The Buffs need less pats on the back, better coaching from Tad Boyle
Mar 3, 2020, 6:28 AM
On Saturday, Feb. 8, I took my family to see the CU Buffs square off against Stanford. It was a terrific day of college basketball. Colorado fell behind by 16 points, but rallied to win. It was the third-largest second-half comeback in school history.
The game featured a scary moment when Stanford’s Oscar Da Silva fell hard to the court after a collision with the Buffs’ Evan Battey. Da Silva was okay, but both teams were shaken enough by the fall that they gathered at mid-court for a quick prayer and pep talk. It was an incredible display of sportsmanship.
With the win, CU improved to 19-5. I came away feeling I had just watched a team that was perfectly constructed to make a run at the Sweet 16 and maybe even beyond. The Buffs had the veteran point guard needed come March in McKinley Wright IV, who has played nearly 100 games as a Buff. Add in pogo stick wingman Tyler Bey, sweet shooting D’Shawn Schwartz, big man Battey and a solid bench, and they had a team built to win big.
Plus, they had Tad Boyle. Boyle has always come across as the anti-big time college basketball coach. You know the type. Slick. Smooth talking. Moving from job to job.
Boyle has remained loyal to CU and has built a solid, if not great program. He wins more than he loses, and he apparently does it clean without a scent of scandal.
This was even more noticeable, and more admirable, in the wake of the Mel Tucker gong show. While “Midnight Mel” was hellbent on escaping Boulder as soon as possible, there was Boyle – loyal, reliable, consistent. His stock had never been higher.
Ah, good times.
Since then? The Buffs have hit the skids. They’ve gone 2-4 and have lost a season-high three straight. The good news is it doesn’t appear it has damaged CU’s tournament stock too much. Joe Lunardi, the respected bracketologist for ESPN, had the Buffs as high as four seed. In his most recent bracket, he had CU a five seed.
The Buffs tournament prospects are still solid. What they do with them is unclear right now.
The key is Boyle. He (rightly) received his pats on the back when CU was rolling. Now, they’re struggling. How does he respond? How does he challenge this team? How does he re-build their bruised confidence?
This could be a special CU team. This is a chance for Boyle to show how truly lucky the Buffs and all of Colorado is to have him.
