New CU grad transfer guard Mason Faulkner: "I just want to win"

Last week saw the Buffaloes bring in some backcourt reinforcements in 6-foot-1 guard Mason Faulkner, who played the last two seasons at Western Carolina.

He began his collegiate career at Northern Kentucky, where he played the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons.

After sitting out the 2018-2019 season, per NCAA transfer rules, he hit the court with the Catamounts the next year, averaging a team-high 17.7 points per game.

That season, Faulkner scored in the double digits in 27 of his 31 games played, averaging an impressive 6.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in the process.

Western Carolina went 11-16 last season within the Southern Conference but despite a forgettable team performance, Faulkner was again impressive on an individual note, averaging 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

He managed a 46% make rate from the floor and also displayed an ability to stroke it from long range, shooting 36% from behind the arc for the year.

Faulkner's addition to the fold in general comes as an expected move by the Buffaloes, who had two scholarships available to use ahead of the 2021-2022 season.

What the Buffs do with that remaining scholarship remains to be seen, but the addition of Faulkner is a calculated move to help the team's chances at winning in 2021-2022, the first year CU will be without four-year starting point guard McKinley Wright IV.

Wright IV is undoubtedly among the most endearing players to have recently come through Colorado athletics in general, and already, it would seem he's working behind the scenes to ensure the program he departs has the best chance of success moving forward.

“McKinley was actually the first guy I talked to and he was great," Faulkner said. "He was telling me about the atmosphere, the fan base, the environments, (how) the coaching staff and the players want to win and work everyday — basically just the direction (of the program)."

In terms of how he'll fit into the equation in Boulder, Faulkner joins the Buffs having served as Western Carolina's point guard the past two years.

Of course, he will soon be teammates with redshirt freshman Keeshawn Barthelemy, who for the last two seasons has been viewed as Wright IV's heir apparent at point guard, having shadowed Wright IV since Barthelemy's his redshirt year in 2019-2020.

Barthelemy, who averaged 3.7 points and 11.4 minutes per game last year, showed signs of improvement playing behind Wright IV, but by adding Faulkner, it appears apparent that Boyle and Rohn thought the team needed some reinforcements in the form of a more experienced, older point guard.

Faulkner's preference for where he winds up playing is rooted in how CU's coaches feel he can be best utilized.

“I don’t really care, honestly," he said. "I just want to win. That’s another thing that coach Boyle and me talked about. I just want to win. Any position that they need me at, I can do, as far as the 1 or 2(-guard) — it really doesn’t matter.”

While Wright IV played his part nicely in helping recruit Faulkner to Boulder, assistant coach Rick Ray was the other driving force.Faulkner, who graduated from Caverna High School in Kentucky, Class of 2016, was recruited by Ray while the latter was head coach at Southeast Missouri State.

That prior relationship coupled with Wright IV's intervention proved to be two key aspects of why Faulkner chose Colorado out of 25-plus other programs who'd reached out to him when he entered the transfer portal.

'"I knew coach Ray and over the last few weeks the whole coaching staff, we’d just built a great relationship," Faulkner said. "I talked to McKinley, I talked to some of the players there and former players, and everything matched up."

"With the new guys they have coming in and the guys already there, I really felt like I was a missing piece of the puzzle, as far as what they’ve got going on and where they’re trying to get to.”

Faulkner sees in Colorado a program in which his individual and team-oriented goals can be realized.

He mentioned the platform that the Pac-12 provides to good players on good teams and also felt that his skill set will fit in nicely for what the Buffs are looking to get out of him as a rental player for one year.

“The style of play was honestly the biggest thing that this time around I really focused on," he said. "I feel like me and McKinley kind of have some of the same abilities as far as passing the ball, leading the team and getting the team where they need to be — bringing an intensity and having guys that want to play with me.”

Not lost on Faulkner was the danger of comparing himself to Wright IV in an apples to apples manner.

There are legitimate questions about how Faulkner's production this upcoming season in the Pac-12 will compare to what he put up in the Southern Conference.

But be all that as it may, Faulkner is excited about joining the Buffaloes this summer and likes what will be at his disposal in terms of his teammates as well as those who will coach him and oversee his continuing development.

“Obviously, I’m not McKinley Wright and this is not the team from last year, but I definitely think we can keep going in the right direction," Faulkner said. "I don’t like to put stuff in the air that hasn’t been proven yet, but we’re definitely going to get to work."