Colorado University Athletics
Monday, November 14
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
vs
Seattle
Wesley Gordon dunks down two of his seven points against Sacramento State.
Photo by: Tony Harman
Buffs Open Legend Classic Play By Hosting Seattle U Monday
November 13, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado hosts Seattle University in the first game of the 2016 Legends Classic on Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: Pac-12 Network (Mark Rogondino, Kevin O'Neill)
Radio: DenverSports 760 AM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Watch Online: Pac-12 Now
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Senior guard/forward Xavier Johnson needs just four points to become the 33rd Colorado player to reach 1,000 in his career.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado shot down Sacramento State 90-53 on Friday night at the Coors Events Center, opening the 2016-17 men's basketball season with an impressive display of long-range shooting and overall balance.
CU, which shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range last season, hit 13 of its 21 3-point attempts (61.9 percent) and finished opening night at 53.3 percent overall from the field (32-of-60).
Dominique Collier (12 points), Josh Fortune (11) and George King (10) reached double figures on a night when 10 of 12 players who suited up scored. All 10 players scored between six and 12 points and seven different Buffaloes hit a 3-pointer.
Collier, coming off the bench, hit four of his six 3-point attempts while 6-10 freshman Lucas Siewert made all three of his shots from beyond the arc. Freshman Deleon Brown scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Wesley Gordon had a game-high 12 rebounds, registering his 21st career game with double-digit boards.
Thomas Akyazili dished out a career-high six assists and had eight points with only one turnover. Tory Miller added nine points including his first career 3-point field goal.
Colorado returns nine letterwinners and five players with significant starting experience to a team that won 22 games a year ago and advanced to the program's 14th NCAA Tournament and fourth in five years.
LONG WAIT OVER: Two Colorado senior made their long-awaited appearance at the Coors Events Center in the season opener.
Xavier Johnson had six points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists, making his return after missing the 2015-16 season due to a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg.
Derrick White had nine points and four assists in is Colorado debut. He sat out last after transferring from UCCS. He was an NCAA Division II All-American for the Mountain Lions averaging 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals over his three-year UCCS career.
TICKETED FOR REDSHIRT: The Buffaloes are planning to redshirt two freshmen. Dallas Walton, a 7-0 forward and Alexander Strating a 6-7 forward. Walton earned All-Jefferson County Conference first team honors for Arvada (Colo.) West High School in 2015-16. Strating hails from the Netherlands and played for the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain last year. Those plans could change early in the season if needed, but not later.
Namon Wright, a 6-5 guard, will sit out the 2016-17 season after transferring from Missouri and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and made 79 3-pointers in 61 games with the Tigers.
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS: Seattle University opened the 2016-17 season with a 76-65 home win over Pacific Lutheran on Friday.
The Redhawks return nine letterwinners, and three starters from their 2015-16 team that finished 15-17 and in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference at 7-7.
Three of Seattle U's top four scorers from a year ago return led by senior guard Brendan Westendorf who averaged 12.8 points per game. Westendorf also led the Redhawks in assists at 4.3 per game and was second on the team with 54 3-pointers. Senior forward William Powell led Seattle U in rebounding at 6.8 per game while averaging 8.9 points per contest. Senior guard Manroop Clair led the Redhawks with 69 3-pointers while averaging 8.3 points an outing.
Seattle U was picked to finish fourth by the media, and fifth by the coaches in the annual WAC preseason polls. Westendorf was a preseason All-WAC First Team pick by both coaches and the media while Powell was a preseason Second Team honoree.
SERIES RECORDS: Colorado and Seattle U have met just twice, with the Redhawks coming out on top in both games. Seattle U took a 72-65 decision on March 23, 2015 in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. The other meeting was an 86-69 decision on Dec. 17, 1965.
Tad Boyle is 0-1 as a head coach against Seattle U. Cameron Dollar is 1-0 as a head coach against Colorado.
LEGENDS CLASSIC: Colorado will host ULM on Thursday in the second game of the "Boulder Regional" bracket of the 2016 Legends Classic. The Buffaloes will then head to play Notre Dame at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Monday, Nov. 21. Colorado will play either Texas or Northwestern the following day.
