argue with them. That said, from the little bits I've seen, here is what I'm thinking for the 2015 recruiting class.

2015 (1-3 Scholarships)


2014 Roster
PositionSeniorJuniorSophomoreFreshmanTotals
PGEli StalzerDominique Collier2 Scholarship
SGAskia BookerXavier TaltonJaron Hopkins3 Scholarship
SFXavier JohnsonTre'Shaun Fletcher
George King
3 Scholarship
PFWesley Gordon*
Dustin Thomas
Tory Miller3 Scholarship
CJosh Scott1 Scholarship
Totals1 Scholarship4 Scholarship5 Scholarship2 Scholarship12 Scholarship
* = RedshirtedItalics = Walk OnOfficial CU Roster

* Nothing against the walk-ons, but this discussion will purely focus on scholarship athletes.
* I'm operating under the assumption that Spencer is gone. I know he has talked to some NBA guys and reportedly been told that he should consider coming back. That said, I think he has to go pro. If he returns, well, that's awesome, but it doesn't change anything for the 2015 class unless we use his scholarship.
* I'm also going to act under the assumption that are going to bank the scholarship we have with Spencer leaving.
* I put a possibility of 3 scholarships at top because of attrition/players going pro. Right now, I'm thinking we have 2 to use.

Big Target - I'm going with Bennie Boatwright. AllBuffs has him listed as a PF, but think of him more of a 3/4 combo. Athletic wing who can shoot from outside. Largely a top 50 recruit overall and considered one of the better players in California. He's pretty high on CU and his dad LOVES Boyle and the assistants. CU loves him. We're in a good position here, but it's a long way away from next November, and Kansas has offered.

Other Top Prospects -
If you ask me, I'm always going to side with the big PG. So obviously, I'm pretty damn high on Justin Simon. I'm not alone. Scout just gave him a fifth star in their latest update. But he's a bit of a long shot as of right now (note: it's still early) as Arizona, UCLA and Kansas are all after him as well. Cameron Walker is a name that popped up here recently, and while I initially wrote him off (he's in the bay area so he spends a LOT of time with Cal & Stanford and he plays for an AAU team that is pretty close with UCLA), I was told today that we do have a shot there. Walker and his family love Coach Pri, so that's huge. Rex Pflueger is from the same HS that gave us XJ and Eli, so we have some inroads there, but he's going to be a hard one to land (although one that would be worth the battle if for no other reason that you might see RK explode with joy if we land him). There's also Jeremy Hemsley who tonight cut his list down to 8 (and included CU in it) and has described CU as a "dream school".

Names To Keep An Eye On - The first one is Austin Conway - however at this point it's appearing it'll be as a part-time player. It's looking more and more like he's going to go football in college. His rankings have dropped a bit lately, but could be good for 5 mpg or so off of the bench due to his speed. You'll also notice a lack of bigs on this list. From what I've heard, Tad is pretty happy with his frontcourt and doesn't feel it needs to be addressed in the 2015 class. Doesn't mean we won't end up signing someone like Rickey Brace, it just means that right now I don't think they're our top priority.

Gun To My Head Prediction - Boatwright and Hemsley become Buffs. That said, remember that we probably don't know about a lot of the Buffs targets right now. And I'm not just talking about sleeper guys as XJ was a prospect we didn't know was on CU's radar until September of 2012 - he signed 2 months later.

And 2016 is based around De'Ron Davis. He's the #1 target. I'd imagine that the other priorities are a PG and a scoring swingman.
 
Goose - nice work, man!

Any thoughts on Chance Comanche? Buff fans bring him up a lot on the message boards. Are we in the game on that one?
 
I think if I were to guess who CU's #1 target that they would love to have, that they might have a realistic shot at--I'd go with Justin Simon. Going to be a tough recruiting battle to win, but I think they have a legitimate shot at him.

Really hard to get a good idea on Boatwright, as I don't think he's ever been quoted on anything regarding CU. Hemsley was real high on CU, hopefully he still is.
 
So it looks like Tad agrees with us that Josh is here for four years, otherwise you get a kid to get 5-10 minutes per game as a freshman.
 
There's been a lot of talk about the 2015 class, and rightfully so with a ton of top west coast talent, but 2016 could be really interesting. It's going to be a big class numbers-wise and we're going to have to replace XJ and Scott. If the staff is somehow able to land Davis early and build some momentum, it could be a lot of fun to see how that class takes shape.
 
