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Official 2023-24 MBB Season Thread

My ideal starting lineup:
1. Simpson
2. Williams
3. Da Silva
4. Diop
5. Lovering

With O'Brien and Hadley getting a lot of minutes at 3 and 4 depending on matchups and whoever needs a blow.

Ruffin looks good but his injury history is concerning. Hard to depend on a guy that is rarely on the court.

Nique could be productive in a defense and rebounding role but I would not be surprised if he is gone next year.

I'm not a big fan of Hammond. He could get better but he is very turnover prone against decent competition.

I really don't know much about Smith and Hurlburt but I have a feeling that they have been recruited over.
On the last line, Thompson isn't better than Smith, so definitely not recruited over. As for Hurlburt, he's a top 150 prospect for a reason. You don't find 6'10 guys with above average athleticism and shooting, so I don't believe there's any way he doesn't become a valuable player here.
 
Given what we've seen from this roster thus far and speculating on what we likley need next year to address the many issues we have, what happens to this roster? Quick stab at it:

RETURNERS:
Lovering, O'Brien, Hurlburt
Hadley, DaSilva, Ruffin
Simpson, Hammond, Smith

ADDITIONS:
Williams, Diop, Anderson, TRANSFER (PG or PF)

LOSSES:
Clifford, Gabbidon, Wright, Allen
So we have completely giving up all hope on Allen? It is about the most awkward recruit in CU history...No? Sucks in my book at least. I wanna seem him ball...and ball his eyes out. Can't believe I have to watch Wright tossing up bricks and Nique giving half-baked effort (or maybe complete loss of confidence, I don't know...painful it is) every game with others having long cold spells...and Allen not even getting a shot. Booooring
 
On the last line, Thompson isn't better than Smith, so definitely not recruited over. As for Hurlburt, he's a top 150 prospect for a reason. You don't find 6'10 guys with above average athleticism and shooting, so I don't believe there's any way he doesn't become a valuable player here.
Thompson?

Being recruited over might not be the best choice of words. The fact that Smith redshirted behind Hammond (and the Ivys were brought in) means that he is unlikely to ever be much of a factor here.

The fact that Hurlburt redshirted this year when we desperately need size means that he is not close to ready.

We all believed Quincy Allen would be one of our best players based on his ranking as well. I think Hurlburt has potential but I think it will take time to develop. He also doesn't fit the mold of the 4 that we need next year. I could see him taking over Tristan's role when he is gone as a face up scorer that exploits mismatches.
 
Thompson?

Being recruited over might not be the best choice of words. The fact that Smith redshirted behind Hammond (and the Ivys were brought in) means that he is unlikely to ever be much of a factor here.

The fact that Hurlburt redshirted this year when we desperately need size means that he is not close to ready.

We all believed Quincy Allen would be one of our best players based on his ranking as well. I think Hurlburt has potential but I think it will take time to develop. He also doesn't fit the mold of the 4 that we need next year. I could see him taking over Tristan's role when he is gone as a face up scorer that exploits mismatches.
To be fair, RJ Smith came in to college with a pretty nasty leg injury, IIRC
 
I think it's a mistake to assume a redshirt means a guy won't be an excellent player here. George King comes to mind.
George King was weird because he played some his Freshman year but it was clear he wasn't ready, then he redshirted his Sophomore year. But I agree with the sentiment. Up to this point CU has been primarily a development program. Tad has made effective use of the redshirt in a way a lot of other basketball programs don't.
 
So we have completely giving up all hope on Allen? It is about the most awkward recruit in CU history...No? Sucks in my book at least. I wanna seem him ball...and ball his eyes out. Can't believe I have to watch Wright tossing up bricks and Nique giving half-baked effort (or maybe complete loss of confidence, I don't know...painful it is) every game with others having long cold spells...and Allen not even getting a shot. Booooring
We on this board haven't, but I think Tad has. What you laid out re: the Ivys and Nique pretty much says it all. I keep hitting on it, but Tad has made some missteps this year both in game and off the court.
 
Also, FWIW, the plan all along was for Hurlburt to RS this year. He's not a banger either. He never will be. But he's making a hell of a leap - a bigger one than Lawson had. I think he could be a rotation player next year on the backside of the rotation but like Lawson I'm waiting for year 3 to really see him start to step into place.
 
I am not at practice and I have only seen RJ Smith once in a scrimmage. My opinions are derived by the data available to me.

It is a safe assumption that a guy that is redshirting (and is not injured) is worse than the guys in front of him, otherwise he would be playing.
It doesn't mean that he can't improve but it is unlikely that he will improve at a rate greater than the guys in front of him so that he becomes better than his competition.
George King is an example of this occurring but it doesn't make it likely.

