*** Official 2015 Cal @ Colorado Basketball Game thread ***

[seattlebuff]

This team lost all of these games this year two years ago when Boyle and company totally failed to capitalize on success/momentum on the recruiting front. When CU went overnight from a nothing to putting guys in the NBA and showing up in the tourney every year the staff should have been banking big time on reeling in recruits while the iron is hot.

They didn't, and this is the result. The bad old days aren't that far away.

This. Nailed it.

 

[Daaah]

I cannot believe people keep banging the "we have talent" drum. What the **** are you people seeing? I see zero offensive talent outside Ski and Scott. Zero. That's stunning to say for a P12 team. We have one jump shooter. That's it. Thomas shows an occasional flash of ability to create. Yes, JHop can jump really high, but is that basketball talent? High jumpers on the track team can jump, but that doesn't make them talented. Fletch and Talton are just space fillers. Gordon brings nothing on the offensive end.

We're going to look back at the recruitment of the current sophs as a turning point back to mediocrity (at best) for this program, at least until Tad figures out how to fix this ****. Our problems run on multiple levels. And I also don't think we win again this year. **** Ken Pom or whatever else says otherwise.

I'm in agreement in that I don't think we have a outstanding shooting team. But as Tini has been quick to point out, we do have guys who are knocking down shots at a statistically reasonable rate. You mention Ski and Scott. I'm not going to knock Ski because he's all we've had this year with the no-offense-offense. And Scott is obviously a ****ing beast. However, with some sort of offensive direction from the coaching staff, Scott's stats would be even better. When Scott is in, it's pretty obvious that he is the best player in the game, but you can't just throw the ball to him at the three point line, have everyone stand in place, and expect him to score. That's horrible offense. I think Wes has enough talent to be a huge presence as a complement/substitute to Scott but again, I don't see him getting enough opportunities in positions that he excels in. XJ is a total headcase and has been forever, but I think you if were to run plays for him, he would score as he is a matchup nightmare. Fletch can jump out out of the gym but has no handle. Why isn't he cutting to the bucket with back picks for easy buckets? Thomas showed flashes with the ball today. He's a matchup nightmare. Why aren't we getting him the ball against smaller or slower guys?

Ball movement doesn't do much if everyone is just standing in one place passing from one to another. You need off ball movement AND good passing to get the ball into a position that will make the defense scramble. We need an offensive x and os guy on staff quickly or we'll lose more of our momentum.

 

[Quattro]

No confidence and lack of effort. Terrible combination.

 

[Daaah]

This team lost all of these games this year two years ago when Boyle and company totally failed to capitalize on success/momentum on the recruiting front. When CU went overnight from a nothing to putting guys in the NBA and showing up in the tourney every year the staff should have been banking big time on reeling in recruits while the iron is hot.

They didn't, and this is the result. The bad old days aren't that far away.

As far as recruiting and perception goes, making it to the NCAA tournament 3 years in a row may have been great for CU fans (BTW, I loved it - and that pac 12 tournament championship was awesome), but in the grand scheme of things it honestly wasn't much to a top recruit. We need to get and stay in the top 25 so that the scores are scrolling and the highlights are on ESPN every night or make a cinderella ncaa run.

 

[SBG]

Outside of the real elites many teams have a down turn. It's a cluster**** now, but not anything that Boyle can't fix. He'll have to make some serious decisions in upcoming months though.

 

[tante]

Tonight was tough. They need to learn how to guard to perimeter and stop cheating I defense. They always cheat to the inside and get caught trying to recover to the perimeter.

Our sophmores need to show up more than once every 5 games. It is like they take turns playing well. For those of you that enjoyed Thomas tonight, I think he is scheduled to show up for the ASU next.

 

[seattlebuff]

I'm in agreement in that I don't think we have a outstanding shooting team. But as Tini has been quick to point out, we do have guys who are knocking down shots at a statistically reasonable rate. You mention Ski and Scott. I'm not going to knock Ski because he's all we've had this year with the no-offense-offense. And Scott is obviously a ****ing beast. However, with some sort of offensive direction from the coaching staff, Scott's stats would be even better. When Scott is in, it's pretty obvious that he is the best player in the game, but you can't just throw the ball to him at the three point line, have everyone stand in place, and expect him to score. That's horrible offense. I think Wes has enough talent to be a huge presence as a complement/substitute to Scott but again, I don't see him getting enough opportunities in positions that he excels in. XJ is a total headcase and has been forever, but I think you if were to run plays for him, he would score as he is a matchup nightmare. Fletch can jump out out of the gym but has no handle. Why isn't he cutting to the bucket with back picks for easy buckets? Thomas showed flashes with the ball today. He's a matchup nightmare. Why aren't we getting him the ball against smaller or slower guys?

