Outside shooting was expected to be a strength for the Colorado men’s basketball team. Through two Big 12 losses to open conference play, that hasn’t come to pass.
CU coach Ricardo Patton said it’s because his players haven’t come to pass.
“There were a lot of times when we went down the court and didn’t make the extra pass,” Patton said after the Buffaloes (10-3, 0-2 Big 12) handed out only 13 assists Wednesday night in a 75-63 home loss to Kansas.
Hurrying its shots and getting few open looks, Colorado shot 36.8 percent from the field. In their conference opener at Texas, the Buffaloes shot just 31 percent. Up next is another difficult challenge, a 4 p.m. game Saturday at Missouri (9-4, 2-0). The Tigers lost their home opener to low-major Sam Houston State and stood 4-4 after an 82-50 drubbing by Illinois. But suddenly Missouri has become the surprise of the Big 12 with wins at home over Oklahoma State and on the road against Oklahoma.
“We just have to keep plugging away and correct some of our mistakes,” Patton said. “I don’t question that our kids want to win. It’s just the way we’re trying to go about it. All good teams play unselfishly. If we do that, we will be a better team.
“The toughest thing I find myself trying to do is get this group to be a team – to believe in one another. I think we could have beaten (Kansas) had we played a little bit smarter.”
In addition to showing game film, Patton might want to print out box scores of CU’s first two games for his players. Texas and Kansas combined for 38 assists against Colorado while the Buffs had 20 in the two games.
Colorado failed to keep moving on offense and made it easy on defenders when four players stood around and watched the player with the ball attempt to create a shot.
“Kansas shared the ball and did everything to win,” CU guard Richard Roby. “That’s what a veteran team like us should be doing.”
Patton said he is considering shortening his rotation to give more minutes to a pair of 6-foot-9 post players: senior Julius Ashby, whom he might start, and sophomore Marcus King-Stockton. It’s no secret, Patton said, that CU gives up both rebounding and defense when seniors Chris Copeland (6-8) and Andy Osborn (6-9) are in the game together.
“I think I’m playing too many guys,” Patton said. “I have to find a rotation that will play in a physical league like the Big 12.”
Trouble is, Copeland and Osborn combined for 31 of CU’s 63 points against Kansas. Take them out and it’s unclear who would replace their offense for a team struggling to score.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
