It won’t show up on recruiting charts, but newly hired Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle bagged his No. 1 target this week when CU star guard Alec Burks announced he will remain a Buffalo.
Burks, a 6-foot-6 guard and the reigning Big 12 Conference freshman of the year, said Monday when Boyle was hired that he would “explore his options” and possibly consider transferring. Burks voiced his disappointment that Colorado did not promote then associate coach Steve McClain as a replacement for head coach Jeff Bzdelik, who left last week for Wake Forest.
Soon after getting the CU job, Boyle flew to Missouri and met with the Burks family at their Grandview home. That visit, and the initial workouts with the team, impressed Burks.
Burks averaged 17.1 points last season and became the first CU freshman in history to score more than 500 points.
During his introductory news conference, Boyle said one of his first tasks was to convince Burks to stay.
“I want to help him continue to grow and make him a better player,” Boyle said.
He will get that opportunity. And CU’s prospects for next season just got brighter.
As for McClain, he has been hired to fill the vacant assistant coaching position on Tom Crean’s staff at Indiana.
McClain, 47, spent three seasons as an assistant for the Buffaloes after serving as head coach at Wyoming from 1998-2007.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