Ball movement doesn't do much if everyone is just standing in one place passing from one to another. You need off ball movement AND good passing to get the ball into a position that will make the defense scramble. We need an offensive x and os guy on staff quickly or we'll lose more of our momentum.

We're 145th in FG% in the country (and that will go down after tonight.) On a team that usually gets the vast majority of our points in the paint. Outside of Ski, our guards shoot 21% on jump shots. So, no, we don't have guys hitting shots at a "statistically reasonable rate."

 

[Eggon]

Josh and Wes most often flash up top on defense, leaving our small to threaten the post, and our big scrambling to get back in position on D down low. If you watch the replay, happens all game. It is obviously direction from the coaches.

Result is, the wing for other team, is left unattended. Most often they are the one busting the uncontested 3. Our shooting is problematic, but our defensive scheme seems equally flawed to me. We have been consistently bad at defending the 3 point shot.

 

[CVilleBuff]

As far as recruiting and perception goes, making it to the NCAA tournament 3 years in a row may have been great for CU fans (BTW, I loved it - and that pac 12 tournament championship was awesome), but in the grand scheme of things it honestly wasn't much to a top recruit. We need to get and stay in the top 25 so that the scores are scrolling and the highlights are on ESPN every night or make a cinderella ncaa run.

Yep, as great as making the Dance is, there's not much visibility if you go out and lose a bland first round game. You're gone before most even notice. You can probably count on your fingers the number of people who aren't CU fans who are even aware CU made the last 3 NCAA Tournaments. Being ranked consistently is a major plus. I think too many people undervalue it. No, it doesn't mean or guarantee anything in and of itself (favorite arguments of the "ranking doesn't matter crowd") but as you say, the publicity is simply invaluable.

 

[Quattro]

We're 145th in FG% in the country (and that will go down after tonight.) On a team that usually gets the vast majority of our points in the paint. Outside of Ski, our guards shoot 21% on jump shots. So, no, we don't have guys hitting shots at a "statistically reasonable rate."

Well thank god there is only one type of shot in the game of basketball!

 

[Daaah]

We're 145th in FG% in the country (and that will go down after tonight.) On a team that usually gets the vast majority of our points in the paint. Outside of Ski, our guards shoot 21% on jump shots. So, no, we don't have guys hitting shots at a "statistically reasonable rate."

Seatleslapped. That said, I still don't think our coaches are putting the players in the best position to get and hit open shots.

 

[jgisland]

We're 145th in FG% in the country (and that will go down after tonight.) On a team that usually gets the vast majority of our points in the paint. Outside of Ski, our guards shoot 21% on jump shots. So, no, we don't have guys hitting shots at a "statistically reasonable rate."

Your math and basketball logic are both wrong. While not great CU shooting 29% on 2 pt j's outside of Ski - 78/269.

 

[seattlebuff]

Your math and basketball logic are both wrong. While not great CU shooting 29% on 2 pt j's outside of Ski - 78/269.

I was going off the chart Tini posted after the Utah game. I'm just talking about our guards, and didn't include Stalzer ... just Fletcher, Talton, Collier and Hopkins. 21% may not be exact (only had percentages, not total makes and attempts), but its still low 20s. But I guess that's not a problem ...

Name	% shots 2pt J	FG% 2pt Jumpers	%assisted 2pt J
Booker, Askia	40.5%	39.2%	10.6%
Gordon, Wesley	38.5%	37.5%	33.3%
Scott, Josh	45.0%	36.0%	33.3%
Johnson, Xavier	27.0%	32.5%	23.1%
Thomas, Dustin	28.8%	30.4%	28.6%
Hopkins, Jaron	22.1%	28.0%	0.0%
Collier, Dominique	26.4%	26.3%	20.0%
Talton, Xavier	35.2%	19.4%	66.7%
Miller, Tory	40.0%	18.8%	66.7%
Fletcher, Tre'Shaun	28.0%	17.4%	0.0%
Stalzer, Eli	10.0%	0.0%	---
Total	33.7%	32.1%	22.4%

 

[PAHIBuff]

Buffs men's and women's basketball have become very uninteresting this year.

