Woelk: So Far, Boyle's Buffs Displaying Great Chemistry
November 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
"It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit." — Legendary coach John Wooden
BOULDER — Anyone who watched Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes over the weekend knows exactly what John Wooden was talking about.
The Buffs wanted to win. Everything else was secondary. The result was three wins in three days and a Paradise Jam championship that saw a half-dozen Buffs — at least — deliver critical contributions in crucial moments.
"This is a together group," Boyle said after Sunday night's 79-70 win over Mercer in the tournament championship game improved Colorado's record to 5-0. "They're a team. They're not caring about themselves, there's no hidden agendas. If we can maintain that, we can play with anybody in the country. It's one game at a time, but I really like this team."
Indeed, if there was one takeaway from the Buffs' weekend, it is that this team truly enjoys playing together. Winning, it appears, seems to be far more important than individual accolades — not something that was readily apparent just a year ago.
But what is surprising about these Buffs is that this is not a big group of close-knit upperclassmen who grew up together in the program.
Rather, it is a mishmash of newcomers (four scholarship freshmen on the active roster), a couple of redshirt freshmen, two sophomores, a junior transfer and four seniors.
They have known each other only barely long enough to no longer need name tags. There are city rec league teams who have spent more time together.
But somehow, these Buffs have expedited the learning curve, and everyone involves deserves some credit.
Start with the seniors — in particular, George King, Tory Miller-Stewart and Dominique Collier, all of whom have spent four (or five) years with the program.
This is the year the seniors could have very easily declared it "their" team and demanded to be front and center. It has happened before, especially with a highly celebrated group of freshmen coming onto the scene.
But that hasn't been the case. The team elders have welcomed the youngsters, making them integral parts of the chemistry from the get-go.
Then there are the redshirt freshmen and sophomores, players who paid their dues as newcomers a year ago and could also believe they deserve something for their time here. But again, they have welcomed the youngers, adapted to their roles and taken full advantage of every opportunity to contribute.
And there are the newcomers, touted upon arrival as one of the best recruiting classes in CU history.
Any such group has the potential of wearing a mantle of entitlement. But instead, the newcomers have done their best to learn, adapt and become part of a successful chemistry rather than a volatile disruption.
Perhaps most interesting is that the glue for this team has turned out to be a freshman. Point guard McKinley Wright IV, selected as the Paradise Jam MVP, has become what Boyle calls the team "connector."
"It's hard to put your finger on it, but this team responds to him," Boyle said. "We've had some really good players here. Four NBA guys. But McKinley Wright has something about him that connects everybody together and he brings people together. That's leadership. He's got great influence."
Indeed, Wright so far seems to be directing traffic with all the aplomb and maturity of a seasoned vet — and the Buffs appear to be responding to him. It showed when the Buffs overcame a 13-point deficit in the final four minutes of their tourney-opening win over Quinnipiac, and again a night later, when a 17-point lead over Drake was whittled down to one. In both instances, Wright guided the Buffs in exactly the right direction. They followed his lead during the comeback; then refused to panic one night later when the big lead disappeared.
Of course, it would be ill-advised to read too much into the early season success. As Boyle said, this team still has plenty of areas in which it needs to improve. Sooner or later, the Buffs are going to hit a rough patch — and when that happens, it will be interesting to see how they respond. Togetherness is easy when you are winning; much more difficult when you lose a few.
Still, there is no doubt this team has a little something special. It is a group that appears to truly enjoy playing with each other and a group that wants to win above all else. While it is difficult to predict how they will fare in the long run, it's not hard to say they will be an entertaining team to watch develop as the year progresses.
"They've got toughness, we've got talent and we're going to get better," Boyle said late Sunday night after the championship game win over Mercer. "We're just scratching the surface in terms of where we can be. This group's got a big-time upside. They have hearts and they're together. You can win championships when you have that."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
