CUSportsNation recently had the chance to sit down with Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle for a summer Q+A session. In part one of two below, we discuss Boyle's gold medal-winning performance as head coach of USA Basketball's U18 team at the FIBA U18 Americas Tournament, as well as Colorado's start to summer workouts.
Boyle also discusses Jabari Walker's strengths as he headed into the NBA Draft in addition to the Buffs' 2022-23 new-look roster.
Part II will be published Tuesday afternoon.
CUSportsNation: Obviously, being involved with USA Basketball as a coach, let alone a head coach, as well as winning a gold medal — tremendous honors. But what challenges did you encounter in having to get to know a completely new group of players, organize them, make cuts and get a game plan going, alongside new assistant coaches?
Tad Boyle: “I wouldn’t say anything came as a surprise, but number one, it’s totally different being the head coach than being the assistant coach. I was an assistant for (Gonzaga head coach) Mark Few obviously with the Pan-Am Team in 2015. I was with (Kentucky's) John Calipari as a (Men's U19 World Cup Team ) assistant in 2017, so, being a head coach and being an assistant coach are totally different things.
It’s a little bit refreshing when you’re an assistant coach because you can go back to your roots in terms of you're scouting, you’re talking to players, you’re making sure everything is flowing well. You’re basically assisting the head coach — he’s making the decisions, you’re making suggestions and trying to help out. When you’re the head coach, you’ve got to make decisions, so it’s no different than being the head coach of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.
But, the challenge is going from 27 kids in camp to two-and-a-half to three days later, going to 17, then getting down to 12 and basically, having three or four practices to figure out what you have and then put a game plan together, put a little bit of stuff in.
The great thing about it is that USA Basketball has done this before, and so the people there: (men's national team director) Sean Ford, (assistant director) BJ Domingo, all the people from the managerial staff to the travel staff, they’ve done this.
They did this last year with an under-19 team that went over (to Latvia) and won the (Basketball World Cup) gold medal. They’ve done it for USA Basketball going back many, many years, so, little bit of a blueprint, but still, when you’re the head coach, you’re putting a stamp on it.
My personality is different than maybe their high school coaches or their AAU coaches, and certainly what their college coaches may be. So, it was a challenge, but talented — uber talented — young men came together very quickly. I was really proud of the team.
One of the things we asked them before we left (training camp in ) Houston to go to Tijuana was to leave their egos at home. You’re one of 12 guys, this is an unbelievable opportunity to number one, be invited to this camp, number two, to make the team, and number three, to have the opportunity to win a gold medal. In order to do that, we all have to sacrifice: minutes, shots — a lot of different things. But the name on the front of your jersey is at the forefront.
A lot of these kids, as they’re growing up, they’re looking at their rankings, how many stars they have by their name, they’re looking at how many scholarship offers they have — all these sorts of things that are individualistic. You’ve got to switch them quickly to the team mode. That was part of the idea when we picked the team.
Obviously, you want the most talented guys, but you also want guys that are team-oriented. I think we — me and the assistant coaches and USA Basketball and the committee, which helps narrow things down for us — really did a good job in terms of picking the right guys.
There’s some really talented guys that’ll probably be NBA Draft picks in the future that did not make this team. You know, I was part of a team that cut Fred VanVleet, so it just goes (to say), when you bring these good players in, you’re going to cut and send home good players. That’s just part of the deal.”
Q: You certainly had your hands full in Tijuana, but as you guys competed down there, the Buffs, of course, got started with summer workouts. What was the dynamic like in checking in with Mike Rohn, Rick Ray and Bill Grier in keeping a pulse on things in Boulder?
TB: "It went great. Number one, one of the reasons I could take advantage of these (USA Basketball) opportunities when they come is because I have such confidence in, and I feel like we have such a capable coaching staff, of carrying on when I'm not here for an extended period of time. Certainly, I was in communication with them.
One of the things I hated about this was that I wasn’t here for the first day that (true freshmen) Joe Hurlburt and R.J. Smith arrived on campus. You don’t want to miss that — they only get a chance to have their first day one time in a career, and I missed that. But, the staff does a great job in terms of welcoming them. I missed the whole first week of workouts, which was not a big deal from my standpoint.
