Tag: Tad Boyle

CU Buffs men’s basketball 2022-23 season in review

We put the 22-23 CU men’s basketball season under the microscope

The 2022-23 season was a rare downturn for Colorado in the Tad Boyle era. But with another year of experience and a big recruiting class, the Buffaloes have the weapons to make a big turnaround in 2023-24. As the old saying goes, sometimes you have to look back in order to move forward. So what can we learn from this past season?

The closest comp has to be the 2014-15 season. CU had a nearly identical overall record, Pac-12 record, points per game and points against that season. The Buffs had just lost an all-time great to the NBA in Spencer Dinwiddie and relied on a young group, much like CU did this year. CU would rattle off 20-win campaigns in five of the next eight seasons with a 19-win season in that stretch as well.

Check out our season in review for the 2022-23 Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team:

Colorado’s Tad Boyle named head coach of USA Basketball U19 2023 FIBA World Cup team

Tad Boyle is once again leading a USA Basketball team this summer

Colorado men’s basketball’s Tad Boyle was named the head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s U19 team for the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, as announced on Monday.

This isn’t Boyle’s first time working with USA Basketball, as he previously coached in the 2015 Pan American Games, was a member of the USA Basketball staff during the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup and was a court coach during the 2013 USA Men’s World University Games Team training camp. He was also head coach of the FIBA U18 Junior National team that won gold at the Men’s Americas Championship just last summer.

On the staff with Boyle this year will be Mike Boynton Jr. from Oklahoma State and Leon Rice of Boise State.

The longtime Buffs head coach was appreciative of the opportunity to lead another USA Basketball squad.

“I’m once again honored and humbled to have the opportunity to coach with USA Basketball and this summer with the 19-and-under national team,” Boyle said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to represent your country, it’s a responsibility that needs to be taken very seriously, and I’m looking forward to doing that and working with a bunch of great young men.”

The 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup is scheduled for June 24 to July 2 in Debrecen, Hungary.

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Tony’s Take: Is Colorado close to being an ‘everything’ school?

How close do you think Colorado is to being an “everything” school?

The Colorado Buffaloes have had a very interesting 2022-23 when it comes to marquee sports. While the results were not always there during games, the pieces have been put together for CU to become an “everything” school in the near future.

What is an everything school? On3 defines it as a school that makes a bowl game in football while also making the NCAA Tournament in both men’s and women’s basketball. Fourteen schools achieved all three feats during the 2022-23 cycle: UCLA, USC, Texas, NC State, Duke, Maryland, Baylor, Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi State, Tennesse, Purdue, Illinois and UConn.

The Buffs are sitting 1-for-3 as the women’s team is set for the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed. JR Payne’s squad has made the Big Dance for the second year in a row and has reinforcements inbound. The men’s team is also in the NIT after a rare down year in the Tad Boyle era while the football team struggled to a 1-11 record. But brighter days are on the horizon.

The football team made its biggest hire in years with the addition of head coach Deion Sanders, has put together an outstanding recruiting class and has more potential talent on its way. The men’s basketball team also signed one of the best recruits in program history to go along with what should be a veteran squad next season.

When you add all this up, Colorado is on the cusp of completing the trifecta. I’m setting the over-under at three years and smashing the under. What are your thoughts, Buffs fans? Are you taking the under with me or will one of the three pillars not deliver?

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Colorado men’s basketball all-time roster: CU Buffs legends

Who are you favorite players to ever hit the hardwood for CU?

Last August, we brought you the best Colorado Buffaloes football players of all-time and now, it’s time for the men’s basketball greats to shine.

Although 2022-23 has been a down season for the program, we are arguably still in the golden era of Colorado men’s basketball. Since the start of the early 2010s, the Buffs have produced several seasons of at least 20 wins and have made the NCAA Tournament five times.

Beyond the current iteration of the team, CU has had a ton of talent roll through Boulder.

We looked through the greatest teams in the nearly 125-year history of Colorado men’s basketball to give you our all-time roster:

Tad Boyle believes CU Buffs’ Tristan da Silva could be an elite Pac-12 player

The floor is yours, Tristan da Silva

Without Evan Battey and Jabari Walker, the 2022-23 CU men’s basketball squad will have to make up for both lost leadership and production. One of the leading candidates to provide more of both in his junior season is Tristan da Silva, who Tad Boyle believes can be one of the Pac-12’s top players if all goes well for the Buffs.

More so, Boyle revealed that he has indeed talked with da Silva about him adopting a bigger role this season. It’s great that Luke O’Brien and Nique Clifford are back as fellow experienced returners, but da Silva could be expected to do the most.

Boyle was asked on Wednesday’s Colorado basketball media day about da Silva filling the shoes of Walker in particular, and here’s what was said:

“I told Tristan if Jabari does leave in fact, it’s going to benefit you personally because you’re going to be able to step into a bigger role. Not that he and Jabari didn’t play together, they did, but you’re right, Jabari was so productive and Tristan is such a team player but now being a junior, like we talked about with Luke, like we’ve talked about with Nique, those three guys now have to play like juniors, and I almost look at them as seniors, even though they’re not. Thank God they each have another year but Tristan is far and away — he is our most consistent and his intelligence, his knowledge of the game, and his feel for the game. He’s much more comfortable and confident now. I expect him to be a first-team All-Pac-12 player, I really do if we can win enough games. That will happen because Tristan is going to be on the floor and he’s going to be on the floor a lot and he can play multiple positions, (he) can guard multiple positions, Having a guy like him, as a coach, makes you feel good.”

