Most of the talk surrounding Colorado men’s basketball this offseason was centered around the returns of Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson.
In the background, though, was J’Vonne Hadley preparing for his first season in Boulder. He’d had an impressive offseason of his own, but how would the JUCO product fit in when he actually hit the floor in the Pac-12 Conference?
The pride of Indian Hills Community College and the former Northeastern Huskie reserve fit in just fine. A standout, in truth. Hadley scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting for the Buffs in their 82-66 win over UC Riverside Monday in their season opener.
But it was more than that for the Minnesota native. He tallied nine rebounds and three assists as well, showing the proper patience and ability to see and make the right play, and flustered he was not. Beyond that, he was extremely active defensively, getting one steal and a block.
Additionally, he provided well-timed help for the Buffaloes on defense, playing a large part in stymying UC Riverside’s duo of Zyon Pullin and Flynn Cameron. Cameron improved in the second half, but by then it was far too late for the Highlanders to make a legitimate comeback.
Colorado’s starting five in large part played well, but it was Hadley pulling the strings during a strong Buffs effort.
“Right out of the gate, we had a lot of energy,” Hadley said. “We knew that our head coach is always emphasizing we were 0-0 being out there. We had the Wyoming and Nebraska scrimmages, but this is our biggest one yet.”
If Hadley can continue this level of production, it will provide another element for the rest of the Pac-12 to keep an eye on aside from da Silva and Simpson — and it could even elevate Colorado to the upper echelon of the conference.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fc3h5x4enxt6nsr4 player_id=none image=https://coloradobuffaloeswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
[listicle id=13014]