—
Colorado Basketball
—
May 8th
… CU in the Arena …
Mock NBA Draft has two Buffs going in the first round
From Sports Illustrated … The NBA draft is now less than two months away, with preparations in full swing. The 2024 draft is considered one of the weakest in the last two decades (particularly at the top) after plenty of young star power has come out of recent drafts. Despite that, teams are tasked with finding valuable pieces to help along rebuilds or extend contending windows, and the lack of top-tier choices has created plenty of uncertainty as we head toward the home stretch of the pre-draft process.
Here’s a look at Sports Illustrated’s Big Board, featuring the 25 best players in this year’s class.
8. Cody Williams, Colorado Buffaloes
It was an uneven lone season at Colorado for Williams, the brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams. Cody Williams dealt with multiple injuries throughout the season and vanished from games too easily, especially late in the season and in key March moments. His three-point shot is a bit of a question mark after looking hesitant to fire from deep at Colorado, though he does possess some serious potential with his length and playmaking ability.
20. Tristan da Silva, Colorado Buffaloes
While lacking some of the physical strength and physicality that NBA teams will want to see, da Silva’s elite shooting stroke and feel for the game makes him an intriguing mid- to late-first-round option. He’s a savvy player who makes good decisions and can operate effectively as a shooter, screener or ballhandler. I’d bet on him finding a way to impact the game at the next level.
–
—–
May 7th
… CU in the Arena …
Tad Boyle adds Danny Manning to coaching staff
Press release from CUBuffs.com … Former collegiate National Player of the Year, NCAA champion, NBA All-Star and long-time basketball coach Danny Manning has been named an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Colorado, head coach Tad Boyle announced on Tuesday.
Manning, who replaces Rick Ray on Boyle’s staff, joins the Buffaloes with 18 years of collegiate coaching experience on top of being one of the elite basketball players in the world for the last two decades of the 20th century. He will officially begin his duties on June 1.
“I’m very excited to join coach Boyle’s staff,” Manning said. “This staff has been together for quite some time and has had quite a bit of success, so I want to come in and be a sponge; learn from them, the things they’ve been doing to be successful and just try and add little nuggets that I can along the way in terms of my experience as a player and a coach.
“I’d like to thank (athletic director) Rick George and the administration for giving me this opportunity. I’m looking forward to being part of the Buffalo culture and can’t wait to get to Boulder.”
Most recently, Manning spent two seasons as the associate head coach at Louisville (2022-24). He has nine years of experience as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level with two seasons at Tulsa (2012-14), six at Wake Forest (2014-20) and a portion of the 2021-22 campaign as the interim head coach at Maryland, where he was initially an assistant before taking over for Mark Turgeon who stepped down mid-season.
His six-year run at Wake Forest was highlighted by an NCAA First Four appearance during his third season in 2016-17 as the Demon Deacons finished with a 19-14 record advancing to postseason play for the first time in seven seasons. Manning was the recipient of the 2017 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, presented to the nation’s top coach who had success on the court and showed moral integrity off of it.
He mentored 14 future professional basketball players at Wake Forest including All-American John Collins, selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. Manning saw 29 players accumulate 3.0 GPAs at Wake Forest with 16 making the Dean’s List.
“He’s going to help us on a lot of different levels,” Boyle said. “Danny brings the ability to connect with young people, being able to mentor them and let them know what they heed to do to get better but also what they need to do to achieve their ultimate goal, which is to be a professional basketball player, which a lot of our players aspire to be. His ability to recruit and connect with families is there as well.”
At Tulsa, Manning had a two-year record of 38-29, winning Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in 2013-14, as he guided the Golden Hurricane to a league championship and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. He was the finalist for the Jim Phelan Award, given to the nation’s top coach, and the Ben Jobe Award, for the nation’s top minority coach.
Manning began his coaching career at his alma mater, Kansas. He was part of Bill Self’s original staff in 2003 as the director of student-athlete development/team manager. He was elevated to an assistant coach in 2007, helping the Jayhawks to the 2008 NCAA championship. Manning remained in Lawrence through the 2011-12 season, helping Kansas to a spot in the 2012 Final Four and advancing to the championship game.
The first pick of the 1988 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Manning had a 15-year NBA career, playing for seven different teams. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Phoenix Suns in 1998. He averaged 14.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 51.1 percent from the field over 883 career games.
… Continue reading story here …
–
—–
April 29th
… CU in the Arena …
Tad Boyle adds three graduate transfers to 2024-25 roster
Press release from CUBuffs.com … Colorado, in reload mode after a record-setting season, added three graduate transfers to its 2024-25 men’s basketball roster with the signings of Trevor Baskin, Andrej Jakimovski and Elijah Malone, head coach Tad Boyle announced on Monday.
Baskin, a 6-foot, 9-inch forward from Arvada, Colo., averaged 18.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a senior at Colorado Mesa, earning Division II All-America honors from both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the D2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA). He led the Mavericks to a 29-5 record in 2023-24 as CMU won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA South Central Regional.