I give Hurlburt a pass because he needs time to grow into his body. I didn't know that RJ Smith had been injured so maybe he deserves a pass as well.
 
I am not at practice and I have only seen RJ Smith once in a scrimmage. My opinions are derived by the data available to me.

It is a safe assumption that a guy that is redshirting (and is not injured) is worse than the guys in front of him, otherwise he would be playing.
It doesn't mean that he can't improve but it is unlikely that he will improve at a rate greater than the guys in front of him so that he becomes better than his competition.
George King is an example of this occurring but it doesn't make it likely.

I give Hurlburt a pass because he needs time to grow into his body. I didn't know that RJ Smith had been injured so maybe he deserves a pass as well.
Sometimes it's not about being worse, but about how under 10 mpg now isn't as valuable to the player or program as the 20+ mpg the guy projects to get as a 5th year senior.
 
So we have completely giving up all hope on Allen? It is about the most awkward recruit in CU history...No? Sucks in my book at least. I wanna seem him ball...and ball his eyes out. Can't believe I have to watch Wright tossing up bricks and Nique giving half-baked effort (or maybe complete loss of confidence, I don't know...painful it is) every game with others having long cold spells...and Allen not even getting a shot. Booooring
Quincy has likely had a talk with Tad about what he needs to show to get on the court. Quincy clearly isn't committed to becoming the type of player that Tad wants on his team.

Quincy just isn't a high energy guy. Strikes me as someone whose gotten by on his physical skills, which are elite, so he just doesn't work that hard.
 
Figures this thread needs to get bumped now that the season is almost over.

What's everyone think now?
What's everyone's hope for the 2 deep?

Personally, I'd like to see

PG: Simpson, Transfer
SG: Williams, Transfer/Ruffin, Anderson, Smith
SF: LOB, Allen/Ruffin/Hadley, Anderson
PF: Da Silva, Diop/Hadley
C: Lovering, Hurlburt

Seems like the players most on here hope are gone are Nique and Hammond, and I'd have to say I agree with that.
 
Figures this thread needs to get bumped now that the season is almost over.

What's everyone think now?
What's everyone's hope for the 2 deep?

Personally, I'd like to see

PG: Simpson, Transfer
SG: Williams, Transfer/Ruffin, Anderson, Smith
SF: LOB, Allen/Ruffin/Hadley, Anderson
PF: Da Silva, Diop/Hadley
C: Lovering, Hurlburt

Seems like the players most on here hope are gone are Nique and Hammond, and I'd have to say I agree with that.
I like that list although I'd love to let Da Silva play more time on the wing. He is much more effective when he can be a face-up scorer than when he is stuck in the post against a big.
He has defensive issues either way. A little too weak against a lot of bigs and a little too slow laterally against a lot of wings.
I see Hurlburt as more of a finesse big but we really need one of him or Diop to step up to be a physical presence on defense.
If we can avoid lineups where Da Silva has to guard the other team's biggest player on the floor I will feel very good about this team.

If the above occurs, Ruffin steps into the role of being a knock down three point shooter, Williams is as good as advertised, and we replace Hammond with a solid backup PG then I think this team will be very good.

So:
get rid of Hammond and Nique
recruit a PG
 
i

13. Colorado Buffaloes

We are all the way in on the Buffs' bandwagon. They would have been in the top 25 even before Sunday's commitment from TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva, if both return, give Tad Boyle two All-Pac-12 players to lead the way, and he's adding potential lottery pick Cody Williams, a top-10 recruit. There's a slew of role players also heading back to Boulder.

Projected starting lineup:

KJ Simpson (15.9 PPG)
Julian Hammond (6.9 PPG)
Cody Williams (No. 6 in ESPN 100)
Tristan da Silva (15.9 PPG)
Eddie Lampkin Jr. (6.3 PPG at TCU)


I believe this was already posted in another thread. I've also seen projections of LOB as the 5th starter rather than JH3. By the numbers, Hadley was a starter, our 3rd leading scorer and one of our best performers on O & D metrics. That said, I'm thinking the yet to be signed player will be the final starter and we're going to be absolutely fvcking loaded.
 
i

13. Colorado Buffaloes

We are all the way in on the Buffs' bandwagon. They would have been in the top 25 even before Sunday's commitment from TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva, if both return, give Tad Boyle two All-Pac-12 players to lead the way, and he's adding potential lottery pick Cody Williams, a top-10 recruit. There's a slew of role players also heading back to Boulder.