4-OF A KIND: Colorado sports an unusual occurence with four fifth-year seniors on its roster, each traveling a different path to get to this point.
Wesley Gordon has taken the most traditional five-year route. He took a redshirt season his true freshman year as Colorado was loaded in the front court led by Andre Roberson currently with Oklahoma City of the NBA. Gordon is among Colorado's all-time leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.
Xavier Johnson played his first three seasons (2012-15) before an Achilles injury derailed his 2015-16 season. Johnson has been a steady performer, averaging double-digits over his three years and looks to join the 1,000-point club as early as Friday.
Josh Fortune is the mid-career transfer. After two years at Providence College, helping the Friars to the 2014 Big East title, Fortune transferred to Colorado and sat out the 2014-15 season. He was a key contributor to Colorado's NCAA Tournament run as a junior ranking third on the team in scoring.
Derrick White will get his one-year shot in Boulder this year. White played his first three years at NCAA Division II UCCS, earning All-America honors. He practiced with the Buffaloes last year as a redshirt.
Additionally, the Buffaloes also have a fourth-year junior in George King, the reigning Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year.
BOYLE CLOSE TO WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: Tad Boyle
hovered right around the school's all-time winning percentage lead since the early portion of the 2015-16 season (minimum two seasons). Boyle, who has won 62.1 percent of his games at Colorado (131-80), is just behind CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox who won 62.3 percent in 13 seasons between 1936-50 (149-89). Boyle is 187-146 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.
FOR OPENERS: Colorado improved to 90-24 all-time in home openers and has won its last nine, making Boyle a perfect 7-0 in home openers. The Buffaloes have won 14 of their last 15. Colorado is 79-35 (.693) in all-time season openers. The Buffaloes are 5-2 under Boyle. The Buffaloes are 32-5 in overall season openers since the 1980-81 season.
HIGHLY RANKED TRIO HEADED TO BOULDER: What could be the best men's basketball signing class in the Tad Boyle era at the University of Colorado was made official Wednesday as Evan Battey, Tyler Bey and D'Shawn Schwartz inked their National Letters of Intent to join the Buffaloes for the 2017-18 season.
Rivals.com rates Colorado's class the 16th best in the nation while Scout.com has the Buffaloes at 18th. Scout considers all three signees four-star recruits. Schwartz and Bey are also four-star players according to Rivals.
Highly regarded as the top player in Colorado, Schwartz is a 6-6, 210-pound wing from Colorado Springs. He averaged 19.9 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior at Sand Creek High School, earning Class 4A All-State Second Team honors. Schwartz is a two-time All-Pikes Peak Athletic Conference First Team pick and back-to-back runner-up for that league's Player of the Year honor.
Bey, a 6-7, 205-pound small forward, is a Las Vegas native attending Middlebrooks Academy in Los Angeles. He's rated as the 27th best small forward in the nation by Scout and third in the state of California. Rivals rates him in their Top 150 as the 114th best overall player.
Battey, a 6-8, 275-pound forward, hails from the Los Angeles area and was an All-Orange County and All-Crestview League selection for Villa Park High School in 2015-16. He averaged 24 points a game for the Spartans and rated as the third best post player in the state of California. ESPN ranks him as California's ninth-best overall prospect.
BUFFS FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Colorado was picked to repeat its 2015-16 Pac-12 Conference finish as the Buffaloes were selected fifth in the annual media preseason poll.
Colorado earned 199 points, 10 shy of fourth place California. The Buffaloes were 10-8 in the 2016 final league standings.
Defending champion Oregon was picked to repeat its title with 320 points and collecting 23 of 27 first place votes. Arizona received the other four first place votes and were second with 298 points followed by UCLA in third (259).
After Colorado, Washington was sixth (167) followed by USC (163), Utah (142), Oregon State (122), Stanford (119), Arizona State (78) and Washington State (30).
