Relaxed, Confident Buffs Guard Collier Ready For Junior Season
September 28, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
Boyle's Buffs officially open practice Friday
BOULDER — When it comes to members of the Colorado men's basketball team, Dominique Collier is every Buff's best friend.
It's understandable. Collier is the likely starting point guard on a team that is loaded with scorers, a team overflowing with players who love to have the ball in their hands — and it is the point guard who directs traffic.
"I noticed that this summer," Collier said with a laugh. "They're all my best buddies."
But while Collier can joke about his teammates courting his favor, the Buffs' arsenal will be no laughing matter — at least not to opponents. Along with returning the Nos. 2 through 5 leading scorers from a year ago — George King, Josh Fortune, Collier and Wesley Gordon — the Buffs will also have the services of standout transfer Derrick White, as well as Xavier Johnson, a double-digit scorer two years ago who missed last year with an Achilles injury. Throw in a leaner, stronger Tory Miller, a more experienced Thomas Akyazili and some talented freshman, and expectations for the Buffs will be high.
"We could have a really good year," Collier allowed. "Being a point guard, you want to have a team like this with weapons on the wing, weapons down low — just weapons everywhere. It's going to be a lot of fun for me because it's fun to get the guys involved and see them have a good time — and getting them the ball will open up my game also."
Collier started 33 of Colorado's 34 games a year ago. He was fourth on the team in scoring (7.5 points per game), led the Buffs in assists (2.7 apg) and steals (1.1 spg), and was 15th in the Pac-12 in steals. He was also second in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage, hitting 40 of his 88 attempts (.444), and had seven games with five or more assists.
All in all, a solid season.
Now, however, he's aiming for more consistency. He spent the summer working out in Denver with a variety of former and current college and professional players, including Chauncey Billups and Jimmer Fredette, and believes that work will yield positive results.
"I worked on being more of a leader, communicating — even outside of basketball, just communicating more effectively," he said. "On the court, I worked on shooting, ball handling, making smarter decisions and the pick-and-roll offense."
But maybe the biggest step he took over the summer didn't involve the basketball court — at least not directly.
"My freshman and sophomore year, I was too worried about what everyone else thought," Collier said. "But sometime over the summer, it hit me — I don't have to worry about what anyone else thinks. I'm taking a different approach. The only people who matter are my coaches and teammates. I don't have to worry about others' expectations and what others think. I want to do what's best for the team as a point guard and I think I'll be able to do that this year."
One person who has urged Collier to adopt that attitude is Buffs head coach Tad Boyle.
"He told me to just eliminate all that outside stuff," Collier said. "It doesn't matter what other people think, it matters what happens on the left side of the (win-loss) column. I know I'm going to be a lot more relaxed. I'm going to go out there, play my game and not worry about the outside stuff. I'm going to focus on what's best for the team because really that's all that matters."
Collier's sophomore year no doubt had its ups and downs — as did the Buffs in general. Colorado finished fifth in the Pac-12 and collected road wins at Auburn and Colorado State, along with Pac-12 wins over Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Cal. But CU also allowed some late-game leads to melt away, including the season finale against Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.
Years ago, it would have been considered a highly successful season for the Buffs. But the fact that CU finished the season with an unfulfilled feeling is an indication of how far Boyle has brought the program.
What is quite clear is these Buffs want more. They've been to the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years, but the last three trips have ended after one game.
That's a streak they'd like to end.
"The sky's the limit for this team if we work as hard as we should," Collier said. "We can have a really good year because we're a talented team. But we want to progress on last year — not just make the (NCAA) tournament, but get past that first round and make a run.
The Buffs officially open practice Friday morning, with the Nov. 11 home season opener against Sacramento State a little more than a month away. After that, they'll play two more home games in the Legends Classic vs. Seattle (Nov. 14) and Louisiana-Monroe (Nov. 17).
That will be followed by trip to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the second round of the Legends, where they will see Notre Dame in the first game (Nov. 21) and either Texas or Northwestern in the finale one night later.
CU's nonconference schedule also includes home games with Colorado State and Xavier, along with road trips to BYU and Air Force.
The Buffs open the Pac-12 schedule in early January with a three-game road swing through Utah (Jan. 1), Arizona State (Jan. 5) and Arizona (Jan. 7). Their Pac-12 home opener is set for Jan. 12 vs. UCLA.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
