Since the Buffs have began organized practices in mid-October, Tad Boyle has been quick to point out the potential of his highly-regarded 2020 class and the true freshman it comprised of, who will need to be capable helping hands for Colorado this season.

While Boyle sees those guys turning into great players for CU down the line, how long will that take?

As hype-filled as the freshman class is, it is untested and behind the 8-ball with respect to Colorado losing a lot of time in the summer and early fall to get those young players acclimated to team activities, practice terminology and game preparation.

The way Boyle sees it, there can be no hiccups or slow start to the season by his upperclassmen.

"This team is only going to be as good as our veterans are," he said. "I think our freshmen are really talented, are going to help us at times this year, fill a lot of holes and be great players as their careers progress, but we’re not in a position where we can rely on those freshmen to help us win games."

"That may change as the season goes on and one of them, two of them or all four of them emerge. But right now, we’re only going to be as good as our veterans, especially early.”

Boyle has said this month that he balances frustration with wanting to see more consistency from his freshmen with the understanding that this offseason has truly been like no other and thus, his incoming players are still dealing with the disadvantage of not being able to do any full team activities until October.

But at the end of the day, he's determined to call it how it is.

"Part of my job as a coach is to be real with them and be honest," Boyle said. "I’m not here to blow smoke up their skirts — I’m here to let them know what’s real and what’s not real and I think the guys responded to that."

Freshman forward Jabari Walker can affirm that style of coaching.

"He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, he’s honest, he tells you what he expects and he expects big things from me," Walker said. "He tells me ‘don’t play outside of yourself but play into your strengths. We don’t play to our weaknesses.”

Boyle also noted that a collective area of improvement he'd like to see out of his freshmen is on the mental side of things.

Specifically, being tougher in the face of mess ups.

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Boyle was talking about 6-foot-9 freshman forward Tristan da Silva when he went on to say that all of his first-year players need to acquire a bit more patience with themselves.

"Because (da Silva) is smart and he doesn’t want to make mistakes, sometimes he gets down on himself. Jabari is a little bit the same way. Nique (Clifford) is a little bit the same way and Luke (O’Brien) is a little bit the same way — they’ve got to be able to play through mistakes and understand that they’re going to make mistakes. It’s OK. You’ve got to learn from them so you’re not making the same mistake twice."

When the Buffs hit the road for Manhattan, KS in about a month's time to face off against South Dakota State and Little Apple Classic host Kansas State, there will be much weight upon the team's vets to perform up to expectations.

Until then, the veterans need to do their part in helping Boyle plus his assistants get the greenhorns as ready as possible for the real deal.

“Right now, a lot of our new guys — and again, they’re new to the program, so they don’t understand what Colorado basketball is about yet — they’re learning, but their defensive mindset is nowhere near where it needs to be," Boyle said. "It’s incumbent upon me and our veteran, returning guys to let them know that and exhibit that in practice on a daily basis."

"It’s one thing for them to hear it from the coaching staff, coming out of my mouth or our assistant coaches’ mouths, but it’s a totally different thing when they hear it coming from McKinley (Wright IV) or Evan (Battey) or D’Shawn (Schwartz) or Dallas (Walton) or Maddox (Daniels), Eli (Parquet) — one of our veteran guys. They have to really have their voices heard."