 

[thbuff]

May be over reacting so let me preface this by saying I’m a sophomore in Boulder who’s sitting alone in his room after significantly drowning his sorrows. YES, our best player tore his ACL 13 months ago and spurned us for the NBA. YES, obviously it would’ve been nice to sign Ty Wallace or Jordan Matthews. YES, we absolutely whiffed on a class. The group of sophomores in here now may never amount to all that much… Jaron can jump, Dustin shows flashes but can’t finish with any sort of consistency. As a college kid enjoy my time in Boulder I may not be one to criticize but I’m paying 23K a year to go here ( from in state)… Time for these guys to earn that in some way… We’ve run into just about all of these guys on the hill… you know who I never saw there? Spencer.

And I haven't seen Dom or T-Miller. I’m deeply hoping that they can provide some sort of foundpation moving forward, but outside of that I'm not sure. Tad needs to discipline someone beyond leaving guys out of the starting line up, or suspending XJ while he’s hurt. I’m sorry to be the one that says it but I’d rather us look for another Nate Tomlinson rather than add a Torren Jones. I want to see a chip on somebody’s shoulder. There’s simply not enough passion or heart out there.


Sadly, I still think there’s about an 8% chance we miraculously figure it out by the PAC12 tournament and make the dance. Probably just my damn Buffalo heart. But what we have isn’t working, Bottom line. In my personal opinion, few players on this team’s scholarships should be considered “safe” going into next season. If guys aren’t willing to earn it every single day of the offseason, I’d rather us fill that roster spot with someone who will. I’m sorry but I’m not ok with being 11-12 right now. I get that this was in some regards this was not a year in which we were expected to perform at the highest level of the Boyle ear, but I didn’t expect to miss the NIT. Tad ball was built on guys who are willing to do some of the dirty work and this team doesn’t have that. But I guess in Tad I still trust (for now) GO BUFFS!

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

A few of these guys appear content to be the Big Man on Campus, and think that will be enough to get them into the league. They are in for a rude awakening.

 

[aghcsm]

Sadly this was not expected to be a down year but the continuance of upward movement. Tad was quoted before the season saying he thought this year's team could be "something special," which was considered an exciting prospect, coming from the low-key coach. Look at the postings pre-season - almost brings tears to my eyes seeing the high hopes that have even dashed. 3rd place in the conference was a given, only question was whether the challenge for higher could be met. This is not just a down year, it's a devastating betrayal of fan hopes.

 

[Goose]

I cannot believe people keep banging the "we have talent" drum. What the **** are you people seeing? I see zero offensive talent outside Ski and Scott. Zero.

Gotta say, I have a hard time arguing this. We've seen flashes of potential from a few guys, but potential is just a fancy word for "hasn't done **** yet". I love Wes, and I was thrilled to see him be super aggressive to start the game, but you could see him check out when he started 1-of-3. He's gotta keep going. He had Tarwater on him, and that's a no brainer matchup for him. But he didn't want anything to do with it. I love JHop, but every fastbreak with him is a rollercoaster of emotions. There's a 75% chance that every JHop fastbreak ends with a loud noise from the crowd - we just have no idea if it'll be cheers or groans. Fletch is a damn condor out there, but he can't get out of his own way long enough to contribute. Dom's potential is up there, but he's had an absolutely ****ty year. Yeah, there's always the chance everyone puts it together and gets it going next year, but we also kept saying "just wait until Jeremy Adams gets healthy" and we know how that turned out.

I do have to say that DT's aggressiveness over the last few weeks has been a nice development. The kid is looking better and better out there.

 

[Quattro]

Gordon was pissing me off last night. He is way too passive and if he is going to hang out by the 3 point line, he needs to make himself a threat.

 

[Shldr2Shldr]

Gordon was pissing me off last night. He is way too passive and if he is going to hang out by the 3 point line, he needs to make himself a threat.

His game is different without Josh. He needs to play the same with as he does without, that would be a killer front court. I don't get it.

 

[wyobuff]

I do have to say that DT's aggressiveness over the last few weeks has been a nice development. The kid is looking better and better out there.

This is about the only positive taken from the last few weeks. I Had hoped that Jhop wasnt just showing off for friends back home, but that looks like what happened.