Boulder – Guards love to talk about how an offensive threat in the paint opens up room for jump shooters to roam the perimeter. That’s why Colorado guard Richard Roby was all smiles Thursday, a day after 6-foot-9 senior center Julius Ashby scored 13 points in CU’s 84-75 victory over No. 19 Oklahoma.
Ashby entered the game averaging 4.4 points. But he came out with a vengeance Wednesday night. After 11 minutes he already had thrown down a dunk, swished a jump hook and hit a 15-footer from the lane.
“Julius started out with great focus,” Roby said. “When he got that first dunk, it was big for him and for the team. That makes everything easier for the guards. It makes our team complete.”
Ashby’s presence contributed to one of the pivotal sequences in the game. While being double-teamed down low, Ashby kicked the ball out to junior guard Marcus Hall, who buried a 3-pointer with 3:15 remaining. That put CU in control at 77-69.
“I just came into the game with the attitude that things couldn’t get worse,” Ashby said. “I don’t know. I guess I’d been in ‘La La Land’ or somewhere.”
In perspective
CU coach Ricardo Patton hopes his team learned a lesson a couple of weeks ago about handling success. Players became “too giddy” after being nationally ranked for the first time in the coaches poll, Patton said. The Buffs then lost by 17 points at Iowa State.
Patton does not believe the Buffs (17-5, 7-4 Big 12) will overlook Saturday’s game at Kansas State (13-9, 4-7).
“I guess we thought (by getting ranked) that we ‘had arrived’ and we got a little big-headed,” Roby conceded. “We know Oklahoma was a big win for us, but we also know we have our next big game Saturday.”
No progress
Patton’s Boulder-based agent, Jack Mills, said Thursday that CU athletic director Mike Bohn has not initiated any dialogue regarding an extension of Patton’s contract.
“I’m not worried about it,” Mills said. “I have just assumed that talks will begin after the season.”
Patton’s contract is due to expire after the 2006-07 season. He has said it would be difficult to attract recruits during this summer’s evaluation period without a contract extension.
Footnotes
Indiana Pacers center David Harrison is spending the NBA all-star break in Boulder. The former Buff worked out Thursday at the Coors Events Center. Harrison watched CU’s win over Oklahoma on television. “This team is so hard to guard,” Harrison said. “I think they’ll make a little run in the NCAA Tournament.” … A week after undergoing neck surgery, Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge returned to the Wildcats’ bench Wednesday night. He may have wished he hadn’t. Kansas State shot 35 percent and committed 17 turnovers in a 70-56 loss at Texas Tech. Kansas State has lost five of its past six games. “I’m in a lot more pain with where we are as a team than I am with my neck,” Wooldridge told reporters in Lubbock, Texas.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
