Colorado's newest assistant coach Rick Ray was hired by Tad Boyle on June 26, following the departure of Anthony Coleman, who after one season with the Buffs in 2019-2020, returned to Bobby Hurley and Arizona State, with whom he'd been an assistant directly prior to coming to CU.

Ray, 50, whose coaching career includes tenures as the head man at Mississippi State (2012-2015) and Southeast Missouri State (2015-2020), also enjoyed notable periods at Purdue and Clemson as an assistant.

He earned his chops at Indiana State from 1997-2004, during which time he became acquainted with Boyle, who then was a fellow assistant coach in the Missouri Valley Conference over at Wichita State.

Their mutual knowledge of each other helped grease the wheels when Boyle hit the market to find Coleman's replacement. For Ray, he didn't need much convincing from Boyle, or anyone for that matter, that the gig in Boulder was the right move for him.

“I think what happens in these situations is that people get so caught up in the job — where it’s at, where it’s located, career-based — that to me pales in comparison to the person you’re working for," Ray said. "I’ve just got the utmost respect for coach Boyle. I’ve known him a long time and he just reminds me of the guys I’ve worked for in the past, guys like (Purdue’s) Matt Painter and (Clemson’s) Brad Brownell, who are really about doing things the right way and operating with integrity. I knew that Tad would really be someone that I wanted to work for and that I would relish that opportunity.”

As he's settled into his roles, Ray has quickly been able to get familiar with his fellow assistants, Bill Grier and Mike Rohn, whose collective style he's found attractive and welcoming.

“It’s been easy because they’re great people," Ray said. "They’re not just great coaches but they’re great people — that’s what makes them great coaches. Those guys don’t have egos, even though coach Grier has been a head coach and Mike has been here for the whole entire time (of Boyle's tenure) and deserves a lot of praise for the success Colorado has had — those guys don’t have an ego."

"Coming in, I think a lot of times when you have bad synergy with your assistant coaches and you staff, it’s because guys have egos and want credit for getting this recruit and saying ‘this is my recruit or this is my guy.’ Neither coach Grier or coach Rohn are like that.”

The Buffs have steadily gotten back in the gym for summer workouts and conditioning but thus far have not began full practices or scrimmages yet.

While Ray, as a result, hasn't seen the team participate in game simulations, CU's roster — with key returning seniors D'Shawn Schwartz and (reportedly) McKinley Wright IV, Tulsa grad transfer Jeriah Horne, tested juniors Evan Battey and Eli Parquet, plus rest of the highly-anticipated Class of 2020 that'll factor in this season — largely speaks for itself in terms of what Ray can expect.

"On the court, we just haven’t had a lot of 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competitive things because obviously, we want to be careful," he said. But you can tell the work ethic of our players and also the skill level of our players. Those are the things that stick out in the workouts that we’re doing thus far.”

“The first thing that really jumps out to you is the quality of character of the guys we have on the team. I’ve just been really impressed with how those guys go about their business and the type of the men they are. They represent Colorado in the best way."

On top of that, Ray has been impressed with how the team has collectively kept each other honest with respect to COVID concerns and avoiding environments that could potentially compromise their practices and in a worst case scenario, the upcoming season.

"...Our guys deserve a ton of credit — there’s so many temptations out there right now with the pandemic and for us to be so far into what we’re doing and to have zero cases, zero positive test results — that means that those guys are really taking it upon themselves to make sure they’re putting themselves in the right environments and doing the right things for us to continue to be able to play basketball," Ray said. "They know if they test positive, then it not only affects that one person, but it affects the whole team. I think those guys should be commended on how they’ve gone about their business off the court."

Having served as an assistant in the Big Ten and ACC while learning the head coaching ropes first in the SEC, Ray undoubtedly brings a unique blend of coaching experience to Colorado.

Interestingly, he noted that being a head coach has given him a perspective on what it means to be an effective assistant.

“I think the No. 1 thing that I learned is what it really takes to be a good assistant," he said. "...I just think now, (having) been in that head coaching chair, more than anything, I know what it takes to try to please that head coach. Our No. 1 job as assistant coaches is to continue to take things off the plate so coach Boyle can do his job."

"The second thing is obviously being able to know the pulse of our team. The relationship piece is really important and we’ve got to make sure we have outstanding relationships with our players and people around them so that there are no surprises.”

As he looks to continue to get familiarized with the Buffs' roster and as practices intensify, Ray likes the blueprint and muscle memory Colorado has heading into the 2020-2021 season.

“This may sound too simple, but it’s the history," he said. "When you have a guy like coach Boyle who’s won at a high level here already, and then you talk about all the young men that are coming back to this program that have been winners, that gives you a great chance to continue that success. These guys know what they have to do in order to be successful on the basketball court."

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“First thing I want to point out is the outstanding job that coach Boyle and the current staff have already done. Obviously, I can’t talk about specific recruits at this point in time until they sign an NLI but I think we all know what coach Grier and coach Rohn have done so far. For me, it’s all about relationships. I don’t get into this regional recruiting.

If you’re a good recruiter, you can recruit the south, you can recruit the west, you can recruit up north — it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re working to build those relationships, not just with the young men, but with the people around them, then you always have a good chance to be a good recruiter.In all relationships, the most important thing is: can they trust you? If (recruits) can’t trust you, then you can’t build legitimate relationships.

I think that’s what coach Boyle has already done. Any time a young man comes into the program, he tells them the truth — I don’t think that happens a lot in recruiting. We tell these kids everything that they want to hear, I just want to tell them the truth. To me, I want to make sure that I’m building relationships, I’m being truthful and I think if you’re a good recruiter, you can drop yourself in any situation and you’ll be fine.”

“I would say this: the important recruits you have are the guys already on campus. If those guys don’t trust you, then what’s going to happen when they get a recruit on campus for 48n hours on a visit? You can’t hide players from talking to a recruit. To me, that’s the most important recruit — the guys we already currently have on the team.

The No. 1 thing I want those guys to know is that I’m a servant to them. I got in this business to help young men, so I want to be able to help them both on and off the court. To be able to help them on the court, you’ve got to be able to give them an honest assessment on what they need to do and what they need to get better at, but also, saying ‘hey, I have the necessary skill set to get you better on the court.’

Off the court, it’s just about being there for them. What can we do to help you in your current situation? I think if we’re not helping guys off the court, we’re failing them.”

“We all know in this day and age with college athletics, especially in basketball and football, that stability is something that’s rare. Also, stability has to be reciprocated. It’s not only a university wanting that head coach, but also that head coach wanting (a school) to be their ultimate destination.

I think coach Boyle is very genuine in that this is his dream job. Sometimes that gets droned out in interviews as coach-speak and so people don’t believe it, but if you know anything about coach Boyle, it’s really believable."