Mailbag: Reviewing CU's roster, 2024 visitors and Buffs men's basketball
It’s a busy time in the world of Colorado athletics.
The men’s basketball season is in full swing, just past the halfway point of the regular season. The Buffs’ women’s basketball team is on a tear, with seven consecutive wins and a newly earned top-25 ranking. Oh, and there’s the man at the helm of the school’s football program and all the excitement he has generated in his first month on campus.
With that slew of subjects come just as many questions – so we’re here to answer them for you. We opened up the mailbag for some questions from subscribers, along with adding a few questions of our own. We’re hoping to make this something of a regular feature, so if you ever have a question you want answered in some depth, don’t hesitate to reach out.
What are the Buffs' greatest needs based on the current roster that the new staff will need to replenish through the transfer portal?
Craig: For all the work Deion Sanders and his staff have done to replenish a roster that was the worst among all Power Five schools last season from a pure talent standpoint, there are still some holes. It is, after all, a roster with 85 scholarship players. You can improve a team relatively quickly, especially with the one-time transfer rule, but you can’t build the comprehensive excellence and depth a team needs to be a true contender. So, naturally, there are going to be some question marks.
For me, I think the biggest need is at linebacker, which I came into the offseason believing to be the Buffs’ biggest positional uncertainty, based purely off what they were set to lose. Each of Colorado’s top five tacklers at the linebacker position is out of eligibility, a group headlined by Josh Chandler-Semedo, the team’s MVP last season.
The Buffs have potential replacements for those vacated spots. Jeremiah Brown is following Sanders from Jackson State, where he had 46 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. Vonta Bentley is coming over from Clemson, where he contributed to a stout Tigers defense, with 20 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. There are several linebackers from the 2023 class coming aboard, too, but it might be unrealistic to expect too much of them too soon.
Nicolette: In the past month and a half, Colorado’s roster experienced quite the overhaul as Sanders and his staff brought 16 high school recruits, over 20 transfers, a few commits from the 2024 class and some additional preferred walk-ons.
The wide receiver room is stacked with 15 players (including Travis Hunter), nine of which were added this offseason. I think CU’s secondary is really coming together with the seven commits (five of whom are transfers) and the return of experienced players like Nikko Reed and Trevor Woods. If CU ends up getting Cormani McClain, too, they’ll be a dangerous unit.
Colorado’s inside linebacker room could use another portal pickup. Clemson transfer LaVonta Bentley (No. 206 in the Rivals portal) has been the only portal pickup while Sanders added three high school recruits. The Buffs have Marvin Ham II and Isaac Hurtado coming back for their junior seasons, but neither of them saw much action in the 2022 season while Quinn Perry, Robert Barnes and Josh Chandler-Semedo stayed the starting linebackers.
CU’s tight ends room is in the most desperate need for a portal pickup. First-team All-Sun Belt selection Seydou Traore was a great acquisition, but they’ll need at least one more portal player to establish a well-rounded room. As of now, sophomores Caleb Fauria, Erik Olsen, Louis Passarello, Austin Smith and freshman Zach Courtney will return in the fall. Fauria was the next man up when Brady Russell was dealing with a brief ankle sprain. Fauria is more of a blocking presence, as he finished with three catches for 23 yards last season. Olsen was used in a similar capacity last season, putting up five catches for 21 yards. Both of them will have to grow leaps and bounds this offseason in order to stay even somewhat active in that rotation.
With all the transfers, and visits to come by HS and NCAA Portal recruits, does this mean we will be seeing kids on the roster from 2022 seeing the writing on the wall, and hitting the portal after spring practices are over?
Craig: You’re going to have to see some level of attrition because right now, the numbers don’t add up. As I write this, Colorado has 95 scholarship players on its roster, 10 more than the NCAA limit of 85.
As we’ve seen, Sanders isn’t shy when it comes to telling players that he feels like they’d be better off looking at playing options elsewhere and for those who didn’t leave shortly after his hiring, there will be more defections. In some cases, they realize they simply don’t fit with the new coaching staff. In other instances, they see the writing on the wall that they’re not going to receive the playing time or inhabit the kind of role they hoped.
Spring practice will go a long way in shaping those decisions, so we should have a much clearer picture of where the Buffs’ roster will go in a couple of months.
Nicolette: Maurice Bell and JT Shrout entered the portal just a few days after the team’s first meeting. In total, 14 Buffs entered the transfer portal, some before Sanders’ hire. It’s no secret that more will follow suit when Sanders and his staff take a thorough look at all of them in the spring. Only a handful of former Buffs likely secured their seats for 2023 and many of them won’t receive their desired playing time as Sanders’ transfer-heavy class is filling empty and occupied roles.
Which three commitments (HS or transfer) do you think will make an immediate impact in the fall and why?
Craig: The two immediately obvious ones are Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. There’s the unmistakable talent, but also the importance of their positions. The younger Sanders is a quarterback, which means he’ll have the ball in his hands on every offensive play, and Hunter, the No. 1 recruit nationally in the 2022 class, played both ways at Jackson State, something he could conceivably do in Boulder, even if he’s not an every-down offensive player.
For my third, I’ll go with Arkansas edge transfer Jordan Domineck. The Buffs’ pass rush was quite passive last season, to say the least, which already leaves an opening and with a player as talented as Domineck, it’s easy to envision him having an instant effect. Last season with the Razorbacks, Domineck was second on the team in tackles for loss (9.5) and sacks (7.5).
