#92 Colorado: 2010-11 Basketball Preview

[Sexton Hardcastle]

[FONT=&quot]Overall Rank: #92[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] Conference Rank: #9 Big 12 Conference[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]
2009-10: [/FONT] 15-16, 6-10​

[FONT=&quot] 2009-10 postseason: [/FONT] none

​

[FONT=&quot] Coach: [/FONT] Tad Boyle (First year at Colorado, 54-62 overall)

​

[FONT=&quot] New Colorado coach Tad Boyle proved he could pretty much build a program from scratch during his four seasons at Northern Colorado. A well traveled assistant before taking the job at UNC, Boyle is ready to take the next step in his coaching career. However, this time around he will not have to build from nothing. This is a Buffaloes team that loses only one key player and did amazingly well in conference play last season.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]More...
[/FONT]​

 

[Buffnik]

I thought that was a very fair analysis. Only gaffe was at the end when they predicted a CBI/CIT postseason appearance. The Big 12 only allows its members to accept NCAA and NIT bids.

My personal analysis is that Shane and Andre will surprise people and that Austin will rebound from his sophomore slump as Shane allows him to move to his more natural "4" spot and Tad's system plays more to his strengths.

 

[GoBuffs!!]

Projected Starting Five:
Nate Tomlinson, Junior, Guard, 5.3 ppg
Cory Higgins, Senior, Guard, 18.9 ppg
Alec Burks, Sophomore, Guard, 17.1 ppg
Marcus Relphorde, Senior, Forward, 11.0 ppg
Austin Dufault, Junior, Forward, 5.5 ppg

I don’t think Tomlinson has much of a chance starting over Sharpe, but we will see. Truthfully I think Sharpe will be the biggest difference maker on the team, along with the up-tempo pace of Boyle. Burks and Higgins do well in the backcourt, but they seem to really shine when Tomlinson started to shake things up and Burks and Higgins could pick off bad passes. Sharpe will likely take this to a whole new level.

Some of my hope for the front court is they would be able to use Ben Mills effectively. I agree he isn’t big enough to be a difference maker down in the paint, but from what I hear he has pretty good footwork, and would be able to at least be big enough to stop a team with a big man to run right overtop of us. And again along with the everyone hit the boards type of defense/rebounding Boyle's teams play, I think we will be able to play with most big front courts.

I think one of our biggest possible problems is the lack of shooters. Most of our guys are decent shooters, but we don’t really have a go to shooter similar to a Blair Wilson. He wasn’t a great player, but if you left him open he was going to make the shot just about every time. We have the possibility that an opponent would be able to stand back and take the drive away, which could possibly hurt.

Overall, I think we will be an above .500 team in the Big 12, put us in the NCAA tournament just on top of the Bubble.

 

[BuffAlum2007]

I thought that was a very fair analysis. Only gaffe was at the end when they predicted a CBI/CIT postseason appearance. The Big 12 only allows its members to accept NCAA and NIT bids.

You sure about that, Buffnik? This article from Fusker country at the end of last hoops season seems to indicate differently...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100311/BIGRED/703119726

"John Underwood, the league's associate commissioner for men's basketball, said no league policy prohibits a Big 12 team from going to the CBI or CIT."

 

[Buffnik]

You sure about that, Buffnik? This article from Fusker country at the end of last hoops season seems to indicate differently...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100311/BIGRED/703119726

"John Underwood, the league's associate commissioner for men's basketball, said no league policy prohibits a Big 12 team from going to the CBI or CIT."

It's what was reported about CU last year when we thought we were a bubble NIT team... that it was NIT or bust since we couldn't play in the CBI or CIT. I don't know for sure. But no Big 12 team has ever played in either tournament. CBI has taken teams from the Pac-10 and Big East despite losing records. You'd think CU would have played in it last year if we could have.