2017 PARADISE JAM: While the 2016-17 season is just underway, a piece to the 2017-18 season is already in place. Colorado will be one of eight teams participating in the Paradise Jam, Nov. 17-20, 2017, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Buffaloes will play three games in four days against a field that includes Drake, Drexel, Houston, Liberty, Mercer, Quinnipiac, and Wake Forest.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: Pac-12 Network (Mark Rogondino, Kevin O'Neill)
Radio: DenverSports 760 AM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Watch Online: Pac-12 Now
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Senior guard/forward Xavier Johnson needs just four points to become the 33rd Colorado player to reach 1,000 in his career.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado shot down Sacramento State 90-53 on Friday night at the Coors Events Center, opening the 2016-17 men's basketball season with an impressive display of long-range shooting and overall balance.
CU, which shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range last season, hit 13 of its 21 3-point attempts (61.9 percent) and finished opening night at 53.3 percent overall from the field (32-of-60).
Dominique Collier (12 points), Josh Fortune (11) and George King (10) reached double figures on a night when 10 of 12 players who suited up scored. All 10 players scored between six and 12 points and seven different Buffaloes hit a 3-pointer.
Collier, coming off the bench, hit four of his six 3-point attempts while 6-10 freshman Lucas Siewert made all three of his shots from beyond the arc. Freshman Deleon Brown scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Wesley Gordon had a game-high 12 rebounds, registering his 21st career game with double-digit boards.
Thomas Akyazili dished out a career-high six assists and had eight points with only one turnover. Tory Miller added nine points including his first career 3-point field goal.
Colorado returns nine letterwinners and five players with significant starting experience to a team that won 22 games a year ago and advanced to the program's 14th NCAA Tournament and fourth in five years.
LONG WAIT OVER: Two Colorado senior made their long-awaited appearance at the Coors Events Center in the season opener.
Xavier Johnson had six points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists, making his return after missing the 2015-16 season due to a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg.
Derrick White had nine points and four assists in is Colorado debut. He sat out last after transferring from UCCS. He was an NCAA Division II All-American for the Mountain Lions averaging 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals over his three-year UCCS career.
TICKETED FOR REDSHIRT: The Buffaloes are planning to redshirt two freshmen. Dallas Walton, a 7-0 forward and Alexander Strating a 6-7 forward. Walton earned All-Jefferson County Conference first team honors for Arvada (Colo.) West High School in 2015-16. Strating hails from the Netherlands and played for the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain last year. Those plans could change early in the season if needed, but not later.
Namon Wright, a 6-5 guard, will sit out the 2016-17 season after transferring from Missouri and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and made 79 3-pointers in 61 games with the Tigers.
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS: Seattle University opened the 2016-17 season with a 76-65 home win over Pacific Lutheran on Friday.
The Redhawks return nine letterwinners, and three starters from their 2015-16 team that finished 15-17 and in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference at 7-7.
Three of Seattle U's top four scorers from a year ago return led by senior guard Brendan Westendorf who averaged 12.8 points per game. Westendorf also led the Redhawks in assists at 4.3 per game and was second on the team with 54 3-pointers. Senior forward William Powell led Seattle U in rebounding at 6.8 per game while averaging 8.9 points per contest. Senior guard Manroop Clair led the Redhawks with 69 3-pointers while averaging 8.3 points an outing.
Seattle U was picked to finish fourth by the media, and fifth by the coaches in the annual WAC preseason polls. Westendorf was a preseason All-WAC First Team pick by both coaches and the media while Powell was a preseason Second Team honoree.
SERIES RECORDS: Colorado and Seattle U have met just twice, with the Redhawks coming out on top in both games. Seattle U took a 72-65 decision on March 23, 2015 in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. The other meeting was an 86-69 decision on Dec. 17, 1965.
Tad Boyle is 0-1 as a head coach against Seattle U. Cameron Dollar is 1-0 as a head coach against Colorado.
LEGENDS CLASSIC: Colorado will host ULM on Thursday in the second game of the "Boulder Regional" bracket of the 2016 Legends Classic. The Buffaloes will then head to play Notre Dame at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Monday, Nov. 21. Colorado will play either Texas or Northwestern the following day.
4-OF A KIND: Colorado sports an unusual occurence with four fifth-year seniors on its roster, each traveling a different path to get to this point.