Projected starting lineup:

KJ Simpson (15.9 PPG)
Julian Hammond (6.9 PPG)
Cody Williams (No. 6 in ESPN 100)
Tristan da Silva (15.9 PPG)
Eddie Lampkin Jr. (6.3 PPG at TCU)


I believe this was already posted in another thread. I've also seen projections of LOB as the 5th starter rather than JH3. By the numbers, Hadley was a starter, our 3rd leading scorer and one of our best performers on O & D metrics. That said, I'm thinking the yet to be signed player will be the final starter and we're going to be absolutely fvcking loaded.
I think you're spot on here. Knecht, Bamba, Grill... Sign one of those, insert him into the starting 5 and we're Top 15 for sure.

Simpson
Williams
(Knecht, Bamba, Grill)
TDS
Lampkin

Hammond
Hadley
Ruffin (injury ???)
LOB
Diop
Hurlburt
Smith
 
Rooney's new article really made me feel great about what to look forward to with KJ next season. To summarize, he didn't want to make excuses and tried to fight through, but he was fighting through flu symptoms beginning in January that they only later learned was mono (why he missed the last 5 games) and he also badly turned his ankle the game before Oregon. He was hobbled and sick, trying to fight through it, and didn't release it to the public.

His splits before & after he came down with mono and the injury are telling. If we get the pre-mono KJ this coming season (ankle's 100% now, too), we've got a great PG. And if there's any improvement, he could be absolutely elite.

I'm getting very excited.

Prior to the missed game against Oregon, Simpson was shooting .450 overall with a .354 mark on 3-pointers. He recorded six 20-point games in those first 15 outings, including his first career double-double in CU’s Nov. 13 upset of Tennessee (23 points, 10 rebounds) and his first career 30-point game in an upset of then-No. 24 Texas A&M.

In his final 14 games following the missed Oregon game, however, Simpson shot .330 overall and just .154 (8-for-52) on 3-pointers.
 
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I'm not in the "Fire Tad" camp, but in the spirit of playing along...

Who are the potential "Deion Sanders" for MBB? Who could change the game, and bring in recruits at a level we've never seen? Who could convince current HC's of D1 schools to come here as assistants?

Jordan? Garnett? Pippen? I really don't know.

And then the next question is, of those who might have comparable magmatism, which would want to coach? What would it take to get them to CU?
 
I'm not in the "Fire Tad" camp, but in the spirit of playing along...

Who are the potential "Deion Sanders" for MBB? Who could change the game, and bring in recruits at a level we've never seen? Who could convince current HC's of D1 schools to come here as assistants?

Jordan? Garnett? Pippen? I really don't know.

And then the next question is, of those who might have comparable magmatism, which would want to coach? What would it take to get them to CU?
I went through similar thoughts and then accepted that chasing unicorns is probably not the strategy.

Fundamentals of what works.

After Tad, keep an old school culture of work and accountability like both he and CP have. Probably find someone who embraces new media and brand building like CP as something Tad doesn't have. Proven HC success at a place that had major obstacles to overcome and a load of professional relationships is another commonality we'll want.
 
I'm not in the "Fire Tad" camp, but in the spirit of playing along...

Who are the potential "Deion Sanders" for MBB? Who could change the game, and bring in recruits at a level we've never seen? Who could convince current HC's of D1 schools to come here as assistants?

Jordan? Garnett? Pippen? I really don't know.

And then the next question is, of those who might have comparable magmatism, which would want to coach? What would it take to get them to CU?
I think this was done in basketball a few times and failed, or had underachieving success (Ewing, Hardaway, Howard). This is why CU was able to get Coach Prime since the track record wasn't there. I would say that Coach Prime is a unique individual, and not a normal formula for success. Ill also add he hasn't coached a single football game yet.

The list of who CU would hire after Tad is depressing, and I would prepare ourselves for a revolving door of coaches coming and going. Lets just hope that its because they all won big, and are leaving to bigger programs. I dont understand the "fire Tad" crowd, sure he has things he could improve (everyone does), but he is in many ways the best thing to come to CU basketball with its current support.

If CU all of a sudden decided to be a big player in college basketball, sure Tad's likely out the door, but CU is also never going to put the investment and backing to be a major player.
 
I think this was done in basketball a few times and failed, or had underachieving success (Ewing, Hardaway, Howard). This is why CU was able to get Coach Prime since the track record wasn't there. I would say that Coach Prime is a unique individual, and not a normal formula for success. Ill also add he hasn't coached a single football game yet at Cau but did have great success in FCS.

The list of who CU would hire after Tad is depressing, and I would prepare ourselves for a revolving door of coaches coming and going. Lets just hope that its because they all won big, and are leaving to bigger programs. I dont understand the "fire Tad" crowd, sure he has things he could improve (everyone does), but he is in many ways the best thing to come to CU basketball with its current support.

If CU all of a sudden decided to be a big player in college basketball, sure Tad's likely out the door, but CU is also never going to put the investment and backing to be a major player.
Fixed.
 
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