My preference here would be for Boatwright. I would love to see Bennie at the 3 in a Scottie Pippen style role. Long arms creating havoc on the shorter players he's guarding and then shooting over the top of them with that pretty jumper on the offensive end. I love his skill set.
 
Any thoughts on Chance Comanche? Buff fans bring him up a lot on the message boards. Are we in the game on that one?

Honestly, I don't know much there. I know we've tried to get him, but to land a big man of his caliber you have to do a full out assault on them. EVERYONE wants those guys. So I honestly don't see it happening, but stranger things have happened.

Really hard to get a good idea on Boatwright, as I don't think he's ever been quoted on anything regarding CU.

I've heard quotes from two different people on Boatwright, both independent of each other, and both say the kid loves CU.

There's been a lot of talk about the 2015 class, and rightfully so with a ton of top west coast talent, but 2016 could be really interesting. It's going to be a big class numbers-wise and we're going to have to replace XJ and Scott. If the staff is somehow able to land Davis early and build some momentum, it could be a lot of fun to see how that class takes shape.

I had a follow up post for the 2016 class done only to have the Swan's laptop eat it last night, so it's gone. But basically it was me saying "Get Davis early and land a top 10 class". It's very possible. A lot depends on our results both this year and next.

Thanks Goose. If we bank one, will that be the first time Tad's done that at CU?

Yes. And I will celebrate. Nothing against the guys remaining in '14 because there are definitely some good players still available, but we are looking at a potential MONSTER 2015 class. I'd rather save for that. Plus, as deep as we'll be next year, we'll be stuck in another situation where we may have to redshirt a guy (Jenkins) or give them spotty at best minutes (King). I'm already wondering how Miller is going to get PT next year.

I also want to point out that in the last few days I've seen CU "interest" pop up on a few JUCO players on twitter. So we're obviously looking for players for next year still (which makes me think that Tad is operating under the assumption that Spencer is gone - or that there's attrition we don't know about yet).
 
Also, yet again, someone bitched about how Tad needs to recruit a Levi Knutson.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

People really need to get over it. I personally disagree with Tad on this, but it's not his style. He's not going to recruit a kid who can only shoot. Tad values defense too much. As much as we love Levi, and as great of a shooter as he was, he was horrid defensively (hell, that whole team was, but that's another rant). Now that doesn't mean Tad will ignore guys who can shoot, but do you know what they call someone who can hit lots of threes and defend at the level Tad requires?

A five star recruit.

So if people want to continue bitching about our lack of white guys who can do nothing but drain 3s, that's your call. But it's not going to change.
 
Also, yet again, someone bitched about how Tad needs to recruit a Levi Knutson.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

People really need to get over it. I personally disagree with Tad on this, but it's not his style. He's not going to recruit a kid who can only shoot. Tad values defense too much. As much as we love Levi, and as great of a shooter as he was, he was horrid defensively (hell, that whole team was, but that's another rant). Now that doesn't mean Tad will ignore guys who can shoot, but do you know what they call someone who can hit lots of threes and defend at the level Tad requires?

A five star recruit.

So if people want to continue bitching about our lack of white guys who can do nothing but drain 3s, that's your call. But it's not going to change.

Exactly, the pillars of CU under Tad are and always will be defense and rebounding. If you want to complain about CU's lack of outside shooters who play no D, go to a Syracuse board argue the merits of playing man to man D - you'll get just as far.
 
As an aside, there are fans of other programs pinning their hopes on certain pipe-dream recruits, praying for an ov or just a lucky break. Then boom -- cries of wow are heard throughout their fan-land as someone on their board announces;

"Dammit. He just got offered by Colorado"
 
Now THAT's how you wake up in the morning! Great stuff guys. I usually refuse to be too excited for the future. But I'm getting very excited for this upcoming recruiting class.

Now I'm going to go watch Dom highlights and not work. Damn you all.
 
Also, yet again, someone bitched about how Tad needs to recruit a Levi Knutson.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Your point still stands, Goose, but the funny thing is Boatwright may end up being almost as a good a shooter. Will went so far the other day to say he saw Boatwright as a 2/3, which kind of opened my eyes.
 
Your point still stands, Goose, but the funny thing is Boatwright may end up being almost as a good a shooter. Will went so far the other day to say he saw Boatwright as a 2/3, which kind of opened my eyes.

If Boatwright can play the 2/3 position, that gives Tad some INCREDIBLE versatility with his lineups.
 
