The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team watched a flurry of players leave in the offseason: Jabari Walker, Evan Battey, Elijah Parquet and Keeshawn Barthelemy, most notably.
Another significant loss was Bobi Klintman, who ended up leaving Boulder due to academic issues. Those losses all hurt Tad Boyle’s team, but they were able to land J’Vonne Hadley on a junior college transfer.
With the 2022-2023 season approaching for the Buffs, it has been Hadley who is giving this team a surprising spark, and all the credit goes to assistant coach Mike Rohn (h/t Pat Rooney of BuffZone):
“Kudos to Mike Rohn. We had a little bit of a curveball thrown at us with the recruitment of Bobi Klintman last spring,” Boyle said. “When that went south, we were in desperate need of a big guy. Especially with Jabari (Walker’s) decision to leave for the NBA, we knew we had to sign a good, quality big. We thought we had that with Bobi.
“When that didn’t happen coach Rohn, who is the ultimate grinder in recruiting, said he let this kid (Hadley) know if we had an opening in the spring, we’re going to be interested. And we did. He was still available, and we got a hell of a player.”
With Boyle saying that the Buffs could come out of the gates struggling a bit, Hadley has a perfect opportunity to emerge and earn some quality minutes.
The former JUCO transfer loves what he is seeing in Boulder thus far, too.
“Ever since I got here me and Steve (Englehart, CU’s strength coach) have been working every day. I grew a little bit. I can see my body transforming, and that was kind of the goal as I made my decision here. His program that he puts us through is outstanding.”
If Hadley continues to develop, he could end up being a steal of the offseason and a blossoming piece for Boyle’s squad this season.
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