What you need to know about Colorado Basketball
BOULDER— The 2016-2017 men’s basketball season officially started today. After a disappointing ending last season in the NCAA tournament, the Buffs are looking to rebound this season and continue the pride and tradition of Colorado Basketball.
Coach Tad Boyle returns to Colorado for his seventh year coaching the Buffaloes. With the Buffs, Boyle is 130-80 and his ranked fourth in all-time in team history.
The Buffs are also returning 10 players from last season including Derrick White who is finally eligible to play after sitting out last season, after transferring from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where he shined. White tied the school career scoring average record with 22.0 points per game while averaging 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 steals and shooting 48.8 percent from the field during his three years. White is going to be a big factor for the Buffs this year, especially after they lost Josh Scott at the end of last season.
With Josh Scott graduating last year, the Buffs are down a big playmaker in the post. Last season, Scott lead the team in points and rebounds. This year without him guys like Wesley Gordon and Tory Miller are going to have step up in the post to get the Buffs points and rebounds.
Another big contributor for the Buffs this season is going to be Xavier Johnson who is back from an Achilles tear. Johnson gives the Buffs some size in the post but can also come out and shoot from the perimeter. Johnson has changed his number this year from #2 to #11.
Alongside, Johnson is going to be George King and Josh Fortune who both had good seasons last year but the team will need to see more production from this season in order for the Buffs to be successful especially in PAC 12 play.
Last season, junior point guard, Dominique Collier had his struggles with consistency. This season it will be interesting to see who gets starting role at point guard. Thomas Akyazili and Bryce Peters could give Collier a run for his money if he doesn't perform well to start the season.
Another thing to watch for this season are the two very talented incoming freshmen; Deleon Brown and Bryce Peters. Brown who averaged 18.8 points his senior year of high school is a good shooter and ball distributor. Peters averaged 22 points his senior season in California, he is an explosive point guard that can get to the rim and shoot beyond the arc.
The Buffs also have freshmen Dallas Walton from Arvada West High School, he is their tallest player this year on the roster at 7-foot-0. If he can stay healthy and prove that he can play at a Division I level, Walton will be big for the Buffs in the post if they were to utilize him.
The Buffs are going to be a good team this year but still have a lot of work to do before the first game on November 11th.