“The first thing you look at when you see (Trevor) play is his diverse skill set,” Boyle said. “For a guy that’s 6-9 with a long wingspan, he can really shoot the ball, put it on the floor and he can pass and rebound. He can do a little bit of everything.”
Baskin was the 2023-24 RMAC Player of the Year and a First Team Academic All-American, scheduled to graduate this spring from Colorado Mesa with his degree in Business Administration and Finance.
A three-time All-RMAC First Team selection, and two-time all-region pick, Baskin averaged 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and shot 56.6 percent over four seasons at Colorado Mesa. He ranks fifth in school history with 1,656 career points and is sixth in rebounds (767) and second in blocks (145).
“When you lose a Tristan da Silva, who’s 6-9, with a great diverse skill set, and you’re able to pick up a guy like Trevor, it makes you feel better about Tristan’s loss. Trevor’s going to be able to impact the game in a lot of different ways, and the thing I like about him is he can play multiple positions offensively and guard multiple positions defensively. Anyone who has followed Colorado basketball knows it’s something that we value.”
Jakimovski, a 6-8 forward from Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia, comes to Colorado with some familiarity with the program after four seasons at Washington State. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds as a senior, helping the Cougars to a 25-10 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Jakimovski started all 35 games for the Cougars in 2023-24, ranking second on the team in rebounding, 3-point field goals (67) and steals (21).
“We lost the majority of our 3-point shooting this year, and so to be able to sign a guy that is a proven 3-point shooter at the highest level of college basketball is something we needed to replace. The thing I love about Andrej is his toughness and his ability to rebound both offensively and defensively.
Jakimovski averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds over 120 career games at Washington State. He made 184 3-point field goals during his career, ranking ninth on the Cougars’ all-time list.
“I think our five-out system is really going to help Andrej expand his game offensively and show some other things he’s capable of doing, that he didn’t have a chance to at Washington State based on their personnel (primarily playing with two bigs). They had a heck of a team, finished second in the league, one spot ahead of the Buffaloes. I’ve got great respect for Andrej, and what he’s done in his career at Washington State and I think he can build on that has he comes to Colorado for a year.”
Malone, a 6-10 center from LaGrange, Ind., joins Colorado after a storied career at Grace College (Ind.). Malone was the recipient of the 2024 Bevo Francis Award, given to the nation’s best small college player, encompassing NCAA II, III, NAIA and junior colleges. He averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a senior, guiding Grace to a 34-2 record and the NAIA Fab Four (national semifinals).
“Elijah could have left Grace College after his sophomore or junior years and very easily gone to the Division I level,” Boyle said. “But the fact that he showed loyalty to his teammates and coaching staff that he signed with coming out of high school, that tells you everything you need to know about his character and kind of person he is. His value system and our value system are aligned very well.”
The 2023-24 NAIA Player of the Year, Malone shot 63 percent from the floor, 37 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the line. He was the Crossroads League Player of the Year and earned a spot on the NAIA All-Tournament Team.
“He wants to be able to prove himself at the highest level of college basketball and playing in the Big 12 is going to allow him the opportunity to do that,” Boyle said. “The way we play our style and the way he played at Grace College are very similar. So I feel really good about him in terms of what we lost and what we need for next year’s team. He fits the bill perfectly.”
A two-time All-American and three-time all-league pick, Malone averaged 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over 139 career games at Grace. He is the Lancers’ career leader in blocks (308) and field goal percentage (.653) and ranks ninth in both points (1,953) and rebounds (1,017).
“We all knew in terms of what we lost from last year’s team, we lost a lot of experience,” Boyle said. “To be able to replace them with these three that have experience and are battle tested and have size; that’s the big thing is we lost so much size on the perimeter and in the middle as well. With that, I think each one of these guys bring something a little bit different to the table and we’re excited about all three of them.”
–
—–
April 23rd
… CU in the Arena …
**Video: Men’s Basketball 2023-24 Full Season Recap**
From YouTube, courtesy of BuffsTV …
–
—–
April 12th
… CU in the Arena …
KJ Simpson officially declares for the NBA Draft
–
—–
2 Replies to “Colorado Basketball”
Evidently Simpson went nuts at the NBA combine so there might be 3 Buffs going in the first round.
For some reason they couldn’t get to the sweet 16….wonder why
SO HERE WE ARE TALKING MEN’S BASKETBALL AND I HAVEN’T SEEN A GOOD ASSESSMENT OF THE WOMEN’S ADDITIONS OR ANYTHING ABOUT THE RECRUITS.
I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE TALENT J.R. HAS PUT TOGETHER, SO I WANTED TO SEE IF YOUTUBE HAD ANYTHING ON THEM.
REST ASSURED, COACH J.R. HAS BROUGHT IN SOME HEIGHT WITH TALENT…AND AN ATHLETIC GUARD FROM ENGLAND.
CAN’T WAIT. RALPHIE WILL BE PROUD.