It’s bound to feel like déjà vu to Richard Roby tonight when he walks into The Pit in Albuquerque. The Colorado junior guard may sense that he had been there before, although this will be his first glimpse of the legendary arena.
This will be the first meeting between CU and New Mexico in 26 years. But Roby has heard stories about The Pit since he began dribbling a basketball. His father, Paul Roby, transferred to New Mexico from junior college and played in 31 games for the Lobos – as a part-time starter during the 1978-79 season and in the first two games of the 1979-80 season.
Paul Roby’s senior year was cut short by “Lobogate,” when he and six other New Mexico players were declared ineligible by the NCAA after an investigation uncovered 57 violations including falsified transcripts and gifts from boosters. Although Lobogate left the disgraced program in shambles, Richard Roby said his father still harbors fond memories about the raucous atmosphere in The Pit.
“My dad says it’s kind of built underground, so it gets super loud,” Richard Roby said. “He told me it’s a great place to play, a great environment. He told me he loved playing in there.
“It always gets great crowds. It’s going to be fun playing in my dad’s old stomping grounds.”
This figures to be an interesting, if not intimidating, test for a CU team that includes eight wide-eyed freshmen. The Buffaloes opened their season Friday with a 78-64 home victory over Denver. The Lobos (2-0) are more experienced and talented than the injury-depleted Pioneers.
Two transfers – 6-5 junior forward J.R. Giddens (18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds) from Kansas and 6-8 senior center Aaron Johnson (8.0, 10.5) from Penn State – are making an immediate impact, as expected.
“This is as big and as good a challenge as we’re going to face all season,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
