2014-15 Pac 12 Conference Preview: #2 Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes 2014-15 Season Preview
2013 Season Results: 23-12, 10-8 conference record, 3rd place in the Pac-12, 63-43 loss to Arizona in Championship of Pac-12 Tournament, 77-48 loss to Pitt in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Key Losses: Spencer Dinwiddie (NBA)
Key Returners: Josh Scott, Xavier Johnson, Askia Booker, Wesley Gordon, Xavier Talton, Jaron Hopkins
2014 Recruiting Class: Dominique Collier (#85 overall, #18 PG according to ESPN), Tory Miller (3 stars, #48 PF)
Colorado made just two NCAA Tournaments in the 40 seasons before Tad Boyle took over. In Boyle’s four seasons in Boulder, the Buffaloes have been to three.
That success has the Buffaloes in unfamiliar territory this offseason: they have real expectations of success. This team made the NCAA Tournament last season despite losing Spencer Dinwiddie to injury at the beginning of the Pac-12 campaign.
Though the do-it-all Dinwiddie left for the NBA, every single major contributor from the squad that remained in March will be back.
Colorado will return more production than any other Pac-12 school in four major categories: scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocks. The Buffaloes are loaded and ready to build on last season’s unexpected Dinwiddie-less success.
It will start with senior big man Josh Scott. The Colorado native has been a beast since he arrived in Boulder, and made big strides between his first two seasons.
Scott averaged 14 and 8 on 51% shooting. The big man has touch at the line as well, as he hit on 81% of his six free throw attempts per game.
The numbers don’t capture the full story of Scott’s impact for the Buffs last season, but his placement on the Pac-12 First Team does. Scott is a contender for the Conference Player of the Year award this season.
As good as Scott is, the most important player for Colorado this season may be point guard Askia Booker.
The talented senior floor general has one more season to make his presence felt in Buffalo history, and if he takes advantage of it, the Buffaloes will likely be nipping at Arizona’s heels at the top of the standings for most of the season.
Booker is a versatile lead guard who averaged 13.7, 3.7, and 3.3 last season. He didn’t shoot well from the field or from beyond the arc, however. His turnover totals were also alarmingly high at 2.5 per game (mostly a problem because of his meager assist numbers).
Booker was a player who looked far better on the court than in the box score, however. If he is a slightly more efficient scorer and creator this season, his final season for Colorado will be a highly successful one.
Xavier Johnson played very well last season, and the former Top 100 recruit should step into an even larger scoring role for the Buffs this season.
Johnson was the team’s most dangerous three-point threat last season, hitting on 36% of his 102 attempts on his way to 12 points per game. If Booker can’t provide Colorado with more consistent jump shooting, Johnson will become the key to the team’s wing offense.
Rounding out the starting five will be forward Wesley Gordon. Gordon improved steadily as his redshirt freshman campaign went on last season, and should be a monster on the glass, while providing a little bit of help on offense, for Colorado this season.
The main knock on Colorado is the same this year as last: they are top-heavy. Nobody scored more than 5 points per game off the bench last season.
Freshman point guard Dominique Collier may provide the most production of any non-starter. The Top 100 recruit and Denver native needs to get his body ready for the rigors of the Pac-12, but he could earn serious minutes for Colorado this season.
Xavier Talton, Jaron Hopkins, and Dustin Thomas all made starts at various times for the shorthanded Buffs last season and will return this season.
Talton provided the most off the bench, hitting 37% of his threes and leading all bench players in scoring and assists.
Hopkins and Thomas both provide big bodies that can guard multiple positions and give the opposing defense different looks: Hopkins as a spot-up threat and Thomas as more of a slasher.
The reserves in the frontcourt are this team’s main question mark. Scott and Gordon are both great players and figure to play very heavy minutes. Freshman Tory Miller may have to get ready in a hurry, because there aren’t any other big men on the roster, proven or otherwise.
Even with their thin frontcourt, this is a team capable of winning a whole lot of games in the Pac-12 this season. Josh Scott is a monster, and Xavier Johnson should take his entire game up to the next level this season.
Even with all that’s coming back, this is a fairly young Colorado team. Askia Booker is the only senior among the expected contributors. Even with that youth, it’s an experienced bunch that has been to the Big Dance every year they’ve been on campus.
Tad Boyle has quietly done one of the very best coaching jobs in the country out in Colorado, and this will be the season that everyone begins to take notice.
Prediction: 2nd Place