They’re going to hear my voice plenty. They’ve heard it since I’ve been back. So, again, the staff did a great job. But I was in constant communication with them in terms of how things were going back here. That’s the great thing about being able to travel now. I’ve got the international plan on my cell phone, so I was able to check in.”
Q: Looking at your three new transfers (guards Ethan Wright, J’vonne Hadley and Jalen Gabbidon), when Jeriah Horne joined the fold here and it seemed like he meshed very quickly with the group of guys. It’s early, of course, but from your vantage point, how do you feel like those guys have settled in just in getting to know their teammates and getting a vibe of what you do here at Colorado?
TB: "Very well. The only feedback I get is from them and from the returning guys, but when I’ve had the chance to sit down and visit with them or the returning guys, it seems like they’re fitting in seamlessly. They’re all winners — they’re all coming from winning programs. They’re all guys that are team-first, they’re all guys that are excited to be here.
It’s not like they settled on Colorado, with their recruiting scenarios. And sometimes that’s the case, but with these three, they’re great kids, they’re very good players and it’s nice when you get a guy — this is J’vonne Hadley’s third college season. Ethan and Jalen are going into their fifth college seasons, so, these are not freshman players like Joe (Hurlburt) and R.J. (Smith) with their eyes wide open.
There’s still a learning curve and an adjustment period for them, and they’re going through that — the speed of the practices, the intensity in the weight room with (director of strength and conditioning) Steve Englehart. I told them, this is our offseason, but it Steve Englehart’s season. He is cranked up and going full force. When we are in our season, that’s Steve Englehart’s offseason. That’s where he maintains the guys and keeps them where they’re at. Right now, it’s go-time for him and for them.
They’re getting blitzed in that weight room four times a week. So, that’s been a little bit of shell chock for them, but they’re all competitive guys who knew what they were signing up for. Not a surprise, but still, there’s an adjustment period that everybody goes through, whether they’re coming from being a fifth-year senior or coming from high school.”
Q: Looking at what Javon and Ethan did in the past at their respective programs — both were pretty prolific rebounders — and to a lesser extent, J’Vonne rebounded regularly, too. Do you think they have it in their heads just how critical it’s going to be for them and the backcourt by association to be robustly rebounding?
TB: "I don’t know if they understand that yet. I mean, I’ve talked to them about it. We talked about it in the recruiting process, obviously, but until we get into the season and really start cranking, right now I just want them to get a feel for what we want to do offensively. After made baskets, what do we want to do offensively? After missed baskets, what do we want to do defensively? What do we want to do in the halfcourt? What’s our terminology?
Right now, we’re kind of taking baby steps for them. Summertime for me is the time for you to get better individually with your ball handling, your passing, your shooting, your body — and as much work in four hours a week that we can get in with them from a team standpoint, we’re going to do. But in terms of really picking apart their game and saying ‘this is what you need to do,’ it’s probably a little premature.”
Q: I certainly won't claim to be the first person to take a look at this 2022-23 roster and say it’s a bit smaller, in terms of size, than in prior years. What are your expectations and what are you excited about looking at this team? Is there any part of your mind that has maybe some cautious concern about being a smaller team?
TB: "The only thing I’m cautious about is maybe our thinness on the front line. So, as long as we stay healthy, we’ll be fine. We have enough size. But what I would say about this team is our skill level is much higher and our ability to shoot the ball from 1 to 15 is probably better than it’s been in quite some time. We’ve got some guys that can really shoot it.
Jalen Gabbidon is a lot better shooter with his feet set than I thought he was when we recruited him. We knew Ethan could shoot. J’vonne is a good shooter — not an elite or great shooter yet — but he’s got this summer to really work. He’s a workhorse. To me, I’ve always said, if it comes down to size and skill, I’m always going to choose skill, and we’ve got skilled players. Yeah, we may be a bit undersized, but it just means we’ve got to compete on the boards, box out a little bit better than we have.
But yeah, we lose Jabari, we lose Evan, and we add Joe Hurlburt. That’s kind of how I look at it. But that’s why staying healthy is so important. And Joe’s activation is important in terms of maybe what we would have needed from him if Jabari did come back. But we’ll be fine, as long as we stay healthy.”
