Seeking a contract extension and having to replace eight scholarship seniors after this season, Colorado men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton never has faced more pressure to produce an outstanding recruiting class. Patton must sign several players who can contribute next fall.
Patton appears to have made progress in filling his program’s needs. The eight-day early signing period begins Wednesday for men’s and women’s basketball.
“Colorado is getting some good ones,” said Mike Kunstadt, who runs Texashoops.com.
Among the five players who have orally committed to the Buffaloes are two from Texas high schools. Kunstadt ranks 6-foot-6 forward Dale Vanwright of Houston Bellaire as the state’s 15th-best senior. Dwight Thorne, a 6-2 point guard at Martin High School in Arlington, is ranked No. 23.
CU’s other most heralded recruit is Jeremy Williams, a 6-8 forward at Hamilton High School in Memphis, Tenn., who chose the Buffs over Tennessee. Williams has been ranked as high as No. 91 in the national by Rivals.com. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as a junior.
“I told Jeremy it’s a great opportunity at Colorado because so many seniors will be gone,” said CU freshman Calvin Williams, another Memphis product but not a relative. “He’s really strong, but he’s also a slasher. Those kind of guys are hard to defend.”
Vanwright picked CU over Baylor. He averaged 15 points and nine rebounds as a junior. Thorne also considered Dayton, Utah and Texas Christian.
Colorado State has commitments from brothers Jarrel and Jimmy Smith of Encino, Calif.
The top senior prospect in the Denver area, 6-5 guard Matt Bouldin of ThunderRidge, committed to Gonzaga. Bouldin is ranked No. 45 nationally by Rivals.com. NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from commenting on recruits until they are signed.
Oral commitments
AIR FORCE: Daniel Buckley, 6-feet-8, F, Austin (Texas) Bowie High School; Bobby Fenske, 6-8, F, Dallas Trinity Christian HS; Spencer Oestreich, 6-5, G, Sherman (Texas) HS; Stephen Sauls, 6-3, G, Fort Bend (Texas) Marshall HS; Zach Walker, 6-8, F, Dallas St. Mark’s HS
COLORADO: Sean Kowal, 6-10, C, St. Louis DeSmet HS; Xavier Silas, 6-4, G, Brewster (N.H.) Academy; Dwight Thorne, 6-2, G, Arlington (Texas) Martin HS; Dale Vanwright, 6-6, F, Houston Bellaire HS; Jeremy Williams, 6-8, F, Memphis (Tenn.) Hamilton HS
COLORADO STATE: Alton Robinson, 6-6, F, Pearl River (Miss.) Community College; Jarrel Smith, 6-7, F, Encino (Calif.) Birmingham HS; Jimmy Smith, 6-5, G, Encino (Calif.) Birmingham HS
NORTHERN COLORADO: Darren Moore, 6-2, G, Chino Hills (Calif.) Ayala HS
WYOMING: Aaron Henson, 6-6, F, Corona (Calif.) Santiago HS; Eric Platt, 6-5 G/F, Casper Walsh HS
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
