Tad Boyle isn’t hiding what he wants from his Colorado team this season: more defense, more rebounding, and a group that actually absorbs the message.
That wasn’t always the case a year ago. Boyle said last season’s Buffaloes, who finished 17-16, never fully matched his demands in the areas he values most. For a coach who has spent his CU tenure hammering defense and the glass, that stung.
“I don’t like talking about last year’s team versus this year’s team. But as I look back at last year’s team, the commitment level wasn’t there,” Boyle said.
“It was just hollow words coming from a coach. And that’s my job.
I’ve got to take responsibility for our deficiencies, and that definitely was a deficiency last year.”
Colorado’s offseason reset was built around fixing that. Most of the frontcourt that struggled on the boards is gone, including forwards Bangot Dak, Alon Michaeli and Sebastian Rancik, all of whom transferred out. The Buffs were outrebounded by 3.6 boards per game in Big 12 play last season, and opponents shot .470 overall and .360 from 3-point range against them.
Boyle said the four returning players have a key role in making sure this year’s standards don’t get lost in translation.
“The message doesn’t change. The values don’t change.
How I get that message across might need to change,” Boyle said. “That’s my job as a coach.
That’s why last year’s team, instead of winning 24 games and going to the NCAA Tournament, won 17 games and went to the Crown. That’s what I want the returning guys to understand.
And I think they do. I’ve talked to all of them about that.
It’s not that they’re not buying into it. But they’ve got to make sure they’re doing it, but they’ve also got to hold their teammates accountable.”
Colorado is also trying to develop size with an eye on the future. The program had a big-man project last season in 7-foot-1 Leonardo Van Elswyk, who transferred to Stony Brook after serving as a practice player at CU. Now the Buffs are working with first-year forward Eric Jacobsen, a 6-foot-11 player from Colorado Springs whose path included stops in Albuquerque and Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
Jacobsen’s prep career was interrupted by a knee injury that limited him to one full season, leaving him in a bulky brace now as he works his way into the college game.
“Eric’s a guy that keeps coming,” Boyle said. “He’s got a great mindset.
He’s got great toughness about him. The biggest thing I look for in big guys is how tough are they?
How hard do they work and how much do they want to improve? The one thing I love about Eric is he comes every day ready to battle, ready to compete.
He’s going against faster, more athletic guys right now. But he’s learning, he’s adapting and he’s growing.
“Eric’s going to be a good player at Colorado before it’s all said and done. I’m hoping he can help us this year.”
Colorado has a free exhibition game coming up Oct. 18 against North Texas at Metro State’s Auraria Event Center, with a limited number of free tickets set to be available Monday at cubuffs.com/tickets. The Buffs will also hold a closed scrimmage against Marquette, just as they did last year.
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Baylor brings its own clean road resume into Boulder, and both programs have players recognized on the MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, adding even more weight to a matchup already loaded with stakes. For Colorado, the challenge is as much about defending its home turf as it is about proving it can handle one of the Big 12s best in a game that should say plenty about where the Buffaloes stand. [Read more 🡒]