Rick Ray serving as CU's point man on a number of 2022 targets
Colorado currently has one Class of 2022 commitment in North Dakota big man Joe Hurlburt, a four-star prospect. In the last month or so, a few new 2022 targets have emerged as blips on CU's radar.
A common theme in their recruitment by the Buffs is that assistant coach Rick Ray has been heavily involved from the start.
Ray, CU's newest assistant coach, joined the program in late July of 2020 following the departure of Anthony Coleman, who rejoined Bobby Hurley's staff at ASU after a year with the Buffs.
Previously, Ray had served as head coach of Southeast Missouri State and before that, helmed the Mississippi State basketball program from 2012-2015.
While associate head coach Mike Rohn serves as Colorado's recruiting coordinator, Ray has taken up a noticeably active role for the Buffs as they continue to scout and identify more 2022 targets.
Looking ahead to the start of the 2022-2023 season, both Evan Battey and Eli Parquet, CU's two seniors, will be gone and thus in their place will be two scholarships.
Hurlburt will take the final open scholarship for that season, providing there isn't a shake up of Colorado's roster before then, namely via transfers.
Currently, the Buffaloes seem to be honing in on three 2022 prospects: point guard Avery Brown, power forward Jasen Green and guard Chancellor White.
Brown, a Rivals150 (No. 130) prospect from Gill, Mass., recently conducted an official visit with CU.
Ray recently made his way up to New England to watch him play, where the two got to know each other a bit, culminating in Brown's decision to check out Colorado in-person.
“Coach Ray contacted me probably about three weeks ago and we have been building a strong relationship since then and getting to know each other well," Brown said.
By the end of his visit, the Buffs had formally offered the 6-foot-4, 180-pounder.
As for Green, an offer from Colorado has yet to happen, although he suspects that could be right around the corner.
The 6-foot-7, 205-pound Omaha, Nebr., native, has also been courted primarily by Ray thus far.
“He’s been the one recruiting me the most," Green recently told CUSportsNation. "I feel that we have a very good relationship. He’s a straightforward guy, he’s funny, he’ll crack jokes here and there; my favorite type of people are people that are straightforward and get to the point. I think that me and coach Ray have a really good relationship right now.”
In White's case, he is exactly a week removed from picking up an offer from CU, which, as in the aforementioned cases, came by Ray.
White, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound shooting guard from Richmond, Texas, also has offers from Houston, Louisiana Tech, Rice. Sam Houston State and others.
As Colorado continues to navigate its Class of 2022 recruiting, expect Ray to continue to play a significant role in the identification and courting of key prospects.