At long last, the Colorado men’s basketball team is taking advantage of what head coach Tad Boyle describes as the game’s new normal.
And no, he wasn’t talking about the coronavirus-forced shutdown of athletics at all levels across the country.
Recently, the 10-year leader of the Buffs’ program spoke with BuffZone.com about how much recruiting has changed during his decade in Boulder — specifically the spring recruiting landscape, which has grown equally important, if not more so, than scouring talent on the summer club circuit.
This week, the Buffs landed commitments from 2020 freshman Jabari Walker, a four-star forward from Arizona, and forward Jeriah Horne, a graduate transfer from Tulsa. It is the first time Boyle has dipped into the graduate transfer pool, and both new acquisitions — the duo, along with a possible third prospect, are expected to sign letters of intent when the spring signing period begins Wednesday — fill roster spots that weren’t available when the season ended about a month ago.
After going 21-11 with a core group of players that had been building momentum for years, the Buffs now are adding reinforcements on the fly with an eye on maintaining that momentum next season.
“When I say college basketball is different now than it was five to 10 years ago, what I’m talking about is the transfer situation,” Boyle said. “It used to be, and I talk about this a lot, as a college basketball coach you were trying to build a program, and you were looking two or three or even four years out and planning. And that, in many respects, has gone out the window. You’re building a team from year to year.
“Early entrants into the NBA or professional basketball has affected that. The graduate transfers have affected that. The four-year transfers have affected that. The immediate eligibility (for transfers), I think that is probably coming down the pipe, will really change that. It’s just the free agency world that college coaches live in now, and have to understand that it’s the new normal.”
Of course, this spring’s recruiting cycle has been altered by the NCAA’s moratorium on recruiting traveling, which last week was extended through the end of May. If those restrictions remain in place into the summer, the travel limitations could have a bigger impact on compiling the 2021 recruiting class than it did during the 2020 spring cycle.
Assuming point guard McKinley Wright IV returns to for his senior season, and that 7-footer Dallas Walton is successful in his expected petition for a sixth season of eligibility for the 2021-22 season, the Buffs will have five scholarships available for 2021 from the roster spots currently held by Wright, Horne, D’Shawn Schwartz, Maddox Daniels, and Alex Strating. CU already has one verbal commitment for 2021 in Wyoming 7-footer Lawson Lovering.
“I think the one thing that it has really affected is travel,” said associate head coach Mike Rohn, CU’s recruiting coordinator. “You’re trying to communicate more on the phone or on these virtual phone conversations. Coach (Bill) Grier has put together some really good power points for us. We can get a lot of people on the same phone call and see some faces anyway, and still show them some things on campus and talk them through things. That’s the biggest difference. You can’t get them on campus to show them around. It’s probably tougher for the kids and families because they can’t get them on campus and show them what things are like.”
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April 12, 2020 at 07:29AM
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Spring recruiting cycle a busy one this year for CU Buffs basketball - The Know
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