Men's Basketball Media Day Quotes
October 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Tad Boyle
On Former Buffs Starting NBA Season Tonight
"Before I start on this year's team, I want to give a shout out to our four NBA guys who embark on a new season: Alec Burks, Spencer Dinwiddie, Andre Roberson, and Derrick White. We're extremely proud of those guys. We're happy for them. One of the most gratifying things as a coach is when you see your players have success five, 10, 15 years down the road. Obviously those guys are in the NBA which is great, but we've had 19 players matriculate through our program in the seven years we've been here, and all 19 have gotten their degrees. They're not all playing in the NBA, they're not all playing overseas. We've got Trey Eckloff who is an attorney in Denver, Levi Knutson is in the financial business in Denver, Ben Mills is working for a software company."Â
On Changes to Coaching Staff …
"Much like our players, our staff has changed over the past few years. We've had tremendous stability since we've been here. Bill Cartun his seventh year as our director of (basketball operations), Sean Kearney is starting his fifth year. We lost Rodney Billups two years ago to the University of Denver, he's a really good coach who did a lot of great things for us here. Obviously Jean Prioleau recently moved on to San Jose State and got his first head coaching opportunity. Mike Rohn is a guy that has been here since day one, along with Coach Cartun and myself and I'm giving him the title of Associate Head Coach. I shouldn't say I'm giving it, he's earned that title. He's a guy that's going to be a tremendous head coach. Much like our players, we want (our assistants) to move on and have success. Mike Rohn has everything it takes to be a great head coach. Coach (Bill) Grier, who replaced Coach Billups on our staff, has been a head coach for eight years. Coach (Kim) English, who just replaced Coach Prioleau, is a guy whose got a tremendous future ahead of him. I've never felt as comfortable and as confident in our staff as I do today. Congratulations to Coach Rohn, we're excited for him and hopefully he will get his chance to be a head coach in the not too distant future."
On This Season's Team …
"Obviously it's a whole new outfit than what we've had in years past, or even last year. We're not going to talk about last year a lot, but hopefully we've learned some things from last year as players in the program, and certainly as coaches. We've got eight freshman in this class. Namon Wright sat out last year, he's coming off his redshirt year. It's a whole new look but I love this team. I love coaching this team every day, I love their spirit, I love their competitiveness, I love their effort, and our goal this year is no different than in years past: we want to compete for a Pac-12 championship, qualify for the NCAA tournament, and to be playing our best basketball in the month of March."
On George King and Senior Class Not Accepting a Rebuilding Season …
"I'm glad George said that. We were talking about that yesterday as a matter of fact. We're not into rebuilding, we have a lot of new faces, a lot of young faces, but our internal expectations are no different. The four seniors we have on this years team, George King, Dom Collier, Tory Miller, and Josh Repine, they're not into rebuilding. This is their last year, so we owe it to them to have as good a year as we can have. Hopefully we can get to the NCAA Tournament and advance."
On Challenge in Coaching a Team With Eight Freshmen …
"The challenge for me in practice has been finding the balance between letting these guys play through their mistakes and stopping practice and correcting them. I feel like I could blow the whistle every time down the floor, but I know November 10th is coming quick and you can't do that during the games. The film room is an area where this team really has to grow and take the mistakes they make, see them on film, and come out the next day and not make the same mistakes. It's finding that balance as a coach, when do I stop and correct them and teach. You don't want to do too much of that and lose the flow off practice. It's a young group and we're still in the process of trying to develop habits, and that takes some time."
On Italy Trip …
"The Italy trip was not just plucked out of thin air. We knew that this year's team needed it, we redshirted Dallas Walton and Alex Strating last year, Namon (Wright) was sitting out after transferring from Missouri. We knew we were going to lose a lot of experience and firepower last year so the Italy trip was critical. It was practice number 12 today, but really it was practice number 22 because we had 10 this summer. It was good for us, we learned a lot. It was a great experience but it's in the rearview mirror, it's onward and upward from here."
