BOULDER — As sophomore guard Alec Burks stood at the free- throw line late in Colorado’s 67-57 home victory against Nebraska, the student body in the arena issued a plea too loud to ignore.
“One more year! One more year!” chanted CU students, beseeching Burks to ignore the rich temptation of NBA money and return to school.
I can’t tell you for a fact that the Buffaloes will make the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 2003.
But this much I know is true: It would be to the benefit of everybody who loves CU sports and Burks if he continued his education for another 12 months before leaping to the NBA.
One more year?
I asked Colorado coach Tad Boyle if he planted the idea with the enthusiastic students who rocked the Coors Events Center during the last regular- season game of the season.
“No, I didn’t,” Boyle said Saturday, smiling at the effort CU students made to lobby Burks. “It wasn’t a bad idea. I don’t know if it’s going to work or not. But we’re not going to worry about that right now.”
One more year for Burks at Colorado?
More than one NBA scout will tell you in private that although Burks projects to be a first-round draft choice if he chooses to go pro now, it would probably pay off in the long-term if he stays with the Buffaloes and works on his game.
Meaning no disrespect to seniors Levi Knutson and Cory Higgins, who have done so much to put the Buffaloes back on the college basketball map, but if CU rides the bubble to land in the NCAA tourney bracket as an at-large entry, far and away the No. 1 reason will be Burks.
In the opening game of the Big 12 Conference schedule, Burks pushed CU into the postseason discussion with 36 points against Missouri. When the Buffaloes appeared to be holding to the slippery tourney bubble by their fingertips as the calendar turned to March, Burks saved his teammates from oblivion by scoring 33 in an upset of Texas.
The ability to score in a way that can carry a team is what fascinates NBA teams. But professional critics also describe Burks as soft, with a tendency to play smaller than his 6-foot-6 frame would suggest. That’s why draftniks believe the CU sophomore might have to wait until late in the opening round to be selected.
To make the Big Dance, the Buffaloes will almost certainly have to win at least two games at the conference tournament, a task that will require them to sweep a three-game series against Kansas State.
Chauncey Billups, the best player in CU history, left the program after his sophomore season in 1997. But he struggled upon entering the NBA, and Burks’ game is not nearly as refined when compared to a young Billups.
With Nebraska chipping away at the Colorado lead in the second half, Burks took an outlet pass, knifed through the Cornhuskers’ defense and threw down a two-handed slam dunk to put the home team ahead 48-43.
Spines tingled.
But you also had to wonder: Was this the last time Burks will play a basketball game in Boulder?
Sure, it’s easy for me to suggest he should turn down the millions of dollars guaranteed to a first-round draft choice.
But the fun of CU basketball has only just begun.
Athletic director Mike Bohn made the right choice in Boyle. The Buffaloes are on the rise. After joining the Pac- 12, they could compete for a league championship. This team generates enough heat that spectators actually have to fan themselves in the arena on a winter night to stay composed.
Without Burks, CU’s bubble would burst.
One more year?
Please.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