Speaking of Jabari Walker, when's the last time you talked to him ahead of the NBA Draft?
TB: "I spoke to Jabari on Tuesday or Wednesday. I reached out to him and he (was) excited. A couple of his teammates were flying back (to Los Angeles) to be with him, which (was) cool.
We (were) hoping for him to go as high as he can, but more important than how high he goes, we want(ed) him to get with the right team, in the right situation. I learned it with Spencer (Dinwiddie), I learned it with Andre (Roberson) — Andre was picked by the right team for the right reasons and he stuck as a result of it. Spencer wasn’t drafted by the right team and kind of had to find his way. Everybody’s different in terms of their journey once they leave here. Jabari is going to be no different.
My hope for him is that he gets aligned with the right organization that values what he brings. We want him to do as well as he can for himself and his family, but more importantly, because we care about him.”
Q: Presumably, over the last several months, you had some conversations with NBA coaches and guys around the league wanting your take on Jabari in terms of what they can expect out of him. What were those conversations like?
TB: "The number one thing that I have to do in order to maintain my credibility is I have to be honest. And so, when I talk to NBA teams, it’s important that they know I’m going to be honest with them. I’m not going to sugarcoat things — I’m going to tell them what I feel and what I’ve seen.
The one thing about Jabari’s standpoint that I would say, the one stat that usually translates well from college basketball to NBA basketball is rebounding. Obviously, he led the Pac-12 in rebounding and really is an elite level defensive rebounder. That translates, so that’s a good thing.
Obviously, he didn’t shoot the ball well early this year but he really shot it well late. He shot it well his freshman year, so he is a capable shooter. I know that’s something NBA teams know: for every college player, as they transition to the NBA, it’s going to be a work in progress. But Jabari can stroke it. So, the fact that he can rebound and the fact that he can shoot it I think bodes well for him.
Now, it comes down to the other things: how hard he plays, what situation is he going into? Jabari is 19 years old, and the one thing I would say — and it’s not a negative, it’s just the fact — is that he’s still in the development stages of his career. He’s 19, not a 22 or 23-year-old grown man yet. He will be in time, but I think teams understand that.
NBA executives and scouts, they’re not dumb. They usually know what they’re getting. Not always, but that’s my job if they call me, is to be honest with them and upfront. I think there’s no doubt in my mind that Jabari will be an NBA player. The question is when and where?
Q: Switching back to your guys still here, what’s your level of anticipation for this junior class of yours? J’vonne Hadley, of course, is among that group, but more specifically, the guys with multiple years in this program now: Tristan da Silva, Luke O’Brien and Nique Clifford — do they look on track to continue shouldering a heavier workload as well as continuing to take developmental steps in the right direction?
TB: “Usually, you rely on your senior class. We’ve done that for many, many years here. Every Colorado basketball team, as I look backwards on it, I think of it in terms of who were the seniors? When was Josh Scott a senior? That was his team. Askia Booker, that was his team. Derrick White was a senior, that was his team.
Spencer (Dinwiddie) never made it to his senior year and Andre (Roberson) never made it to his senior year, but my point is — last year, Evan (Battey) was a senior and Eli (Parquet) was a senior — that was their team. The year before it was McKinley (Wright IV), D’Shawn (Schwartz), Dallas (Walton) and Jeriah (Horne).
This year, we have Ethan and Jalen, but they’re first-year guys. This is not going to be their team as seniors. So now, I look at that junior class. I look at Tristan, at Nique, at Luke, and even though they could technically still be considered sophomores with COVID, the fact is they’re the most veteran guys on our roster. We’re counting on them.
I think the big question mark with this team, as I look forward, is who are the leaders going to be when things get tough? When the shit hits the fan, so to speak. Who’s going to step up and be a leader and navigate us through those waters in the locker room? To me, it’s got to be guys like Tristan or Nique or Luke. Are they capable of doing that? I think they are. We’ll see. It’s easier said than done.
Evan did it, McKinley did it — those guys were terrific. So, this year is a little different in that regard. We’ve got a lot of new faces, as you mentioned.”
