Boulder – For the good of the program, and maybe himself, Colorado coach Ricardo Patton is sucking it up.
“One of the things we try to teach our guys is to be about values and commitment and discipline,” Patton said Friday. “So one of the things that’s a fact right now is I have one year remaining on my contract, and at this point I plan to honor that commitment. Anything else, I don’t know.”
There have been a lot of unknowns as Patton awaits word on whether he will receive a contract extension. But the CU men’s basketball coach, who just completed his 10th full season with the Buffs, is determined to let the scenario play itself out.
“At this point the focus has simply been, I think as (athletic director) Mike Bohn said, on getting some other things in place,” Patton said. “So at this time it still remains the same. Everything remains the same.”
Bohn has been busy finalizing his 10-point plan for reviving the basketball program, a task that has superseded any talks about Patton’s future. The plan is expected to be announced soon.
But the days go by without much said about when – or if – negotiations on a contract extension will begin.
It is uncertain whether Patton will get the chance to capitalize on the 2006-07 class of freshmen – a group he called “the best total recruiting class that we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Patton said Bohn is aware of the situation.
“That’s been something that’s been discussed because that’s been very difficult,” Patton said. “It has been. I think he understands the difficulty that it places on recruiting, and so that’s all I have to go on. If he is OK with that, then I have to be OK with that.”
Colorado finished 20-10 this season, just the fourth time in school history the Buffs recorded at least 20 wins. Three of those 20-win seasons have come under Patton.
Supporters of the program have wondered if Patton is the right coach to lead the team to the next level. Patton said he has no doubts he’s still the right person for the job.
“There’s no question,” Patton said. “If you think about it, what we’ve done, we have consistently been in line to be in the top half of the league. If you think about the programs that we’ve kind of jumped over in the last couple of years, I think you’ll see some programs that probably have more resources available to them, and more tradition even.
“But I think the sky’s the limit. But a lot of things have to be in place.”
Roby update
Patton said guard Richard Roby continues to deal with NBA draft possibilities, but that it is too early to know what he will do. Patton spoke to Roby’s mother Thursday.
“He’s still just trying to see what’s going on,” Patton said. “During these times guys are told a lot of different things by a lot of different people. She concurred that it’s an interesting process.”
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
