2011 Colorado Basketball Preview
Written by Jack Jones - Google +
2010-11 Results
Overall: 24-14
Conference: 8-8 (t-5th, Big 12)
Roster
Seniors
Carlon Brown
Austin Dufault
Trey Eckloff
Nate Tomlinson
Juniors
Sabatino Chen
Sophomores
Jeremy Adams
Beau Gamble
Shane Harris-Tunks
Ben Mills
Andre Roberson
Shannon Sharpe
Freshmen
Askia Booker
Damiene Cain
Spencer Dinwiddie
Beau Webb
Head Coach
Tad Boyle
Key Losses
Higgins went out tied for first as Colorado’s all-time leading scorer (2,001 points) while Knutson won the Big 12′s Sixth Man award as a 47-percent three-point shooter. Burks, meanwhile, left with the highest single-season scoring total in school history of 779, while becoming a Wooden Award finalist.
Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT |
| Fri, Nov 11 | vs Ft. Lewis |
| Thu, Nov 17 | vs Wichita State* |
| Wed, Nov 23 | @ Air Force |
| Mon, Nov 28 | vs Georgia |
| Wed, Nov 30 | @ Colorado State |
| Wed, Dec 7 | vs Fresno State |
| Fri, Dec 9 | vs Wyoming |
| Mon, Dec 19 | vs Cal State Bakersfield |
| Thu, Dec 22 | vs Texas Southern |
| Wed, Dec 28 | vs New Orleans |
| Sat, Dec 31 | vs Utah |
| Thu, Jan 5 | vs Washington |
| Sat, Jan 7 | vs Washington State |
| Thu, Jan 12 | @ #22 California |
| Sat, Jan 14 | @ Stanford |
| Thu, Jan 19 | vs Arizona State |
| Sat, Jan 21 | vs #16 Arizona |
| Thu, Jan 26 | @ USC |
| Sat, Jan 28 | @ UCLA |
| Thu, Feb 2 | vs Oregon State |
| Sat, Feb 4 | vs Oregon |
| Thu, Feb 9 | @ #16 Arizona |
| Sat, Feb 11 | @ Arizona State |
| Sat, Feb 18 | @ Utah |
| Thu, Feb 23 | vs Stanford |
| Sun, Feb 26 | vs #22 California |
| Thu, Mar 1 | @ Oregon |
| Sat, Mar 3 | @ Oregon State |
2011-12 Preview
After beating Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament to reach 21 wins, first-year Colorado coach Tad Boyle so confident of an NCAA Tournament berth that he hosted a big party at his home on Selection Sunday. The party ended in crushing disappointment.
The Buffaloes appeared to be one of the last, if not the last, team left out of the field, their 6-7 record against Top 50 teams deemed not good enough for the NCAA selection committee. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla called it “the biggest crime of all” among the 2011 snubs.
To their credit, Colorado stayed motivated, winning three games to reach the NIT semi-finals in New York before going down by just a single point to to Alabama. Boyle quickly earned the trust of guys such as Higgins and Burks, and led the Buffaloes to their school-record 24 wins. Colorado averaged 79.6 points, the fifth-best total in school history, and finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 when it was picked ninth.
The Buffs were a middling rebounding team a season ago with an average of 36.0 per game and finished 10th in Big 12 field-goal percentage defense (.448). Colorado will attempt to fill the scoring role of Burks and the leadership of Higgins with a talented but much younger group. In addition, the whole outfit will be thrown into a new environment,The Pac-12. Had Burks not left for the NBA, he was taken No. 12 overall by the Utah Jazz, the Buffaloes might have had a chance to make up for last season’s snub by reaching the 2012 NCAA tournament.
Boyle will have to rebuild around emerging wing Andre Roberson (6.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg), as well as seniors 6-9 forward/center Austin Dufault (6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and 6-3 combo guard Nate Tomlinson (3.1 ppg, 2.5 apg).
The Buffaloes have a good choice of combo guards, if slightly lacking in experience, and a veteran guard in Tomlinson who sees the floor well but averaged only 2.5 assists last season. While Tomlinson could help the Buffs most at shooting guard, 6-1 sophomore Shannon Sharpe (2.1 ppg, 1.2 apg) could bring an explosive look at the point. Sharpe started three games last season and played 13 minutes a game, but needs to make another step up.
Other options in the backcourt include 6-4 freshman Spencer Dinwiddie (11.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.1 rpg), a big point guard with good court instincts and the potential to develop into a leader. Dinwiddie is slender, at just 175 pounds, but was chosen Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year.
The other Los Angeles-area freshman is 6-1 guard Askia Booker (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), a combo guard with fine athleticism. The Buffs also have 6-3 junior Sabatino Chen (2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg), an academic-minded transfer guard. Junior college transfer Jeremy Adams (12.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg), a 6-5 wing, could help contribute towards the scoring.
Carlon Brown (12.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), a 6-5, 215-pound wing, was Utah’s leading scorer (12.6 ppg) in 2009-10, earning honorable mention All-Mountain West honors.
Roberson led the team in rebounds (297), steals (51) and blocks (42). He’s an outstanding leaper with rebounding ability who picked up scoring mostly on his own last season. He has the potential to be Colorado’s leading threat in the absence of Burks and Higgins.
Dufault was forced to play out of position last season as a center, but his life should be easier this season with 6-11, 250-pound sophomore Shane Harris-Tunks (1.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg) back after missing the entire 2010-11 season through injury.
Dufault is a former North Dakota Mr. Basketball who already has two seasons at center under his belt, even before Harris-Tunks was injured last season. He played and started 38 games last season, both CU school records, and has been working hard on his game over the summer by taking an Athletes in Action tour to Macedonia and Kosovo in Eastern Europe.
Things became a bit shakier inside in September, when 6-7 freshman Damiene Cain (14.4 ppg, 10.9 rpg) quit the team to focus on academics. Cain was a top 150 recruit who was expected to help rebound right away. Boyle has faith in Harris-Tunks while the Buffaloes also have 6-10 senior Trey Eckloff (1.4 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and 7-foot sophomore Ben Mills (1.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg).
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