Less than a full day on the job in his capacity as a graduate manager for the Buffs, Chris Spears was thrown into the deep end.

It was October of 2020, and CU assistant coach Bill Grier handed him quite the tedious assignment.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, I want you to go through every single 3(-pointer) we gave up last year and document how (teams) got them,'” Spears recalled.

It took him a week, but Spears did as Grier asked, combing through all 32 of Colorado's games from the 2019-20 campaign, eventually presenting coaches with a detailed breakdown of the 201 3-pointers CU allowed on the year.

Ben Potts, who, like Spears, is in his second year as a graduate manager for CU, rolled up his sleeves in a similar fashion early on.

At the time, former CU director of player development Nate Tomlinson had asked Potts if there was a way to calculate lineup efficiencies for the various five-man squads the Buffaloes were utilizing on the court.

Potts was aware of the NBA having access to such advanced statistics, although certainly not for free.

Knowing CU did not have six figures-worth of spare change to thrown down on next-level analytical data, Potts, along with former video coordinator Andrew Cooper, decided to get creative.

"We read the book that these calculations were based off of (and) plugged in a bunch of functions into Excel, which took weeks," Potts said. "We were here until 2 a.m. every single night for at least three weeks, figuring this out. Eventually, we got this really great lineup efficiency sheet — a poor man’s lineup efficiency sheet — for the Colorado Buffs."

The aforementioned projects illustrate effectively the behind-the-scenes roles Potts and Spears have played with the Buffaloes for the past two seasons.

“They’re the guys that nobody sees or talks about," Tad Boyle said. "Those guys are instrumental. They do a lot of things in our office, from an analytics point of view (and) a statistics point of view."

A glimpse into the more day-to-day dealings of Potts and Spears further shines a light on their important role in helping the wheels of Colorado men's basketball spin.

For example, both have been involved in overseeing the shot tracker system that the Buffs utilize in practice.

All of CU's players have chips embedded in their shoes that connect with sensors in the basketball itself as well as around the CU Events Center.

Whether it's showing which players' shots are falling, and from where, vs. players who are struggling, stats complied with the shot tracking system go a long way.

"We stat every practice so I’ve got hard data to go to in making decisions in terms of who’s playing, who’s not and how much they’re playing — that information is critical," Boyle said. "Those guys collect it, they organize it and they give it to me.”

Depending on when CU practices (the Buffs practice in the morning during the fall and afternoons in the spring), Spears and Potts will find themselves handling a variety of tasks.

It could be compiling information on a recruit to be delivered to Boyle or his assistants, or assisting in the scouting of an upcoming opponent.

As practice nears, Potts and Spears will make sure that Colorado's players are all accounted for, ready to go through film study and take the court.

While they must walk a tightrope, so to speak, when it comes to keeping in line with NCAA Compliance rules that dictate permitted hours of contact between coaches (of which Potts and Spears are an extension) and players, they are allowed to help a given player get up shots in the gym, providing the player initiates contact with them.

Rebounding for players is a key way for Spears and Potts to make an on-the-court impact in accordance to NCAA rules and regulations.

“There’s so much stuff to get done in this program just to make sure it runs smoothly,” Potts said.

With respect to in-game responsibilities, this year Potts was in charge of handing Boyle his mini whiteboard used to draw up plays during quick timeouts as well as keeping track of player foul totals and substitutions.

A key task of Spears' was to track opposing teams' substitutions, something crucial to Boyle and Co. determining offensive and defensive strategy.

As of right now, Potts and Spears are close to completing the two-year graduate manager program with the Buffs.

Academically speaking, Spears is finishing his Master of Art in Higher Education while Potts is working towards a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership.

Spears, 30, played two years of basketball at Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif., before starting a teaching career, with an emphasis on physical education.

Potts, 24, is a native of Denver, who, after graduating from Denver East, originally came to CU aspiring to join the Buffs as a walk-on.

"I’ve got a lot of respect for the time that they’ve put in, the effort and their loyalty. I'll do whatever I can to help those guys as they progress through their careers,” Boyle said.

Preparing for what comes next in their respective coaching careers has offered an opportunity to reflect upon their time in Boulder as CU's graduate managers.

“I think the biggest thing that I got coming in here is perspective," Potts said. "You see basketball from a whole different realm, that’s one of the biggest things. But, I’m learning stuff about recruitment, I’m learning stuff about scouting that I didn't know before (and) just certain fundamentals of the game that I’m learning from a great staff on a daily basis.”

For Spears, whose journey to Colorado's graduate manager program started by getting in touch with nearly 200 universities inquiring about potential open positions, two years with the Buffs is starting to bear fruit.

“Already, even just reaching out, just the fact that I’m associated with CU and that I’ve worked this job — that experience is getting me way more connections...I wasn’t getting that two years ago when I emailed 180 schools,” he said.

Wherever their coaching careers take them next, Boyle plans on being an ally and advocate.

“They both want to be coaches and that’s what we’re going to help them do as they progress in their careers," Boyle said. "Chris and Ben have been instrumental in this two-year program."