Hard to get excited for a player that we won’t see play for a couple years. But I remain optimistic that he will be a vital cog in a future, competitive Tad Boyle basketball squad. In Tad I trust.
This commitment is consistent with a trend I've noticed regarding Tad's recruiting. Tad likes to recruit players that he can keep in his program as long as possible and preferably have sit out for a year while they learn his system. Tad seems to use the redshirt far more often than other coaches and is on record saying, “
a year off is good for every player.” I interpret this approach as Tad’s confidence in his ability to improve players over the long-term.
My guess is this strategy is part necessity and part Tad’s core philosophical belief in how to build a program. If Tad could get the one and dones to come to Boulder, he probably would. But if you can’t do that, put out a team of older, more mature players that have been playing together for multiple years and you should be able to compete. This upcoming year will put that theory to the test. Looking forward to what a team with a bunch of fifth year players (Wesley Gordon, Derrick White, Xavier Johnson, Josh Fortune) and upper classmen (Tory Miller, Dominique Collier, George King) can do. I don’t mean to overlook football season. But as the weather cools all I can think about is the electric atmosphere in the Keg when this Buffs team goes on a run next year atop that shiny new court.