Nicolette: No doubt Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are going to be game changers for the Buffs this fall, but other than them, I’m looking forward to see Arkansas State transfer tight end Seydou Traore, Kentucky grad transfer running back Kavosiey Smoke and Arkansas transfer safety Myles Slusher.
A first-team All-Sun Belt selection, Traore is, so far, Colorado’s best option at the position. He recorded 50 catches, 655 yards receiving and four touchdowns this season. Traore is well-sized tight end, 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, and reliable pass catcher that’s able to distance himself against defensive backs and gain a few more yards after the catch. Here are his 2022 highlights.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. was Kentucky’s primary carrier through the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons, but Smoke, the five-year Kentucky vet, stayed active in those rotations. I'm interested to see how Smoke and Deion Smith match up during the spring. In 2022, Smith (CU’s primary back) averaged 4.73 yards on 83 carries while Smoke (Kentucky’s secondary back) averaged 4.71 yards on 58 carries. It’s also likely Dylan Edwards will have his share of handoffs. I could anticipate Smith versus Smoke for the No. 1 spot and Edwards versus Anthony Hankerson for the No. 2.
Sanders is plucking a lot of talent from the portal to build up CU’s secondary. So far, they have three new safety additions (one high school commit, two transfers). Slusher, coming in at No. 35 in Rivals portal rankings after spending the past three years at Arkansas, is qualified for a starting role.
Who are three upcoming visitors to watch going into this weekend and next weekend (Junior Day)?
Nicolette: Aaron Butler, a four-star 2024 athlete, backed off his commitment to USC to explore more options, and when the opportunity opened up, Sanders swooped in to show him around Boulder. The talented two-way receiver and cornerback prospect played more on the offensive side of the ball in his junior season finishing with 38 receptions for 830 yards, 13 touchdowns and averaged an impressive 21 yards per catch. USC is still in the cards for Butler, but his upcoming weekend visit to Boulder could make him reconsider.
Five-star WR Ryan Wingo, rated the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2024 class, has programs flooding his inbox with offers. Sitting high among 2024 wide receivers and the 2024 class as a whole (No. 6 nationally), Wingo’s playmaking abilities speak for themselves and 40-plus schools are looking to bring Wingo to their programs.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the CU men's basketball team?
Craig: Since early December, consistency hasn’t been quite as much of an issue as it was for the season’s first month. Excluding a New Year’s Eve loss at Cal, the Buffs have won the games they were favored to and lost the ones in which they were a decided underdog. Sure, taking the Cal game out of that assessment is a bit of a ‘Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?’ situation, but work with me here.
It has flown a little under the radar, but Colorado’s defense has been exceptional this season. The Buffs are 20th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, giving up just 93.2 points per 100 possessions. If they remain there, it would be the best finish in that category under Tad Boyle, who has overseen top-50 defenses in each of the past four seasons. KJ Simpson has been excellent this season, making a significant jump from his freshman season and playing at an all-Pac-12 level. He and Tristan da Silva form an excellent one-two punch. They’re a strong rebounding team both offensively and defensively, among the best in the conference in both areas. At full health, it’s a deep squad with a number of capable options to bring off the bench.
At 11-8, though, this is a group with its share of weaknesses, as well. Colorado is often too careless with the ball, turning it over on 20% of their possessions. At this point in the season, it’s a poor shooting team, making just 32.3% of its 3-pointers and 67.4% of its free throws, ranking it among the worst 100 Division I teams in each category. It’s also not getting nearly enough production from the five position. While he’s coming off the best game of his college career last week in a loss at USC, with 13 points and 14 rebounds, Lawson Lovering has left a lot to be desired offensively, with 3.8 points in 20.8 minutes per game. His contributions on defense – with 1.1 blocks and 4.6 rebounds per game – haven’t been quite enough to overcome his shortcomings on the other end. The Buffs will need more out of him if they want to finish the final two months of the season on a relative high note.
Nicolette: As the squad continues to grapple with their offensive consistency, the Buffs’ defense has been one of the more positive aspects of their game. Before the LA road trip, they put up two outstanding games against Oregon and Oregon State holding them to just a combined 83 points. On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Colorado is second in steals (eight steals per game) and work well off the boards ranking first in offensive rebounds (11.63 rpg) and fourth in defensive rebounds (27.37 rpg).
On offense, KJ Simpson (second in scoring in the Pac-12) and Tristan da Silva (ninth in scoring) are the usual separators between the wins and the losses. Colorado’s bench players such as Javon Ruffin and Julian Hammond III also keep Colorado in games with their 3-point shot. Not often, but they’ll have an occasional burst from 3. Their offensive production improved with Hammond posting a career-high 16 points against Oregon and Ruffin hitting double-digits against USC (12) and UCLA (11). Ruffin also has the team’s best 3-point percentage (38.8%).
The Buffs haven’t been unable to pack up some of the at-home magic (8-1) and take it on the road with them (1-5 away, 2-2 neutral). Their high turnover rate and their shooting are what continually bring them down. Colorado floats in the middle of the Pac-12 shooting 44.8% from the field and 32.3% from three.
Despite hitting 67.4% of their free throws this season, they had a miraculous game from the line against UCLA, hitting 87% of their attempts (20 of 23), but the entirety of that game displayed their mismanagement with the ball and the reliance on Simpson and da Silva’s offensive performance. Two common themes that have authored this season’s narrative. Similar to Craig, I was impressed with Lovering's double-double performance against USC, but cumulatively he’s lacking on offense, often fumbling the ball under the rim and not putting up adequate numbers in the front and backcourt to provide that boost at the five.