I love Boatwright as a player, but he scares the hell out of me. I know transfers in high school sports are the new normal, but 3 schools in 3 years is a big red flag.
 
I've heard quotes from two different people on Boatwright, both independent of each other, and both say the kid loves CU.

So have I. But I haven't heard anything directly from the Boatwright camp regarding CU.
 
Boatwright and Spencer use the same personal trainer in the offseason. That's been a very important part of this recruitment.
 
Yeah, I've heard that too. Not sure how important that will really end up being tho, since Boatwright and Stanley Johnson also train together in the offseason. It sure doesn't hurt though.
 
Yeah, I've heard that too. Not sure how important that will really end up being tho, since Boatwright and Stanley Johnson also train together in the offseason. It sure doesn't hurt though.
When the dad loves Boyle and the kid is pretty high on CU then it's pretty important. Johnson never showed the love for CU that Boatwright and his dad have.
 
I really like Boatwright and he sounds very interested in CU. The guy I really want CU to land is Rex Pflueger. I watched that guys highlights a few weeks ago and my jaw was dropped the whole time. That guy is about close to a complete player as you can find, IMO. He can shoot, slash, rebound, pass, dribble, etc. I hope the staff is trying everything they can to get into his recruitment. Doesn't sound promising, but with my limited knowledge I like him the best. He seems so smooth and knows where to be at all times. I would be so excited with Boatwright and Pflueger.

We have Talton for 2015 so I don't think the PG position is as big of a need as these two above. Then in 2016 you get Davis and another PG.
 
I would be ecstatic over either Boatwright or Pflueger. The others I honestly don't know a whole lot about, I just haven't followed them as much.
 
Is Tad okay with a 3 guard 2 forward lineup?

G - Collier 6'4"
G - Hopkins 6'5"
G - Boatwright 6'8"
F - Miller 6'8"
F - Davis 6'8"
 
Last edited:
Is Tad okay with a 3 guard 2 forward lineup?

G - Collier 6'4"
G - Hopkins 6'5"
G - Boatwright 6'8"
F - Miller 6'8"
F - Davis 6'8"
First off, where is Fletcher? I find it hard to believe he won't be a starter at least one year he's here. Second, both Boatwright and Davis are 6'9" and may still be growing.
 
Honestly, I think that's his preference.

Unless he can find a 7 footer who can move like a wing, I agree. Tad would rather run depth of versatile 6'7" to 6'9" guys. The best defense we've seen at CU was when we had Dre locking down opposing centers in 2011-12.
 
When the dad loves Boyle and the kid is pretty high on CU then it's pretty important. Johnson never showed the love for CU that Boatwright and his dad have.

Sure, it is important and it helps. Just don't know if it is the #1 factor. Get the kid to come on an official visit and I like CU's chances, but still you're talking about beating out Arizona and UCLA
 
First off, where is Fletcher? I find it hard to believe he won't be a starter at least one year he's here. Second, both Boatwright and Davis are 6'9" and may still be growing.


nba? just kidding. We have a lot of talent on the roster and I struggled with trying to find a spot for Fletcher and Thomas in a few years. Not because they are good players, but Hopkins already is guarding the opposing teams best player, so I don't think his defense will regress. I though about putting Fletcher over Boatwright, but BB is an elite talent that causes headaches for other coaches and then I remembered Tad saying that DT would be "unguardable" next year and I got super confused. I am not used to seeing so much talent on one roster and pick the best 5.
 
Sure, it is important and it helps. Just don't know if it is the #1 factor. Get the kid to come on an official visit and I like CU's chances, but still you're talking about beating out Arizona and UCLA
Who is saying it's the #1 factor? You could argue though that BB's dad really, really liking Boyle could be the #1 factor in the recruitment, but I'm not sure I agree with it. Beating out UCLA and Zona is tough, but there's only so many kids those two schools can take, and they both have a lot of offers out to 5* players, more than 4*'s actually.
 
Who is saying it's the #1 factor? You could argue though that BB's dad really, really liking Boyle could be the #1 factor in the recruitment, but I'm not sure I agree with it. Beating out UCLA and Zona is tough, but there's only so many kids those two schools can take, and they both have a lot of offers out to 5* players, more than 4*'s actually.
BB's dad is handling his recruitment, so I'd say it may very well be the #1 factor.
 
Long versatile athlete that can shoot is what we will get from a Tad Boyle team...and that is the right strategy for me
 
Back
Top