Jalin Holland spent much of the summer in the CU Events Center’s practice gym doing one thing over and over: launching 3-pointers from every spot around the arc.
The building was quiet for much of the offseason, but Holland’s work was hard to miss. Rep after rep, corner to corner, he kept firing away as Colorado’s second-year wings tried to sharpen the one area that could help the Buffaloes take a step forward this season.
For CU coach Tad Boyle, the message is simple. Holland and Josiah Sanders do not need to become pure shooters to matter. They just need to make defenses pay when the ball finds them.
“They both worked at it extremely hard,” Boyle said of Holland and Sanders. “Every time I walked by the practice gym, I’d see Jalin Holland in there working on it with somebody.
Sometimes he’s by himself. Sometimes he’s with a manager.
Sometimes he’s caging with a teammate.
“All they got to do is be able to make open shots. They’re playing with two guards in Barrington Hargress and Alex Dickeson who can find them.
Those guys’ll find them. They’ve just got to be ready to catch and shoot when they’re open, and if they’re closing out to them they’ve got to be able to attack a close-out.
That’s something both those kids can do. But if you can hit the three, and you can attack the close-out, and you’re playing with two guards like we’ve got, those guys will have plenty of opportunities.”
Holland and Sanders enter the year as versatile second-year wings, and Colorado would love to see the long ball become a bigger part of their game. Ian Inman flashed that kind of promise at times, including a five-3-pointer performance in a win against Kansas State, and he finished at .367 from deep.
Holland, though, was much more effective on 2-pointers than 3s as a freshman. He shot .456 on 2-pointers and averaged 2.7 rebounds per game, with that number climbing to 5.8 over the final four games. From beyond the arc, he finished at .278, making 15 of 54 attempts.
Sanders showed real value near the basket, too. He shot .545 on 2-pointers and posted a strong assist-to-turnover rate of 2.12, finishing with 55 assists and 26 turnovers. But the 3-point shot was a major issue: he went 3-for-24 from long range and took only two 3s over the final eight games.
The free throw line was another area of emphasis for both players. Holland finished at .542 there, while Sanders shot .519.
Colorado does not need Holland or Sanders to turn into volume shooters. What the Buffs do need is enough spacing to keep defenses honest, especially with both players expected to see significant minutes and both able to impact the game in multiple ways.
Sanders said the summer work was all about getting more comfortable in those moments.
“I put myself in the gym with a lot with a lot of better shooters than me, so I could compete and see what it was like,” Sanders said. “Not even just being in the gym, though, but winning drills or doing certain things just getting those reps over the summer.
That’s one thing that’s going to open the rest of my game up. If I can knock a three down and someone has to step up, I’m going to get to the rest of my game easier.
“I was in the gym non-stop this summer, and I’m definitely excited to be on the court and show off what I’ve been working on.”
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