This Saturday morning, Tad Boyle and the Colorado Buffaloes will get on a plan and fly for a brief stop in San Francisco before reentering the air and crossing the Pacific Ocean en route to Chine, where on Friday, Nov. 8 a non-conference matchup with Arizona State awaits.

2019 marks the fifth year in a row that the Pac-12 has sent a team to play in China, while this year is the first to feature two conference foes squaring off against one another, although again, Colorado vs. ASU on Nov. 8 will be a non-conference affair.

The game is an 8:30 p.m. MST tipoff next Friday from Shanghai and watchable on ESPN2.

Boyle has long said that a challenge he and his coaches face this season is figuring out a way to best utilize the "quality depth," as he likes to put it, that the Buffaloes have in returning the vast majority of talent from last year in addition to adding JUCO guard/forward Maddox Daniels.

Not exactly the worst problem to have, a surplus of capable guys. Boyle nonetheless must narrow down his options.

“It’s certainly going to be fluid, just because we do have a lot of depth," Boyle said. "I’m looking at probably 9-10 guys — it’s hard to play 11, so we’re getting closer."

One could probably deduce that list of 9-11 guys with relative ease: McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey, Evan Battey, Dallas Walton, Lucas Siewert, Shane Gatling, Maddox Daniels, Daylen Kountz, D'Shawn Schwartz, Eli Parquet and Alex Strating.

For Boyle, the starting lineup of Wright IV, Bey, Schwartz and Battey seems firm enough. Walton has turned in a solid preseason and has earned the praise of Boyle — he should be expected to be a minute-eater for Colorado if he stays healthy.

Probably the biggest question mark for Boyle here and now is who'll get the initial start at the 2-guard. Boyle said last week that he wanted to see "separation" among the likes of Daniels and Gatling in addition to Kountz and Parquet.

“Certain guys have different skill sets," Boyle said. "We know that Shane and Maddox are both capable shooters. We know Eli is probably the best perimeter defender of that group. So I don’t want Eli to pretend that he’s a three-point shooter — but if he’s open, his feet are set and he’s feeling good, I want him to shoot the ball. I (also) want Maddox, Shane and Daylen to try to defend like Eli defends."

"Try to play within yourself I think is the biggest thing with those guys. What are you going to do to help the team win? That’s what I want every player to think about.”

Daniels said Boyle has been clear about what that means.

“By this point, the coaches definitely have relayed to us what our jobs are and what we’re supposed to be doing as a team and individually," he said. "Everybody knows what they do best and what they need to work on. We kind of just fit together like puzzle pieces. We’re either going to make his decisions easy or hard. It’s on to us to do what we need to do, work hard and keep improving.”

Daniels shot 43% from long range last year at Florida SouthWestern State College, but he did echo Boyle's remarks about upping his game when the Buffs don't have the ball.

“For me, defense is going to be the most important thing," he said. "As far as my perimeter game, I feel really confident and consistent in that."

As the Buffs approach the ASuU showdown in Shanghai, Boyle said that he will be paying attention to how Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley approaches setting his eventual lineup.

"I just don’t know who Bobby’s going to put on the floor — who he puts on the floor might dictate who I put on the floor and vice versa," Boyle said."