On the Starting Lineup …
"I don't know for sure. The nice thing about this year's team is that it's not about the starting lineup because we're going to have quality depth. The key with this year's team is whose going to finish games. The nice thing about this team as a coach is, we'll have the chance to play big with certain lineups, we've got the chance to play small with certain lineups. I don't know the starting lineup as of today, that's something I'm kind of evaluating on a day-to-day basis. I don't put a lot of stock into the starting lineup, I'm more concerned with whose finishing the game in one-point game with a minute to go. I have to put five guys out there that I trust to do the things we expect them to and who can get it done."
On Team Responding to More Available Playing Time…
"I hope so. The one message I've given this team is that there isn't a starting lineup. Nobody in here should feel comfortable. What you did last year has no bearing on this year, whether you're a senior or a freshman, it doesn't matter. I want our players to feel like there is playing time to be earned. There's no entitlement, you have to come to work every day and battle."
On Senior Forward Tory Miller…
"Tory is doing a very good job. The biggest thing I've talked about with Tory is accepting who he is and not trying to be somebody he's not. I think he's starting to understand that. He's rebounding the ball better than he's ever rebounded the ball. The scrimmages we've had, the stats we keep in practice, he's been our best offensive rebounder – something we've challenged him to do. He's finishing around the basket, his body is good, he looks good, he feels good. Hopefully this can be a breakout year for not only Tory, but also Dom (Collier) as well. But Tory has really rebounded the ball well."
On Battle For Playing Time Creating More Intensity…
"When you have so many freshmen they realize there are literally spots to be earned, where as in years past (that wasn't the case.) Last year we had two freshman in Del (Brown) and Lucas (Siewert), and obviously we had a few players who aren't back, but we had a lot more veterans. Sometimes just the feeling with seniors, it's a 'their turn' type of thing, I don't want that. I want our seniors to be pushed by our freshman, I want them looking over their shoulders. That means we're recruiting well and there has to be an edge to us at Colorado. There should be an edge to us this year. At Pac-12 Media Day last week, they picked us ninth. If our guys don't have an edge after that, I don't know what will create that. We have to have an edge that we didn't have last year. (That edge) has kind of come and gone, but we have to play with it every single year, and every single game, every single day."
On Expectations for Freshmen …
"A guy that's certainly stood out head and shoulders above the rest is McKinley Wright. Physically, mentally, emotionally, he has really stepped up for a freshman. Some other guys come and they go. D'Shawn Schwartz has had some great moments. Tyler Bey has great moments. Evan Battey has great moments. McKinley has been the kind of day in, day out guy in terms of the freshman class so far. Dallas Walton has had some really good moments. Alex Strating continues to improve and get better. The freshman class is going to be up, it's going to be down, that's the nature of freshman, but hopefully they can reach a maturity and consistency as the season unfolds."
On Adding McKinley Wright Late in Recruiting Period …
"When we had our year end meetings and it was clear that Bryce Peters wasn't going to come back and that Thomas Akyazili was going to go back to Belgium, that was two guards that left the program. We went from not needing a guard to needing one, and needing one that could come in and play right away. Recruiting a lot of times is based on need, you always want good players, but we really needed a point guard and when he opened up his recruitment, our staff did a great job of identifying him. We jumped on him quickly and got to Minneapolis, we met with him and his family, we had him here for a visit. It was a pretty quick recruiting process, but I can't tell you how fortunate we are to have him here and I think if you asked McKinley, he feels very fortunate to be at a place like the University of Colorado."
On Potential Redshirts …
"We'll redshirt at least one, maybe more, we'll see. I'll have an announcement on that later this week or early next week."
On Addition of Coach Kim English …
"The nice thing about having Coach English on staff is that he's young enough and in shape enough where he could jump in there and demonstrate. He can move a little. He can't necessarily practice with us but he has a feel for the game. Obviously, he just stopped playing the game (competitively) not too long ago, he's young, he brings a lot to our staff. I think so much is made of (specialized) coaches now, but they're not different than players and we want our coaches to be well-rounded. They're not just recruiters or just offensive guys or just defensive guys, they have to be able to do a little bit off everything. Coach English is a young coach whose growing, but he has a chance to be really special and he's been a good addition."