Wesley Gordon has taken the most traditional five-year route. He took a redshirt season his true freshman year as Colorado was loaded in the front court led by Andre Roberson currently with Oklahoma City of the NBA. Gordon is among Colorado's all-time leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.
Xavier Johnson played his first three seasons (2012-15) before an Achilles injury derailed his 2015-16 season. Johnson has been a steady performer, averaging double-digits over his three years and looks to join the 1,000-point club as early as Friday.
Josh Fortune is the mid-career transfer. After two years at Providence College, helping the Friars to the 2014 Big East title, Fortune transferred to Colorado and sat out the 2014-15 season. He was a key contributor to Colorado's NCAA Tournament run as a junior ranking third on the team in scoring.
Derrick White will get his one-year shot in Boulder this year. White played his first three years at NCAA Division II UCCS, earning All-America honors. He practiced with the Buffaloes last year as a redshirt.
Additionally, the Buffaloes also have a fourth-year junior in George King, the reigning Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year.
BOYLE CLOSE TO WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: Tad Boyle
hovered right around the school's all-time winning percentage lead since the early portion of the 2015-16 season (minimum two seasons). Boyle, who has won 62.1 percent of his games at Colorado (131-80), is just behind CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox who won 62.3 percent in 13 seasons between 1936-50 (149-89). Boyle is 187-146 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.
FOR OPENERS: Colorado improved to 90-24 all-time in home openers and has won its last nine, making Boyle a perfect 7-0 in home openers. The Buffaloes have won 14 of their last 15. Colorado is 79-35 (.693) in all-time season openers. The Buffaloes are 5-2 under Boyle. The Buffaloes are 32-5 in overall season openers since the 1980-81 season.
HIGHLY RANKED TRIO HEADED TO BOULDER: What could be the best men's basketball signing class in the Tad Boyle era at the University of Colorado was made official Wednesday as Evan Battey, Tyler Bey and D'Shawn Schwartz inked their National Letters of Intent to join the Buffaloes for the 2017-18 season.
Rivals.com rates Colorado's class the 16th best in the nation while Scout.com has the Buffaloes at 18th. Scout considers all three signees four-star recruits. Schwartz and Bey are also four-star players according to Rivals.
Highly regarded as the top player in Colorado, Schwartz is a 6-6, 210-pound wing from Colorado Springs. He averaged 19.9 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior at Sand Creek High School, earning Class 4A All-State Second Team honors. Schwartz is a two-time All-Pikes Peak Athletic Conference First Team pick and back-to-back runner-up for that league's Player of the Year honor.
Bey, a 6-7, 205-pound small forward, is a Las Vegas native attending Middlebrooks Academy in Los Angeles. He's rated as the 27th best small forward in the nation by Scout and third in the state of California. Rivals rates him in their Top 150 as the 114th best overall player.
Battey, a 6-8, 275-pound forward, hails from the Los Angeles area and was an All-Orange County and All-Crestview League selection for Villa Park High School in 2015-16. He averaged 24 points a game for the Spartans and rated as the third best post player in the state of California. ESPN ranks him as California's ninth-best overall prospect.
BUFFS FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Colorado was picked to repeat its 2015-16 Pac-12 Conference finish as the Buffaloes were selected fifth in the annual media preseason poll.
Colorado earned 199 points, 10 shy of fourth place California. The Buffaloes were 10-8 in the 2016 final league standings.
Defending champion Oregon was picked to repeat its title with 320 points and collecting 23 of 27 first place votes. Arizona received the other four first place votes and were second with 298 points followed by UCLA in third (259).
After Colorado, Washington was sixth (167) followed by USC (163), Utah (142), Oregon State (122), Stanford (119), Arizona State (78) and Washington State (30).
2017 PARADISE JAM: While the 2016-17 season is just underway, a piece to the 2017-18 season is already in place. Colorado will be one of eight teams participating in the Paradise Jam, Nov. 17-20, 2017, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Buffaloes will play three games in four days against a field that includes Drake, Drexel, Houston, Liberty, Mercer, Quinnipiac, and Wake Forest.
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