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Everything Tad Boyle said in his Colorado basketball media day press conference

Tad Boyle previewed his 2022-23 team on media day

Tad Boyle was in peak form on Wednesday when he sat down with the media to discuss his 2022-23 Colorado men’s basketball team. The Buffs’ 13th-year head coach is coming off back-to-back postseason appearances and if all goes well, March could once again be a busy month.

CU’s squad features a talented group of second-year players (including Quincy Allen and Javon Ruffin), an experienced junior class and a few older incoming transfers, including J’Vonne Hadley, Jalen Gabbidon and Ethan Wright. Boyle said he expects this year’s team to experience a similar learning curve to what happened last year, however.

Below is everything Boyle said to the media:

Tad Boyle gives his take on CU letting go of Karl Dorrell

Tad Boyle gave his thoughts on Karl Dorrell’s firing

We all knew it was coming.

After an 0-5 start, it was only a matter of time before the Colorado Buffaloes moved on from head football coach Karl Dorrell. With the bye week here, it seemed like the perfect time to get rid of Dorrell, even with the massive buyout number. 

The coaching search is on, and athletic director Rick George has a massive magic trick to pull off after the Mel Tucker debacle and the failed Dorrell experiment.

On the hardwood, men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle spoke about the decision to fire Dorrell (h/t Pat Rooney of Buff Zone):

“I know Karl. I know his wife Kim. I think the world of him, but it’s not like we spent a lot of time together. But that’s been the case with every football coach here…I feel bad for Karl and his staff. It’s a very unforgiving business.”

It has been a very rough year for the Buffs football team, although the fanbase can get a little bit more excited with basketball season around the corner.

Boyle also spoke about how success on the football field translates to momentum on the basketball court:

“But when our football team is not successful, it’s a little bit deflating I think to the student body. Which I think naturally will bleed over into basketball. Whereas if the football team is rocking and rolling, when you roll into basketball season, there’s some momentum.”

It is a tough business to be in, but an 0-5 start and one of the worst seasons thus far in college football made it an easy decision to move on from Dorrell.

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With Andy Enfield’s Trojans leaving the Pac-12, which other teams does Tad Boyle own?

Now that Andy Enfield’s Trojans are set to exit the Pac-12, there are still plenty of other teams that Tad Boyle has owned throughout his career

Perhaps the worst part about USC leaving the Pac-12 is that Tad Boyle’s Buffs won’t get an opportunity to beat Andy Enfield’s Trojans twice a year (kidding, sort of).

Prior to last season’s 61-58 loss, which was surely a fluke for USC, Colorado had won seven consecutive games against its conference foe. And since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011, they’ve won 14 of 19 — all under Boyle’s watch. Sadly, all good things must come to an end and USC’s departure to the Big Ten means one less in-conference team for Boyle to own.

However, the Trojans aren’t alone in struggling to beat Boyle. I looked back at every opponent that Boyle is +3 wins against in his career (including his three seasons as head coach of Northern Colorado) and listed them below:

NIL could help Tad Boyle continue to reach Southern California recruits

Tad Boyle believes that NIL could be a savior for continuing Colorado’s recruiting game in Southern California

One aspect of the conference mayhem that has been somewhat forgotten about is recruiting.

After moving from the Big 12 to the Pac-12 in 2011, Colorado men’s basketball has been able to recruit the Los Angeles area far easier with road games coming against USC and UCLA. That advantage has helped the Buffs sign big-time Southern California recruits such as Evan Battey and KJ Simpson, but with the Trojans and Bruins Big Ten-bound in 2024, Tad Boyle will have to adjust.

Fortunately, the recent breakthrough of NIL in college athletics could become a savior of sorts. Here’s what Colorado’s veteran head coach told Buffzone’s Pat Rooney in a recent article:

It helps if you do (play in L.A.), there’s no doubt about that. But, to me, with the onset of NIL, it’s not as big a deal. Players now are able to hopefully make enough money for their parents to fly out for games. If a kid from LA wants to go eastward, with NIL it’s going to be easier for them to do that. I think it offsets itself a little bit in that regard.

Only time will tell, but we’ll find that out as we go along. We have made some great inroads with LA recruiting and it is a very important area for us, without a doubt. We’re not going to stop recruiting there.

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Tad Boyle opens up on Pac-12 NCAA Tournament bids

Tad Boyle believes the Pac-12 needs to be better in nonconference play to earn more NCAA Tournament bids

The Pac-12 clearly needs more teams in the NCAA Tournament.

This past year, only Arizona, UCLA and USC made the Big Dance, although a few others were on the fringe.

The Colorado Buffaloes were one team that was close to making the Field of 68, but they ended up earning an NIT bid and lost to St. Bonaventure in the first round.

In a recent piece by Jon Wilner of The Mercury News, Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle spoke to great lengths about what needs to change for the Pac-12 to get more teams in the tourney.

Boyle is spot-on.

They have to perform better in nonconference play, regardless of who they play. The Buffs caught fire late, but that loss to Southern Illinois in the early part of the season was too much to overcome.

The Pac-12 should be getting at least four to five teams in the field, and we all know that UCLA, USC and Arizona are stalwarts in the Big Dance for the time being.

Oregon is another program close to an automatic lock every year, and the Buffs, Washington, Washington State and others should all have solid arguments in 2022-2023 and going forward.

Boyle has a point, and let’s see if the Buffs can play better during their nonconference slate.

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