On Senior George King …
"What we need from George is leadership and consistency. He has to be that consistent, stable guy, who knows he's been there, knows he's done that. He has to give those freshmen that rock that they can look to, especially when things get tough. George is a very composed player which will help him in that regard, but he can't be thinking about just George King, and I think that's the leap a lot of players have to make going from underclassman to upperclassman. To get into that leadership role, he has to get out of himself. (He has to) get over himself, get out of himself, and see the big picture with this team – to set the example, but now hold his teammates accountable to that example."
Colorado Players
Namon Wright, Jr. G
On what he has been able to improve on since transferring to Colorado
"I have just been toning my game, trying to work on everything, and staying focused on both ends of the floor."
On what he can bring to the team this season
"Hopefully I can be a good catch-and-shooter, a good driver, solid defender, a great rebounder, and a great teammate."
On what position suits him best
"I look at myself as a big guard. As far as rotations, that is the coaches' responsibility. Wherever I am at on the floor, even if it is the 10th man, I will go in and play as hard as I can for my team."
On if rebounding is a point of emphasis for him on this team
"Yes, I think coach [Tad] Boyle and the staff are really big on rebounding. I think at Missouri, I rebounded above the rim – less technique and more athleticism."
Dominique Collier, Sr., G
On whether or not coach Tad Boyle's coaching style has changed with this being considered a year to rebuild.
"He has been teaching a lot more obviously because we have seven new guys. We have done a lot more scrimmaging than we have done in the past to be able to get up and down the court and to get the chemistry right for everybody. He has taken this as if it was year one for him and just coming in with a new attitude."
On playing with so many new faces this year
"It has been energizing because they have so much energy. Coming out every day, we have to be ready to play because we know they are going to bring it. We need that. They are a good group of seven guys. They come out and compete and that is what we need."
On what it will take to win games this year
"We have to just come out and play hard on defense. We have to use our strengths on offense which is getting out and running because we have a lot of good athletes with George [King], Tyler [Bey], Mckinley [Wright IV], D'Shawn [Schwartz], Namon [Wright], and Deleon [Brown]. We just have to be cautious of what our strengths are and what are weaknesses are. Then we have to turn our weaknesses into strengths as the season goes on."
George King, Sr. G
On the biggest difference of this team from a year ago
"Obviously, we are really young. Our energy, because we have so many young guys, they come with a lot of energy. But we also have a great mixture of veterans that are molding those young guys. I think that is the biggest difference."
On people outside of the program calling this a rebuilding year
"I am not willing to call this a rebuilding year, But we can't control that. Others can think what they want. We know as a team what we are capable of. We know we will be slept on this year. We will use that to our advantage. We have the type of guys that will take being written off to their advantage with that chip on their shoulder. I am excited."
On what to take away from the team's trip to Italy
"I noticed that athleticism helps but if you know how to play the game, you are smart, and move the ball offensively, you can win games. Then if you have athleticism on top of that, it helps that much more. That is what we are trying to learn now. We have the athleticism, we have the length, and we have the talent. We are now trying to be professionals. Obviously we are collegiate players but why not strive to be a professional offensively and defensively. That Italy trip couldn't have come at a better time. We have nine guys who have never put on a uniform for the University of Colorado. I think that Italy trip really helped us gain a good ten days of practice and four games. It really gave us a boost"
On what he has seen from the play of Evan Battey
"Evan is a physical presence in general. Down low in the post, he is a problem – and I mean that in a good way. He is also a very high IQ basketball player. He is a guy who watches a lot of film, talks to me about the game, and points things out that I may not notice. Evan has pulled me to the side and said, 'Hey GK, this is actually the better play. Look at this next time.' I take all help as good help. I do not care if it is from a freshman, high school guy, or a 60-year-old dude. When you are right, you are right. Evan is one of those guys."
On if this year has been more intense with a lot of guys fighting for playing time
"It has been intense because no one knows what the lineup is going to be. No one really has a spot – including myself. That raises the competition in practice a lot more. Everyone has the opportunity to start and to show themselves. Because of that, it raises the competition in practice.Â
