Boulder
Here is all you need to know about the state of college basketball in Colorado. There were not 5,000 people willing to drive down the street on Saturday night to watch a future first-round NBA draft pick.
And we’re not talking about CU guard Richard Roby, whose stock as a pro prospect is plummeting.
Better catch Colorado State forward Jason Smith, who helped the Rams win a basketball game on the CU campus for the first time since 1957, while you can.
At the same time next year, he figures to be a millionaire, working in New York or Dallas or Los Angeles. After Smith scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in CSU’s 72-69 victory against the Buffaloes, it’s hard to imagine that if he declares for the draft after his junior season with the Rams, 30 NBA teams could find somebody better to take than him during the first round.
Getting rich can wait. For now, Smith, the son of two proud Colorado State alums, is satisfied to be the most rude visitor from Fort Collins that any CU basketball team has allowed in the house in almost five decades.
“Forty-nine years, that was our motivation,” a grinning Smith said.
Although 7 feet tall, Smith will earn his money as a pro on the perimeter, where his quick feet, keen court vision and soft shooting touch seem destined to create mismatches that NBA coaches constantly seek when they diagram offensive plays.
With the Rams using him almost exclusively below the foul line against CU, it’s fair to wonder if Smith is being given ample opportunity to refine the skills that make him a special player.
“I work on those skills in practice, to keep it fresh, and not get rusty,” Smith said.
While seventh-year Colorado State coach Dale Layer needs to worry about saving his job, shouldn’t his first responsibility as a teacher be to prepare Smith for life after college?
Roby contemplated jumping to the NBA after his sophomore year. He decided to stay in school, unaware coach Ricardo Patton would allow this year to be a waste of everyone’s time by announcing he was walking out on the Buffs at the conclusion of the season.
Anybody who thinks Patton has his team’s full attention is not paying any more attention than Roby was during a timeout with 7 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the second half and the Buffs trailing CSU by 15 points.
Roby stood on the edge of the team huddle, appearing for all the world like a barely interested listener to whatever words of wisdom Patton was relaying to the Buffs.
And, if Roby is not careful, NBA scouts will stop paying attention to him. With his field-goal accuracy hovering around 33 percent for the season, what reason would pro teams think he’s capable of succeeding at the next level?
Roby often seemed unfocused until a furious, but ultimately futile, rally by the Buffs in the game’s final three minutes. But can any of us really blame Roby for his indifference?
A lame-duck coach has killed what little enthusiasm fans had for buying tickets to games at CU. The attendance for an intrastate rivalry game between the Buffs and Rams was 4,309, which is almost unfathomable. With the Coors Events Center filled to less than 50 percent of capacity, CSU’s Layer could not believe his eyes.
“It was a good college game,” Layer said. “I’m sorry that more people didn’t get to see it.”
At this time next year, there will be hundreds of local basketball fans who will tell you they saw the potential in Smith to make it all the way from the tiny Colorado town of Kersey to the bright lights of the NBA.
Don’t believe any of those claims. Almost nobody in this state has bothered to watch Smith play hoops.
It’s a shame.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
